Appy New Year in Somers! Oral Histories From Local Residents To Be Shared on Mobile Phone App

2014 will bring new life to oral histories from Somers Historical Society, along with four other institutions in  the Hudson River Valley,via a mobile phone application developed by The Sound and Story Project as part of a three-year oral history project  entitled  "Voices of the Hudson Valley:  Bringing New Technology to Old Stories for 21st Century Audiences".  

  The purpose of the project, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, is to assist local history organizations to expand the reach and use of their archival oral history interviews.  The 2014 launch of "A Year of Sounds and Stories:  365 Tales from Unexpected Places" will showcase stories from Somers, as well as from The Hudson River Maritime Museum, New Rochelle Public Library, Nyack Public Library and Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site via the mobile phone application.   

                       A few examples of what you'll learn.

James Thurber of The New Yorker Magazine fame visited Somers on a repeated basis to visit a literary artists' colony in the 1920's and 30's.  His sketches were used as dart targets and he and others lived in a main house, which still exists, as well as farm outbuildings;

Ferd Hopkins' (of Muscoot Farm) father once worked at Brooks Brothers in Manhattan and slept on racks in the store to save money in the mid 19th century;    

Go to  https://soundcloud.com/somersnyhistoryspeak  to get a sneak peak at some other stories and stay tuned for what promises to be a  very Appy New Year in Somers!

The Voices Project is funded by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and was awarded to The Sound and Story Project of the Hudson Valley, Greater Hudson Heritage Network, Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College, and Southeastern New York Library Resources Council.  These four organizations are providing training, technical equipment, and support services.