Oral History Project
Volunteers help preserve GV's past

GREEN VALLEY--Preserving the history of Green Valley has been a passion for a handful of dedicated volunteers who meet every Friday at Joyner-Green Valley Library.

The volunteers sort through donated news clippings, photos and other materials, cataloging them all so that memories are kept for others to read and enjoy.

Thanks to the library and to the volunteers with the Green Valley History Collection Project, precious memories of the community's history that might well have been lost remain well-preserved in a series of bound volumes and other files.

"The history of Green Valley is an ongoing project," said volunteer Jean Cox. "People donate all kinds of printed materials that we look at and identify and file in books, as well as photos we try to identify."

Collection preserved

The volunteers identify and file the photos in binders and often make copies of articles on acid-free paper. Much of the collection is preserved in acid-free boxes, too.

Besides all the printed materials, the library also holds the Oral History Project containing a series of interviews transcribed and edited and placed in bound volumes.

The volumes number 36 and include fascinating interviews with Keith Walden, founder of Farmers Investment Co.; Don Maxon and Norman Maxon, early developers of Green Valley; Dottie Mains, known for her social service work with Friends In Deed in its early days; and Jim Volpe, Green Valley postmaster, now deceased.

The founding mothers and fathers of the Oral History Project are Helene Rogers, Eleanor Abrams, Barbara Armstrong, Dorothy Baldwin, Robert Lasch, Hubertine Marshall and Ned Railing.

They spent countless hours interviewing their subjects and compiling the notes that would serve as their subject's narratives.

There is an interview with Hollace Roberts on the beginnings of the Green Valley Community Council and the Country Fair White Elephant thrift shop and one with social worker Edythe Taylor on the origins of Green Valley Assistance Services.

Others interviewed

Other oral history subjects are Dr. Preston Taylor, Green Valley's first doctor; Betty Plank, who ran Green Valley's first bank; Ann-Marie Schaffer, a local respected classical musician; James S. Hathaway, a long-time real estate broker and community volunteer; and Jon Fishman, former publisher of the Green Valley News and Sun.

Other materials chart the history of the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council, the Green Valley Fire District, and Green Valley Recreation and of Continental School, done by former students. There's even a file on the Green Valley News and Sun.

The oral histories provide many "highly opinionated" observations on subjects ranging from mine tailings and Santa Rita sunsets to desert survival and early marketing efforts in Green Valley.

The small meeting room in the library also houses a large collection of early photographs of Green Valley people and scenes, many taken in the 1960s and '70s, by Leo Hohler, an early resident who ran Green Valley's first coffee shop with his wife, Polly.

"We haven't really had an update on the much-needed oral histories," said Cox, a four-year volunteer with the history project.

"We need somebody who's a really good interviewer, and we also need people who are willing to tell their stories."

"One of the major problems of recording the tapes is the amount of time it takes as well," explained Julia Kent, a five-year veteran of the history project.

"Interviewers have to know what they're doing and know how to conduct an interview too. We would like the tapes transcribed as well, and that takes time so the volunteers really need to be dedicated.

"It doesn't have to be done in one sitting. We feel it's an important thing to do and we really need help on it."

Ideally, the group would like to see several volunteers take the oral histories on as their sole project and work along with them.

Work will continue

The volunteers agree they'll continue in their efforts to preserve the history so that others can "appreciate the beginnings and growth of this interesting place."

They are appealing to anyone who would like to volunteer to either help them sort and assemble the photos and articles or kick-start the oral history project again.

The Green Valley History Collection group meets every Friday from 10 a.m. until noon in the small meeting room in the library.

If you are interested in helping or donating printed materials and photos to the project, stop by Joyner-Green Valley Library at 601 N. La Canada Drive.

rford@gvnews.com | 625-5511 x 39