The Longfellow Neighborhood Council Oral History Project, 1930−2010

Library of Congress Subject Headings

5 cartons, 2 Hollingers, 1 CD binder
6 linear feet
Processor: Marlan Sigelman, December 2016
Editor: Marion Severynse, March 2017

Acquisition: Donated by the Longfellow Neighborhood Council in 2016.
Access: Access to the legal permissions and financial records of this oral history project is restricted. Additionally, one interview is restricted until 2026.
Permissions: Requests for permission to publish from the collection should be made to the Executive Director of the Cambridge Historical Society.
Copyright: The Cambridge Historical Society holds the copyright on the materials in the collection.

Historical Sketch
The Longfellow Oral History Project was initiated by the Longfellow Neighborhood Council and Community School, a non-profit organization run with the City of Cambridge, Department of Human Service Programs, Community School Division. The Council provides a platform for Longfellow residents to meet and celebrate their community and to discuss issues and future plans; it provides information services; and it acts as the programming committee for the various classes and events at the Community School.
In 2004, Penelope Kleespies, then Director of the Longfellow Neighborhood Council, initiated the Oral History Project Committee as a way to work on a project that would gather the narratives of longtime residents of the community, telling their histories and the history of Cambridge itself. Penelope Kleespies, along with Judy Bibbins, George Bossarte, Ken Bowles, Sarah Boyer, Paula Lovejoy, and Sikha Sen, put together the Longfellow Oral History Project and between 2005 and 2008 recorded the interviews that would become a book. They were transcribed by Jessica Piaia, edited, and then digitized. The Longfellow Oral History Project created a platform for making the stories of longtime residents heard.
In an interview included in the book, Penelope Kleespies gives insight into why an oral history project was then transferred to print, citing a need for permanence: “There’s a saying in Latin, littera scripta manet (the written word remains).” She explains the process of working with Sarah Boyer of the Cambridge Historical Commission, the support received in a Cambridge First award from the City of Cambridge and MIT in 2007, and the satisfaction of seeing the project come to completion with the publication of the book From the Heart of Cambridge.
The book contains the interviews, along with photos of participants (donated by Phyllis Bretholtz, who took the portraits) and digitized ephemera, creating a varied narrative woven from the personal stories of residents that extends from the 1800’s to the modern day. The interviews cover topics ranging from the dynamics of living alongside university life, to the hippie counterculture of the 60’s, to the experience of immigration and community development. The book was published in 2001, and the materials were donated to the Cambridge Historical Society in 2016.

Sources
Lovejoy, Paula, ed. From the Heart of Cambridge: A Neighborhood Portrait. Cambridge, MA: Longfellow Neighborhood Council and Community School, 2011. Print.

Kleespies, Penelope. “From the Heart of Cambridge: A Neighborhood Portrait.” Presentation to Cambridge Historical Society, 29 January 2012, Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, Cambridge, MA.

Scope and Content Note
The materials contained in this collection include both digital media and paper documentation and consist of interviews, photographs, publishing material, proofs, and administrative notes related to book production. The interviews cover a wide range of subject matter relating to the history of Cambridge: testimonies about immigration, gentrification, family relations, the creation of community, the Longfellow Neighborhood School, and the changing culture of Cambridge. The collection is divided into three series sets: Series I: Interview Material; Series 2: Proofs, Outlines, and Various Book Matter; Series III: Administrative and Legal (this series is restricted). Within Series I and II, select materials are restricted and have been marked as such.
Series I contains the actual material from the oral history interviews. There are both the digital versions of the interviews and the transcriptions. In Box 1 is the collection of CD’s containing the recordings in various stages (original, backup, divisions by chapter) as well as photographs that were digitized for the publication. Box 2 and Box 3 contain the files on each participant and the transcribed interviews of each participant, respectively.
Series II contains the materials related to the production of From the Heart of Cambridge. In Box 6 are the official proofs in various versions. These are the proofs that show very clearly the process of creating the final book and the revisions that occurred between the initial draft and the finished product. Box 7 contains miscellaneous items related both to the information discussed in the oral history interviews and to the actual book production. Box 7 also contains other, less official proofs; information divided into folders by main topic; and information regarding the actual publishing process and draft making, as well as fact checking.
Series III, containing Box 4, Box 5 and Box 8, is restricted. The materials in these boxes are confidential administrative files. Box 4 and Box 5 hold the legal agreements for each of the participants in the Oral History Project, organized alphabetically; it also contains the press releases. Box 8 contains administrative matter, release forms, committee reviews, status and release forms, status reports, various permits, and other confidential material, most of which was disassembled from binders.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Cambridge (Mass.) – Social life and customs
Oral History

Series Descriptions and Folder Listings

Series I: Interview Material
Contains material related to the oral history interviews.

