On May 20 & 21 Dr. Cristina Benedetti and Sarah Hinkelman (graduate student in Anthropology and Ohio Field School alum) led a community self-documentation workshop with 12 juniors and seniors at Valley High School in Lucasville, Ohio. The Ohio Field School (OFS) has been collaborating with the Lucasville Area Historical Society (LAHS) in preparation for the town's bicentennial this summer.

Our project in Lucasville developed through conversations with LAHS about documenting the stories of elderly community members and helping students engage with local history. The workshop that emerged was designed to accomplish both of those goals, and to foster new relationships and understandings across generations in the community. LAHS additionally hopes to gain new members through this project, and to launch additional projects with the documentation skills that they've acquired.

Dr. Andrew Feight (Shawnee State University) loaned the teams digital recorders, and the collected interviews and photos will become part of LAHS Archive and the Digital Commons@Shawnee State University.  

Photo: Karsyn Conaway Bill Holdinger, and Bre Call. Mr. Holdinger is holding his Air Force uniform, which he can still wear. Mr. Holdinger plays taps at military funerals for American Legion post in Lucasville. Photos and captions by John Smith (LAHS).