Staring this program, I was not particularly interested in conducting oral histories. I have been studying people who have been long dead for over two decades now. Oral history seemed unnecessary. However, as I discuss my work with colleagues at Le Moyne and potential partners in the “Syracuse at the Crossroads” digital history project idea, oral history keeps coming up. People want to conduct oral history interviews and learn from these new sources. So oral history it is.
Using the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer application (OHMS) I experimented in indexing with the interview segment of James Arnold recounting his WWII experience when his ship landed in Japan soon after the dropping of the nuclear bombs. The real gem in the interview isn’t about that military experience but about Arnold going off to look for a kimono and ending up befriending a young man who takes Arnold to his house where his wife and young baby were. The group grew with the addition of some neighbors and they ended up eating together, singing songs and doing their best to communicate. This gem of a story ended with Arnold telling some Marines who were upset by his “fraternization with the enemy” that “the war is over. Get over it.”
Figuring out where to start new sections didn’t seem that difficult. The topic changes were fairly clear. However, it all became more challenging when trying to choose subjects and key words that would be relevant to the interview and meaningful to the listener. This will take practice. I tried to embed GPS coordinates for Hiroshima, but I am not sure if it worked. Once one gets the hang of the how to deal with the actual technology, the real challenge will be in creating the metadata to make the indexing as useful as it is economical. I will definitely be spending more time with OHMS; I must do what I can to give the people what they want!
Here is a sample of my very rudimentary indexing of Mr. Arnold’s interview.
