FALLS VILLAGE — “We often think of the Northwest Corner as a static place, immune to history,” said Valerie Lenis, who created a podcast that explores the experiences of Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) students in the 1970s.
Lenis, a member of the HVRHS Class of 2020, produced the podcast through her internship with the Housatonic Heritage Oral History Center at Berkshire Community College in Great Barrington.
She drew upon dozens of interviews conducted in 2019 by her fellow students, who questioned graduates from the 1970s about their time at the regional high school.
“Synthesizing all of those interviews and perspectives was challenging,” Lenis said.
When asked if they would have preferred going to high school now instead of 50 years ago, most of the subjects chose the 1970s, citing the increased pressure on students today.
“Their description of the school culture, of hazing and cliques, was foreign to me,” Lenis said.
While many recalled an attitude of apathy toward politics, Lenis said that they all had memories of Watergate and the Vietnam War.
“Former students remembered going to anti-war demonstrations on the Sharon Green,” she said. “Being easily biased myself, it was at times hard to remain objective.”
Lenis added that the project had given her a greater appreciation for local history, and how much her high school has changed in a half century.
The 16-minute podcast can be found at www.theoralhistorycenter.org/how-to-begin/podcasts-and-other-inspirations. Scroll down to The Oral History Festival HVRHS explores the 1970s.
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