HISTORY congratulates the winners of the 2007-2008 Grant Cycle for their exceptional projects. In 2007/2008, HISTORY awarded $250,000 in grants of up to $10,000 to 27 organizations across the country. With the 2007/2008 grant awards, HISTORY has donated One Million Dollars towards the cause of historic education and preservation. We are extremely proud of this achievement and congratulate the winners for their extraordinary efforts in saving their local history.

1. Old Harbor Tribal Council
Old Harbor, AK
Partner: Old Harbor School
Description: Strength Through Heritage: An Alutiiq Story

This project will partner the Old Harbor Tribal Council with high school students from the neighboring Old Harbor School, to capture the history of the Alutiiq elders through video documentary. Students will interview their elders, recording their oral histories, scanning personal photo collections and digitizing any video they have in an effort to create a video biography of the elder Alutiiq people. This project will connect students to their rich Alutiiq past, through the modern approach of using technology as a preservation tool.

2. Phillip Hamm Library
Dothan, AL
Partner: Dale County High School
Description: The Forgotten Schools: An Oral History of African-American Schools in Dale County

The Phillip Hamm Library, Dale County Genealogical and Historical Society, and students at Dale County High School and Wallace Community College will partner to preserve the details and history of segregated school life in Dale County, Alabama. School segregation is an integral part of Alabama history, although many of today's students are unaware of the history surrounding school segregation and the long process of integration that occurred within their communities. This project will allow students to explore and document the experiences of former students who attended segregated schools and lived through this tumultuous era. Through their research, this story will be preserved in a documentary video and published book.

3. West Chicago City Museum
West Chicago, IL
Partner: West Chicago Community High School District 94
Description: Building a Community: Creating a Dialogue about Mexican Contributions to West Chicago through Oral Histories

The West Chicago City Museum will guide students from West Chicago Community High School District 94 in a research project designed to explore and document the life of Mexican immigrants in West Chicago. Brought to West Chicago to work as laborers, companies housed Mexican laborers in a segregated area, and much of their history remains unknown to the larger population. Students will collect oral histories from Mexican and Mexican American community members, culminating in an interactive website where community members can continue to post their stories, as well as an exhibit displaying the history of Mexicans in West Chicago and their contribution to the culture of the city.

4. Louisiana Landmarks Society
New Orleans, LA
Partner: Priestley School of Architecture and Construction
Description: Priestley School at Pitot House

The Pitot House Museum and 10 juniors from the Priestley School of Architecture and Construction will partner for a four week investigation into the legacy of New Orleans' wrought iron ornamentation and the history of wrought iron hardware at a number of the city's historic sites. At each site they study, students will observe ironwork objects and installations, study hardware functions and operations and take field measurements. Final products from their research will include a portfolio publication, historic house public presentation, and a traveling documentary exhibition.

5. Chinese Historical Society of New England
Boston, MA
Partner: Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth (CAPAY)
Description: Commemorating the Chinese Burial Grounds at Boston's Mt. Hope Cemetery: A Youth/Community Historical Education Project

The Chinese Historical Society of New England will partner with the Coalition Asian Pacific American Youth (CAPAY) in an inter-generational, community history preservation and education project, focusing on the significance of the new memorial at Mt. Hope Cemetery, built to honor the historical significance of the Chinese Burial Grounds there and the pioneering Chinese immigrants who are ancestors of today's Chinese community in Boston. Students will participate in research and workshops to gain the background knowledge necessary to develop digital stories that highlight the importance of Mt. Hope Cemetery, a multimedia tour of the Chinese Burial Grounds that will be available online, and a document that will provide background context and learning activities that will enable teachers to incorporate the digital stories and tour within their curriculum.

6. Milford Historical Society
Milford, MI
Partner: Lakeland High School, Harbor High School, White Lake Middle School, Highland Middle School
Description: The Stories of the Pettibone Creek Hydroelectric Station

Partnering with the Milford Historical Society, 230 Huron Valley School students will discover and study the historical significance of the Pettibone Creek Hydroelectric Station, built by Ford Motor Company in 1939 to provide hydroelectric power for a new carburetor factory, in an effort to increase the awareness of the building and it's history within and outside of their community. Students will research historic aspects of the station, producing poetry, visual arts, essays, a walking tour, oral history recordings, a virtual museum, 3-D renderings and a video production/DVD.

