by Bonnie Hurd Smith 

In a recent op-ed piece for the Salem News, Carl Nold, the president of Historic New England (which owns over 30 historic house museums), celebrated how much these kinds of museums have changed over the years. Today, any house museum worth its salt is telling a much more diverse story than the (white upper class) stories told in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.

Really, since the 1970s, first in the academic arena, then finding its ways into the public arena through organizations like the National Park Service and Historic New England, the desire and push to uncover and tell ALL of America's stories, starting with Native American stories, swells this girl's patriotic heart with pride.

Over and over again, I've seen the same feeling come over young people who are empowered to uncover and tell someone's story for the first time. Perhaps it was a woman in their community who did something extraordinary, but "no one" had ever heard of her. Or someone from the cultural group from which they are descended. Or a grandparent who served in the military but who never spoke of the experience.

Telling all of our American stories makes us richer as a nation, more loving, more honest, more honorable.

But not everyone wants to sit in front of newspaper microfilm, nor has the time to do the kind of real digging that's required.

That's fine, because we all have a role to play in this work and there is something you can do - and think of what it will add to your life or your business when you do!

· A call to your public library or historical society will reveal who is doing original research in your community. Find out how you can support that person. Scholars of all ages and types are usually doing the work with very short money, and your support would 1) speed up their process, 2) diminish the "wolf at the door" stress, 3) make them feel supported and inspired to continue on.

· Ask these same organizations if anyone is doing an oral history project. I've talked about how important it is to capture the stories of veterans now, while we have them, but I was reminded by friends how many civil rights leaders put their lives on the line to help make this country live up to the ideals of our founding documents. We want their stories too.

· Call your public school administration to find out which grades are being taught local history and especially how to use "primary source material" (letters, journals, diaries, old newspapers - in other words, not books ABOUT history but the original materials those authors used to write the books). The point here is to empower young people to find the story they want to find, and the process teaches them intellectual and personal skills they will use forever - AND it makes them feel incredibly proud of what they've accomplished.

· Contact your local historic house museum or museum to find out how they are trying to tell new stories. New tours, exhibits, displays, books, and talks all cost money. Your support could mean the difference between getting a project done, or not.

· Look into the history of your own business or organization. You are not an island; you were part of a much larger story. What is there about your own history that we don't know, and want to?

· Contact any of these kinds of organizations to find out about new public art projects you can support. These are wonderful vehicles to tell new stories out in the public, through a monument, statue, memorial, or park. Here in Ipswich, MA, we recently dedicated a Memorial to the Native American village that was here for thousands of years. In Salem, MA, a friend of mine is organizing the first-ever statue of a woman. This Independence Day, I know of several communities that read quotes from Frederick Douglass's speeches about why that holiday made no sense while slavery was allowed to continue. These public displays matter to a community!

I don't know if you're a fan of the PBS series "History Detectives," but I sure am. And something I'm sure you've noticed is what happens after the "detective" has completed his or her work. They each sit down with the "client" and tell that person what's been found. There is always emotion. There is always an emotional connection between the object or story being investigated, the person making the request, and the "detective" who chased down the story and presented the information.

The same, wonderful thing will happen for you when you get involved in this work. You are connecting yourself to something much larger. I can't tell you what the rewards will be for you and your business, just know they will be there!