Three womens passion for history and story telling led to the creation of the Douglas Oral History Project.
The project shares the years and years of history from the small border town. However, it is not the history you would see in textbooks. Instead, it’s the stories shared by people who are from there.
Team member Ceci Durazo Lewis explained,We have the history of Douglas. We have the history of Phelps Dodge, we have the history of the railroad, but we don’t have the history of the people who live in and make Douglas, Douglas.
Durazo Lewis started the project with Beth Henson and Ginny Jordan.
We started talking to each other. And we realized we had a mission. We had to tell the story of who we were, Jordan said.
Their mission has led to about 40 interviews with people from Douglas.
Durazo Lewis explained what they are looking to learn. She said, We want to know what growing up in Douglas was like for them. We know what it was like for us. But what was it like for them? Where did their families come from? How did they originate in Douglas? Why did they stay in Douglas?
Transcriptions of interviews can be found on their website, along with more information on the project.
The project is housed in the Gadsden Hotel where visitors can visit and see pieces of the history and stories that have been shared.