There are many points of views in the history of the area. Every individual’s past gives interesting insight into that history. Willamette Heritage Center is looking to help families not only expand their horizons beyond old photo albums, but also to find out what the worth of those heirlooms are. They’ll be hosting two do-it-yourself workshops: Getting Started with Oral History and Finding Value in Your Family’s Hidden Gems.
“Part of our goal is to get people connected with their heritage,” says Kylie Pine, the collections manager at Willamette Heritage Center. The center wants locals to dig into family and local histories. “We want people to have a realistic view of history. We want people to talk to neighbors, friends and grandparents. Not the famous movers and shakers, just people they know and those stories that may be important to them.”
Pine says that considering the Willamette Valley is at the end of the Oregon Trail there are links to personal history and some bigger themes.
“It is a gateway to understanding your region’s history and why things are the way they are here. It’s a different lens. It can form a connection between things that have happened in history,” says Pine.
Preserving history doesn’t have to be expensive and one way of doing that is simply sitting down with a tape recorder and capturing the oral aspect of it.
“I am a fan of oral history. I was able to talk to my grandfather and record some of his stories. He passed away last spring and it was special to me to be able to hear those stories. I was able to have recordings and share them. People’s voices are unique and being able to hear some of those memories is special,” she says.
The other workshop is all about artifacts and family heirlooms. It’ll be hands-on and mixes in a little Antiques Roadshow.
“It’s about low-cost ways to preserve family treasures. This is another link to history on a personal level,” Pine says. “Photographs tell a thousand words, and there are things that you can do to preserve them. Preservation is important so that the memories can be passed down to another generation.”
The classes are limited to twenty people and so far the classes have been popular, but the more people who sign up, the easier it is to expand in the future. Pine says that studies show that when people have a link to their past, they become engaged in history.
“That is what we are trying to do. We don’t want to be a museum of things and famous people. We want people to see their own history here,” says Pine.
Getting Started with Oral History
Saturday, September 17 from 10:00 am to noon
$10 for members, $13 for non-members per workshop
Finding Value in Your Family’s Hidden Gems
Saturday, November 12 from 10:00 am to Noon
$10 for members, $13 for non-members per workshop
Both are held at Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill, 1313 Mill St. SE
