Piermont Remembers: Oral History Project Invites Residents

PIERMONT, NY — Piermont Library is sponsoring an oral history project offering current and former village residents to have a voice in how the community is remembered.

Not only that, but Piermont Remembers is offering help to anyone who wants to reminisce or encourage an older relative or friend to do so.

The project organizers have created “Oral History chaperones” to schedule recording sessions via Zoom, because the video conferencing platform is both safe and convenient to use to conduct interviews.

Family members can help parents and older relatives and accept Zoom invitations. Video conferencing also allows Piermonters who have moved away to participate remotely.

To lead the project, the library commissioned artist, writer and local historian Bill Batson and writer, photographer and sound engineer David Bell.

Batson is the author and illustrator of the Nyack Sketch Log. In 2018, Batson led the Nyack Record Shop project, an effort that collected 30 oral histories from the African American community in collaboration with the Edward Hopper House Museum and study center and the Historical Society of the Nyacks.

Bell is one of the founders of River River Writers Circle. Together with Batson, he co-produces One Good Story, a short film that captures the lives of local artists and premiered in 2020 at Rockland Center for the Arts.

"The Library is glad to be kicking off this project to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of our library. Piermont is such a vibrant village community with a unique story — past and present — and we want to capture that story using the voices of those who lived it," said Library Director Kristine Palacios. "With the help of Bill Batson and David Bell, we have been able to craft a unique project that uses today's technology to capture the stories of yesteryear. We are hopeful, as we launch, that we can capture each thread that makes up the weave of our little village. We hope the community comes forward to participate!"

To kick things off, Piermont Historical Society volunteers provided a list of 25 Piermonters to kick off the zoom-based oral history campaign, including Turning Point owner John McAvoy, nonagenarian Millie Weber and former Piermont Mayor Chris Sanders.

"The Piermont Historical Society treasures the memories of the people who are making this project so meaningful. The stories that make up the rich tapestry of Piermont are being told by people who lived, loved and worked here — some whose families have been here for generations," said Barbara Scheulen of the Piermont Historical Society. "Working with the library, we will ensure that these vignettes will keep Piermont's history alive for years to come."

Batson offered two quotes from completed oral histories that demonstrate the simultaneously compelling and charming quality of the narrative collected so far by Piermont Remembers.

Millie Weber

I was born in the first war. World War I. 1918. We lived in a two family house, there were 10 Children. Two of them were babies. I was one of the babies. The doctor came to every house. My father was the only one that could take care of people, luckily. The doctor told him to feed them food that was as spicy as they could eat. I was a baby, but I remember whenever I'm sick, I always wished I had hot peppers.

Mildred Oslica

It wasn't a regular parade. It was a parade of men dressed in work clothes. I learned later that these men. were the conservation corp. They built the park at Tallman Mountain. They came with shovels and picks and hammers slung over their shoulders. You know, like rifles. They built Tallman Mountain State park, which became our Summerhaven because they had two pools.

Piermont Remembers invites the public to consider using the occasion of Mother's Day and Father's Day to schedule recordings for their parents. Families will forever have access to these historical documents so that future generations can explore, in sometimes vivid detail, the lives of their loved ones, Batson said.

If you or someone you know has a story to tell, visit the project's website or email piermontremembers@piermontlibrary.org.