Last night I had the pleasure of attended a storytelling program. It was Open Mike Storytelling, which is held every 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Ashland Coffee and Tea, in Ashland Virginia.
What does that have to do with Murfreesboro history? One of the storytellers was Booker Daniel from Murfreesboro, who told several interesting stories related to Murfreesboro NC. My favorite was an amusing "funeral related" story that seemed to capture the true "Murfreesboro experience".
It was a fun evening and reminded me just how important the oral history tradition is to capturing the flavor of a small town. In recent years oral history has emerged as a powerful means of recording and preserving the unique memories and life experiences of people whose stories might otherwise have been lost. It enables us to eavesdrop on events, feelings, attitudes and ways of life which have been hidden from history, and thus create a more vivid and accurate picture of our past.
Oral history can enliven static displays in museums and galleries and more directly engage visitors in their own past. Isn't it time to try to revive the idea of starting an oral history project in Murfreesboro?
The generation that originally founded the Murfreesboro Historical Association is quickly disappearing. Shouldn't their memories and thoughts of those early years and projects be captured on tape .... before it's too late ?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Thanks for creating the blog. Yes, Booker is a great storyteller -- way to go! It is very important to capture personal histories before time runs out. Maybe there is money available through NC Humanities or NC Arts to hire someone to record such histories.
Post a Comment