Part of preserving Pacific Northwest railway history is not just saving the equipment but also the stories! To support this initiative for the 2025-2026 school year, the Northwest Railway Museum was delighted to receive a Diversity in Local History (DLH) grant through the Washington State Legislature/Washington State Historical Society, being one of six other organizations across the state to receive one. With funding from this grant, we have been able to hire an intern for five months!
Mayna has joined the Museum as our Oral History Intern. With previous experience in ethnography and interviewing, and the willingness to learn more about oral history specifically, she has been a great help! Mayna has created templates and forms, researched topics of interest, and is currently finishing a training framework for oral history procedures. In March, she organized an information table at Snoqualmie Depot to talk with people about the project and ways in which they can contribute. By the end of her internship, Mayna will have completed one oral history interview from start to finish, which will help set the stage for future interviews.
As defined by the Oral History Association, oral history refers to the “gathering, preserving, and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events.” For one oral history from start to finish, prep work and research about the individual’s biography and research on the topic must be organized before the interview itself! After the interview, hours are spent to transcribe, word-for-word the audio in order to provide the written interview which is helpful for analysis. Oral history interviews will be collected in the archive, and some will be featured in future exhibits – all to help tell the stories of people and workers impacted by railways in the Pacific Northwest.
The Northwest Railway Museum’s oral history program will be ongoing. If you are interested in contributing your story or if you know someone who has railroad connections in the Northwest, please fill out the form at the bottom of the Collections page. After reviewing your nomination, we will reach out if we believe you would be a good fit.
