This oral history interview is an intimate conversation between two people, both of whom have generously agreed to share this recording with Oral History Summer School, and with you. Please listen in the spirit with which this was shared.

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please inquire about permissions.

All rights are reserved by Oral History Summer School.

Researchers will understand that:

  • Oral History Summer School abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association (2018) and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
  • Unless verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.
  • All citations must be attributed to Oral History Summer School:
    Narrator’s Name, Oral history interview, YYYY, Oral History Summer School
I have read and agree to the terms listed above.
Library

Mirial Clapp

June 18, 2015

|

Hudson, NY

Song

Recorded by

Elizabeth OuYang

This interview is available in-person only. Please get in touch if you would like to listen.
Is this your interview?
Click here to respond.
x
Summary:

This oral history interview was conducted with Mirial Clapp in her home on Riverledge Road in Hudson, New York on June 18, 2015. Born in Hudson, ninety-two year old Mirial Clapp has lived in Hudson all her life, except for her college years. With 35 years in education as a first grade teacher and later as a principal of Charles William School, Mirial tells stories of home visits to see absent pupils and offers insights into children growing up in the 1920's to those of today. When Mirial was a child, mom and pop stores, a hat store, and a trolley were on Warren Street with a shoe store, beauty shop, and tobacco store on 5th Street, and groceries were within walking distance. Widowed with no biological children, Mirial remains active in her church, the Hospital Auxiliary, and in the Fort Nightly Club, a now exclusive women's club whose activities are focused on enjoyment and intellectual enlightenment for women.

This interview will be of interest to parents, teachers, and to anyone who wants to know what Hudson was like from 1923 to the present.

Themes:
Education
,
Mid Twentieth Century
,
Local Business
,
Warren Street
,
Transportation
,
Church
,
Longtime Resident
,
Interviewer Bio:
Elizabeth OuYang

Born in Rochester, New York, I am a first generation Asian American civil rights attorney and community advocate. I teach adjunct at Columbia University and New York University. Mirial Clapp is the cousin of Dr. William Petry who was the husband of my Italian godmother, both of whom lived in Rochester and are buried in Cedar Park Cemetery. Oral History Summer School taught me the basics on how to capture the first hand account of people's life histories, newly acquired skills I will apply to collecting stories of Asian American women living with breast cancer.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
,
Audio quality:
High

Audio Quality Scale

Low - There is some background noise and the narrator is hard to hear.

Medium - There is background noise, but the narrator is audible.

High - There is little background noise and the narrator is audible.

Permissions: 

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please click here to inquire about permissions.

Part of this interview may be played in a radio broadcast or podcast.

Oral history is an iterative process. In keeping with oral history values of anti-fixity, interviewees will have an opportunity to add, annotate and reflect upon their lives and interviews in perpetuity. Talking back to the archive is a form of “shared authority.”

Is this your interview?
Click here
to leave updates or reflections on your life, your interview or your listening experience.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

© 2023 Oral History Summer School. All rights reserved.