With reading glasses perched on the ends of their noses and pens in hands, the members of Taber Library’s four-week memoir writing class settle into their second session.

This week, almost everyone has brought a written memory of that awkward, funny, horrifying, period of life known as adolescence.

“I tried to find a piece that I felt personally about at the time,” said Andy Santos, a retired teacher and coach.

While in grade school, Santos’ best friend Jack told him he was moving to Virginia.

“It was my first experience with the emotion of emptiness,” read Santos. “As I road my bike home that afternoon the tears kept pace with each pedal I took.”

Facilitated by Judith Rosbe, an author of several histories on Marion, the purpose of the group is to begin the process of chronicling memories.

Before each session, Rosbe gives the writers prompts, beginning with childhood and eventually ending with their later years.

“You’re not expected to write your memoir in a four week class,” Rosbe tells the class. “This is to get you started.”

Each week the members get five minutes to share what they've written, followed by  encouragement and helpful critiques from the group.

Christian Ingerslev, who was born in Denmark and grew up in England, recalled an epic family trip across the Middle East in 1965.

At the Saudi border, he and his mother came upon a police patrol on camels.

“Naturally, when one meets someone in the desert, one must exchange the latest gossip, so we stopped for a while to tell them who we were and what we were doing in the desert,” said Ingerslev.

Tom Shire recalled the consequences of catching his summer camp counselors “engaging in hanky panky.”

“They tried to silence me by burying me in a hole with ants and spiders. I made friends with the insects,” said Shire. “To this day I pick up the ants and the spiders in the house and put them outside.”

Shire, who prefers to write on a typewriter, added: “It’s interesting the little things in our lives that turn you this way and that.”

Those memories, though different for each person in the group, help them recall their own histories – from the freedom of a first car to watching the moon landing.

“These will be triggers to help bring back memories that I can eventually write about,” said Ingerslev.

Overall, Rosbe wants her students to end up with something they can pass down to younger generations.

“My goal is really that they’re giving a gift to their family by telling them about their life,” she said.

For Ingerslev, the hard part will be honing all his experiences into one volume.

“I just remember too much. I can’t get it down quick enough. There is so much to tell,” Ingerslev.