Looking Back: Storytelling brings history alive

MEEKER — During these three years of researching Looking Back columns, I find myself continually amazed by the intergenerational appeal found in the blending of both new and old stories about life in the White River Valley. The senior segment of the community seems to feel that their own personal stories of “times gone by” has lost its appeal to the younger generation. Noticing that unless the stories can be condensed into shorter sound-bite versions to meet the media-savy specifications required these days, elderly residents bemoan the sorry state of the art of listening.
While the Rio Blanco Historical Society’s volumes of local history remain popular, and the “Days Gone By” seasonal historical newspaper accounts appeal to many, there isn’t any other venue for local people to recount their stories.
New historical remembrances for a fourth volume of oral histories are being gathered, but it would be great if someone locally started a project much like the National Public Radio’s StoryCorps. Since its inception on Oct. 23, 2003, listening booths with local facilitators have been gathering lots of stories from everyday folks.
Various combinations of pairs of people (grandmother-grandson, father-daughter, neighbors as well as co-workers) enter the booths for a recorded 40-minute session of one on one interviews. What started out as one small booth in Grand Central Station ended up as a two booth permanent recording studio in New York City, and three mobile recording studios that roam all over the country collecting stories. The project is built on the premise that “listening to each other is an act of love.” Repeat listening booth customers abound, and each session produces two broadcast quality CDS — one to go home with the storyteller and the other to become part of the archive at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
“What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life” or “How do you want to be remembered” are only a few of the story starting questions asked by each interviewer. The fact that the facilitator only ensures the success of a recording session, and the interviewer is chosen by each interviewee, seems to keep the project moving forward. A small-scale effort locally would be be a great boon to the community, and fill a glaring gap of untold stories.
StoryCorp is an wonderful effort to preserve a tightly knit bond between community members and recognizes what is truly important in the midst of our increasing busy lives.
If the future of our rural communities is worth ensuring, making new connections to strengthen community bonds is essential. We could all stand to become better listeners, to offer a unified response to that inane questions we hear increasingly, “Do you hear me now?”