Oral Histories
Home movie donors are invited to record an interview and live narration of their films, with family members who recall the stories behind the films. Recording an oral history is an important step in documenting historic details and providing valuable context for the archival films. For each oral history provided here, you can find their family's collection of home movies linked in the description. To see a full-screen version of the interview, click the expand button in the play bar of the video.
Joanne Bloom
This oral history was conducted in 2008 with Joanne Bloom.
Joanne Bloom resided in Bridgeport, Chicago, and these films depict life on the South Side in the mid- to late-1930s. This collection's films will be available online soon.
Burt Ramos Family
This oral history was conducted in 2021 with Debra and Michael Burt, children of filmmaker Louise B. Burt.
The Burt Ramos collection includes home movies shot primarily by Louise B. Burt. They depict scenes of everyday life in Chicago, Illinois as well as family visits to Momence, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and Baldwin, Michigan.
You can watch their home movies here.
Lynette Frazier
This oral history was conducted in 2008 with filmmaker Lynette Frazier.
Lynette Frazier shot these films of her life in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood of Chicago, as well as her many travels around the globe. The collection includes the aftermath of the MLK Riots, Resurrection City in Washington, DC and the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.
You can watch her home movies here.
Maxwell Family
Filmed in 2008, Jacqueline Stewart interviewed mother Toby Maxwell and her three children Kim Maxwell, Tracey Maxwell-Rogers, and Philip Maxwell Jr. about their family history and growing up in Londontown, Chicago.
Their family's film collection, the Philip Maxwell Sr. Collection, was shot by Philip Maxwell Sr. in their Londontown home. The collection also includes visits to the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry.
You can watch their home movies here.
Jean Patton
This oral history was conducted in 2017 with film donor Jean Patton.
The Jean Patton collection was shot by both Jean Patton and her husband Robert and documents family life in Chatham and their extensive travels overseas. Consisting of over 100 reels, Jean and her husband visited China, Japan, Europe and the Caribbean and documented nearly 20 years of family celebrations and events.
You can watch their home movies here.
Dr. George Reed
This oral history was conducted in 2008 with film donor Dr. George Reed and his son.
The Reed Collection was shot by Dr. George Reed, a physicist at Argonne Laboratories. The collection consists of family scenes featuring Reed's wife, Selina, and children, Mark, Carole, Phillip, and Lauren. Films include scenes on Chicago’s lakefront, a YWCA camp in Forest Beach Michigan and the University of Chicago lab school. The Reeds lived in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on Calumet Avenue.
You can watch their home movies here.