From the start, the Falls History Project has been focused on oral history as a vehicle for understanding the past. Nineteen of our projects have featured that component and we have interviewed one hundred people through 2025. In all cases (with the exception of the 2022 project) interns have transcribed the interviews for preservation. Here is a listing of the interviews.
2002: World War II
Andi Jo Cloud
Floyd Pratt: 7 February 2002
Vilas Johnson: 12 February 2002
Elmo Johnson: 13 February 2002
Bob Teeples: 14 February 2002
Thor Rykken: Submitted Document
2003: The Great Depression
Kristen Boehm
Ozzy Moe: 10 December 2002
Lillian McManners: 17 December 2002
Robert Pratt: 19 December 2002
George Brudos: 2 January 2003
2004: BRFHS in 1952
Jill Janke
Basil Holder: 25 November 2003
Gene Krohn: 8 December 2003
Janet Krohn: 8 December 2003
Sam Young: 15 December 2003
Richard Faldet: 16 December 2003
2005: BRF Music History
Kirsten Bjerke
Axel Dressler: 11 November 2004
Larry Hansen: 11 November 2004
Richard Camlek: 11 November 2004
Dick Deno: 30 November 2004
Margaret Severson: 17 December 2004
2006: BRF Politics: 1968
Cory Schultz
Bill Wilcox: 1 December 2005
Al Lahmayer: 5 December 2005
Gerald Laabs: 6 December 2005
Chris Goldsmith: 8 December 2005
2007: The Korean War
Katie Norton
John Noble: 1 November 2006
Mary Van Gorden: 13 November 2006
Myrle Thompson: 27 November 2006
Richard Piette: 6 December 2006
2008: Jackson County Fair
Max Hart
Norman Johnson: 13 November 2007
Margie Johnson: 13 November 2007
Lillian Hart: 19 November 2007
Bob Capaul: 12 December 2007
Jeannine Capaul: 12 December 2007
Jerome Laufenberg: 10 January 2008
2009: Integration of Schools
Alex Zank
Larry Garvin: 12 November 2008
Sadie Winneshiek Garvin: 18 November 2008
Nancy Lurie: November/December 2008
Tina Boisen: 16 January 2009
Paul ST Rykken: 21 January 2009
2011: Spaulding and the
Ho-Chunk Removal Episode
Erick Conrad
Anna Rae Funmaker: 8 December 2010
2013: BRF’s China Connection
Sandy Lin
John Noble: 8 November 2012
Basil Holder: 29 November 2012
Richard Holder: November 2012
2014: BRF and the Great War
Dominic Vase
Ken Schoolcraft: November 2013
Randy Bjerke: November 2013
2016: Edna Frances Perry
Michaela Custodio
Mildred Evenson: 9 July 2015
Leona Greengrass McKee: November 2015
Mary Perry: November 2015
2018: BRF’s Holy Hill
Elizabeth Pardoe
Barb Hanson: 15 November 2017
Paul Hanson: 15 November 2017
Mary Van Gorden: 30 November 2017
Jim Smetana: 14 February 2018
Rosemary Smetana: 14 February 2018
2019: The Vietnam War
Sydney Sampson-Webb
Allan Ciezki: 5 November 2018
Andy Thundercloud: 5 November 2018
Chuck Buswell: 8 November 2018
Gary Hoyer: 12 November 2018
Ken Schoolcraft: 19 November 2018
Xong Xiong: 8 March 2019
2020: The Coming of the Interstate
Sam Lund
David Hoffman: 17 December 2019
Keith Brown: 7 January 2020
Larry Lunda: 13 January 2020
2021: 9-11 Twenty Years Later
Maddie Diehn
Chris Manuel Zacher: Submitted Document
Tony Boerger: November 2020
Note: The 2021 Project was extensive and took us in a different direction as far as interviews were concerned. We wanted to hear from as many voices as possible regarding each individual’s time in service.
Eric Ramey: Submitted Document
Michelle Embretson-Green: Submitted Document
Kyle Nosbisch: Submitted Document
Kari Stetzer-Porter: Submitted Document
Rebecca Bjerke-Ayers: Submitted Document
Dane Gabrielson: Submitted Document
Ryan Simonis: Submitted Document
Brandon Winneshiek: Submitted Document
Joey Williams: Submitted Document
Luke Koran: Submitted Document
Dan Helland: Submitted Document
Ken Roberts: Submitted Document
Jim Babcock: Submitted Document
Jake Rykken: 5 February 2021
Alex Koch: Submitted Document
2022: The Impact of COVID-19
Paige Blackdeer
Note: Our 2022 project was unique due to the circumstances created by the Pandemic of 2020-21. Paige Blackdeer sought a wide variety of perspectives on what we were experiencing and how it was impacting the community. The interviews were conducted over a period of several weeks and preserved in audio format only.
Tammy Handley: Audio Interview
Julia Smith: Audio Interview
Miranda Greenwald: Audio Interview
Rosella Stanley: Audio Interview
Phyllis Smoke: Audio Interview
Linda Heller: Audio Interview
Dr. Shelly Severson: Audio Interview
Luke Madsen: Audio Interview
Tom Chambers: Audio Interview
Reese Cowley: Audio Interview
Randall Blackdeer: Audio Interview
Kaylee Sweno: Audio Interview
Theta Dal Cerro: Audio Interview
Paige Blackdeer: Audio Interview
2024: The FFA Organization
Morgan Lindow
Sherri Santas-Torkelson: 16 November 2023
Leonard Olson: 30 November 2023
Gina (Helstad) Zastoupil: 30 November 2023
Brad Markhardt: 11 December 2023
2025: The Hochungra School
KarolAnn Mann
Wilfrid Cleveland: 7 November 2024
Larry Garvin: 10 December 2024
Bernice Blackdeer: 10 December 2024
