STORYKEEPING

We won! We won!

Julia and I took first place honors at the Chamber of Commerce Henry County Academy for Community Leadership Graduation!

Our project, Henry County Storykeepers- Remembering Then, Empowering Now, will become reality after being chosen for outstanding content and presentation.

Based on our personal and professional experiences, the ideas and effort came easily as we developed the program. Here's an edited- for- space version:

PURPOSE:
Provide a resource for telling and preserving individual and community stories. As the slogan suggests, this process has social, historical and personal significance while linking the past to the present and providing a positive “bridge” to tomorrow. Other important goals include: preserving not only history, but the authentic voice and vocabulary of individuals, and to establish a ‘voice’ for those groups poorly represented in our culture.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: We (Julia and Ruth) are native to Henry County and our families have deep roots and rich history here. We each chose to return here after college and have resettled here with our families. Sensing a negative cultural shift, and knowing that economic decline has had a damaging effect on our hometown, our goal is to implement a project that will provide practical resources for sharing both personal and community history.

LEVEL A (three Months):
Create an individual story-collecting kit for the preservation of one’s own history or to collect stories about the life of a company, organization, place or family. The kit would consist of a list of 10 basic questions to inspire the collection of thoughts, feelings and facts about the subject matter. Multiple kits could be developed which are tailored to a particular group’s needs – i.e. ‘The Life of a Local Organization’ kit. A cassette tape and journal are made available for collecting information. The kits will be distributed at a workshop at the local library as well as made available through speaking engagements to local organizations. . The search for future funding through grant application and possible local fundraising also begins at this level.

LEVEL B (six months):
Establish a free website and permanent story-collecting “station” at the Henry County Public Library ‘Indiana Room.’ An on-line computer will be available to record one’s history by typing it into a word-processing program or as a submission form on a website. That site would also remove any geographic barriers to story-collecting.

LEVEL C (nine months):
Purchase audio and video equipment to establish a portable, user-friendly “studio” for story-collecting. An accompanying kit would include suggestions and instructions for setting up a storytelling event at a family gathering, military reunion, local club, church, athletic team reunion, company or group meeting. This could be housed at the library and made available through the regular check-out system there with guidelines for use and care of the equipment. Training sessions for the use of this would be made available through advanced workshops.
LEVEL D (one year):
Plan and implement a Storytelling Fair as a community event that will include:
· Storytelling stations with computer access, photography, and an interview set for audio and video recording. Live demonstrations of the portable studio.
· Two or three sessions, with a small fee, instructing individuals how to write their autobiographies. Information collected on this day would become part of the library archive and could potentially become an annual Henry County event.
· Sessions with local youth and elder partners sharing the storytelling process.
· Paid booth space (as fundraising for the project) for local groups to set up for story-collecting for their members and constituents.

Future Possibilities:
· Establishing a scout badge for local troops for storytelling.
· Implementing an adult education class for storytelling projects and techniques.
· Funding a position for implementing the programs.
· Local school curriculum development for storytelling
· Practical use: documenting a site – i.e. antiques/ places – for insurance purposes
· Use of the project as a group fundraiser
· Working with New Castle High School’s media program to include local youth in the project. The school library system could also include a link to the website for classroom projects.

Possible Community Collaboration:
· A committee comprised of representatives from local historical societies, photographers, librarians, funeral directors, teachers, and all interested parties to help organize and create accountability for Henry County Story Keepers events and finances.
· Local preservation and historic interest groups could be approached to support the efforts of this project as a subcommittee or project.

COMMUNITY SIGNIFICANCE:
Everyone has a story. Storytelling nurtures relationships, builds trust, and promotes unity. This establishes the environment necessary for healthy communication during good times and bad.