Dolores High AP English Students Record Older Residents’ Life Stories

“There is just something about this place that is magical,” 83-year-old Sandra Pyle said as high school senior Michael Rantz hit record on his phone and began listening to her list the places she has lived, Cortez, Japan, Arizona and now Dolores, which she calls home. That exchange was one of 17 pairings between Dolores High students and longtime community members organized through an AP English partnership with the Dolores Public Library.

The program, led by AP English teacher Jessica Kuntz, pairs 17 students with older residents so students can listen to life stories and write biographies. Library adult services coordinator Jillian Rash and youth coordinator Hannah Carloni helped organize the effort, which had students sitting down with older community members twice a week through March to capture first-person accounts of local history and migration.

Kuntz said the project filled the library with conversation and gave students a personal connection to local history. “The kids, I see a brightness, a light, and they're smiling and they're excited. One of my students – she’s from Turkey – she made a Turkish danish for her partner as kind of like a gift,” Kuntz said. High school senior Michael Rantz is named among the students recording interviews; classmates asked questions on topics ranging from travel and career to childhood reflections.

The class produced written biographies from the interviews and plans a public compilation. A compilation of the biographies will be displayed at the Dolores Public Library and the Montezuma Heritage Museum, and each student will present their interview partner with a lap blanket featuring a quoted line from the interview along with both names. Some adult participants are regulars in the library’s adult services programming, including the book club, and the project aimed to draw students into library resources as well as preserve residents’ memories.

Organizers recorded interviews on phones and in person inside the Dolores Public Library meeting room, creating a face-to-face format intended to encourage intergenerational exchange. The project’s organizers have not yet announced whether audio recordings or transcripts will be archived publicly or the precise schedule for the museum and library displays, though the biographies will be available at the two venues named by program staff.

For more information about the exhibit or the library partnership, contact Dolores Public Library at P.O. Box 847, 1002 Railroad Ave, Dolores CO 81323 or by telephone at (970) 882-4127. The library holds regular programs in its meeting room, including Storytime on Mondays from 10:30 to 11:00 am, and lists program details and contact options through the Dolores Public Library office.