Library celebrates completion of oral history project

One of the final interviews of Tuskegee Airman Roscoe Brown. A conversation with Rabbi Avraham Weiss. Surprising information from some of the members of the Sisters of Charity at the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

Those were just some of the audio interviews captured by volunteers and staff at the Riverdale branch of the New York Public Library for the project “Remembering Riverdale: Our Neighborhood Oral History.” The goal was to capture the life stories of the movers and shakers and the everyday residents of Riverdale. The project lasted for months and involved scores of volunteers, interviewers and interviewees, many of whom gathered at the Riverdale library branch in late November to celebrate the completion of their task.

Debbi Dolan, who moved to Riverdale in 2001, said the project gave her a chance to document the acts of kindness and resiliency of her neighbors. One of the people she interviewed was Marje Slavin, whose husband had a disability and received an invitation from the director of a now-defunct movie theater in Riverdale to watch films for free, Ms. Dolan recalled.

There was also the interview with Leo Scheiner, who lost his sister in the Holocaust. His resiliency, Ms. Dolan said, reminded her of “war-torn Syrian immigrants today who once had normal lives like [Mr. Scheiner] did, and are forced to begin anew, drawing deeply on their inner reserves of courage and resourcefulness.”

For residents such as Patricia Gourdine, a retired schoolteacher who both volunteered as an interviewer and was herself interviewed for the project, the oral history project was a way to capture some of her family’s history.

“I raised my family here and had been in the community since 1972,” Ms. Gourdine said. “My daughter, my youngest child, had been talking to me in particular... She started saying… ‘Ma you did all that. You knew so-and-so.’ And my husband passed away four years ago, so she can’t ask him anymore. So, that’s why.”

When Ms. Gourdine first moved to Riverdale, she said the community “wasn’t a welcoming community for blacks” and her moving in the neighborhood was “very controversial.”

Emilie Kaufman moved to Riverdale as a newlywed in 1958. Although she said that she did not learn a great deal of new information during the project, Ms. Kaufman said that she enjoyed hearing the perspectives of the people she interviewed about Riverdale. Ms. Kaufman said that when she first arrived in the area, it was like “living in the country.” Back then, there was no shopping center on Riverdale Avenue and the toll on the bridge to Manhattan was 10 cents.

“I’ve come to appreciate Riverdale more. It’s not just the place I work and where I live. I feel more connected with my neighbors,” said Rebecca Brown-Barbier, Riverdale’s library manager, who has lived in the neighborhood for six years.

For Helen Samberg, supervising librarian at the branch, the project captures the “gaps in history” and records the stories that do not make it to the history books, which could be of value to future historians. As the child of Holocaust survivors, Ms. Samberg said that she felt there were gaps in her family history. She lost three grandparents and with that large portion of her families stories.

“It was gratifying for me to hear a story of a complete community and even though people may be coming from different ethnicities, they witnessed and heard stories of bigotry. Whether it was aimed towards them or aimed towards other people,” said Ms. Samberg. The recordings, she added, illustrates that Riverdale has grown emotionally, and spiritually as a community.

“I’m not saying there are not any problems but I think people can learn from the past and more on and improve,” added Ms. Samberg.

While the wrap-up party was taking place, some attendees discovered a new piece of Riverdale history. Someone in the audience said that astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson grew up in Riverdale and would watch the stars from the roof of the Sky View apartment building.

“I didn’t know any of this. This community and finding out about more community. It’s fascinating. It’s endlessly fascinating,” said Ms. Dolan at the event.

Ms. Brown-Barbier said the Oral History project is not completely over and is entering phase two. Although volunteers will not be out recording stories, the branch will have one recorder on-hand to interview Riverdalians who want to share their memories.

By this week, volunteers and library staff have recorded the stories of more than 41 residents.

To listen to the interviews with Mr. Brown, Rabbi Weiss, the Sisters of Charity and a host of others, visit, http://oralhistory.nypl.org/neighborhoods/riverdale.