This week the museum was a little hectic because the gala was this Saturday so everyone was busy setting up last minute details.

I also interviewed another person this week. Her name was Joan and she typically works at the front desk of the museum. Joan was a little different from my other interviewees because unlike everyone else, her parents immigrated from Sweden and she and  her brother were born in America. Joan was a very talkative lady. Most of my interviews last up to forty minutes but this interview lasted almost an hour and a half. This will be a lot of transcribing later but I’m up for the challenge.

Here are a few interesting facts about Joan and her family from Sweden:

1.  Her father made cross country skis in Northern Sweden only fifty miles away from the Arctic circle. Because they lived so far north there would be parts of the year when the sun never set because of this they would have a lot of energy this time of year. Cross country skis were also the majority of his transportation

2. Her father translated his work on skis into carpentry work in America and built some beautiful homes in North Shore  that can still be seen today.

3. Joan participated in her Swedish heritage by being St. Lucia in the Lucia ceremony. Lucia typically wears seven white candles in her hair while serving Lucia buns during Christmas.

4. As a kid, Joan and her brother would eat Swedish yogurt with sugar and ginger. Apparently, ginger is nature’s natural antibiotic so Joan and her brother never got sick as kids.

As I said earlier, this will take quite a while to transcribe but i am up for the challenge.

The Process of Oral History

Whenever I interview people they usually ask me what the interview is for and how they are part of the big picture. Over the past year the museum has been trying to build up an oral history archive based off of previous interns’ work and my work. They hope that other interns will come and eventually add to the information we have now.

One of my supervisors, Veronica, is helping to insure the quality work of future interns by writing a “run down” which includes an entire set of instructions and process of how to do oral history. Her “run down” was based off of previous interns work and research on oral history that she found off the Smithsonian museum web site. She wanted me to see review this run down and get my feedback on it. The following is the collaboration of her research:

Identify individual/s willing to be interviewed

Set up a date and time for the interview (off-site or on-site, quiet location, about 1-2 hours for set up and interview.)

If possible, inform the interviewee about the consent form and biographical form, ask if they would be willing to bring copies of photos they might talk about and/or if it would be possible to take a picture of them to include in their file. (or if they can bring copies that we can keep in their file.)

Conduct any preliminary research needed prior to the interview – this may involve reading up on a subject a little or simply talking to Museum staff about the interviewee and getting a sense of what topics they might want to discuss in the interview. 

Review/prepare the list of interview questions and topics for the interview (these are broad, jumping-off points, “essay” type questions, but feel free to let the interview go where it will.)

It may be helpful to verify the appointment a few days ahead with the interviewee.

The Interview

Make sure you choose a quiet place to perform the interview so it will be easier to hear on the recording.  Take a moment to listen for background noises such as ticking clocks or traffic.

Make sure the interviewee understands the purpose of the interview; it is not a private conversation, but is intended for use in research and exhibits (see above, consent form.)

Have the interviewee sign the consent form and fill out the bibliographic form.

Start each recording with who, what, when and where you are interviewing.

Listen actively to the interviewee

Allow silence on the recording, and give the interviewee time to think, silence will likely help you as you are transcribing later.

Ask one question at a time and follow up thoroughly on each one (feel free to ask the interviewee to elaborate: “could you explain X?” “what do you mean by X?”  “Could you please elaborate on X?”

Limit interviews to about 1-2 hours in length to avoid fatigue. You can always schedule a second interview if necessary or if the interviewee is interested to do so.

After the interview, make field notes about the interview (as quickly as possible afterward.) note impressions of the interview, add details that may help future researchers understand the interview.  Was the interviewee nervous? Was this your first interview? How did you feel it went? Did you have trouble getting them to speak at length? Were there topics they seemed excited about? Were there subjects they referenced that corroborated or disagreed with other interviews? Etc.

If possible, write the interviewee a thank-you note. (Museum Staff?)

Listen to the interview and carefully transcribe it.

Analyze the interview. Did you get what you need? Are there unanswered questions from the interview that you could investigate in the follow-up? Are there improvements you can make to you interview methods? Questions you should consider using in the future? Etc.

Send transcription to interviewee for spelling corrections (people and place names, mainly) or schedule a second meeting where they can go through the transcript and correct in person.

Correct spellings and add notes (if interviewee gave additional comments on the transcript)**

Give any hardcopy material to the Curator and save the interview audio file and transcription in the appropriate folder on the Common Drive.

If the interviewee asks, we can get them a copy of the interview transcript and possibly of the audio file.  See the Curator for details.

As you can see, the whole process of oral history can be a lot harder and time consuming than it looks. So, far I am still figuring this process out especially in terms of the “follow up”. i have not had anyone come back for a follow up and it may be something that I want to work on for the future.

I know that I’m a bit behind on my blogging so I hope to make that up right now! Almost immediately after I interviewed Beata I had another interviewee named Karin (not to be confused with my supervisor). I thought it was interesting how although I asked Karin very similar questions to my previous interviewee I had completely opposite answers. This was probably because Beata has stayed in America for quite some time while Karin has only been here for three years.

Just for some background information Karin came here in 2009 with her husband due to a job transfer. Overall, her transition from Sweden to America was pretty rough because it was fairly overwhelming and frustrating. For example, when she first got here she wasn’t allowed to have a credit card for a whole year because she had not established credit in the country yet. Karin also explained that when she first came to Chicago she went in to sensory overload because she was not used to the sights and sounds of living in such a congested city. She showed a really good example of this when she showed me two photos, one of which was a picture of her lake house in Sweden and the other a picture at the intersection of Berwyn and Broadway streets. The first picture is serene with the ocean and a cabin while the other is a bustling street filled with cars, bicycles and pedestrians. Although Karin has enjoyed her stay in America she has not considered citizenship because she misses her parents who still live in Sweden.

So far, I have been CRAZY BUSY with transcribing interviews and it probably adds to the chaos already that the museum is in fundraising mode by hosting a gala in a few weeks. Because of this I take occasional breaks from my desk to help set up tables or send invitations. Tomorrow I will have another interview with the owner of Simon’s Tavern which should be fun!

I have finished my fifth week at the museum and I am proud to announce that I have finally conducted my first interview this last Sunday! My interviewee’s name is Beata Krakus who happens to have a daughter who goes to the Swedish school that the museum hosts every other weekend. I thought Beata particularly fascinating because her parents originally immigrated From Poland to Sweden due to political persecution. Because of her mixed background of Polish and Swedish she is trilingual in English , Polish and Swedish.

We covered a wide variety of topics during the interview such as her Polish background, her process of becoming an American citizen, Andersonville and comparing Swedish culture with American culture. In this post I will highlight some of my favorite parts about this interview.

I think my favorite part of the interview was when I asked her in advance to bring any photos or items that she felt would be significant. When I asked her what she brought with her she pulled a potato peeler out of her purse. Obviously, I was very confused why she brought cooking items to the interview so I asked her if she cared to explain. She explained that in her opinion a simple potato peeler could represent the Swedish people because it is a simple pragmatic tool. This particular peeler was a very popular model in Sweden and lacked any special bells or whistles, in fact, it didn’t even have a rubber handle for a better grip. This overlooked and simple tool represented an entire nation of people because much like the peeler they are practical and down-to-earth.

I think this part of the interview shows that when I am meeting with all these different people there will be some parts that I cannot expect despite all of my preparations. I think it also shows how important it is to be adaptable in different situations.

When i come back to the museum this Tuesday I will be working on transcribing this interview which I know will be a labor intensive process but a worthwhile one.  I also have another interview set up for this Thursday so in a matter of a few days I will be up to my eyeballs in questions and transcribing.