Box 1: LOHP Box 1, CD’s

Chapter 1, 4/20/2010
(RESTRICTED) Chapter 2, Lipkin, Freeman C., Hinds, Koocher, Crivello, Tingle, Carlislie, Partridge, Alexander, McCarthy, Sciandra, Recollections[?], Darling. Contains Photos.
Chapter 3
Chapter 4, 4/20/2010
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 1 – LaRocca, Siegel, Mattera; Chapter 1 – OK; Chapter 3. – H. Pitkin, J Pitkin, Kennedy, Sheehan; Chapter 4. – Huntington; Chapter 5. – J. Pitkin, B. Bibbins, Butler; Chapter 6 – Lenk, Metzgers, Bretholtz, Hentz, Foss
Backup: Everything but My Pictures, 4/11/2011
More Backup, 4/11/2011
1 – Backup for memory stick, 4/12/2011 – All photos — A — Cavello
2 – Backup for memory stick, 4/12/2011 – All photos — Darling — Lovejoy
3 – Backup for memory stick, 4/12/2011 – All photos — Matterra — Summersons
4 – Backup for memory stick, 4/12/2011 – All photos — Tingle – Woodman; Bigelow – Langone
5 – Backup for memory stick, 4/12/2011 – All photos — Bretholtz “X” files
6 – Backup for memory stick, 4/12/2011 – All photos — Bretholtz Y – Z
Portraits: Chapter 3, Chapter 5, Chapter 6
History Project Backup, 8/1/2007
Backup History Project (does not contain photos), 9/23/2009
Backup History Project, 1/04/2010
Backup History Project, 5/27/2011
Longfellow Oral History Project, 7/31/2014
History Project, 10/17/2008
History Project, 6/5/2009
Mid Cambridge Oral History
Chapter 1, Book Versions, 7/24
Book Versions (57), 9/24/2009
Chapter 1, 9/25/2009
Chapter 2, 9/25/2009
Chapter 3, 9/25/2009
Chapter 4, 9/25/2009
Cambridge Oral History Files, 4/15/2006
History Project Update, 4/22/2009
History Mid-Cambridge: Joanne Perry (617-547-1413), Charles Sullivan, 10/2005
Alice LaRocca, Part 2, 6/7/2007, Longfellow Oral History Project, Sarah Boyer, Penny Kleespies, Sikha Sen
(RESTRICTED) Glen Koocher, 6/13/2007, Longfellow Oral History Project, Interviewers: Penelope Kleespies, Sikha Sen, Sarah Boyer
S & S, 5/8/2006, Longfellow Oral History Project, Fayette Street, Mitchell Wheeler Family, Computer Use

Box 2: LOHP Box 2, (Interview Folders A−Z)

Box 3: LOHP Box 3, (Interview Folders A-Z)

