Not too long ago, Redmond had just a few hundred residents (many of them Scandinavian), a City Hall that was also a jail and fire station and a strong connection to World War II with many locals working in Kirkland building warships.

Now, thanks to a grant from 4Culture, the Redmond Historical Society (RHS) has reached a milestone in preserving this history as well as other aspects of the city’s local heritage.

The grant has partially paid for the following:

• 30 existing oral histories that had earlier been transcribed into text were converted from tape cassettes to digital files;
• 18 other oral histories were transcribed into text and converted to digital;
• Two new oral histories were made directly with a newly purchased digital recorder.

In addition to having a text version of each history archived at the society office, located at 16600 N.E. 80th St. in Room 106 (and available for researchers), RHS now has digital files that can eventually be placed on its website, so the voices that recounted those histories can be heard.

Redmond’s quick growth from a few hundred people for most of the 1900s to more than 40,000 after the 1980s and Microsoft was a common theme among those interviewed.

“It was interesting to hear (interviewees’ opinions) on Redmond’s growth,” said digitizing volunteer Judy Lang.

RHS president said preserving the city’s history is important so future generations can have “access to the way people lived, worked, played and got along. That is vital to our society.”

“To me, it was natural to preserve Redmond’s history,” she said. “Growing up in an area (Washington, D.C.) that stressed history and taught civics in all our schools, preserving history was just what folks would do.”

As for 4Culture and their support, Himes said, “They and the City of Redmond are our big partners for keeping our history alive.”