7. Southeast Missouri State Univ. Center for Reg. History
Cape Girardeau, MO
Franklin Elementary School
Description: Digging up Buried History: Documentation and Preservation of Old Lorimier Cemetery

Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Regional History and Franklin Elementary School will collaborate on a historic cemetery recording project that will focus on documentation, preservation, and research of Old Lorimier Cemetery, which dates back to 1808. Students will be involved in the recording of cemetery plots and headstones, research on those interred in the cemetery, the making of a documentary, and the production of material that will be published into a book. Through their research, students will learn about Cape Girardeau's ethnic, cultural, religious and historical background.

8. Delta State University: Delta Center for Culture
Cleveland, MS
Partner: Delta Light House Arts and Heritage Program
Description: Live From the Birthplace of the Blues

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning and the Delta Lighthouse Arts and Heritage Junior High School program will engage 7th and 8th grade students in a research project centered on the history and significance of the Blues in their community and surrounding area. Oral histories will be collected by the students and incorporated into their final project  a color booklet documenting Blues historical sites, legendary living Blues performers and a map documenting Blues-related sites in the birthplace of the Blues  the Mississippi Delta. Other project deliverables include a curriculum for junior and senior high usage on the Blues and a webpage detailing research and findings from the project.

9. University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS
Partner: Biloxi School District
Description: Biloxi's Architectural Heritage

8th graders in the Biloxi School District, under the guidance of the Katrina Research Center (KRC) at The University of Southern Mississippi, will study and document the rich architectural history of Biloxi, comparing pre-Katrina structures to what now remains in the still recovering city. Students will be acquainted with the architecture styles that once graced their city through the KRC, and will then survey and document existing structures through photography, description, assessment of the buildings' condition, and architectural elements significant to the structure. Once completed with the research phase, students will then create a booklet that will be distributed to civic leaders, local organizations and to tourists through the Chamber of Commerce in Biloxi.

10. Carteret County Historical Society, Inc.
Morehead City, NC
Partner: Morehead City Elementary School
Description: The Way I Remember It... Reminiscences of Carteret County, NC during the WWII Era

Students from Morehead City Elementary School will work with the Carteret County Historical Society to explore the history of WWII and it's relationship to their coastal community in North Carolina. Oral histories of WWII veterans will be complimented with interviews of those who stayed behind to work, raise families and secure the home front within their community. The goal of this student-produced documentary is to explore the impact of the war on the social and economic fabric of North Carolina.

11. Our Story, Inc.
Reno, NV
Partner: SNCAT/ The Media Center
Description: Through the Lens: Our Stories

Our Story Inc. will partner with SNCAT/The Media Center, an educational technology facility, to involve local students in the documentation of the African American experience in Northern Nevada, an experience that is widely unknown and largely undocumented. Students will conduct oral histories with aging African Americans in their communities to preserve this untold story. Each student participant will produce a 15-30 minute segment that chronicles an individual, event or site within their community. The final segments will be publicized and aired within the local area during Black History Month (February 2008).

12. Center for Technology and Innovation, Inc.
Binghamton, NY
Partner: Johnson City High School, Union Endicott High School
Description: History Works!

High school students from Union Endicott High School and Johnson City High School, in collaboration with the Center for Technology & Innovation, Cornell University and the Four County Library System will document the living landscape of voices in Endicott and Johnson City, two 19th century industrial villages outside Binghamton in New York's Southern Tier, through the creation of a soundscape comprised of both sounds and stories. Stories will reflect the rich history of this ethnically diverse community that evolved from a 19th century industrial town to a mid 20th center for technology, only to witness the late 20th century globalization and job decline. Students final project will include full length spoken history recordings, a documentary of short stories with vintage photos, audio walking tours and a soundscape featuring the sounds and stories of their community.

13. Corning Museum of Glass, Rakow Research Library
Corning, NY
Partner: High School Learning Center at the Corning Community College
Description: Stories from the Crystal City

The Rakow Research Library and Corning Community College will partner with the High School Learning Center, an alternative public school program for at-risk youth, to collect oral histories from Corning-area glassworkers. Students will create a documentary tracing the history of the glassmaking industry in Corning, named the "Crystal City" due to the wealth of glassmaking enterprises that originated, flourished, and in some cases failed within this area. In addition to their documentary, students will create an exhibit that will include recordings from their interviews and photographs of the factories, workers and glass products to be housed at the Corning Museum of Glass.

