Voices of Gresham: A New Podcast

The Oregon Heritage Commission has awarded the Gresham Historical Society (GHS) an $18,000 grant to launch a unique podcast that tells the Gresham experience from the perspective of those who have lived it.

The Voices of Gresham podcast will be written and directed by Stephanie Vallance, GHS’s public historian, whose position has been funded through the City of Gresham Community Enhancement Grant since 2022. Over the past year and a half, she has developed a robust oral history interview program, which will form the basis for this podcast. Voices of Gresham will also integrate oral histories recorded on cassette tapes by GHS volunteers in the 1980s and 1990s, plus a handful of interviews filmed between 2013 and 2015. The initial episode of a planned first season of 10 episodes will be released at a free launch party on June 29, 2024.

Episodes will be organized around themes in Gresham’s history and will place these stories in the context of regional and national events, such as the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II—the subject of a planned five-episode arc in the first season. Other possible themes include displacement and migration, agriculture, urbanization,  environment, and commerce. Each episode will incorporate research done by GHS staff and volunteers, along with narration by Vallance and various guests. The primary focus, however, will be on the recollections of Gresham residents and others with a story to share about local history.

Voices of Gresham is intended to nourish a sense of our shared past by removing barriers to access. People who are unable to visit a museum exhibit for any of a variety of reasons will have an opportunity to engage with local heritage through the podcast. Voices of Gresham will be available for free on Apple Podcasts and other leading platforms and will receive a dedicated page on the GHS website, greshamhistorical.org.