Report
No. 1 - Evaluate Grant Request from CC Historial Society
Report No. 2 - Doing Oral Histories
At the July 2002 meeting of the Council of the Town of Somerset the Chevy Chase Historical Society (CCHS) requested a grant of $25,000 to move its archives to the Chevy Chase library. In response, the Mayor appointed a committee of five town historians to examine the request and to report back to the Council with recommendations at the September 2002 Meeting.
The Committee is unanimous in its recommendation against granting the CCHS request. The Committee concluded that while the CCHS is to be congratulated for its excellent work, and its cause is a good one, the greater and more immediate need is for the Town of Somerset to identify, preserve, and make accessible documents and other material relating to the history of its own Town. The interests of Somerset will be better served by the Town allocating funding to discover, record, and preserve its own history in a way that gives control and easy access to our community. Indeed, the Committee noted that this cause is long overdue. Its urgency is reinforced by the upcoming 100th birthday of the incorporation of the Town, which should be appropriately celebrated and should include an updated historical interpretation[i].
The Committee concluded that the Town should re-establish an official History Committee to begin work to identify space and organize a system for identifying, collecting and preserving historical materials, and it set out recommendations for achieving this.
Donna Harman, a long-time resident of the Town has been involved in researching and presenting its history for many years. She wrote histories, based on extensive interviews with older town residents and former residents, of many of the town’s houses for the 75th birthday celebration. These histories form the basis for many of the descriptions on the “virtual historical tour” that is currently on our Town website.
Helen Jaszi lived in the Town of Somerset for forty years, and her son Peter and family still live here. She was Chairman of the Somerset Elementary School Library Committee, which established the school’s first library in 1949. She served on the Somerset Town Council and as an officer of the Woman’s Club of Somerset. She was active in researching and writing the history of the Town of Somerset and was the author of the Town of Somerset Diamond Jubilee history published in 1981. She is also the author of the Town history that can currently be found on the Town web site.
Zola Schneider has lived in Somerset for 40 years, in a house that is now in the Town’s Historic District. Her son Norman and his family also are residents of Somerset. Zola was an advocate and gave testimony for Historic Preservation designation of the Town’s historic district; was co-founder of the Somerset committee to limit development of the Bergdoll tract; has been active in the Somerset Elementary School Building and Grounds Committee, which she chaired for ten years and is a long time member of the PTA; and is a former member of the Board of Election Supervisors.
Lesley Simmons (Chair) has lived in Somerset since 1994. She has a Masters degree in Heritage Management (specializing in historic preservation) and a Masters degree in Information and Library Science. She is an active member of the Montgomery County Historical Society, and has been a judge on the County History Day competition. She works with Gayley Knight to present the “virtual tour” of our historic district on the town website.
Joan McWilliams Weiss is also a long time resident of the Town of Somerset. Working with Dorothy O’Brien, Helen Jaszi, and Donna (Williamson) Harmon – along with Daniel and Peter Schneider (a new generation of history enthusiasts) – townspeople and Somerset School children, Joan has designed local history displays and helped organize major celebrations. The first was in 1976, when Joan researched the history of Somerset School and of the Town of Somerset and styled the school’s 50th Anniversary brochure (published in 1978) with photographer Ruth Ephraim. She later was editor and layout artist for the Town’s 1981 Jubilee History and has made several one-of-a-kind local history books.
At the June 2002 Town of Somerset Council meeting, the Chevy Chase Historical Society asked the Town of Somerset to support its activities, and specifically to move its archives to a room in the Chevy Chase Library, with a grant of $25,000.
After the CCHS’s officers’ presentation, several Council members asked what, if any, Somerset documents are in the CCHS’s collection and whether or not the CCHS would be prepared to take Somerset documents that the Town possesses, but that are not organized or stored in a way that will preserve them, for inclusion in the Chevy Chase collection. The CCHS’s officers were unclear about its holdings of Somerset documents because much of their material remains unorganized. They also were unclear whether the CCHS would have space to take Somerset material. The Town Council concluded that it could not make a decision on this appeal because it did not have enough information on which to base a decision. The Mayor therefore has asked for a committee to examine the issue and report back to the Town Council with recommendations by the time of the September 2002 Town Meeting.
The Committee unanimously recommends against supporting the CCHS with a grant of $25,000, for five reasons:
Committee members pointed out that much of our historical material already may have been lost. For example, the plans for the Montgomery Ward homes, built in the early 1900s on Cumberland Avenue, were known to have been held by a Surrey Street resident, who now has moved away, until some years ago. The present whereabouts of those plans are not known. Several boxes of materials are in the attic of the Town Hall where they remain not only unorganized, but also without controls for dust, humidity, and other environmental hazards that pose risks to their preservation[iii]. Some early materials reside in the Montgomery County Historical Society[iv], and others are in the hands of several home owners, who may agree to pass them on for the benefit of the community, should there be a safe place for them.
