Putting the Story in HiStory - Building the Tale of Your Small Town
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| This is a photo of Edmore. Michigan, ca 1895. But it could be any small town of that era. |
While going through various celebratory books about small towns, I am struck how often the authors presume that their current situation will be The Forever Status of their hamlet, and that Everyone Will Remember Who this is, or What That was, or the Businesses that are here today are likely gone tomorrow, but everyone will remember these details 50 years from now.
To this I say, "Get over yourselves, people!" Historical documentation is getting aggressively shredded every day, and even a digital record is going to be wiped out with a magnet or an "improved" software that cannot replicate functions from DOS 6. High school grads in 50 years won't have a yearbook to review, yet alone laugh at.
Because of that, I offer this Outline Template for those aspiring to create a history of their little corner of heaven and preserve it for the years to come.
Spoiler Alert - it takes TIME and EFFORT
A. Basic Questions (these will be the permanent start to the book - later editions can build upon this, but this is the part of the book that should remain pretty constant):
- Why is your town here?
- Who laid things out? Where were they from? Did they stay? Did they move on? Were they "carpetbaggers" (came in, set things up, made money, left)
- How did it get its name?
- Where was the railroad? Where was the land route? Water route?
- Can you obtain a plat map of before/after the town was created?
- Do you have the earliest "map" of the town?
What was the first
- saloon
- "opera house"
- general store, drug store
- church
- cemetery
- school
- industry
- First families - who are the buildings named for in the town, who was the first "rich guy," the first doctor, druggist, barkeeper, general store manager, postmaster
- Boom years - why and how did the town grow?
- Bust years - don't be coy - sometimes a town shrinks and vanishes - share the lesson for others
Braggadocio and Scandals/Disasters? (fires were pretty common pre-WWI) - did the mayor run off with the school ma'rm? Did the town have a fit about all these new-fangled railroads and push to have it go to another town so "they'd have peace and quiet" (and become a ghost town)
B. Current items (which can be changed as time "wears on")
- families
- businesses
- churches
- schools
C. Process
- Get the stories transcribed first, then work on the text of the history before worrying about the layout.
- Gather all the visual, and LABELED, documentation that is possible.
- If there was a newspaper for the town, or of the area, look at and copy any earliest documents, especially as they pertain to any of the categories above.
- Take as many photos as possible, in as high a resolution as possible - "600 dpi" should be the minimal criteria.
- Create an INDEX to the contents.
- Create a list of all contributors and as much contact info as they feel comfortable in sharing - it can be their history, too, after all.
Assemble carefully with the text guiding you.
Use CAPTIONED photographs - credit year, location, individuals in the photos. If nobody has an idea, don't put it in the main text, save it as an appendix, "The Mysteries of... (insert town name here) Don't pepper your narrative with unidentified photographs. NOBODY WILL KNOW WHAT THEY'RE ABOUT IN 10 YEARS.
Once the text and layout have been completed, save the *.doc file, and then convert to a *.pdf for general review and comment.
At first, don't print the completed book beyond test copies - use the copies as fundraisers to have the entire volume published. Get extra copies for your museum/society/friend's attic. Amazon has a publishing arm, and you can get five copies, duly marked as NOT FOR SALE, for a low price to check your progress.
D. Assistance
Enlist high school and junior college students in sociology, history, journalism, graphic design - they'll do a lot of amazing things for credit in the project. It'll also help the students gain an appreciation for the area's history. AND GIVE THEM CREDIT IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SECTION!
Have an English teacher proof it over – again, useful connections at high school and junior college levels. Those sites will be the long-term repositories of your final opus.
Check the area and the state historic society - or the state library - there may be history preservation monies available.
NEVER GET TERRITORIAL - HISTORY IS NOT PROPERTY - WHATEVER IS NOT SHARED IS LOST - cooperation with larger, recognized entities will give the project credibility for fund raising - anything extra can go toward museum projects!
Any local businesses wish to help? Give them a page-size thanks at the end for their patronage.
E. Continuing the Story
Make a plan for an update every 5-10 years (more likely, 10-25, but be optimistic). Nothing is etched in stone, and even stone can't keep its story forever. You can keep the first section unchanged - just update the "newer" portion(s), unless some shocking truths reveal themselves.
Now play nice with each other, and preserve some history.
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