Everyone has a story to tell. We organize our memories and experiences into stories. Oral history is the systematic collection of living people’s testimony about their own experiences—conducted through a recorded interview. Everyday memories of everyday people have historical importance. Oral historians gather these memories and stories and place them into an accurate historical context, storing them appropriately for use by scholars—today and into the future. Oral history projects are often organized around a shared heritage, event, or experience—in this case, the Blackwell School. 

Oral history allows for the recording of perspectives of people who might not otherwise appear in the historical records. Certainly the history of the Blackwell School cannot be told without the voices of those directly involved—students, faculty and staff, neighbors, and community members. Newspaper articles, speeches, and government documents may reveal useful information, but those kinds of sources often neglect more personal and private experiences. Through oral history, we can learn about the hopes, feelings, aspirations, disappointments, family histories, and personal memories of the people who were there.