Adirondack storytellers have recorded 160 first-person accounts about life in the Town of Keene, yesterday and today, and there are opportunities for all to participate in this Keene Valley Library project, even while staying home.

Adirondack Community: Capturing, Retaining, and Communicating the Stories of Who We Are, is a multi-year local history project that collects and organizes three to five minute audio stories and related photographs from Town of Keene community members through an online platform to share the rich social and cultural history of this community located in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains.

“This is an opportunity to record history in the making. Twenty-five years from now, when people want to know what daily life was like during Covid-19, they will be able to find it in the stories we recorded,” says Keene Valley Library Director Karen Glass.

Go to myadirondackstory.org. The Catastrophe category has numerous heart-warming stories and there are also two podcasts dealing with local catastrophes. Seven other categories —  arts and culture, work, people, outdoor activities, daily life, community, and the natural and man-made environment — also demonstrate the grit our Adirondack neighbors are made of. Some stories are even about emergency services and first responders, who we thank today with every breath.

“We are home, worrying about our families here and far away, wondering what comes next. We may find some comfort in hearing about catastrophes and how our community has come together, time and time again,” says Jery Y. Huntley, the Adirondack Community project lead. “The history and lived experiences shared in the first 160 stories demonstrate how this project will preserve Keene history for future generations, especially the challenges we are currently facing and have overcome.”

Do you have a story to tell, especially about what we are facing today? Just email myadirondackstory@gmail.org to receive a link with instructions on how to tell your story Telephone help is also available.

Adirondack Community was initially funded by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, the Northern New York Library Network, and now by community supporters, using Memria.org. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed on myadirondackstory.org do not necessarily represent those of sponsors.

The Keene Valley Library, founded in 1885, provides a circulating collection and acts as a cultural center for the village’s residents and visitors to Upstate New York’s Adirondack Mountains. The library’s mission is to connect people to ideas, experiences, information, and the community in a comfortable, welcoming setting. The library strives to do this by providing adults and children with a collection of current and relevant books, other media, and local Adirondack historical resources, providing an inviting and lively cultural center evolving as the community grows and technology advances. Learn more at www.keenevalleylibrary.org.