Lyle Oral History Phase 3: Lyle Beyond the City
To document in 10 oral history interviews the history of Lyle, MN and surrounding communities.
$4,500,000 the first year and $6,500,000 the second year are for history programs and projects operated or conducted by or through local, county, regional, or other historical or cultural organizations or for activities to preserve significant historic and cultural resources. Funds are to be distributed through a competitive grant process. The Minnesota Historical Society must administer these funds using established grant mechanisms, with assistance from the advisory committee created under Laws 2009, chapter 172, article 4, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (b), item (ii).
Available upon request. grants@mnhs.org
Metric: Spark interest about Lyle history in the Lyle community
Indicator: Number of new research leads and s
Outcome: Exceeded. Throughout the interview process many community members were ed and started speaking to each other about Lyle history. Many more people are thinking about and becoming involved in Lyle history than before the project was undertaken.
Metric: Continue to develop MCHS capabilities and experience in oral history
Indicator: MCHS undertakes additional oral history projects in the future
Outcome: Achieved. MCHS now has all the necessary equipment to engage in future oral history work, and 3 completed oral history projects under its belt. Future projects will build on the lessons learned during this project and will be easier to start.
Metric: The interviews will help fill in holes for timeframes not covered in past Lyle history books
Indicator: Interviews provide quotable passages and reveal possible new topics for further research
Outcome: Achieved. A number of topics were covered that were not previously documented in Lyle history books such as the hermits living in the Six Mile Grove forest, impacts of the 1985-1986 Hormel strike in nearby Austin, MN, and stories of the success behind the 2018 state basketball championship team.
Metric: The oral history interviews will help the community of Lyle document its history for its 150th anniversary in 2020.
Indicator: Use of the interviews by people or organizations performing activities related to the 150th anniversary of Lyle.
Outcome: Achieved. There are many passages and interesting stories in the oral history that will be useful for a planned book for the 150th anniversary of the town of Lyle.
Metric: This project will make all the interviews publicly accessible at MCHS in both video and text transcription formats. Copies will be archived according to current standards to ensure long-term availability.
Indicator: Number of people requesting access to the oral history interviews
Outcome: Achieved. All materials are publicly accessible. It is too early to tell how many people will be using them but their value will grow in the years to come as the oral history documents events that will no longer exist in the memories of community members.
Available upon request, grants@mnhs.org