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MANKATO, Minn.—One had documentaries, one had a radio show, and another had oral histories—all interesting, all on digital audio.

Wouldn’t it be nice, they thought, if there was a place where all that audio could be stored and made available to anyone who cared to listen?

Enter Voices From the Valley, a Web site where all this audio and more can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection.

And it’s already up and running and ready for users to browse, listen to or download audio.

“It’s almost an online museum of sound,” said Minnesota State University, Mankato professor Dave Engen, who along with Greg Husak is coordinating Voices From the Valley.

Among the current selections:

— Interviews with residents of the Laurels Edge Retirement Community.

— A short documentary of the Wagon Wheel, Mankato’s oldest restaurant.

— Full installments of Human Race Radio, the monthly KMSU radio show that focuses on international students and immigrants.

“The idea kind of organically developed to bring all these together,” Husak said. Engen has spent time becoming a skilled audio documentarian. He’s taken courses twice at Duke University and is a disciple of David Isay, founder of Story Corps, a New Yorkbased venture that has compiled thousands of oral histories of everyday Americans. The group’s motto (and the title of Isay’s book) is “listening is an act of love.”

Other examples on the site include Thelma and Ralph Norman of Lake Crystal being interviewed about an old-time music television program out of Mankato called “The Bandwagon.” Engen recalls that that interview turned to their thoughts on love and their over 50-year marriage.

The Blue Earth County Historical Society is involved as well. Society Director Jessica Potter said she’s very interested in compiling oral histories—stories of seniors or war veterans documented to preserve digitally a person’s story.

Using grant money from the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission, Potter has been working with children who have been taught how to use digital recording equipment. They’ve been recording oral histories and soon they’ll teach other youngsters to do it as well.

She said they hope to mirror the oral history work being done by Daardi Sizemore at MSU’s Memorial Library archives.

Engen, Husak and Potter all say one of the best reasons for creating Voices From the Valley was simply the magic of radio.

Storytelling via sound or radio has always been powerful.

But with the advent of television, and more recently the Internet, the less flashy mediums of print or audio sometimes lose out. Lately, however, radio has seen a bit of a resurgence, boosted at least in part by the success of radio programs such as “This American Life” and other programs heard on public radio stations.

Sometimes, when it comes to storytelling, less can be more.

“It’s as if something’s gained by not having those images,” Husak said. What’s gained is the listeners being able to use their own imaginations to visualize what they’re listening to.

Potter said the sound of someone’s voice is one of two key ways a person is remembered. The other is handwriting. With this audio archive, people can be remembered with keepsake audio files as well as birthday cards.

The project hopes to soon provide access to people who are interested in recording oral histories or other audio projects. The first opportunity is June 1.

They urge people to take advantage of the offer for obvious reasons.

“When these people are gone, they’re gone,” Husak said, “and their stories are gone.”

———

On the Net: Voices from the Valley, http://www.voicesfromthevalley.com

———

Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com

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