Mary Linscheid, a senior English major, will present her Honors EXCEL project titled "Precious Memories: Reuniting the Carvell Collection with Monongalia County Churches" at 6 p.m. Monday (April 24) at Highland Park Methodist Church in Morgantown.
This project reunites the Kenneth L. Carvell Archive spanning 1957-1961, its surrounding stories and local churches in a celebration of the history of music making and community in Monongalia County.
This archive, housed in the West Virginia and Regional History Center, includes recordings of the Tri-District Sings held once a month in various county churches.
“On a personal level, this archive has given my grandma, Joy Decker, the opportunity to hear her parents’ voices in song again, and it’s given me the chance to hear them for the first time.” Linscheid said. “I have spent many evenings sitting at my grandma’s kitchen counter listening to these recordings and stories about her father, Rev. Bill Camp, her fondness of the old hymns and of the people she grew up singing them with.”
“With her help I have taken a deep dive into the archive, determined to bring it to life again. Together, we visited the churches where the Tri-District Sings were held and played the original recordings back into the spaces they were made in 60 years prior. I liked to imagine the buildings themselves remembered these voices, even though they are now an echo of what they once were,” she added.
This presentation will be the opening of a digital exhibit featuring the Tri-District Sings where visitors can explore the recordings, photos, videos and writings Linscheid gathered.
Light refreshments will be served.
For more information, contact ml0062@mix.wvu.edu.