CLIPBOARD : DISCOVERY : THE ORAL HISTORY ARCHIVES

Henry Ford said it all: “History is bunk!”

And sometimes it is. Pages of names, dates and places; volumes of things to memorize, regurgitate and subsequently forget. But that old way of catching up with the past is, well, history--thanks to an innovative project at Cal State Fullerton.

The Oral History program originally began as a project where students tape-recorded the experiences and life stories of Orange County’s townships and people in their own communities. The concept gradually began to take on a life of its own and exploded in popularity and reputation. The university’s professors and graduate students began receiving grants and commissions to tape, edit and transcribe the stories of the county’s most famous citizens and events before they were lost forever.

“We’re one of the early pioneers of oral history. This program is a real joy,” said Dr. Michael Paul Onorato, who has been the director of the program since last year. “You’re picking up bits of information no one else has. You learn why or how an event took place, not just that it took place.”

Fleshed out, those insipid dates, tedious facts and so-what names aren’t so dull after all. For instance, it may be uninspiring that Richard M. Nixon was the 37th U.S. president. But when his former football teammates recount stories of how he was a third-string tackle and a world-class bench warmer at Whittier College, it breathes new life into dry facts.

Merton Wray, for example, recalled this story of President Nixon to the Oral History program: “I think that it has been pretty well developed how he warmed the bench. There’s supposed to be a joke about how the coach came in and said, ‘Nixon, what would you have done on that play?’ and he answers, ‘Sir, I would’ve pulled the blanket up just a little tighter around my shoulders.’ ”

Being able to listen to a tape or read the transcript of someone who actually lived through the experience of, say, being a soldier in World War II in Europe, the Japanese internment camps, British and American POWs in Shanghai and the Philippines, or hear the stories of the uranium miners in Utah who mined the ore that went into the atom bomb, makes history come alive.

The Oral History Archives also contain the genesis of Orange County’s cities and pioneer families, some of whom have those long streets named after them--such as the Chapmans, the Yorbas and the McFaddens. Other collections include interviews on the pre-political life of Nixon; interviews with Indians explaining how urbanization affected their tribes and way of life, and a collection of talks with Mexican-Americans who were repatriated to Mexico during the 1930s.

But the commitment to collecting oral histories goes beyond famous people and events. For a modest fee, the university will record, edit, transcribe and furnish a bound copy of personal family histories, or family members can record their own history and the university will transcribe them for $4 per page. The fees received for the service are immediately recycled back into the oral history program to transcribe university projects temporarily shelved for lack of funds.

Use of the Oral History Archives is free and open to the public. Patrons can check an index that gives a synopsis of a particular interview; the librarians will pull the bound copy or draft of the interview if it has been transcribed, or the tape if it hasn’t. No tapes or transcripts are loaned out, and a call ahead to determine the library’s hours is advised.

The Oral History Archives is like discovering buried treasure. And a little time at the library will quickly debunk history for even hard-core Henry Fords.

Hours: Hours vary; call ahead to check

Address: Cal State Fullerton Library, Room 431

Telephone: (714) 773-3580