Many history students often wonder about the careers they will one day pursue. Admittedly, teaching is the most common answer or option that is often presented to recent graduates by the general public. But for many students, there are different avenues present. Recent graduates have the opportunity to seek a public history career, either in museum studies, archives, historic preservation, etc. Some individuals receive the privilege of finding their niches in history careers and become fortunate enough to pursue lines of work that fit their interests. Such is the case of Troy Reeves, a student of Idaho State University and Utah State University and now head oral archivist of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Oral History Program.
Troy’s was born and raised in Idaho and attended Idaho State University as an undergraduate. He first became interested in oral histories when enrolled in the second half of a United States History course. His professor at the time, handed a piece of paper to the students, exclaiming congratulations, they did not have to complete the course final (a concept all undergraduates wish their professors would consider), if they could find someone to interview who lived during the Depression. Troy had the privilege of interviewing both his maternal and paternal grandmothers, who endured during this era in history. Troy realized during his interviews that his grandmothers became more than just his family, more than just cookie-givers, they became real people with real histories. He discoverd through oral histories, one could capture a little bit of history from primary sources who were present throughout various events.
He was able to garner more information concerning interviewing and oral history documentation from folklorist at Utah State University, where he sought his MA in History. At the time they used analog transcripts. After his time at Utah State, Troy became involved in a project for the state of Idaho, conducting interviews about the Boise Green Belt. He recalls completing some three dozen interviews, but unfortunately these interviews have since been lost. In 1999, he became the Oral Historian at the Library & Archives at the Idaho State Historical Society. It was there that he met his mentor, Doug Boyd, who would share the importance of digitizing oral histories. For Troy, digitizing histories “is the right thing to do.” Early on, they would record oral interviews on mini discs (I had to Google images to see what they looked like). He explains that there is good content on the internet, but with technology moving fast he often purchased technologies that had shelf life-spans of fifteen seconds. Regardless of the technology, Troy continued digitizing oral histories for preservation purposes and public access. He provided audio clips of the Boise fire jumpers on the Idaho Archives website to further interest people in oral histories and to persuade archive visitations
In 2006, Troy applied for the University of Wisconsin-Madison oral historian position and became head oral archivist in June of 2007. He explains that while he was able to emphasize in oral histories once again, the various interviews were all on analog cassettes. He was frustrated, but knew the only way to go was up and began working on digitizing the 2,500 hours of cassette recordings. The project took three years. A project Troy became involved with at UW-Madison was that of Campus Voices. Campus Voices is actually an aggregation of 5 oral collections and attempts to interpret campus history to the community. Troy’s proudest project is that of the Sterling Hall Bombing of 1970, which was the biggest act of terrorism in the United States until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. These projects have repackaged analog material and converted the oral histories into iTunes albums, 20 minute podcasts, a thirteen minute movie, and also created a web presence for the Madison community and digital world.
Troy Reeve’s passion for oral histories are evident in his work and in this informational interview. He has a yearning to not only conduct interviews—he only does about ten to fifteen a year now that he runs the Oral History Program and is managing editor of the Oral History Review—but also provide oral histories for the students of UW-Madison and the public. He does not consider himself a digital humanist, but rather a person who understands the need of preserving oral histories through the utilization of digital tools. He recommends to all students who are interested in archives or library science to understand the necessity of providing and preserving primary sources and to “learn the entire process,” whether that be creating metadata, research summaries, or pushing interviews. An advanced degree doesn’t hurt a cause and he recommends students be willing to volunteer, even if the work doesn’t sound appealing. People will recognize commitment and work ethics, even if the jobs are “crappy.” It all benefits as a rich experience. His enthusiasm and obvious devotion to oral histories is inspiring and encourages one to pursue a history career that is both a challenge and a reward.
Campus Voices: http://archives.library.wisc.edu/oral-history/CampusVoices/index.html