An enhanced set of oral histories fromStafford County residents whose lives spanned the Depression, World War 2 and growth and development in the County has been added to the Stafford County materials available at the Central Rappahannock Heritage Center.

The collection was originally gathered in 1986 by volunteers from Stafford County and was financed by a grant from the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.  The original interviews are also on line and are available in the Virginiana Room at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

Admiring the strength of the interviews which had not been indexed or otherwise enhanced with later information, two Heritage Center volunteers, Beth Daly and Nancy Bruns, and  Nancy Moore, manager of the Virginiana Room at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, worked  together to clarify and add information to the material.  Rick MacGregor  and Jerrilynn Eby, of the Stafford County Historical Society,  also contributed to the project.

MacGregor, grandson of Stafford County sheriff Alaric R. MacGregor Sr., one of the original participants, also edited and clarified his grandfather's 1986 interview, and provided pictures and assistance.

Besides Sheriff MacGregor who served two terms as Stafford sheriff, interviewees include Milton Dickerson, a Stafford County resident, whose portrait today can be seen at Access Eyes on Rt. 1 at Falmouth. Both Sheriff MacGregor and Dickerson were watermen of some note.

Seven others have been completed.  They include George L. Gordon, Commissioner of the Revenue for over 50 years, Gordon Byram and W. Hansford Abel, Stafford County Supervisors, T. Benton Gayle, Superintendent of Stafford Schools, John Fitzhugh, historian and farmer, Archie Newton, farmer and waterman, and James Monroe Jackson of Widewater, civil rights pioneer and community leader.  Four additional interviews will be completed soon.

Some dismiss oral history as unsubstantiated folk lore.  Those of us who do oral history interviews feel differently.  Although it is not possible to document each and every event told to an interviewer, we have learned that people of the same age will tell about the same events.  There may be differences, to be sure, but the common threads running through these interviews substantiate the stories.  Occasionally we will be told of a happening, but the date is uncertain.  It is an interesting research puzzle to try to determine the facts.  Sometimes the event will coincide with a historical event.  In my interview with the late Eva Tyson Decatur, she showed me a picture and told me it was taken about April 15, 1912.  How did she know?  It was the date the Titanic sank.  As the family posed for the photo, a neighbor came running over to tell Mrs. Decatur's mother, Annie Tyson, about this terrible event.   Serendipity can also play a part.  Casual discussions with other historians and researchers often lead to discoveries.  Yes, oral history may be imprecise and may be folk lore, but in many cultures, history is passed from one generation to the next only by word of mouth.

Anyone wanting to help research and document the oral histories is most welcome.  Please contact the Heritage Center if you are interested.  We have also learned of four additional oral history tapes made in 1977.  They have never been transcribed.  If you would like do some transcribing and learn history at the same time, please let us know.