Ridgefield Oral History Project
Celebrating, recording, preserving, and sharing Ridgefield’s LGBTQIA+ stories.
Exploring identity, legacy, and lived experience through storytelling
Oral History Project Introduction Video
On Saturday, June 21st, the Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project culminates with a community gathering led by historian Dr. Susan Ferentinos, exploring identity, legacy, and lived experience through storytelling.
To commemorate and celebrate the success of the Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project, the Ridgefield Historical Society and Ridgefield CT Pride invite you to the Ridgefield Oral History Project Celebration & Conversation. It will be a time to come together, to celebrate and share reflections, stories, and insights gathered throughout the project. Nationally renowned LGBTQIA+ historian, Susan Ferentinos PhD, will facilitate an informal roundtable with project participants. Refreshments will be served. This free program is open to the public and will take place at 2-4pm on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Ridgefield Library, 472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT. Seating is limited and registration is required to attend.
Launched in 2023, thanks to a generous grant from CT Humanities, the Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project is a collaboration between the Ridgefield Historical Society, Ridgefield CT Pride, and student volunteers from Ridgefield High School. The goals of the Ridgefield Oral History Project are to record, preserve, and share Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ stories, which are underrepresented in the Ridgefield Historical Society’s collection; to foster intergenerational conversation; and increase civic pride and awareness.
Under the guidance of Dr. Susan Ferentinos, Project Advisor; Stephen Bartkus, Ridgefield Historical Society Executive Director and Project Director; Alisa Trachtenberg, Ridgefield CT Pride Director; Dr. Robin Collins, Project Manager; Julie Henderson, Ridgefield High School GSA Club Advisor; and Betsy Reid, Ridgefield Historical Society Collections Manager; Ridgefield High School student volunteers were trained in oral history techniques and conducted 29 interviews with 33 individuals from the Ridgefield community. These powerful stories have been transcribed, cataloged, and preserved in both the Ridgefield Historical Society’s Online Catalog and in the Connecticut Digital Archive, and will also be featured in a forthcoming book edited by Dr. Ferentinos.
“This project represents an important step in making Ridgefield’s history more inclusive,” said Bartkus. “By empowering students to record and preserve the stories of LGBTQIA+ residents, we’ve helped forge meaningful connections across generations and created a more complete and representative historical record.”
The June 21 roundtable will discuss these experiences and celebrate the voices and histories of Ridgefield’s LGBTQIA+ residents. Audience members will have the opportunity to engage with project participants and reflect on the role of personal storytelling in fostering understanding and a more inclusive community.
Ridgefield Oral History Project: Preserving Ridgefield’s LGBTQIA+ Stories
With a generous grant from CT Humanities, Ridgefield Historical Society is recording Ridgefield’s LGBTQIA+ oral histories, preserving stories and increasing civic PRIDE.
Ridgefield residents of all ages are participating in Ridgefield’s Oral History Project. This two year endeavor which started in the fall of 2023 is a collaboration of the Ridgefield Historical Society, Ridgefield CT Pride, and student volunteers from Ridgefield High School. The goal of the project is to record, preserve, and share Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ stories, which are underrepresented in the Ridgefield Historical Society’s collection; to foster intergenerational conversation; and increase civic pride and awareness.
Stephen Bartkus, Project Director and Executive Director of the Ridgefield Historical Society, says, “Representation and visibility matter, especially for marginalized populations. This is an exciting project that raises awareness by documenting a previously neglected area of history.” Ridgefield CT Pride Chairperson Alisa Trachtenberg adds, “Capturing oral histories empowers people while saying, ‘we see you!’ The response has been overwhelmingly positive and validating.”
Ridgefielders past and present are invited to share personal experiences related to LGBTQIA+ life in Ridgefield with student volunteer interviewers, who thus far have recorded 15 interviews with 20 individuals including local artists, business owners, parents, grandparents, and more. Dr. Robin Collins, Project Manager and owner of The Literacy Barn, where the interviews are taking place, and Julie Henderson, Ridgefield High School English Teacher and GSA Club Advisor have been instrumental in the success of the initiative. This project, which is being advised by LGBTQIA+ historian Dr. Susan Ferentinos, is made possible through a generous grant from CT Humanities.
Interviews will be professionally transcribed and entered in the Historical Society’s online catalog, accessible at ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org, along with other oral history collections focused on WWII Veterans, Growing up in Ridgefield, the COVID Pandemic, and the Ridgefield History Club. The interviews will also be preserved in the Connecticut Digital Archive. The richly unique stories are a powerful way to foster intergenerational connections and preserve Ridgefielders’ memories.
At Ridgefield Pride in the Park on June 1st, the student volunteers shared their great progress thus far and recorded stories on-site at the Society’s pop-up tent. The volunteers will continue interviewing through June 2025, when the project will culminate in a celebration.
The Ridgefield Oral History Project is a unique endeavor to create an overview of LGBTQIA+ life in Ridgefield over time. For more information, to sign up to share your story, or help us raise the $6,255 cash match required for this grant, please click here:
Ridgefield’s Oral History Project – Share your LGBTQIA+ story for posterity 🙂
The goals of this project are to record, preserve, and share Ridgefield LGBTQIA+ stories, which are underrepresented in the Ridgefield Historical Society’s collection; to foster intergenerational conversation; and increase civic pride and awareness.
“We’re thrilled that CT Humanities awarded us this grant to support our innovative oral history project and celebrate our community’s diverse history”, said Stephen Bartkus, Executive Director of the Ridgefield Historical Society. “This project will document the untold stories of LGBTQIA+ residents in Ridgefield, a significant step towards filling a gap in our historical record while encouraging intergenerational connections within our community.