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Orcas Island Oral History Project
Oral histories are an invaluable record of history and community, that once lost cannot be replicated. Oral histories engage our community, actively involving them in preserving history and empowering them to shape the narrative of their lives. We seek to curate a collection of oral histories that represent diverse perspectives and lives across generations and backgrounds, ensuring a rich, equitable, and accessible historical record of Orcas Island and its people.
This is one of the Museums’ longest on-going projects, and our collection spans several decades of interviews. Reach out to the Museums to see how you can get involved, including transcribing, interviewing, or as an interviewee!
We are pleased to be able to host local field trips to the Museums at no cost to educators. Field trips can be scheduled at both of our locations (Eastsound branch and Crow Valley Schoolhouse) with flexible times, as well as outside of our regular hours. We also have educational materials available to be checked out for in-class learning, which include artifacts, photographs, and more.
Please contact the Office for scheduling and curriculum.
Our mission is to educate, inspire, connect and involve our community and visitors in the stewardship of our unique island history. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in touch!
© 2024 Orcas Island Historical Museum. All rights reserved. Created by udooku
Michelle grew up in Whatcom County and has lived on Orcas Island since 2020. In the spring of 2022, she joined the Museums as a weekly docent. Within a year, Michelle decided to bite the bullet and become a full-time staff member. She now works as the Program Administrator, and is currently working on revitalizing the Oral History Project and designing new exhibits.
An Orcas resident since 2017, Debbie has family ties to what feels like half of Olga and beyond. She teases she knows more of her husband’s family history than he does. Debbie is our museum admin, but also bookkeeper for many island businesses, and treasurer to several non-profits beyond the park.
Nancy has lived on Orcas since 2020 coming here as an empty nester with her avid sailor husband. Nancy is New Mexico born, raised in Singapore and then has had many other stints up and down the West Coast. She has over 30 years in the non-profit industry always working in the areas of arts, culture, literature and heritage. She has a BA degree in Economics from Scripps College and a MA in Urban Planning from UCLA with an emphasis on the history of the built environmen.