The Blaine County Museum's oral history project has begun

The oral history project initiated by Blaine County Museum Director Samantha (Sam) French has officially begun. In a kickoff presentation to the Chinook Lions Club about a month ago Sam said, "It's been my goal to do an oral history collection since I arrived at the Museum. My hope is the folks who volunteer to do interviews will have contacts throughout the county." After a brief campaign to recruit volunteers to do the interviews eight locals signed up representing several regions of the county and focused on a variety of local historical topics. Some potential interviewers will interview several locals.

Late last week French hosted two training sessions to equip interviewers to begin questioning folks they selected to be recorded as a part of the oral history project. French said earlier, "Most of the people who will be interviewed were born in the 1930s or 40s." She added most of the topics covered will be from a period of roughly from the 1940s to 50s.

The eight volunteer interviewers met to learn interviewing etiquette, how to select and pose interview questions and ways to structure an interview session to gain the most relevant knowledge from an interviewee in a limited amount of time. Interviewers were taught how to develop an outline that would help them move smoothly through topics they chose for the interviews. Most interviews, per Sam French, would likely last between one to two hours. At a later time Interviewers will also be instructed how to use the recording devices provided through the museum.

First things first

Interviewers (also called narrators) will make an initial contact with the person(s) they selected to be interviewed. This exchange allows the narrator to collect some biographical information about the person to be interviewed. It's also an opportunity for the narrator to get an idea of what topics the interviewee knows about and is willing to talk about. From this the narrator will create a series of questions they will use to elicit the information to be recorded. Once an outline for the interview is completed a second session is used to complete the recorded interview.

The final interview will likely be less than two hours

French hopes most interviews can be completed by the end of May. She explained, "I believe this time of year is ideal-before the weather improves to the point folks will want to be out and about pursuing other interests and moving around." Once the interviews are completed French said that museum staffers will edit the tapes for clarity to remove unintended distractions. Eventually the digitized recordings will become a part of the Montana History Portal, making them available online to anyone who wishes to access them.

Narrators will conduct the interviews at a time and location convenient to the persons being interviewed. French said it's important for people to be in their own comfort zone when being interviewed, adding, "The narrators will go to the folks who are being interviewed." There are some arrangements in place to provide private and quiet locations for conducting the interviews in case the person to be interviewed doesn't have suitable space available to them.

Interviewees will be required to sign an oral history release. The release gives the museum ownership of the recording and permits the recording to be archived and shared through the Montana History Portal. French said she also hopes the digitized versions will also be available through the local Blaine County Museum for checkout.

If you would like more information about the oral history project, contact the Blaine County Museum at 357-2590 or stop by the museum, Monday through Friday, 10am-6pm.