14. National Parks of New York Harbor Education Center
Staten Island, NY
Partner: College of Staten Island High School for International Studies
Description: Immigrant Reflections: From Ellis Island to Staten Island

This collaboration between the National Park Service, the College of Staten Island, Save Ellis Island Inc., and the High School for International Studies on Staten Island will preserve the history of immigration within student's communities. Students will work in teams to interview immigrants within their community, while also researching census records, ship manifests and immigration documents to locate and learn about specific Ellis Island immigrants who lived in the same neighborhood. Following their interviews and primary source research, students will compare and contrast the experiences of immigrants then and now by producing 3 - 5 minute podcasts. Oral history transcripts and recordings will be made available to Staten Island museums and The Oral History Project at Ellis Island, while podcasts will be available for download online.

15. Cambria County Historical Society
Ebensburg, PA
Partner: Coal County Hangout Youth Center
Description: Remembering America's Longest War: Western Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans and the Approach of the Golden Anniversary

Students from Cambria Heights High School, in collaboration with the Cambria County Historical Society and the Coal Country Youth Hangout will create a 60 minute documentary using interviews with local Vietnam War Vets and immediate family members, community leaders, US Congressional Representative, and state local and national Veterans Affairs officials. The documentary and oral history project will focus on veteran's experiences in Vietnam, their family and community backgrounds, and post-war re-adjustment period. In addition to their documentary film, students will also create a photo catalog of artifacts collected during their interviews.

16. Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association
Etowah, TN
Partner: Polk County High School
Description: Iron Horses and Company Towns: The History of the Old Line Railroad

High school students from Polk County High School will partner with the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association to examine the history of the Old Line Railroad Corridor and produce a documentary film about the line. The Old Line Railroad was built in 1890 and shaped the economy, culture and landscape of Polk County, TN until development along the line ceased, resulting in abandoned former worker towns and rail lines. Students will research historical documents and photographs, conduct oral histories, and visit the remote, abandoned community sites inside what is now Cherokee National Forest. Students will then produce and edit the documentary film, which will premiere to the general public in the spring of 2008.

17. National Civil Rights Museum
Memphis, TN
Partner: Snowden School
Description: Connecting Generations: A Look at Memphis During Desegregation

In an effort to preserve Memphis history surrounding the Civil Rights Movement, with a special focus on the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike and Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the National Civil Rights Museum will partner with Snowden School to document desegregation efforts at the school and the surrounding community from 1960-1974. Students will conduct oral history interviews with eyewitnesses to the assassination, which will be used to produce short documentary pieces that will be archived at the school, incorporated into the Museum's collection and posted on the Museum website. Students will also produce a quilt, featuring biography, text and art panels that will tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis.

18. Brownsville Historical Association
Brownsville, TX
Partner: Hubert R. Hudson Elementary
Description: Keepers of the Crypt

The Brownsville Historical Association will partner with the Hubert R. Hudson Elementary to create a hands-on preservation project at Brownsville's Historic City Cemetery. Students will learn the importance of preserving this historic landmark cemetery through physical restoration of the site, primary source research on Brownsville pioneers and the creation of bilingual maps, tours and presentations. Bilingual resources will also be made available to the public on the BHA website.

19. Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library
Staunton, VA
Partner: NAACP Staunton Branch/ Youth Center
Description: Montgomery Hall Park History Project

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, in partnership with high school students from the NAACP Staunton Branch/Youth Center, will educate the local Staunton community about the history of Montgomery Hall Park, one of only two public parks in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia where African Americans could gather during the Jim Crow era. Busloads of African Americans visited the park regularly, coming from as far as Richmond, yet no history of the park has been written. Students will produce an archive of oral history records as well as a documentary DVD, photographs, lesson plans and other supplemental educational material that will be made freely available through the Wilson Library.

20. Food Works at Two Rivers Center
Montpelier, VT
Partner: Barre Technical Center
Description: Rebuilding History

This collaboration between Food Works and the Barre Technical Center will restore a landmark farmhouse and barn on property first owned by Montpelier's founder, Revolutionary War veteran Colonel Jacob Davis. Once restored, the buildings will serve a variety of functions, from a nutrition education center to a living history museum and multimedia room. Students will engage in the physical restoration of the buildings while documenting the restoration process, researching the history of the farmhouse and surrounding farm and creating an educational multimedia presentation for the general public.