Apart from deliberating on possible support of CCHS and adding Somerset material to its archives, several options were presented and discussed by the Committee. They included handing over Somerset-related materials to the Montgomery County Historical Society for safe-keeping along with the material it currently holds. However, this recommendation suffers from draw-backs similar to the CCHS option: the County Historical Society: is geographically distant (at present in Rockville Town Center but shortly moving to Germantown, even further away) and the Town has no control over how material is organized, if it is to be retained or thrown away, or how it is protected. Despite having Somerset resident Mrs. Dorothy O’Brien’s donated material for many years, it still languishes in a couple of boxes just as she provided it. The boxes are in a back room, accessible only to those who know it is there and who ask for it. It has never been organized, and is not protected by appropriate acid-free boxes or folders, and some pages are pinned together with rusty dress-maker pins.
Another option briefly considered was to ask the Somerset School faculty if the materials could be housed in the school library or resource center. Again, the issues of control, protection and access would not be solved under this option so it was not pursued.
Consequently, the Committee’s decision was that the Town must take responsibility for this function itself.
The Committee concluded that the Town should, with immediate effect, begin the process of establishing a mechanism to protect the material it already has, and to identify, organize, protect, and make accessible other historical materials[v].
As an immediate action, the Committee recommends that the History Committee be revived and charged with this task, as well as with the task of planning and organizing a special history project as part of the 100th birthday celebration of the Town, which will take place in 2006. The Committee noted that the results of the recent Survey, undertaken by the long Range Planning Committee show that twelve residents are interested in being part of such a committee, so it should not be difficult to form.
The Committee would be responsible for:
After consultation with a library and archive specialist, and with Lisa Crawley, Administrator of Montgomery County Historical Society the Committee also recommends that the Town budget for, and acquire at the earliest possible time:
The Town should also prepare a Disaster Plan – an evacuation and preservation plan to safeguard the contents of the Town Hall in the event of fire, flood, hurricane or tornado.
The Committee wishes to express its gratitude to the CCHS for bringing their request to the Town. It has highlighted a serious gap in our Town’s administration: that of collecting, organizing, and protecting its historical documents and artifacts. While we are unable to recommend supporting their request, we hope there will be opportunities for partnership and collaboration on our mutual work in the future.
END NOTES
[i] The Town’s historical interpretation is currently 20 years out-of-date.
[ii] CCHS officer Carol Coffin advised the Committee that the Society holds copies of two very interesting maps pertaining to Somerset, (i) a plat map of Somerset Heights, dated Mar 6, 1899, with boundaries of Wellington to Warwick and Essex to Cumberland and (ii) a plat map of Somerset Heights, dated July 1902 with boundaries of River Rd to Wisconsin, and Somerset to Cumberland. Mrs. Coffin has generously offered that the CCHS will allow us to make copies should we wish to.
[iii] On the positive side, Corrie Morsey, as part of her responsibilities, has for the last several years been working to organize a lot of material that at present is in the Town Hall. These include documents pertaining to the Town since its beginning, as well as Town newsletters, directories, charters, codes, building and plot plans, street dedications and anything else she judges important to keep from the standpoint of proof of ownership or that is of value to and of interest to the Town and its residents. She hopes to complete the task of organizing the material that is in the Town Hall within another year.
[iv] The Montgomery County Historical Society has several boxes of material donated by Mrs. Dorothy O’Brien, a former town historian, as well as materials the Society has collected itself. Unfortunately these materials cannot be transferred back to the Town and so are lost to us. They include Mrs. Jessie Swigart’s scrapbook, the original town charter, several copies of the 1906-1956 history of our town, original photos of houses and people, some from the early decades of the 20th century, original letters, the original papers of incorporation of Somerset Heights Water & Power Co. dated 1902, original tax records, copies of deeds of early houses and assembling land, copies of the first survey (dated 1711), Mayor Charles Moore’s papers, newspaper clippings, Minutes of the Somerset Woman’s Club, obituaries of Town residents, and more.
[v] This might include projects to record oral histories from Town residents, as well as video taping historic events.
[vi] The Committee asks that the Facilities sub-Committee of the Long Range Planning Committee add this recommendation to its final report under the section on uses of the Town Hall.
[vii] The Committee asks that the Facilities sub-Committee of the Long Range Planning Committee add this recommendation to its final report under the section on uses of the Town Hall.
[viii] Our goal should be to adhere to HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Industry) standards for humidity, heat and air conditioning (about 68 degrees).
[ix] Several vendors carry such items in numerous shapes and sizes. Some examples are attached to this report.
