History of the APHThe Association of Personal Historians (APH) is an international organization whose mission is to help people preserve life stories and memories. The association advances this mission through networking, training, and support of personal historians and by encouraging and fostering personal history activities and projects throughout the world. APH was founded by journalist Kitty Axelson-Berry in 1995 after she decided to leave the newspaper business and write her mother’s life story. Like many Baby Boomers, Axelson-Berry feared that her mother might die, and Axelson-Berry would lose all the wisdom and experiences of her mother’s generation, now known as The Greatest Generation. This exercise served as a prototype for a start-up business in memoirs and family histories that Axelson-Berry dubbed Modern Memoirs. Soon the talented journalist found others engaged in similar pursuits and formed a group, which adopted its moniker and held its first conference in 1995. This groundbreaking meeting featured workshops by professionals in fields related to personal history, namely business, psychology, and law. It drew 15 professional personal historians from the United States and Canada. Since its fledgling meeting in an 18th century New England inn, the organization’s membership has grown to more than 400 people worldwide. It includes entrepreneur story-savers in Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and throughout the United States. Each November the group holds its annual meeting and networking conference at a different site to make it easier for its geographically diverse membership to attend. The 2002 conference was the group’s first international location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2003 meeting site was held in Denver, Colorado, and the 2004 conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland. Conference speakers represent the fields of business, academia, psychology, healthcare, and media. The Association of Personal Historians became a not-for-profit Delaware corporation in 2001, and it is governed by a board of directors that supervises, controls and sets the group’s direction. Kitty Axelson-Berry of Amherst, Massachusetts, served as president from 1995-98; Robert Joyce of Santa Ana, California, was president from 1998-2001; and Lettice Stuart of New York City, New York, is the current president. The APH Web site—www.personalhistorians.org—lists members by region and areas of expertise, while it provides a wealth of information about the organization and personal history resources. The association maintains a Listserv that allows members to communicate on a daily basis and publishes three newsletters per year. APH members have had successful careers as journalists, broadcasters, social workers, hospice volunteers, geriatric specialists, court reporters, medical transcriptionists, psychologists, teachers, graphic artists, engineers or managers. Many view the field of personal history as an extension of their past work experience. All are connected by the profound belief in the importance of discovering, preserving and sharing stories. Personal histories can be created in a range of media, including books, audiotapes, videotapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, scrapbooks, and Web sites. The field of personal history also includes teaching others how to record life stories. Some personal historians have expanded their services to include the histories of corporations, organizations, educational institutions, and communities. Because personal history is a labor-intensive field—involving hours of interviewing, transcribing, editing, revising, and preparing for publication or broadcast, the fees for services can range from several hundred dollars to thousands, depending on the length and complexity of a project. Since the events of September 11, 2001 took their devastating human toll, the Association of Personal Historians’ mission has developed a new momentum and sense of urgency. Its membership has grown and reached out to individuals who once only considered preserving their life stories. Many have begun to tell their tales. With the help of APH members, the field of personal history will continue to flourish in the 21st century. By Libby Atwater |
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