Randolph County
Archives of Oral History

Return to
Archives Page

Introduction

The idea for the Randolph County Archives of Oral History developed in conjunction with the sesquicentennial celebration of Pocahontas in 2006 and subsequent desire to construct a museum to celebrate the unique history and culture of Randolph County. Intended to be housed in the Randolph County Heritage Museum, the Randolph County Archives of Oral History formed during the early phases of the museum’s development and has grown exponentially. Currently, the collection houses 119 items. As many were granted to the Randolph County Archives of Oral History during the early formation of the museum, no standard practice of acquisition and processing had yet been developed leaving a few files incomplete. Nonetheless, the bulk of the collection does consist of a recording and transcription to provide the researcher with both a hard copy and a linguistic sampling of the region’s heritage. Included in these files are stories of farming practices, the shell button industry, saw milling, gardening, canning, and quilting to name but a few.

Begun under the auspice of Dr. Gary Buxton, an instructor at Black River Technical College, the collection contains a number of interviews conducted by his English students as well as those from a local community heritage course. The collection as also benefited from a research conducted by sociology students. Steve Shultz, the director of the Law Enforcement Training Academy at Black River Technical College and adjunct sociology instructor, requires his students to conduct recorded studies of the community. Considering that these will shed valuable light on the attitudes of our citizens for future scholars, these interviews were gladly included in the collection. Obviously, sociology interviews are somewhat different from the tradition oral history interviews conducted by Dr. Buxton’s students and a few volunteers at the museum; therefore, a number system has been devised that will delineate between oral history interviews and sociology interviews for the researcher. Files labeled OH mark oral history interviews. File labeled OHS indicate that they are housed in the oral history collection, but are sociology interviews and/or papers written about these items.

Policies and Procedures

The Randolph County Archives of Oral History is open during normal museum hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Researchers specifically coming to view the Randolph County Archives of Oral History are encouraged to make prior contact. The staff can pull specific items or make other arrangement that will maximize your research time.

Copies of either the transcripts or the tape recordings can be sent through the mail at your request for $1.00 for a transcript and $5.00 for a tape cassette to cover the cost of copying materials and shipping. Those researching in the museum will be charged $1.00 for a transcript and $2.50 for a tape cassette to cover the cost of the materials. Requests can be made at (870) 892-4056 or email at heritagemuseum@centurytel.net.

File Tape Numbers

(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free HERE)

This link contains a master list of the file numbers, names of the interviewees, interviewers, and topics.
 

Subject Finding Aid

(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free HERE)

This link leads to the primary finding aid for the collection. Topics are listed in general categories with reference to the file numbers, not the names of the interviewees.

Name Finding Aid

Under Construction:  To aid genealogists, a name aid will be developed within the year.

Tips for Improving Your Oral History Interview

Under Construction: To aid those seeking to do their own oral history interviews, Clements hopes to have this added to the website by the end of the year.

The following comments are suggestions by Derek Allen Clements. After several years of conducting field interviews, these tips can help the novice interviewer to avoid some common errors that make some interviews less than desirable. This link is in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, Clements speaks to groups on this topic. You may contact him at historybrtc@hotmail.com. Please place “Oral History Request” in the subject line or your email.

Deed of Gift Form

(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free HERE)

If you wish to submit a recording to our collection, please complete the deed of gift form prior to submission. It is imperative that you have both your signature and the signature of the interviewee.