Montgomery County Historical Society is launching a COVID-19 oral history project to preserve local memories of the pandemic.
The organization wants to chronicle stories about how the pandemic disrupted the lives of first responders, medical workers, teachers, parents and ordinary citizens. Interviews are expected to begin next year.
“Just getting the Montgomery County story is really what it’s about,” said Jill Coates-Matthews, MCHS executive director.
MCHS hopes to collect at least 100 stories over the next year. Two part-time staff members will be temporarily hired to assist with the interviews.
The project is being funded by a $10,000 pandemic-relief grant from Indiana Humanities. It hasn’t been decided where the interviews will be published, Coates-Matthews said.
MCHS will partner with the Crawfordsville District Public Library to ensure proper storage of the material, she added.
This isn’t the organization’s first oral history effort. In the 1990s and 2000s, the organization recorded interviews with local military veterans, which are posted on the library’s website.
