Daily News

Wistariahurst Hosts Oral History Workshop with Sam Redman

HOLYOKE — As part of Wistariahurst’s spring workshop series, “Getting to the Stories,” Sam Redman, a professor in the UMass Oral History Lab, will introduce participants to the basics of oral-history interviewing on Monday, March 28, at 6 p.m. in the Wistariahurst Carriage House.

This workshop will explore several key questions: what is oral history? How does one conduct an oral-history interview? How is an oral-history project managed? What can one do with completed oral-history interviews? Those with a project in mind or just curious to learn more will find a starting point in this workshop. No prior experience in oral history is required, and the public is welcome. The fee is $7, or $5 for Wistariahurst members. Space is limited, so pre-registration at www.wistariahurst.org is recommended.

“This workshop is for all those who have heard someone tell a story about their past and thought, ‘someone should record that,’” said Holyoke City Historian Penni Martorell. “This workshop will give anyone the tools needed to make sure all the great stories in our families and communities are not lost.”

Redman is an assistant professor in the Department of History at UMass Amherst. He recently founded the UMass Oral History Lab, an initiative to bring together students, scholars, and communities to improve oral history projects of all kinds. Before coming to UMass, he served as lead interviewer for the Rosie the Riveter/World War II American Home Front Oral History Project, a partnership between the University of California and the National Park Service. He authored grants to launch new oral-history projects including the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Oral History Project and the Japanese American Confinement Sites Oral History Project. His reviews and essays on oral history have appeared in Oral History Review, Western History Quarterly, and the New York Times.