From Scouts to Storytellers: Preserving Memories Through Oral Histories

Nina (left) and Aditi (right) present their final project binders to DMCC Executive Director Ashley

Meet Nina and Aditi – two local cadets who reached out to DMCC because they were working on their girl scout Silver Award, and wanted to do something to benefit local older adults. After meeting with DMCC staff and Annie Duval, a representative from the Del Mar Voices oral history project who generously shared her professional expertise with them, gained from taking oral histories as a public record, they set out to take oral histories as a personal memento.

Over the course of the Spring of 2025, Nina and Aditi met with four Del Mar older adults introduced to them by DMCC. To each meeting, they brought cookies and a list of great questions. The questions touch on so many different subjects: the interviewee’s early life, fondest memories, career high points, quirky fashions, holiday traditions, romance, family, and so much more. After the meetings, the girl scouts carefully transcribed the discussion and assembled a binder and digital record for each of their interview subjects, so that the interviewees and their loved ones have a shareable record of some of their most cherished memories.  

Once the oral history work was completed, they still weren’t quite done with the project!  Nina and Aditi made an instructional video that they posted to YouTube so that other people, including teenagers like them, would have access to a roadmap for recording an informal oral history for a grandparent or older neighbor. They hope the video, full of useful tips, will encourage other kids like them to try it: “They had so many amazing stories to share!” You - and your younger friends or family members - can watch it here: