Texas Hill Country Oral History Project

The Boerne Public Library Foundation is passionate about history and capturing that history as told by the individuals who lived it. We are fortunate to still have a few citizens that remember what life was like in the Hill Country 75 years ago.   Their stories of life during wars, droughts, floods and growth are being brought to life with our Texas Hill Country Oral History Program.

Our first Oral History Project was on WWII veterans of Kendall County. The Greatest Generation of Kendall County paired middle school students with veterans in an interview setting. It was inspiring to see the children interact with the veterans. It was powerful for everyone to see the emotion evoked from the questions and to appreciate the toll of war even 65 years later. 

For 2012 we are working towards two projects: The Herff Twins and The Texas Rangers of Kendall County.  We are very fortunate to have the support of Peggy and Michael Bowie, who's passion for Oral History is making this program possible.  As we move forward with this program, we envision a "Story House" that will allow us to capture stories, either with video or audio on a regular basis.  These stories are our history - a true gift to our future. 

If you are interested in sharing your story or know of someone that would like to share their story, please contact us. 

Thank you to Peggy and Michael Bowie for making this passion a reality!

This video acts as a resource in our Historical Archives and will be featured again in 2012 during our Veterans Day celebrations. The inclusion of local students brought together several generations and has bridged many gaps in telling the stories of our past. The students, their parents, the veterans and the families of the veterans were impacted in ways not foreseen. The documentary, which was aired during the Greatest Generation Moveable Feast, left attendees with an appreciation of the war that written accounts aren’t able to create.