This winter might be a good time to try a new hobby. It’s way too cold to think about (or do anything about) brook fishing, a favorite hobby of mine in years past. Besides, it’s impossible to dig worms right now. I know a few diehards who love to go ice fishing, but for many of us seniors, the idea of actually embracing ice has no appeal.

Cooking for the holidays has worn out its welcome and it’s a little early to start seedlings for the garden.

If you haven’t tried my favorite spare-time hobbies, genealogy and writing, this might be right up your alley and it will definitely be a boon to any of your grandchildren, nieces or nephews who become interested in their past.

Among the many benefits of getting older is that you hold the key to the memory box. If you just start with your own information (date and place of birth, parents’ names and their dates and places of birth) you can go from there.

List the brothers and sisters and the same information. Libraries have books about genealogy and the Internet holds just tons of free forms, suggestions and how to do research. List all the questions you will develop as you go through this and when the weather warms up, visit your local town hall (for copies of birth certificates, death certificates, etc.) and historical society.

This vital statistic gathering can be pretty boring, but when you go a step further and add a few paragraphs about each individual you remember, it can become a really worthwhile hobby.

On the Internet, the state of Maine has dozens of stories written by Mainers on a variety of topics. If you have access to the Internet, type in maine.gov and go to the section for stories told by Mainers and you will read some fascinating, memory-ridden stories about growing up here and what people used to do when they were young. Also, there are articles from more recent days – stories about the ice storm of 1998, for example.

Despite my genealogy research, which has taken up much of the past 20 years, there are still many mysteries to solve. Along the way I’ve been sidetracked and read much history about the Scots-Irish coming to Maine, and this has led to more questions than answers. While I did discover why my Danish ancestors came to North America, I’m still puzzling about the Scots-Irish. That means a busy winter, digging into more sources.

Doing genealogical research can really exercise the mind, always a good thing. If folks find out you are at all adept at this, they will begin to ask questions and then you’ve created a new hobby for someone else.

When your niece or grandson comes home from school and needs help making a family tree, you will be the one who will help. I think sometimes, we seniors are living history. The world changes so quickly, and more so every day, we all ought to write down what changes we can remember and the people we recall.

While it’s too cold for going out for a walk, and if ice fishing doesn’t appeal to you, perhaps writing down memories and family information will. Give it a try.