Share your story, Lexington, and preserve your history

For more than a dozen years, people have been sharing their stories with the world.

Over the next month, Lexingtonians will be able to join them.

Starting March 20, StoryCorps, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing the stories of anyone interested in telling them, will be in Woodland Park to record interviews.

The organization’s appearance here is part of the yearlong celebration of Lexington’s 250th anniversary, officials said. It’s an important part of preserving the city’s history as it looks back over its past 250 years, said Bryan Lane, general manager for NPR affiliate WUKY.

“Alan Lytle, WUKY News Director, currently serves on the Board of the Lexington History Museum, which is very active with 250Lex,” he said. “The idea came about to invite StoryCorps to Lexington to help us celebrate and document the legacy of Lexingtonians and the rich history of the area.”

It’s not the first time StoryCorps has been to Lexington, Lane said.

Previously, the Mobile Booth has been to town two other times. In 2017, StoryCorps officials said they recorded more than 130 interviews.

With this visit, Hansel said, StoryCorps will be including some stories in their “Brightness in Black” series, where they will be collecting special interest stories from Black residents.

All voices and stories are welcome and important, said Virginia Millington, managing director of operations at StoryCorps.

“StoryCorps provides an opportunity for everyone to preserve the individual and local stories that matter to them and their families in an archive that reflects the depth and complexity of the world in which we live,” she said.

“By providing the opportunity for community members and families in Lexington to share the stories that tell their own histories, StoryCorps offers a service that supports the preservation of memory in Kentucky.”

Sponsored by 250Lex and VisitLex, the StoryCorps mobile van will be set up in the park until April 16 to preserve moments from all Lexingtonians.

This year marks the 17th year the StoryCorps Mobile Tour has recorded meaningful conversations between people who know and care about one another across the country.

Dave Isay, StoryCorps’ founder, started the organization to document the oral history of Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs.

Inspired by the Depression-era WPA Federal Writers Project, as well as the late oral historian Studs Terkel, the organization has recorded nearly 700,000 people in all 50 states.

Those stories are stored in an archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Officials with StoryCorps said it is the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered.

“StoryCorps tells an authentic American story—that we are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness and heroism. Each interview reminds people that their lives matter and will not be forgotten,” Isay said.

“During this pandemic, the value of preserving these stories, and of strengthening connections between people who may feel physically isolated, is more important than ever.”

The MobileBooth travels annually to 10 cities nationwide and spends one month in each location. At each stop, interview times are reserved, and two people can record a meaningful conversation with one another about who they are, what they’ve learned in life, and how they want to be remembered. A trained StoryCorps facilitator will guide participants through the interview process and records the results. After each 40-minute session, participants receive a digital copy of the interview, and if they agree, another copy is saved for in the StoryCorps archives in the Library of Congress.

WUKY’s Lane said the station will air a selection of the local interviews, as well as create special programs around the project. Some stories may also be shared through StoryCorps’ weekly NPR broadcasts, and other platforms.

“The spirit of StoryCorps follows much of the philosophy that I want to instill in Lexington’s very own public radio station, WUKY... And that philosophy is public radio should be ‘of the public, by the public, for the public’,” he said. “We want the people of Central Kentucky to come out and let their stories be heard and archived for future generations.”

Recording appointments can be made online at storycorps.org/participate, or by calling 1 (800) 850-4406. A StoryCorps recording is based on a conversation between two people who know each other well, or would like to know each other better, so StoryCorps representatives ask that you have the name and contact information for your recording partner available with you when you make the appointment. StoryCorps will confirm each appointment and will not be able to accommodate participants who do not confirm their appointments.