[table]
Number|Folder Title
3.1|LOHP Interview: Floyd Carter Freeman (ch. 2), no date, 2005, 2008, 2009
3.2|LOHP Interview: Frank Gages (ch. 6), 2006, 2009
3.3|LOHP Interview: Betsy Groban (ch. 6), 2006, 2008, 2009
3.4|LOHP Interview: Adriana Heintz (ch. 6), 2005, 2009
3.5|LOHP Interview: George Hinds Jr. (ch.2), 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010
3.6|LOHP Interview: Helen Hughes (ch.6), 2006, 2009, 2008, 2010
3.7|LOHP Interview: Linda Huntington (ch. 4), 2005, 2008
3.8|LOHP Interview: Mopsy Strange Kennedy (ch. 3), no date, 2007, 2010, 2008, 2000
3.9|LOHP Interview: Penelope Kleespies (ch. 4), no date, 2008, 2010, 2009
3.10|LOHP Interview: Libby and Bernie Kilm (ch. 3), 2007, 2008, 2010
3.11|(RESTRICTED), LOHP Interview: Glenn Koocher (ch. 2), 2007, 2008, 2011, 2010
3.12|LOHP Interview: Alice LaRocca (ch. 1), 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
3.13|LOHP Interview: Joseph and Mae Laycox (ch. 1), no date, 2006, 2010, 2008, 2009
3.14|LOHP Interview: Walter Lenk (ch. 6), no date, 2005, 2008, 2010, 1999
3.15|LOHP Interview: Frankie Lieberman (ch. 5), 2005, 2010
3.16|LOHP Interview: Ann Lindsey (ch. 1), no date, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2009
3.17|LOHP Interview: Arthur Lipkin (ch. 2, ch. 5), 2008, 2010
3.18|LOHP Interview: Paula Lovejoy (ch. 5), 2008, 2010
3.19|LOHP Interview: Mary Costa Mattera (ch. 1), no date, 2010
3.20|LOHP Interview: Paula McCarthy (ch. 2), 2006, 2010
3.21|LOHP Interview: Mary McKenna (ch. 1), no date, 2006, 2010
3.22|LOHP Interview: Amy Meltzer (ch. 6), 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
3.23|LOHP Interview: George and Jane Metzger (ch. 6), 2005, 2007, 2009
3.24|LOHP Interview: Mitchell / Wheeler S & S (ch. 1), no date, 2006, 2010, 2009, 2008
3.25|LOHP Interview: Peg and Paul Murphy (ch. 1), no date, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2007
3.26|LOHP Interview: Jackie Neel (ch. 4), 2005, 2008, 2010, 1977, 2007
3.27|LOHP Interview: Martha Osler (ch. 5), 2005, 2009, 2007
3.28|LOHP Interview: John Partridge (ch. 2), no date, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2009
3.29|LOHP Interview: Lewis Patchiavos (ch. 1), 2009
3.30|LOHP Interview: Helina Pitkin (ch. 3), 2006, 2008, 2010
3.31|LOHP Interview: John Pitkin (ch. 3, ch. 5), no date, 2008, 2010
3.32|LOHP Interview: Francs Quint (ch. 1), no date, 2009, 2010, 1943
3.33|LOHP Interview: Bob Richards (ch. 5), no date, 2007, 1992, 2008, 2009
3.34|LOHP Interview: Dennis Ring (ch. 1), 2006, 2008, 2010
3.35|LOHP Interview: Charles Rogers (ch. 4), 2005, 2008, 2010
3.36|LOHP Interview: Mary Jane Rupert (ch. 6), 2006, 2010, 2008
3.37|LOHP Interview: Hugh Russell (ch. 5, ch. 6), 2009, 2008, 2010, 2006
3.38|LOHP Interview: Paul Ryan (ch. 1), no date, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2008
3.39|LOHP Interview: Takako Sato Salvi (ch. 1), no date, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2009
3.40|LOHP Interview: Arnie Schutzberg (ch. 1), no date, 2009, 2010
3.41|LOHP Interview: Philip Sciandra (ch. 2), no date, 2006, 2009, 2008, 2010, 1980
3.42|LOHP Interview: Sam Seidel (ch. 6), 2009, 2010
3.43|LOHP Interview: Sikha Sen (ch. 6), no date, 2008, 2009, 2010
3.44|LOHP Interview: Sandy Sheehan (ch. 3), no date, 2005, 2010, 2009
3.45|LOHP Interview: Frances Siegel (ch. 1), no date, 2005, 2010, 2007, 2006
3.46|LOHP Interview: Helen Snively (ch. 6), no date, 2005, 2007
3.47|LOHP Interview: Francis Fox Spinks (ch. 5), no date, 2005, 2010, 2008, 2011
3.48|LOHP Interview: Connie Spinos (ch. 3), 2010
3.49|LOHP Interview: Frances Tingle (ch. 1), 2007, 2010, 2008
3.50|LOHP Interview: Jimmy Tingle (ch 2), no date, 2007, 2008, 2010
3.51|LOHP Interview: Jack Walsh (ch. 1), no date, 2005, 2008, 2010
3.52|LOHP Interview: Larry Ward (ch. 6), 2009, 2010
3.53|LOHP Interview: Robert Winters (ch. 5, ch. 6), 2005, 2011, 2008, 2009
3.54|LOHP Interview: Alison Woodman (ch. 6), no date, 2005, 1974, 1980, 2008, 2002, 2010
[/table]
Series II: Proofs, Outlines, and Various Book Matter
Contains the proofs, outlines, and various matter related to the book From the Heart of Cambridge.

