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Further information: Contact Joseph Giomboni,
Public Relations Office, (570) 208-5957

King's College works to preserve local history

September 4, 2007 – King's College is digitizing 709 tape-recorded interviews, and transcribing many of them, as part of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Oral and Life History Project to preserve first-hand accounts of the region's history. The total cost of the project is approximately $26,500, of which $10,600 is funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). The remaining cost of the project is being funded by King's College.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Oral and Living History Project is a collection of interviews conducted over the last 20 years by various local historians and media members.  The interviews capture spoken accounts of many important events in the history of Northeastern Pennsylvania between 1930 and 2000.  They cover topics such as ethnic cultures, immigration, mining, the garment industry, local government, women, labor and work, sports, religion, natural disasters, and economic development.

The oral histories include interviews with residents from Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke, Scranton, Glen Lyon, Back Mountain, Bear Creek, Harvey's Lake, and Laurel Run. Additional topics covered in the project include Eckley Village, King's College, Wilkes-Barre history, and the organization and politics of labor unions.

The interviews have been housed at institutions such as PHMC, King's College, Penn State University, Misericordia University, the Osterhout Memorial Library, Wilkes University, WVIA-FM, and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Because virtually all of the interviews have been collected on magnetic tape cassettes, which have an estimated life span of 20-25 years, King's College student interns are being trained to transfer the interviews to a digital format, which has a much longer durability.  Under the supervision of Dr. Paul J. Zbiek, professor of history and geography at King's College, Dr. Bob Wolensky, project consultant, and Andrew Ewonishon, technical consultant, King's student interns are being trained in preservation techniques.  The student interns are also transcribing many of the interviews, which had previously not been translated into text.

The digitized voices along with typed interview transcripts will be made available to the general public upon completion of the project.

As part of the PHMC grant, King's will conduct two one-day workshops for regional college faculty and high school teachers during the spring semester to provide an overview of the interviews, future plans for the project, oral history interview techniques for students, and ethical considerations in doing oral history.

For further information on the project, please contact Dr. Paul Zbiek at (570)208-5900, ext. 5751 or Dr. Robert Wolensky at (715)346-2708.

King's College is a Catholic College sponsored by the congregation of Holy Cross.