Oral History Films
Oral history videos are typically recorded interviews that feature a person's or group of people's personal experience during a moment in history, or throughout a lifetime. I work closely with both institutions and individuals including historical societies, educational programs, and families to record full-length oral histories that are cut into short, digestible mini films for online viewers. Click on the videos below to watch.
The first European settlers called the bowl-shaped valley "Oley" after the Lenni Lenape name for the region, "Olink," meaning kettle or hole. English Quakers, French Huguenots, and especially German immigrants were attracted to the valley's fertile farmland, abundant springs and flowing streams. These fertile fields and water sources still provide for family farms 300 years later. One of those family farms, "R Lost Creek Dairy Farm", has been run by the Schlegel family since 1935.
Produced, filmed, and edited by Margo Reed for the Oley Valley Heritage Association.
In 1979, a group of recently-graduated journalism students embarked in an inaugural @dowjonesnewsfund residency that aimed to help diversify newsrooms. The program invited nine students with diverse, minority backgrounds to Bethlehem Pennsylvania. They took journalism classes from leaders in the industry before heading off to their internships for the summer, and then to their fruitful careers.
All of the students in the group went on to work in journalism. They did anything from editing to reporting to masthead-level positions at some of the largest newsrooms in the country.
In 2023, the group reunited in person for the first time in 44 years, this time alongside another pioneering group-- the Dow Jones News Fund inaugural group of audience engagement interns. I was humbled to be there to witness and film both classes working and learning alongside each other. Thank you, DJNF.
Filmed and Produced by Margo Reed for the Dow Jones News Fund
For villanova's Bella Runyan, the daughter of former Eagles offensive tackle Jon Runyan, sports runs in the family. In this piece, look. behind the scenes during a Runyan family dinner.
Filmed and edited by Margo Reed for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Produced by Astrid Rodrigues.
After an identity change when she moved from Manhattan to Reading, Floridalia Lozano leaned into clothes, makeup and hair styles at 17-years-old. But since then, she has spent most of her adult life without hair at all. Still, Flor has found a way to maintain her giggly, camera-happy attitude and to continue growing despite a lifestyle defined by her cancer treatment schedule.
This project is funded by a FARO grant provided by a partnership between the Wyomissing Foundation and Barrio Alegría. It was produced, filmed, and edited by Margo Reed.
Years after leaving her childhood home in Vietnam, Mai Kligge learned that she shared her grandfather's love for gardening. This year, she suffered a stroke and has had trouble maintaining the garden, but she’s taken to drawing and journaling about it instead.
That's just the beginning of the story. Learn more about Mai's life in Lai Khe during the Vietnam War, how she met her husband, Fred, and how they formed a life together in Reading Pennsylvania.
This project is funded by a FARO grant provided by a partnership between the Wyomissing Foundation and Barrio Alegría. It was produced, filmed, and edited by Margo Reed.
Gloria Beard lost her husband when she was only 59 years old. In this video, she retells memories of her life and legacy with him. This project was produced, filmed, and edited by Margo Reed for the Beard family.
Paola Mateo was a young, successful, multidisciplinary artist based in New York City when her grandmother fell ill in 2019.
Mateo credits her grandmother, Dulcila Moreta De Segura, for her faithfulness, artistry, and personhood. Segura fled the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1970, moving first to Puerto Rico and then immigrating to the United States, where she would later live out her life in Reading, Pennsylvania. Mateo, whose work is centered around exploring her Dominican heritage, returned to her hometown of Reading just before her grandmother died in 2019. Since then, her focus has shifted from making work full time to engaging children in the arts. Moving home kept Mateo connected to her family and her community, which allows her to carry on her grandmother's legacy.
This project is funded by a FARO grant provided by a partnership between the Wyomissing Foundation and Barrio Alegría. It was produced, filmed, and edited by Margo Reed.