Box 6: LOHP Box 6 (Proofs)

[/table]

Series III (Restricted): Administrative and Legal
Contains administrative and legal information / files related to the oral history interviews and the book From the Heart of Cambridge.

Box 4: LOHP Box 4 (Interview Administrative)

[table]

Number|Folder Title
4.1|LOHP Administrative: Christian Adjemian, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2008, 2009
4.2|LOHP Administrative: Lisa Alexander, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2009, 2008
4.3|LOHP Administrative: Mario Andella, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2007, 2008
4.4|LOHP Administrative: Sarah Berman, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 3), no date, 1971, 1992, 2007, 1970, 1972, 1998, 2004, 1981
4.5|LOHP Administrative: Bill Bibbins, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2010
4.6|LOHP Administrative: Judy Bibbins, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 1990, 1988, 2005, 2008
4.7|LOHP Administrative: George Bossarte, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2007, 2005, 2008
4.8|LOHP Administrative: Ken Bowles, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2009, 1970, 2008
4.9|LOHP Administrative: Barney Brawer, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 2007, 2008
4.10|LOHP Administrative: Phyllis Bretholtz, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2006, 2007
4.11|LOHP Administrative: Susan Butler, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2005, 2009
4.12|LOHP Administrative: Robert Cann, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2006, 2008
4.13|LOHP Administrative: Maureen Carey, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2006, 2007
4.14|LOHP Administrative: Kathy and John Carlisle, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2008, 1990
4.15|LOHP Administrative: Jacques Chanier, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 1993, 1992, 2003, 2007, 2008
4.16|LOHP Administrative: Rick Colbath-Hess, Legal agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2009
4.17|LOHP Administrative: Gloria Crivello, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2008
4.18|LOHP Administrative: Ted Darling, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), 1991, 2009, 2006
4.19|LOHP Administrative: Gertrude di Natale, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2005, 2007
4.20|LOHP Administrative: Robert Dolan, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2006, 2007
4.21|LOHP Administrative: Frank Duehay, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 2009, 1980, 1967
4.22|LOHP Administrative: Rachel Faith, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2008
4.23|LOHP Administrative: Theresa Fitz Maurice, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007
4.24|LOHP Administrative: Floyd Freeman, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007
4.25|LOHP Administrative: Floyd Carter Freeman, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2009, 2006, 2008
4.26|LOHP Administrative: Lise Foss, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2008, 2009
4.27|LOHP Administrative: Frank Gages, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2009, 2006
4.28|LOHP Administrative: Betsy Groban, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2006, 2008
4.29|LOHP Administrative: Adrianna Heintz, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2009, 2005
4.30|LOHP Administrative: George Hinds, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2008
4.31|LOHP Administrative: Helena Hughes, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2008, 2006
4.32|LOHP Administrative: Linda Huntington, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 2008, 2005
4.33|LOHP Administrative: Mopsy Strange Kennedy, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2007, 2008
4.34|LOHP Administrative: Bernie and Libby Kilm, Legal Agreement and Related (ch 3), no date, 2009, 2005, 2007, 2008
4.35|LOHP Administrative: Penelope Kleespies, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 2008, 2009
4.36|(RESTRICTED) LOHP Administrative: Glenn Koocher, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2008
4.37|LOHP Administrative: Alice LaRoca Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007, 2008
4.38|LOHP Administrative: Joseph and Mae Laycox Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2008, 1999
4.39|LOHP Administrative: Walter Lenk Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2007
4.40|LOHP Administrative: Frankie Lieberman Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2005, 2007
4.41|LOHP Administrative: Anne Lindsey Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007
4.42|LOHP Administrative: Arthur Lipkin, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2008, 2009
4.43|LOHP Administrative: Paula Lovejoy, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2008
4.44|LOHP Administrative: Mary Mattera, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2008, 2006
4.45|LOHP Administrative: Paula McCarthy, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2007
4.46|LOHP Administrative: Mary Mckenna, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2006, 2007
4.47|LOHP Administrative: Amy Meltzer, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2008
4.48|LOHP Administrative: Jane and George Metzger, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2007
4.49|LOHP Administrative: Gary Mitchell, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2008
4.50|LOHP Administrative: Paul Murphy, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007
4.51|LOHP Administrative: Peg Murphy, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007, 2006
4.52|LOHP Administrative: Martha Osler, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 1989, 2007, 2005
4.53|LOHP Administrative: Jackie Neel, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 2008, 2005, 2009
4.54|LOHP Administrative: John Partridge, Legal Agreement and Related (ch 2.), no date, 2008
4.55|LOHP Administrative: Lewis Pashiavos, Legal Agreement and Related (ch 1.), no date, 2009
4.56|LOHP Administrative: Helina Pitkin, Legal Release and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2006, 1975, 2008
4.57|LOHP Administrative: John Pitkin, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2008, 2010
4.58|LOHP Administrative: Francis Quint, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007, 2005, 1940, 1993
4.59|LOHP Administrative: Bob Richards, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2007, 2008
4.60|LOHP Administrative: Dennis Ring, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2009, 2010, 1931
4.61|LOHP Administrative: Charles Rogers, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 4), no date, 2008, 1987
4.62|LOHP Administrative: Mary Jane Rupert, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2008, 2006
4.63|LOHP Administrative: Hugh Russel, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2006, 2008
4.64|LOHP Administrative: Paul Ryan, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2009, 2005
4.65|LOHP Administrative: Taka Salvi, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2005, 2007

