Crawford County Historical Society rolls out oral history program

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The Crawford County Historical Society, in conjunction with StoryCorps, is launching a new oral history program to collect and record the stories that make Crawford County special.

“In a world where less and less of our personal correspondence and business is preserved on paper, oral histories — one of the first used methods to preserve the legacies of a community — will be the way to preserve a glimpse into our lives for future generations once again,” said Joshua Sherretts, the society’s executive director. “History has almost come full circle with oral storytelling returning to the forefront.”

The goal will be to find, listen to and record the stories of Crawford County residents and then to share and preserve them for current and future generations.

PA Humanities, along with Spring Point Partners, feel so strongly about the importance of the stories that make us unique in Pennsylvania, that this project was funded as part of a capacity building grant to the historical society through their Wingspan Program over the last year, officials said in announcing the project.

Wingspan is a grant initiative launched as part of PA Humanities’ 50th anniversary to support Black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC)-led and -serving, or rural organizations doing community-based humanities work, officials said. Its mission is to help them soar and expand their possibilities by providing new resources, amplifying their voices and cultivating additional space for creativity and connection.

“We are so very excited about this new resource to record and preserve both the remarkable and the everyday experiences of the residents of Crawford County,” said Paula Brown, oral history coordinator at the Crawford County Historical Society. Brown has already interviewed several residents who have shared their experiences and is actively seeking to schedule more.

What kind of stories will we be looking for?

Some people have served in a war or faced an incident that caused them to be part of an heroic endeavor, however, the majority of our stories are the everyday events that make up our lives.The everyday victories, turning points, or motivations that cause us to choose a certain course, pursue an endeavor or begin a hobby. We will be looking for all kinds of stories from all ages of Crawford County residents. We want to gather and celebrate the dignity, courage and grace in the stories that we find throughout Crawford County.

These stories will be recorded at the Crawford County Historical Society headquarters at the Tarr Mansion, 869 Diamond Park Square, Meadville; at the Baldwin Reynolds House on Terrace Street; or, in some cases, in the interviewee’s home.

If you have a story to share, contact Brown at (814) 7246080 or pbrown@crawfordhistorical. org.