The Griswold Memorial Library is getting local people to tell their own stories in their recently launched podcast, “A People’s History of Colrain.” 

“We are trying to collect local history in people’s own voices,” explained Griswold Memorial Library Director Chelsea Jordan-Makely.

The podcast is a Library Services and Technology Act grant-funded project that engages the community to document their own history and learn technology skills along the way. 

Jordan-Makely explained the name is a reference to Howard Zinn’s project “People’s History of the United States.” Zinn’s work challenges the notion of history being written by a class of ruling elites and instead focuses on stories that often would be ignored. The podcast uses this same framework on a smaller level to highlight the people of Colrain and their interests. 

The first episode focuses on the late Carol Purington. Purrington was a Corlain resident who remained homebound almost her entire life after she contracted polio at a young age. She remained an inspiring figure for the people of Colrain, working with children, writing poetry and being a powerful presence for many. In the 1950s and 1960s, Purrington attended school remotely via a phone in her home and was able to graduate from Mohawk Trail Regional School. 

The podcast interviews her family, friends and people from a poetry collective founded in her honor after she died in 2020. 

The poetry collective still meets on the first Friday of every month over Zoom. People are invited to share poems they wrote or found and the group goes in rounds, what Jordan-Makely described as “dominoes,” where one poem inspires another person to share. 

“We found there was a need and interest for capturing local stories,” Jordan-Makely explained.

Jordan-Makely said the idea first came to her when Piti Theatre’s Jonathan Mirin approached her, hoping to produce a story about Angeline Palmer, a Black woman in Amhest in 1840 who survived an attempted kidnapping plot, and subsequently relocated to Colrain for safety. 

Inspired to share this story, the Colrain library applied for a grant that enabled them to produce the first two episodes of their podcast. 

Jordan-Makely said she was interested in the project because it allowed members of the community of all ages to participate in the project and learn new technology skills. She also involved the Ohketeau Cultural Center to participate as well.

Part of the program included podcasting lessons from Ian Hamilton of Greenfield Community Television and Sarah Brown-Anson of the Montague Reporter Podcast. 

“I love this project because we can hear from the people directly. To hear them tell their own stories I think is an invaluable resource when it comes to history and history-making,” Hamilton said. 

Hamilton first got involved when he helped Ashfield and Colrain libraries produce videos of incarcerated people reading picture books. These videos were then given to the inmate’s families to allow people in prisons to have connections to their children in a program called “Let’s read together.” 

Jordan-Makely explained preserving and sharing Colrain’s local history is a priority in the library’s strategic plan. “It is something Colrianers are zealous about,” she said. With that being a priority, the library also makes a large effort to digitize its collection of local history as many people outside of Colrain with connections to the town have an interest in learning about the place from afar. She explained the podcast is a great resource for that as well. 

“Now these stories are documented for posterity,” Hamilton emphasized. 

Local talent is also highlighted in the podcasts with music in the show all made by local musicians.

“We are pretty proud that we got this started,” Jordan-Makely said.

There are currently two episodes published, many more unedited interviews sitting in the vault, and 20 community members who helped work on the project. The grant has currently expired, but Jordan-Makely said if there is renewed interest from the community the project can continue. 

In the second episode, Pacifico Palumbo and Michael Collins share their stories about moving to Colrain, opening the Green Emporium, and creating the Neon Flag to remember 9/11.

Palumbo explained that there is no place he would rather live than in Colrain, and these podcasts give a taste of why so many Colrainers believe that to be true. 

Full episodes of the podcast can be found on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/griswold-memorial-library.

Reach Bella Carmela Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.