Dp Arts Commission Wants City’s History Recorded

On May 7, 1919, Lawrence Zimmerer and his classmates were let out of school early for a parade in the heart of Deer Park.

“I remember it was before noon,” Zimmerer said. “We were all out. We were so excited.”

The parade turned out to be a display of World War I memorabilia that American G.I.s had just brought back from Europe after the war’s end.

“It was just the most incredible thing. We were in awe,” he said.

Zimmerer, 90, and his wife, Mary, who is 79, have countless numbers of stories about Deer Park just after the turn of the century.

There are many other people in Deer Park like the Zimmerers who have lived in the community for most, if not all, of their lives.

As a result, the Deer Park Arts Commission is sponsoring an Oral History Project for the purpose of collecting stories about the town and other surrounding communities.

“We’re just at the point where we’re trying to get some interest and get it going,” said Ernest Robeson, the project’s architect.

“It is a viable project. It’s not something that sounds good but can’t be done,” he said. “This can be done.”

Robeson, 46, wants to know more. More about a town whose residents mainly earned their daily bread in the logging industry.

“What I’m trying to do is generate some interest to get some volunteers,” Robeson said.

The arts commission would eventually like to get money to start a museum.

As for the oral histories, participants will be filmed by Deer Park Junior and Senior High School students.

The data will be made available to future generations for research projects, school projects and the general public.

Robeson is encouraging interested older residents to contact him as soon as possible with their stories.

“I don’t want to sound mean, but people don’t live forever,” he said.

Robeson met an elderly woman in the fall who he thought would be a valuable resource for the project. Unfortunately, she recently passed away.

“That information, those stories…. they’re lost forever. You can’t get those back.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NEED MORE INFO? For more information about the Deer Park Arts Commission Oral History Project, call Ernest Robeson at 276-8470.