Tell Me a Story: Voices of Sierra Madre's past

Much of Sierra Madre's charm rests in the retention of its small-town character despite decades of surrounding growth and modernization. The history of such a town is perhaps best embodied in the stories and memories of the citizens that have witnessed both change and continuity over the years. In 1988, local resident and historian Jayne Kistner began the project of documenting and preserving these first-hand accounts. Her original vision was to capture stories from long-term residents through oral interviews, with the eventual goal of publishing these narratives in book form. She approached Toni Buckner, Director of Library Services, and received the support of the Sierra Madre Public Library and the Sierra Madre Oral History Project was born. Funds for the project - approximately $2400 - were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Martin, the Sierra Madre Civic Club, and the Friends of the Sierra Madre Public Library. The Jameson Foundation and the Public Library Foundation were also listed as potential funding sources.

Jayne solicited advice from the community and compiled a list of approximately 200 residents she believed should be interviewed and she developed applications for those interested in sharing their stories. Recruiting friends and neighbors as interviewers, Jayne organized volunteers so the the Sierra Madre Oral History Project began to grow and take shape. Originally, the interviewers were instructed to provide as little structure as possible when interviewing, so as to maintain a conversational, small-town character. Eventually, however, Jayne attended workshops offered by the Southwest Oral History Association and received professional advice. Guidelines were established to steer the interviews and maximize their usefulness while preserving the intimate nature of the project.

Between 1989 and 1996, sixteen interviewers recorded conversations with 110 Sierra Madre residents, some of whom gave more than one interview. The majority of these interviews took place in 1989 and 1991. Master tapes were duplicated by Mission Communications Inc. and stored in a safe deposit box in a local bank. Two professional photographers, Joe A. Hinojos and William Schmidt, donated many pictures from their collections in addition to being interviewed.

The passing of Jayne Kistner in 1997 left the project in an unfinished and unorganized state. While many interviews had been recorded and transcribed, only one interview had been brought to full completion as a bound transcript accompanied by images, the form that Jayne had originally envisioned.

The Project Continues

In 1999, under the LSTA Archival Access, Preservation, and Co-ownership grant, the collection was assigned accession numbers, inventoried, organized, and stored in archival enclosures. Focus groups for the grant indicated that public interest in the Oral History Project was high. Further funding opportunities, such as SOHA mini-grants, were investigated, but applications have not yet been submitted. In the summer of 2002, an archives intern reviewed the state of the oral history collection. All project data stored on 5 inch floppy discs was migrated to the Archives current database to ensure that no information will be lost in an obsolete storage medium. Additionally, an interview was indexed and catalogued, and recommendations were made as to what steps should be taken in order to optimize public access to the interviews. Under the current IMLS Technology Enhancement Grant, transcription and recording equipment has been purchased, and all interviews are being professionally transcribed.

No additional interviews are being conducted at this time. Presently, the Sierra Madre Oral History Project is focusing on bringing the current collection to a completed state, so that the stories gathered may fulfill their original purpose of providing an accessible, lasting documentation of the personal side of Sierra Madre history. The Sierra Madre Historical Archives is currently attempting to get incomplete release forms signed by narrators and interviewers or their descendants and to catalog and index all transcripts and tapes. Specialized oral history training through workshops is being sought, as is funding to implement access and preservation work. With the implementation of a new library automation system, oral history materials will be rendered available on this website, including interview transcripts and sound files containing audio segments of the interviews.

Although much work is left to be done on the Oral History Project, the Archives staff welcomes visitors to the collection. Access cannot be granted to interviews that lack signed release forms, but plenty of oral history is already available to the public. Inquisitive minds are welcome to explore the voices of Sierra Madre's enduring past. Please contact the Sierra Madre Historical Archives at 626.355.7186 to set up an appointment or to inquire about volunteering opportunities.

Oral History on the Web

Please visit often as the Sierra Madre Oral History Project progresses.