History Parties!

For the readers of this blog who have a Shiloh connection, I wonder what you remember about your time at Shiloh.  I wonder if Shiloh changed you any.  Was there someone there who taught you something unexpected?  Did Shiloh itself change when you were there?

Would you like to reminisce for an afternoon or an evening about Shiloh?  Would you like to see Shiloh folks that you may not have seen for a while?  Would you like to help me preserve the history of this place: the bus, the camp, the city, the relationships, the people?  

What you see above is the homemade cover of a notebook.  In the notebook is a list of Shiloh counselors, kids, and staff, year by year.  I want to gather as many Shiloh names as I can as I undertake this project, and you might be able to help.  I'll be bringing this notebook around with me to various cities when I go on interview trips.  When I make these trips, I'll bring the notebook and my recording equipment to gatherings called History Parties.  In addition to interviewing some folks one-on-one, I am also asking people to tell their stories in groups; I'm gathering scans of their photos; and I'm hoping they'll help fill in the lists of names for posterity.  We're calling these particular gatherings History Parties!

It's time spent reminiscing, but also there are a few technical details it might help you to know in advance.  Some preparation for a History Party: if you come to a History Party, you can bring Shiloh photos and documents for me to scan (and donate the scans to an archives).  In addition to the photos themselves, you can bring a list of written descriptions of those photos, a list that you've created in advance (that will help!).  An example of the descriptions of the photos might be "1. Eddie Grindley serving biscuits in the Camp Shiloh mess hall, ca. 1956; 2. Jimmy Johnson's East New York apartment on Williams Street, ca. 1973."   

At the History Parties, I'll have reminiscing questions for you to answer about Shiloh on an audio recording.  I'll ask you questions like the ones I posed at the beginning of this blog post, and as a group folks can get together and talk about Shiloh experiences from as many different generations as are present.  And I will bring along the year-by-year list of names you see above and a list of Shiloh addresses that you can also help with.  I'm hoping we can gather lots of history, reminisce, see old Shiloh friends, and have fun together at these parties.  

Right now I'm in Colorado, and I'm getting ready to interview several folks here.  In addition, I'll have a History Party in Boulder next week.  The host of the party, Preston, promised me there would be hula-hoop contests and trampolines in addition to all of the gathering of history. . . Hmm, thanks, Preston!  Seriously, though, I've been continuing to do a lot of research in between trips and I've done two New York City History Parties so far.  I've heard some wonderful, some funny, and some difficult stories about how Shiloh impacted people's lives.  I've seen some great photos and have made progress in gathering names.  I hope I can hear your story and learn from what you know as well.

At left, Shiloh participant Elaine sits at a table with
recording equipment (and donuts!) at History Party in New York City