Community Oral History, Urban Renewal and Geoff Miller

Genealogy research isnt about just your own family. Its about your family and how they lived and interacted in their communities, which means finding out about your familys friends, neighbors and associates as well. Join Geoff Miller, project chair for The Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History which is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Ulster County, N.Y., and Nelsie Aybar-Grau, volunteer, as they talk about collecting oral history in the Rondout area of Kingston, N.Y. Nelsie shares how the project works so that you too can use the techniques to find out about the communities of your ancestors. Find out how to go about interviewing the elders of a certain neighborhood or community in your town so that the history doesnt get lost. Geoff spearheads the renovation of the former Reher bakery in the Rondout section of Kingston where the stories and history of the immigrants who settled in the Rondout will be preserved for future generations, despite so many historic structures being destroyed with urban renewal. Find out what Geoff is doing to preserve the memories of these buildings and the families who lived there.

genealogy