[x] By Bruce W. Dearstyne, published by AltaMira Press/American Association for State and Local History (ISBN 0-7425-0283-x) Cost: $25.
[xi] Edited by Sherelyn Ogden, published by American Association of Museums/Northeast Document Conservation Center (ISBN 0-9634685-1-0) Cost: $54.50.
August 2002
On
Wednesday May 14, the Town of Somerset History Committee
held an open meeting on "Doing Oral History"
with guest resident speaker Gail Schwartz.
Sixteen Town residents attended.
Gail
Schwartz has been doing oral histories since 1987 for
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and was an excellent
and entertaining speaker.
Gail
gave tips on basic interviewing techniques for oral
history, which differ from other interview formats:
Oral history is not a two-way conversation the interviewer
is a listener and a guide. He/she must prepare for the
interview by undertaking historical research first.
(Gail suggested we use the history that was prepared
for the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 1981 as a research
tool – copies available from the Town Hall.) It
is important that interviewees sign a release form.
Questions must be 'open-ended', for example, "tell
me what it was like when..." The interview should
begin with personal details about the subject: Name,
place and date of birth, etc. together with questions
that will put the subject's story into a historical
context.
Good
equipment with an external microphone is essential.
The Marantz PMD220 is popular with oral historians.
It is important for the interviewer to be familiar with
the equipment and Gail recommended interviewers do a
practice session before going out to undertake an interview.
If the interviewer is worried about adjusting the sound
and changing the tape he/she will not be able to concentrate
on the interview itself.
Changing tapes and operating the machine should
be almost second nature.
Before
the interview take a few minutes to talk casually in
order to adjust the machine for voice level. At the start of the interview the interviewer gives
an oral introduction that includes the name of the subject,
the date of the interview, the title of the project,
and other pertinent information. At the beginning of
each side of each tape the same information is recorded
with the words, "continuation of" as prefix.
At the end of the interview, the interviewer says "this
concludes the interview with..., etc."
It
is important to be flexible, to listen, and to guide
but not discuss. The kinds of questions that an oral
history for the Town of Somerset would include are:
When did you move here? Why did you choose to move here?
What do you know about your house: its previous owners,
the architect?
What was the neighborhood like, then? Was it
diverse? For those who grew up in Town, how much freedom
did you have as a child (to go out on your bicycle alone,
play with your friends, etc.) Did you go to school in
Somerset? What was it like (Gail reminded us there were
3 renovations of the school so the size and facilities
at each stage would be different).
Did the school add to the sense of community
here? Were your friends from the school, or from the
neighborhood? On transportation: how did you get around?
Did the advent of the metro change things for you? Other
changes in town could be addressed depending on how
long the subject has lived in Somerset, for example
experiences at the swimming pool, tennis courts or the
Town Hall. Gail reminded us there have been several
clubs in Somerset over the years, including a book club,
woman's club, gardening club and a Somerset Citizens
Association. If the subject was active in any of these
the interviewer should probe for reminiscences. Older
residents should be asked about life here during World
War II. And they should be asked how national events
such as presidential elections effected Somerset. It
is important to get a sense of the person as well as
the history of the Town during the interview. It is
our residents and their personal stories that make up
the fabric of our community.
The
interviewer should take a pad of paper to jot down ideas
of questions that come up during the interview so that
he/she does not have to interrupt the subject's train
of thought but can go back to a subject that has been
touched upon to get more detail later. Also, at the break between tapes, or at the end, the
interviewer should ask the subject to spell out the
names of unknown people and places to help in the transcription
process later.
After
the interview, the tape should be copied. One copy should
be given to the subject, the original kept in safe place
such as an archive, and a transcription should be made.
A
lively discussion and question and answer session followed
the presentation. The History Committee Chair said the
next steps should be to procure a tape recorder (a sum
of money has been in the History Committee budget to
accommodate this purchase) and a short list of potential
subjects for interview be prepared (keeping in mind
that doing oral history is a time consuming process
and we will be dependent on volunteers). A set of standard questions will be prepared by the
History Committee and volunteers who wish to be involved.
A further meeting to familiarize volunteers with the
equipment and to "practice" interviewing techniques
on each other will be convened.
Oral
histories are a gift for future generations. They give
a much fuller picture than historians will glean from
documents alone. The meeting disbanded at 8:45 p.m.
Attending:
Chair: Lesley Simmons
Speaker: Gail Schwartz
Judy Frankel
Gail Werner
Pamela Schrenk
Gayley Knight
Ros Harris
Barbara Marblestone
Phyllis Wiesenfelder
Maurice and Flora Atkin
Ruth Koffsky
Nancy Galler
Sue Edson
Abby Nolan
Jeffrey Slavin
Donna Harman