Everyday Histories is the product of sentimentality, serendipity, and boredom in the life of creator and bonafide history nerd, Taylor Foland (me, the one in the photo to the left!).  It started last summer when I was tasked with uncovering biographical information on donators of items in a museum in Arizona.  The work, on the whole, was mind-numbingly tedious; however, it led me to discover a collection of oral histories compiled by one lady, Mona Lange McCroskey, on the original inhabitants of Prescott, Arizona.  Hearing the voices of the Prescottonians (Prescotts? Prescottis?) recount their childhoods, experiences living in the town, and general interactions with the politics of their time inspired me to attempt a similar preservation of my own world.

     We often reserve that word, 'history', to reflect things that are grand, sweeping, and distant, but histories can be big and small, far away or fairly recent and it is often the most intimate of experiences that draw connections between people rather than the most generalized ones.  Everyone around us has a history of their own. It is my attempt to create a space where people can share their history, or what of their history has been created so far.  By preserving their voice and their story, perhaps we can learn more about others and ourselves. 

     Enjoy listening to those you might be completely familiar or completely unfamiliar with.  And if you feel so inspired, sign up to tell your own history!