Storytelling Gathering
On May 14 from 5 to 7 p.m. at City Hall, the Anoka County Historical Society (ACHS) will host a story-gathering workshop, equipping you with the tools to record a community conversation in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Circle Pines.
Creating an oral history means collecting and preserving firsthand accounts from individuals about their experiences and perspectives on events, places, or cultural practices. To make this project successful, we need to gather people who have lived in Circle Pines over the last 25 years. This focus will help us build upon the information collected for the 50th anniversary, which, as it turns out, took place in 2000. Remember, just because you lived through history doesn’t mean it isn’t worth saving!
The first step is to brainstorm friends, family, community leaders, educators, or civic workers who have made a significant impact in the city, contributed to its growth or changes, or have an interesting story to share.
Next, we’ll consider each person's specific role in the community and develop questions that will draw out the information we want to preserve. Examples of this could include:
• "Can you describe your memories of [specific event]?"
• "What was life like during [specific time period]?"
• "How did your community respond to [specific situation]?"
Finally, we will practice interviewing each other. This will focus on introductions, asking open-ended questions with follow-up inquiries (essentially, being curious about what the person just said), and resisting the urge to insert our personal experiences into the recording. It’s more complicated than you might think to sit and listen with an open mind!
Before you leave the workshop, you’ll receive a packet of tools to help guide conversations aimed at preserving the recent history of Circle Pines. This will include:
• A copy of the ACHS “Story Gathering Form” with question prompts
• Links to online resources for creating oral histories
• Examples of oral history transcripts
Home can mean many things to many people. Describing that concept often involves sharing stories of experiences that have shaped the community we all share. With contributions from everyone, the future narrative that people will reference should be more complete and honest.