21. Clear Lake Public Library
Clear Lake, WI
Partner: Clear Lake Junior High School
Description: Between Fences: Structural Change in Clear Lake

As an extension project to a Western Wisconsin regional exhibit being developed by the Clear Lake Public Library, students from Clear Lake Junior High School will choose a local landmark to research, ultimately creating a photo display that will depict how these structures have changed since the creation of the community of Clear Lake. Students will conduct oral histories and analyze photos, with their final products being placed on display at the "Between Fences" exhibition, a traveling Smithsonian exhibition sponsored by the Wisconsin Humanities Council.

22. Wisconsin Maritime Museum
Manitowoc, WI
Partner: Lincoln High School
Description: World War II Submarines and Support Oral History Project

Students in 10th and 11th grades at Lincoln and Kewaskum High Schools in Wisconsin will, under the guidance of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, learn about and preserve local WWII history by interviewing submariners, shipyard workers, and family members who served on, built or supported the 28 Manitowoc-built WWII submarines. Students will learn about Manitowoc's maritime history and Wisconsin's contribution to the war effort, shipbuilding technology and industrial progress through an overnight trip spent on a submarine, oral history recordings and the making of a documentary to be used at the Museum and hosted on their website.

23. New Hampshire Political Library
Concord, NH
Partner: Londonderry School District
Description: Preserving the New Hampshire Primary

Students and teachers from the Londonderry School District will partner with the New Hampshire Political Library to create 3 classroom lesson plans and a 30 minute DVD about both the current role and the history of the New Hampshire presidential primary, geared toward 7th and 8th grade students. Currently, there are no classroom resources on this topic available to middle school teachers. The DVD will include information about the history of the primary through artifacts and archival materials found at the Library and information on the 2008 New Hampshire primary through selected events and interviews with the New Hampshire Secretary of State and political leaders from both parties.

24. Petersen Automotive Museum
Los Angeles, CA
Partner: Garfield High School
Description: The Lowrider Oral History Project: Youth Voices

The Petersen Automotive Museum, in collaboration with students from Garfield High School in Los Angeles, will study and preserve the cultural and historical significance of the lowriding tradition, a movement that began in the Chicano communities of LA in the 1940's. Students will interview members of their communities, families and each other to complete an oral history project documenting the role of lowriders in their culture and examining how the youth generation views the art of lowriding. Students will then present their findings to their peers, families, members of the lowriding community and general public at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

25. Charlotte Trolley, Inc.
Charlotte, NC
Partner: Myers Park Traditional Elementary
Description: Myers Park Walking Tour and Take Action Guide

Charlotte Trolley will partner with 100 5th graders from Myers Park Traditional Elementary School to develop a walking tour and "take action" guide about the historic Myers Park neighborhood they live in. Students will develop this guide for all local schools, to encourage and inspire schoolchildren to take action in preserving their neighborhood, which is currently being threatened by an influx of development.

26. Pensacola Historical Society
Pensacola, FL
Partner: St. Michael's Interparochial School
Description: Fort George: Bringing to Life Pensacola's Role in the American Revolution

Guided by staff at the Pensacola Historical Society, in partnership with scholars from the University of West Florida and the Florida Public Archaeology Network, middle school students from St. Michael Interparochial School will help save a little-known part of their city's past as they create an interactive exhibit and interpretive brochure featuring the archaeological remains of Fort George, a former British garrison in the loyalist colony of West Florida, located next to their school. Students will gain an appreciation for the multicultural heritage of their community by studying the Fort's conquest by the Spanish and how this conquest helped determine the outcome of the Revolutionary War. Through their research, students will develop an interactive kiosk and printed visitor's guide brochure.

27. Umatilla County Extension Service - 4-H Department
Pendleton, OR
Partner: Attitudes for Success After School Program
Description: A Look at the Past – Century Farms/Ranches of Umatilla County

Educators from the Umatilla County Extension Service will work in partnership with Attitudes for Success students to preserve the rich agricultural history of Umatilla County Century Farmers and Ranchers; families who have worked the same land for at least 100 years. Youth participants will learn about agricultural history and genealogy while participating in oral history interviews, using GPS/GIS mapping techniques and documenting historic sites. From their research, students will produce 64 century farm "portraits," including oral history interviews, film records and photo illustrations. An interactive map of the area and century farm displays for local museums will also be created by students.