City of Plymouth Collects Oral Histories to Shine Light on Generations of the Past
Ryan Barland with the City of Plymouth wants to hear your story.
Staff at the Plymouth History Center are ready to record oral histories from anyone who is interested.
“Everyone who has lived in Plymouth since probably the 50s, 60s, and 70s can tell a similar but also unique story about how this was a small place,” said Barland, who is the city’s historical site coordinator at Plymouth History Center. “This was a smaller, much quieter more rural farming community and then evolved into the suburb it is today.”
Barland coordinates recording of oral histories at the center.
“The museum here has been collecting oral histories since the 1970s and the ones from the 70s really are kind of a fun example of interviewing people that were very elderly at the time, and their recollections of what Plymouth was like around the turn of the 1900s,” he said. “This is their chance to tell their descendants, their next generations what their life was like, and things that may not be written in their obituary, might not survive after they’re gone, so this is kind of a message in a bottle situation.”
Appointments are required. Contact Historical Site Coordinator Ryan Barland at rbarland@plymouthmn.gov or 763-509-5229 to get started.
