Oral history program preserves, promotes recorded memories

If 30-second sound bites are what you want, Troy Reeves is not your man. In his world, 30 minutes barely scratches the surface. As head of the Oral History Program, Reeves is the campus’s go-to guy for the kind of in-depth conversations contained in more than 3,500 hours of audio interviews that preserve a substantial slice of the university’s past.

Professors, chancellors, deans, administrators, staff, students and political leaders are among the 1,034 people who have shared their memories with the program’s interviewers since its inception in 1971.

“A lot of that is with longtime faculty, either at the time they retired or [were] soon-to-be retired, telling a campus life history through their eyes — what they remember of coming here, their teaching, their research, their mentors and who they mentored, what memories they have of prominent campus events,” Reeves says.

But maintaining the program’s 1,034 (and counting) interviews in the UW Archives is just part of what Reeves does. While the interviews are focused on documenting UW–Madison events and personalities, he also makes himself available as a resource to anyone in the state who is interested in learning how to conduct oral histories.

“Oral history is more than finding an ‘old timer’ and thrusting a microphone in front of him or her and asking them about their life. You should know a little about the person’s life or the topic before you set forth recording,” Reeves advises. “People who have either reflected or are willing to do some serious reflection on either their own life or a specific topic within their life I think make the best candidates to be interviewed.”

Much of the interest in oral history comes from groups, such as a local historical society that seeks to document local personalities and events for posterity. It also stems from people wanting to record their family history from the point of view of a parent or grandparent, which Reeves says can be particularly meaningful.

“I think being able to tell your story to someone who hopefully is very interested in hearing it has benefits to both parties, particularly if the person doing the interview is not of the same generation as the narrator. I always feel that cross-generational stuff benefits both generations,” he says.

As part of the program’s outreach, Reeves has organized Wisconsin Oral History Day in Eau Claire April 26–27. It will feature teachers, students and oral historians from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas, as well as a workshop and case study on projects at the campus and community level. Oral History Day is a collaboration with UW–Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley Museum.

Complete program information and registration

Telephone number: 890-1899.