Grant to Help Fuel Collection of Austin Oral Histories
Boosted by a grant from the Lola Wright Foundation, AHCA’s Oral History Committee has set an ambitious goal of completing 25 interviews for the coming year. The grant will help offset the costs of transcribing the interviews and producing the memento books each oral history interviewee receives.
Oral histories the committee collects throughout the year are one of the most tangible legacies the AHCA provides the Austin History Center. The people interviewed tell stories that reveal how that person’s life somehow helped define Austin as we know it today. The interviews are videotaped, transcribed, and donated to the Austin History Center. The memento book each interviewee receives contains a transcription of their oral history interview.
The committee’s upcoming oral history interviews include:
Biruta Kearl, former manager of the Austin History Center
Joe Bryson, former owner of Inner Sanctum records
Dana Debeauvoir, former Travis County Clerk
Jim and Linda Prentice, former physicians and longtime Austinites
Glen Maxey, former Texas legislator and activist
Carol Hatfield, former publisher of UT’s monthly newsletter
If you know of someone important to Austin’s history who you feel should be interviewed in the future, you can nominate that person by visiting the Oral History page of the AHCA website and fill out a nomination form.
The Oral History web page also has links to oral histories captured from 2015 to the present.