Recordings Used to Preserve Small Town History

On todays episode of Community Connections Linda Williamson caught up with Dave Robertson. Dave left the big city life and moved to Schreiber around 15 years ago. He wanted to find a quiet spot to settle down after he retired and the peace and quiet seemed like the perfect antidote to the urban hustle and bustle. A singer, pilot, writer, psychologist, bear wrangler and outdoorsman only touches the surface of his many talents and skills and he was about to add another to his resume.

In the middle of September, head librarian Donna Mikeluk was offered a chance to partake in a project with an organization known as FixtPoint. The group produces podcasts and is currently focussed on archiving the history of small communities and conducting training workshops around the country. When it came time to recruit people for the project, Dave thought he might be interested in finding out more. His natural skills at listening and critical thinking, as well as the process involved around audio recording seemed to be an obvious fit. Dave is also a history buff and believes it is important for a community to have records of its past. He was very excited to be able to interview people who are still alive and record their tales for future generations to appreciate, at the same time, gaining a better appreciation for the town he calls home. He says it is vitally important for us to preserve the living memories of the residents of Schreiber. 

The actual job of interviewing people did not intimidate Dave. As a psychologist he had been talking with people for decades and of course in the last few years he has noticed an uptick in the number of people seeking help with mental health issues. He originally became interested in psychology as a way to try and understand human behaviour and also figure out what it is that makes him curious. Although he hasn’t practised for a few years he has noticed dramatic changes in the field. He maintains that human interaction adds another layer to emotional experiences and believes the switch to online everything has lead society into a disconnect with humanity. 

Linda summed up the interview with a discussion about the future of the town of Schreiber. Dave’s perspective highlights the importance of preserving the character of what Schreiber currently offers and is not keen on efforts to increase the population at the risk of losing some of that peace and quiet. Introspection is a valuable asset to the mental health and well being of people and Dave believes that is Schreiber’s strength. As a professional observer of human interaction, he stresses that the failure to communicate in a world of mass communication is an interesting conundrum and leads to intolerance and distrust.