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Capturing the Voices of History
For the past several years, the KVM has been conducting oral history interviews in Southwest Michigan. In the near future, those interviews will be available for researchers or anyone interested in hearing stories from diverse voices in our region. But what are oral histories and how do they fit in our understanding of the region’s history?
We are all familiar with news accounts of major events, like that of the 1980 tornado that swept through downtown Kalamazoo or President Obama’s commencement address to Kalamazoo Central students in 2010. But an oral history is much more than an account of an event; it is the story of one person’s experience of an event or their broader life circumstance.
Why do we care about one person’s experience? We are drawn to them because most of us love a good story and because they can resonate with our own life experiences. When Bangor High School students interviewed former migrant worker Baudelia Aleman, it allowed the rest of us to listen to her story of struggle and triumph. The specifics of her story might be vastly different from our own, but the tale of hardships, hard work, and success resonate with all who’ve experienced or witnessed it.
Similarly, Sydney Martin speaks with pride of her Potawatomi heritage and the long road she and other Native Americans have traversed to recover native traditions and language. Her story offers an opportunity for many to connect with their own cultural heritages. Or, as you listen to members of the Congregation of Moses speak about their mothers’ work to send care packages to soldiers who were fighting Hitler’s armies in Europe, you may find yourself thinking differently about that war and what it meant to those directly affected by it.
Oral histories add depth, personality, and local connections to a story. Oral histories have been used in several exhibits at the KVM such as “Kalamazoo Direct to You,” “Meet the Velvelettes,” “Tesoros,” and “Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During Depression and War.” In each case, they provide a human perspective that makes history relevant.
Museum staff hope to continue gathering oral histories for many years to come. As the interviews are transcribed into written documents, they will be available on our website, along with video clips and photographs of the subjects.
Rendal Wall, interviewed in the old Gibson factory building, discusses his days working at the Gibson and Heritage guitar companies.
We are all familiar with news accounts of major events, like that of the 1980 tornado that swept through downtown Kalamazoo or President Obama’s commencement address to Kalamazoo Central students in 2010. But an oral history is much more than an account of an event; it is the story of one person’s experience of an event or their broader life circumstance.
Why do we care about one person’s experience? We are drawn to them because most of us love a good story and because they can resonate with our own life experiences. When Bangor High School students interviewed former migrant worker Baudelia Aleman, it allowed the rest of us to listen to her story of struggle and triumph. The specifics of her story might be vastly different from our own, but the tale of hardships, hard work, and success resonate with all who’ve experienced or witnessed it.
Similarly, Sydney Martin speaks with pride of her Potawatomi heritage and the long road she and other Native Americans have traversed to recover native traditions and language. Her story offers an opportunity for many to connect with their own cultural heritages. Or, as you listen to members of the Congregation of Moses speak about their mothers’ work to send care packages to soldiers who were fighting Hitler’s armies in Europe, you may find yourself thinking differently about that war and what it meant to those directly affected by it.
Oral histories add depth, personality, and local connections to a story. Oral histories have been used in several exhibits at the KVM such as “Kalamazoo Direct to You,” “Meet the Velvelettes,” “Tesoros,” and “Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During Depression and War.” In each case, they provide a human perspective that makes history relevant.
Museum staff hope to continue gathering oral histories for many years to come. As the interviews are transcribed into written documents, they will be available on our website, along with video clips and photographs of the subjects.
Rendal Wall, interviewed in the old Gibson factory building, discusses his days working at the Gibson and Heritage guitar companies.