[/table]

Box 5: LOHP Box 5 (Interview Administrative)

[table]

5.1|LOHP Administrative: Sandy Sheehan, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2005, 2009
5.2|LOHP Administrative: Phillip Scaindra, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), no date, 2000, 2006, 2009
5.3|LOHP Administrative: Arnold Schutzberg, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2007
5.4|LOHP Administrative: Sikha Sen, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2009
5.5|LOHP Administrative: Sam Seidel, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2009
5.6|LOHP Administrative: Frances Siegel, (Legal Agreement and Related ch. 1), no date, 2008, 2006
5.7|LOHP Administrative: Helen Snively, Legal Agreement and Related (ch 6), no date, 2005, 2007
5.8|LOHP Administrative: Francis Spinks, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2008, 2005, 2009
5.9|LOHP Administrative: Connie Spinos, Legal Release and Related (ch. 3), no date, 2007, 2006
5.10|LOHP Administrative: Eli Stickgold and Sarah Carleton, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2009
5.11|LOHP Administrative: Charles Sullivan, Presentation Transcripts (ch. 5), no date
5.12|LOHP Administrative: Frances Tingle, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2008
5.13|LOHP Administrative: Joe and Betty Burke, Legal Agreement and Related (ch 1), no date, 2009
5.14|LOHP Administrative: Jimmy Tingle, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 2), 2007, 2008
5.15|LOHP Administrative: Jack Walsh, Legal Agreement and Related, no date, 2008, 2005
5.16|LOHP Administrative: Larry Ward, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2009
5.17|LOHP Administrative: Doris Mitchell Wheeler, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 1), no date, 2008, 2006
5.18|LOHP Administrative: Robert Winters, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 5), no date, 2005, 2008
5.19|LOHP Administrative: Alison Woodman, Legal Agreement and Related (ch. 6), no date, 2005
5.20|LOHP Administrative: Early Press Release, Chapter To-do List, Correspondences, Sales, and Related, no date, 2010-2014
5.21|LOHP Administrative: Press Release, Cambridge First Day, Our Town Play, Post Press Release and Related, 2007 – 2014

[/table]

Box 8: LOHP Box 8 (Administrative Matter)

[table]

[/table]

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The Longfellow Neighborhood Council Oral History Project, 1930−2010

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