1972 Rapid City Oral History Project Proposal

RCPL recently initiated an investigation into the possibility of collecting personal memories, referred to as “oral histories,” of significant historical events in the Rapid City area.

Progress to this Date: From the above investigation, RCPL staff has created a project outline and tentative budget for collecting oral histories concerning the 1972 flood. The RCPL PIPs Committee invited the director of the Journey Museum, Mr. Ray Summers, to discuss the Journey’s grant project to depict the 1972 flood, and how the RCPL could compliment the Journey’s plans. Mr. Summers was supportive of the ideas generated, and it was decided to create a Memorandum of Understanding, briefly describing each organization’s intentions.

RCPL staff is also reviewing funding sources needed for the RCPL project, and two were identified as potential grant sources: the South Dakota Humanities Council and the Bush Foundation. As the next step in the process, the RCPL will be submitting the appropriate proposals to each source in the near future.

Proposal: The Rapid City Public Library (RCPL) would like to become a central point in the collection and distribution of local history resources. Coordinated preservation and consolidation of information concerning the Rapid City Flood in 1972 is recognized as a need by RCPL. The flood changed the shape of our city and is a clear reference point in our history. We believe that through this project, we will find other areas in local history also not be adequately recorded, such as the 1949 Blizzard. Ultimately, the RCPL would like to maintain an ongoing effort to collect and provide access to oral history materials on major historical events in the Rapid City area.

Objective: RCPL will act as the leader in collecting and distributing our local history, beginning with collecting the oral history of the 1972 Flood and its aftermath. By recording individual experiences of the events themselves, as well as the effects of the events on individual lives and the community as a whole, we hope to better understand where our community has been and where it is headed. This pilot project will involve developing new partnerships and developing the tools needed to support an ongoing effort to record our local history.

Partnerships: The RCPL will primarily partner with the Journey Museum in conjunction with their Rapid City Flood display. The Journey’s display will depict the conditions that lead to the flood and the subsequent events and aftermath. RCPL anticipates being the major contributor of complimentary materials recording individual’s experiences of the flood. Other partnerships, mainly to assist in identifying persons willing to recall their experiences and technical support, will include the South Dakota State Historical Society, University of South Dakota-Oral History Center, local senior citizens’ centers, hospice services, South Dakota National Guard, and Rapid City Police and Fire Departments.

Funding sources: The two funding sources targeted for this proposal are the South Dakota Humanities Council and the Bush Foundation; SDHC funds are available for project materials, while the Bush Foundation grants monies for staffing the development of sustainable projects.

Proposed Budget:

Recording Equipment

Digital voice recorder: Olympus DM-10

Foot pedal for transcription

Staffing

One year part time position: Responsibilities include organization of the program and setting up training to allow the program to be sustained

Server
Dedicated server to serve streaming audio and video: Apple Xserve G5 with the Mac OS X Server Unlimited License.

Mileage

Mileage reimbursement for volunteers who need to drive to reach some participants.

	Cost per item	Number	Total
Olympus digital recorder	$150.00	3	$450.00
Foot pedal	$60.00	1	$60.00
Mileage	$0.29	500	$145.00
Apple Xserve G5	$8,337	1	$8,337.00
Coordinator (hours)	$15.00	1500	$22,500.00
		Total	$31,492.00

S://Publications and Publicity/Committees/PIPS/Grants/Grant information/Oral History/Oral History summary.doc