Richard Overton meets President Obama

On Veterans Day 2013, some good news for Richard Overton.  He was able to meet President Obama!

My interview with Richard Overton has recently been digitized at the Library of Congress, and you can see that interview here. 

Pictures of Austin in the 1950s-1960s

One of the most fun parts of talking to World War II veterans in Austin is their memory of what Austin was like before it got so big.  Well, I've got some great pictures to share with you today.

Click this link to see a huge compilation of pictures from the 1950s and 1960s. Want to see Burnet and Koenig when new development was happening?  Curious as to what it looks like when Congress floods?  It's a treasure trove.

7-11 at Koenig and Lamar

My mother's favorite!

Sears at the Hancock Center

Listening with Purpose

I have an interview tomorrow that I totally haven't prepared for on any meaningful level.

I got a call a few days ago from one of my new favorite people, who happens to live not too far away from me.  His daughter had contacted the City of Austin to get someone to interview her father after he attended the Honor Flight, a really neat program that sends World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorials and be treated with the respect they have earned.

While originally hesitant, his daughter eventually convinced him to talk to me and he ended up being a delightful interview, peppered with humorous stories and poignant moments of grief when remembering the loss of his friends and the horrors of war from a 20-year-old in an octagenarian's body.  He phoned me a few days ago to give me the name of another Honor Flight veteran who might be interested in sharing his story with me, and now we have an interview set up in twelve hours.

So I haven't prepared a lick, besides talking to him on the phone and charging the camera battery.  I know going in that I'll learn something new, and that this guy has more energy than I have in my twenties - he still works five days a week in his nineties!.  But what I really need to do to prepare for this interview is to get my listening ears on.

What does that mean?  Isn't the purpose of an interview to ask the questions you want to know the answers to?  Not exactly, at least for this project.  While there is an intent to follow the chronological events that led the veteran into and out of the service, the real purpose (for me, at least) is to show respect for the veteran's memories and to listen with all of my ears instead of trying to lead the interview with my own intentions.

What they don't tell you about this project is that it's really hard to turn off your internal monologue:  to set your own desires aside and to truly move at the pace of another human that is often very different in age from yourself.  During this time, the most important thing you, the interviewer, can do, is to perceive what the veteran needs or wants to express and to help them feel comfortable making that expression with dignity.  This means not interrupting, but rather enabling the best conversation possible.

Listen with purpose, and you'll always get a good interview out of the deal.

This American Life: How I Got Into College

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/504/how-i-got-into-college?act=2

The section of last week's This American Life above talks about stories, how we feel about telling stories and what happens when we find out that the stories we tell about ourselves aren't exactly true.

"These stories we tell about ourselves, they're almost like our infrastructure.... so maybe the point is that... you should be conscious of how you tell your story."

The Veterans History Project is so fascinating because oral history isn't about documenting the facts - it's about documenting emotions and how people perceive their lives and narrate their stories.  Would highly recommend listening to the above to understand more about the narrative construction process and what happens when that narrative that guides how we perceive our past is broken.

The ICRC and other musings about the Red Cross' brand history

Yesterday, the Red Cross had an event hosted with my company to present a POW-MIA table and recognize the ongoing service of veterans and their families as well as those permenantly missing in action.  He passed me a pin which I found quite interesting:

I was curious as to their background and came across this post in a Google Image search.  Who knew?

Here are some other interesting facts about the Red Cross as a brand:

• The Red Cross is an international organization that is not affiliated with any religion nor country in partucular (though the cross is an homage to Switzerland, which is infamously neutral).  However, if you check out the blog post linked above you'll find out different symbols are used in different areas of the world due to their perceived religious nature.
• The Red Cross once charged for donuts and no one will ever forget.  (This explains so much... I need to start taking baked goods on my outings.)
• I also started reading Salt, Sugar Fat last week and learned during the same time as the Donur Scandal, Coca-Cola promised that all military personnel would be able to get Coke for a nickel, regardless of where it was.  This accounts for a good brand recognition in many regions as well as a lifelong brand dedication that is worth well more than shipping costs must have been.
• And finally, and probably most obviously, in addition to disaster relief services the Red Cross also provides veterans services (such as the Service to Armed Forces project, which is the branch I volunteer with).  So while many people may associate the Red Cross with giving blood or CPR courses, there are other ways to be involved as well.

Remembering Dr. William Livingston

A screenshot from our interview late last month

I found out earlier (via a comment on this blog, actually) that Dr. Livingston passed away early today.  I interviewed him on July 27 and had the fortune of spending almost three hours with him speaking about his experiences in the Battle of the Bulge and as an aide-de-camp in Germany.

Edit:  The most memorable part of his interview was at the end.  Mike asks me to request something special from the veterans, considering most of them are older:  he requests life lessons and words of wisdom be shared as part of this documentation.  I asked this of Dr. Livingston and, to paraphrase, he said that he prefers his experiences speak for themselves as life lessons.  That's the first time anyone has declined, and I have to admit I agree with him - he was a great storyteller and wrapped up all his experiences into neat packets.

Dr. Livingston was a wonderful orator, a delight to interview and one of the kindest souls I have had the pleasure of talking to for this project.  I am sorry to see him go, but am glad that his memory is preserved with the Veterans History Project.  I'd like to thank the Red Cross for their quick turnaround of his interview, and to thank him for letting me have the pleasure of interviewing him.  Rest in peace.

