The Chelsea Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, awarded a two-year, $25,000 grant to the Chelsea District Library to support a project documenting the history of the Chelsea community.
The project, entitled “Oral History Project: A Vision of Community,” will take a look at members of founding farms and families, veterans, employees and owners of local landmark businesses, and community leaders in Chelsea. This grant will allow the library to conduct video interviews with hundreds of individuals in order to tell the story of Chelsea.
Previously, the Chelsea District Library partnered with the Chelsea Senior Center to interview more than 200 people who attended one-room schoolhouses and produced the “One-Room Schoolhouse”
“What is significant about these projects is that in many cities, there are other organizations that can sometimes take on this type of role, but in a small town like Chelsea, the library plays many, diverse roles, so it is especially significant for us to be doing this, otherwise the history will be lost,” said Harmer.
Harmer hopes the oral history projects become a model for other libraries and will help them think about how information is distributed throughout communities. He has been asked to speak at library conferences across the country in order to share his experiences with the “One Room Schoolhouse”
“The Chelsea District Library is changing the way people think about libraries. Instead of waiting to receive content, it is creating the content and preserving information for future generations,”
Collaboration is vital to the success of this project according to Harmer. The project will bring many organizations and people together to look at the history of Chelsea and visit moments critical to the community.
For updates on the oral history project, visit www.chelsea.lib.mi.us. If you have questions about the project, please contact the Chelsea District Library at (734) 475-8732.
