Peabody Public Library eager to save Whitley County's dying memories through oral history project
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
With each passing day, Whitley County loses a little more history. As the people who’ve lived there their entire lives, or a great many years anyway, pass away, they take with them memories of a different time in our community.
Aware of what has been lost and in hopes of preserving what we still have the potential to save, the Peabody Public Library is embarking on a major initiative to preserve the oral histories of Whitley County residents.
“This will be similar to the veteran’s oral history project,” said Deb Lowrance of the Peabody Public Library. Lowrance and other volunteers will begin one-on-one, informal interviews with anyone who has a story to share. Those stories can be shared in audio or video format and will eventually be turned into DVDs.
“The stories will all become reference material at the library,” Lowrance said.
After attending a conference elsewhere, the need to preserve local lore became an interest to Lowrance.
“It just clicked and I though, ‘We need to do that,” she said. For the past year, Lowrance and others have been formulating plans and they’re now ready to begin preserving the stories.
The main hope for the project, according to Lowrance, is to collect the stories of those who have lived in the community for a long time as well as stories that are maybe 30 or more years-old. They are particularly interested in collecting stories about recreational activities in the community, old hang-outs, schools, after school activities and entertainment in Whitley County.
Did you “brownie” around town? Did you rent cottages with friends and stay at the local summer resorts at Loon Lake or Tri Lakes? Did you attend high school in one of the original high schools like Jefferson Center, Thorncreek, Coesse, etc.? Where did you shop in South Whitley? What was a Saturday night like in Churubusco?
“We want to find out what life was like,” Lowrance said.
“I just wish we’d done this before Willie Egner or Barbara Brindle had died,” Lowrance said. “They took a lot of stories with them.”
Still, there are many stories yet to be preserved. “Once the older members of our community are gone, a lot of the history of Whitley County is gone.”
Lowrance has talked with the Whitley County Historical Museum staff, the Whitley County Historical Society and with members of the Whitley County Genealogical Society – all of whom have expressed interest in helping with the interviewing and recording process.
Additionally, Dr. Laura Huffman, superintendent of Whitley County Consolidated Schools has said local high school students in history classes may be able to volunteer for the project in the fall.
If you are interested in volunteering to help perform interviews, contact Deb Lowrance at 244-5541 or contact her at debbie@peabody.whitleynet.org and put “oral history” in the subject line.
In mid-June, Lowrance will conduct an informal training session to help volunteers prepare for the project which is officially slated to begin later in the month of June.
Lowrance and her son, Nick Henney, will begin recording oral histories during the Old Settlers Day activities at the Whitley County Historical Museum on Thursday, June 26, when the community comes in to register as “old settlers.”
At that time, Lowrance will be happy to record individuals’ stories or would be pleased to have many people sit around a table and reminisce together.
For more information about sharing your own oral history of Whitley County, contact Deb Lowrance at 244-5541.