Dr. John Francis on Listening

A real TEXas treat

Interviewing the oldest veteran alive, Richard Overton, was a real hoot.  He's quite the character and a very kind soul, and I'm surprised that he's doing as well as he is at 107 (I hope I'm doing that well at 80!).  His interview has been sent to the Library, and now we're off to the next one.  I hope this one gets digitized, but we will see.  Mike says there's a good chance and it would be neat to have one of my interviews digitized eventually.

I'm learning that I have a lot more interest in pursuing interviews when I cherry-pick who I'm interviewing next based on my own personal interests.  It's been just over ten years since I met my husband at college orientation at the University of Texas at Austin.  In my alma mater's magazine, the Alcalde, I was reminded of the early phone registration system, TEX, we had to use that first semester before online registration was available.  (My father had to stand in line with cards at Gregory Gym, so I think we've improved a bit since then.)  The calm, reassuring voice of TEX was none other than William Livingston, who happens to be a World War II vet that lives a few miles away.  Needless to say, that's pretty darn exciting.

We're set up for next weekend and I'm really looking forward to it.  Plus, it's always great when I can find out most of the biographical information online when people have their own Wikipedia articles.  How famous do you have to get to have your own article, anyway?  At any rate, Dr. Livingston will be a very interesting interview.

One more blog post for those of you Texas Exes out there: The process of registering with TEX.

Making the best of it - a special interview

I've snagged an interview with the oldest veteran in the US for next week.  (Who knew he was in my city?) In addition for scheduling time away from work and hauling tail on my prepwork, this is making me nervous if only because I want it to be really, really good.  Now, here are some interesting contingencies going in that don't normally apply:

• We already know a lot of his story from many interviews he's done recently.
• As he is older, his time is more precious.
• As he is a celebrity of sorts, he has even more limited time.

So for the next few days, I'm going to figure out what to ask him and what needs to get into the archive above all else.  I have 30 minutes tops (which is the minimum to get the interview into the archive) to ask him questions, so I need to be focused and to keep him interested.  I also have to get my camera setup and sound issues fixed as quickly as possible once I get there.  Finally, I have to prepare all my paperwork in advance and work with an assistant to make sure it's correct before and after - it's simply not worth his time.

Here's what I'm taking away from this project, and I'm hopeful it's useful for you as well.

• Keep in mind that anyone's time is precious who is allowing you to share their story.
• Always be prepared - know as much going in as you can, and keep the paperwork short and sweet if possible.
• Treat every interview as your most special interview.

Wish me luck!

Spitfire 944

I'll be back soon with more posts, but in the meantime Mike was kind enough to share this video with our volunteer group.  In "Spitfire 944", a young man digitizes his great-uncle's films and then locates a veteran from the footage who he then interviews.  Wow!

http://www.sundance.org/festival/article/shorts-break-honor-memorial-day-with-two-stories-of-compassion-amid-war/

Equipment for Oral History Interviews

Procuring the right equipment for oral history interviews can be a tricky thing. Each project can require different equipment depending on how the institution wants to archive their files.  Even with the best equipment, your interview can go awry if you don't take steps to make sure the equipment can do its job! This post will cover equipment pros and cons as well as general rules for ensuring a quality recording.

Generally speaking, you'll have one of two formats: audio recordings, or video recordings.  

Audio recordings usually require a fairly high-end recording device - not a hand-held personal recorder like you  might use for dictation.  You'll usually need to find something with a quality microphone and one that gives you feedback that the device is recording.  Older models that I've worked with also have external storage cards, though newer models may have advanced in the last few years.  WARNING: Always make sure your storage cards are functioning correctly before the interview.  I've lost a great interview before due to faulty equipment! 

Video recordings are more forgiving in quality due to the fact that the equipment is rarely low-end. I use a Sony Handycam that the Red Cross checks out to interviewers, and it works wonderfully for all sorts of interviews.  I can record in HD, film in multiple aspect ratios, and I can take pictures as well.  I have a tripod that I connect the video camera to so that it remains stable during the interview and I can gently adjust the picture smoothly if the interviewee changes position or gestures off-camera.

Here are ground rules for recording to ensure the best quality interviews:

• Keep it quiet - listen for clicks, TV sounds, loud A/C units or anything else that might impede your recording. If you can't get rid of it, at least move as far away from it as possible. Silence your phone.  Pause when their telephone rings.
• Watch their body language.  Is your interviewee tired? Do they need to take a break for water or to use the restroom? If they are increasingly fatigued it's a good idea to feign tiredness yourself and pause the camera for a quick break.  Spend the time looking at their photographs or talking about your own family to keep the conversation about them on-camera.
• Make their interview the star. Bring a water bottle with a soft bottom.   Put a tissue in your pocket that you can cough into. Wear shoes with rubber soles.  Learn to nod instead of verbally affirming (sometimes a verbal affirmation is necessary, though.)  

End-of-year slump

There's been a slump in the past few months where a number of interviews didn't pan out.  I've been working hard at recruiting veterans and have two in line for the next six days - hopefully we get both of them on tape and into the archives.

In the meantime, I'm realizing how quickly the population from World War II is aging - it's really a challenge to find people these days who are cognizant and want to talk about their experiences.  If you're holding off on your interviews, get them on tape now!

Here are some places where I've been recruiting:

• Local nursing homes
• Local retirement centers
• Coffee shop bulletin boards
• Neighborhood mailing lists
• And of course, my awesome support team at the Red Cross (by far the best source)

Where do find your interviews, if you're an oral historian?