Speaking to the Future:
Voices from the Past
The Douglas County History Research Center is participating in a grant project funded by the Collaborative Digitization Program. The Project aims to digitize oral histories throughout the Rocky Mountain Region and make them accessible via their website at http://www.bcr.org/cdp/.
Speaking to the Future: Voices of the Past will include selections from our Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP), the Sedalia Fire House Museum oral histories, and other interviews taken from the general collection of oral histories.
We have watched our local veterans' participation grow over the last two years as the national program has received more publicity. They are truly surprised to be asked to share their experiences with future generations of researchers. They encourage other veterans to participate. This helps the VHP grow.
Visiting friend-to-friend, or neighbor-to-neighbor has been the method of gathering the history of the Sedalia area of Douglas County. Family histories dating to Colorado Territory time, stories of the 1965 flood, and life in a very small town fill the audiotapes gathered by dedicated volunteers. Associated material accompanies many tapes, further illustrating the recorded conversation. Their addition to the collective memory of Douglas County is invaluable.
Grant Application for the Speaking to the Future project from the DCHRC to the CDP (.pdf)