Class members reflect on the project:
I was mesmerized by the seniors' captivating stories. I listened to the rhythm and music of their voices, watched their graceful gestures, and felt the deep emotions that they so freely shared with us. The time I spent talking to them flew by. I could have sat for hours, just listening. -Lisa Zevorich
"Gloria Powell reminded me that we were supposed to be talking about food. 'Sorry,' I said. 'Your stories are just too interesting.' This was how it went with all of the participants. Many said they didn't have much to say. All had more to say than we could possibly fit into one exhibition. So I say: Tell your children your stories. Ask your family and friends about their history. You'll be amazed by what you'll hear."
-Katherine Steiner
“Talking with the seniors and
hearing their stories made me
think about my own life. We
heard about sending husbands,
fathers, and brothers off to war,
waiting for them to return, and
dealing with how they had
changed. A survivor of the
Bosnian War told us about living
in a war zone and how her family
suffered; it was heartbreaking.
I’m glad they were willing to
share these stories.”
- Allyson Atwood
“The directions for the digital
audio repeater said that no one
would leave frustrated in the
process— that’s how easy it was.
Whoever wrote the directions must
have been a wiz or never tried it.
Dr. Filene never told us we had to
be quasi-electricians to be in the
Museum Studies program!”
-Sarah Cunningham
“An amusing experience transpired
while moving our exhibit walls from
campus to the Greensboro Historical
Museum. In the hallway Dr. Filene
and I were maneuvering a panel,
discussing where we should set it for
a brief minute. On one side Dr.
Filene was about to point to a
location, and to hear him better I
popped my head around the other side
of the panel, and as if we were in an
episode of the Three Stooges, his
finger and my nose met... squarely
together. No blood was shed and we
laughed it off.”
-Kyle M. Stetz
“My great-grandmother always
says how much ‘things’ have
changed in the last fifty years.
That is why I chose to explore this
topic, to better understand the
technological changes she
mentions and see how everyday
life was and is affected by it. I
believe it is a topic that deserves
more attention from the
perspective of those who
experienced it firsthand.”
- Elizabeth Imhoff
“Putting together this project was not
easy, but there was still laughter in the
process. I vividly recall one afternoon
when my interview partner and I could
not get the recording machine to work.
Our interviewee, May Williamson, sat
patiently while we scurried about the
Senior Center frantically trying to
understand what was going on. Finally,
after a long while of watching us, May
stated matter-of-factly how funny it
was that we were asking her about
technology when we couldn’t even get
our own technology to work!”
- Leda Wilkins
“It has been about voices for me, the
voices of our collective memories that
make up the fabric of this community.
This project allowed this group of people
the opportunity to record their memories,
their stories. The exhibit is a venue for us
to become a part of those individual
stories. It is more than conducting oral
histories and presenting them; it is a
community-building experience. As
participants in this experience, we not
only take with us the stories presented
here, but we add our own stories to the
mix.”
- Gwen McKinney