The Huron County Oral History Project
The Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol is committed to helping community members preserve their own stories, family histories, and cultural knowledge. To make oral history accessible to everyone, we have created a free Guide to Doing Oral History (coming in 2026) and will be offering free workshops that introduce the basics of planning, recording, and safeguarding oral history interviews.
Whether you are a beginner, student, researcher, or curiosity-driven community member, all are welcome to participate!
As part of this initiative, we are also collecting a select number of oral histories connected to themes and objects within the Museum’s collection.
Why oral history matters
Oral histories capture knowledge, experiences, and community memories that aren’t always found in written records. By learning how to conduct these interviews—whether on your own or through our workshops—you help ensure that important stories are preserved for the future.
Image: Postcard of Main Street Clinton on Fair Day, 1933-35. Object ID: 2005.0076.004
Free guide to doing oral history
This guide provides a practical, beginner-friendly resource that walks you through every step:
- Preparing for an interview
- Choosing good questions
- Recording tips
- Ethics and consent
- Storing and preserving recordings
Whether you want to document your family’s memories or start a community project, this guide will help you get started.
Watch for the guide in early 2026.
Free workshops
Ever wondered how to preserve the stories that make your family or community unique? Join us for a practical, interactive workshop to learn the essentials of planning, interviewing, and transcribing life stories.
Topics include simple steps to plan an oral history project, how to handle issues of ethics and consent, tips for conducting engaging interviews, and a live demo of transcription tools.
Participants of the following workshops will receive early access to the Oral History Guide:
Share your story as an interviewee
As a complementary part of this project, the museum is also collecting oral histories from people with personal experience or expertise related to artifacts from our collection.
Examples of stories related to items in our collection we are currently seeking interviewees for include:
Historic and Former Local Businesses
- Historic bakeries, dairies, etc.
- Champion/Volvo
- Former manufacturing companies (clothing, organs, pens, etc.)
Community Knowledge & Lived Experience
- Huron County sledge hockey
- Pre-1960s medical equipment
- COVID-19 experiences
- High school experiences from the 1950s-60s
- The 2011 Goderich tornado
- Party line telephones
- Prohibition and the dry years
If any of these experiences relate to your life, work, or family history, we encourage you to email us to discuss how your story may contribute to the project. Please note that not all stories will be recorded.