乐播传媒

Andrea L鈥橦ommedieu is raising her voice to an elderly alumnus. But not to worry. 乐播传媒鈥� oral historian is neither condescending to nor scolding Irving Isaacson 鈥�36. (And if she were, this Lewiston lawyer and World War II spy could certainly take care of himself.)

Instead, it鈥檚 all about the tape. L鈥橦ommedieu is recording an interview with Isaacson for the 乐播传媒 College Oral History Project and, with the microphone directed away from her, is ensuring that the transcriptionist can hear her clearly. It鈥檚 typical of the care that, along with a genuine fascination with her subjects, L鈥橦ommedieu brings to her work.

Isaacson is L鈥橦ommedieu鈥檚 first interviewee for the project, an initiative marking 乐播传媒鈥� Sesquicentennial this year. At least 40 other 乐播传媒 people will also sit for L鈥橦ommedieu鈥檚 microphone 鈥� alumni, staff, friends, and faculty sharing eight decades鈥� worth of College memories.

Over the 18 months of the project, L鈥橦ommedieu鈥檚 interviews will be transcribed, annotated, and preserved in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. They will join the 440 interviews conducted since 1998 for the Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Project, which ended in December, as well as materials from an earlier 乐播传媒-focused oral history initiative.

Why oral history? From the correspondence of founder Oren Cheney to the records of the Stanton Bird Club, the archives hold all manner of documentary material telling 乐播传媒鈥� story. But oral history brings an essential human vibrancy to those dry papers.

鈥淭hese are people telling you what it was like to be there,鈥� says L鈥橦ommedieu. 鈥淵ou get what their feelings were about it. You hear their voices, their inflections.鈥�

Moreover, she says, oral histories 鈥減rovide clues that lead you to the hard facts.鈥� Though memory gaps and personality quirks can make the facts in an interview suspect, those same quiddities can serve history in and of themselves. If five interviewees all associate the same wrong date with an event, the reason why might be important.

L鈥橦ommedieu quotes Alessando Portelli, an influential Italian oral historian: 鈥淥ral sources tell us not just what people did, but what they wanted to do, what they believed they were doing and what they now think they did.鈥�

Oral histories also build bridges 鈥� between the people at 乐播传媒 now and the ones who came before, between visiting researchers and the College, and between the archives and the campus community as a whole. And if those relationships lead to donations of important personal papers, memorabilia, and ephemera to the archives, so much the better.

鈥淚 also hope that the project will raise awareness about the importance of oral history generally,鈥� adds Katherine Stefko, archives and special collections director. The Muskie project, directed by the late U.S. senator鈥檚 longtime associate Don Nicoll, had the incidental effect of establishing at 乐播传媒 the capacity to gather oral history. That benefited not only the archives but the academic offerings.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e unique in having a professional oral historian on staff,鈥� says Stefko. L鈥橦ommedieu has coached classes in gathering oral history, and this summer will issue an updated edition of the oral history manual developed during the Muskie project.

The project is feeding the Sesquicentennial celebration, too. Each month L鈥橦ommedieu posts a new interview excerpt on a page linked to the 鈥淪es-Q鈥� Web site. She and Stefko hope to supply audio snippets to historical exhibitions on campus, as well.

鈥淚 want to ask people: When you went out into life, what was it that 乐播传媒 College gave you?鈥� L鈥橦ommedieu says. 鈥淲hat was the sense you had from being at 乐播传媒? How did 乐播传媒 serve you?鈥�

She came to 乐播传媒 in January 1998 for the Muskie project. A Maine native and former children鈥檚 librarian in Falmouth and Westbrook, she was hired as project assistant. Transcriptionist Nicci Leamon came on at the same time.

Although L鈥橦ommedieu had no formal background in oral history, she proved to have the right stuff intellectually and personally. 鈥淪he鈥檚 comfortable with a broad range of folks, and she makes them comfortable,鈥� says Stefko. 鈥淪he has an extraordinary memory for the people she鈥檚 met and their relationship to 乐播传媒, so she knows the right people and the right questions to ask.鈥�

At the same time, though, 鈥淚 like to let them digress,鈥� L鈥橦ommedieu says. 鈥淭hey know more about what they know than I do. If I let them continue, they often take me to a place I never knew to ask about.鈥�

On this sunny December day, in the fourth-floor conference room in Irv Isaacson鈥檚 law office, L鈥橦ommedieu asks about his trips with the debate team.

鈥溊植ゴ�媒 was pretty provincial,鈥� he says, gazing into the air as if his answers were there. 鈥淚t was a big deal for us to come out of the country, so to speak, to go to Boston or New York.鈥� A smiling L鈥橦ommedieu watches intently as Isaacson speaks.

鈥淚 love stories,鈥� she says later. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the key for me.鈥� College memories.

By Doug Hubley
dhubley@bates.edu