In July to October of 2004, seven kids from I.C.A.N. (Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods) worked with the City’s Public History Program to create this exhibit. They learned how to conduct oral histories and took behind-the-scenes tours of local museums. This helped them learn about creating history exhibits.

The kids came up with questions about being children in the past. They interviewed four people, Esperanza Moncivaiz, Rachel Cedillo, Ocie Payne, and LaVon Wood, who grew up in South Chandler, historically defined as the area encompassing Delaware Street to Arizona Avenue, Boston Street to Pecos Road. This area is the heart of Chandler’s historic African American and Mexican American communities.

Our interviewees brought in photographs. The kids photographed their own families, friends, and neighborhoods. The kids and staff found other images to include as well. They took all the things they learned about the history of these four people, and put together this display. The primary theme of the exhibit is a comparison between current kids’ experiences and former residents’ experiences as children in Chandler from the 1930s to the 1950s. The recorded oral history interviews and copies of the family photos are in the archives of the Chandler Museum for preservation.

The Chandler Museum provided many images for this exhibit. Museum staff Ruth Payne Franklin and Jan Dell assisted in project development and design of the panels. Dorothy Woods loaned items from her family’s theater memorabilia. Koko Hunter and Lyra McCoy from I.C.A.N helped coordinate the project.

For information, call 480-782-2751.
 
 
Helpful History Links: