Introduction
By Mitch Mendosa

During the past four years and three volumes of Voices of the Valley, I have had the unique opportunity and privilege of hearing the stories of forty-seven of Anderson Valley’s residents during thirty-eight pre-interviews and recording sessions. In this day when it seems that most of us are in a constant rush, it’s refreshing to sit and listen, really listen, and hear about the events and beliefs that have molded the Valley. Every time we’ve finished recording, another stitch that makes up the fabric of this place is revealed and we understand Anderson Valley a bit better. Sharing these experiences as authentically as possible is one of our goals. To that end, the students transcribe the conversations exactly as they unfolded, complete with the each person’s idiosyncrasies of speech. Reading the conversation transcriptions and listening to the recorded sections on the accompanying audio compact disc reveal the beauty and complexity of this fabric to everyone now and for generations to come.

Matching teenagers with elders may seem a bit incongruous; I’ve found it to be intriguing. I see these two populations as extremely disenfranchised. High school students are at a crossroads where they’re trying to define how they’ll fit into society. They are no longer little children, yet they are not considered to be adults. Computer advancements have brought very sophisticated desktop visual and audio technology into our schools, enabling us to produce books and compact discs. Our students gain technological expertise very quickly and are yearning for opportunities to show that they can use these skills to contribute something worthwhile. They thrive on community acceptance and praise.

Our elders have contributed for a long time, have seen societal dynamics sway, and have lived through some of the events that our history books take a stab at describing. They possess wisdom and the gift of retrospect that only living awhile can provide. It seems to me that every generation is so engrossed in its own pursuits and so convinced that previous generations lack the capacity to understand contemporary missions, that our elders are cast aside and ignored far too frequently. We often lack the vision of the forest for the trees that years of experience provide.

In the process of allowing students to use their innate curiosity coupled with their understanding of advanced computer technology to collect and preserve our stories, the students and community become connected in an unprecedented way. With student isolation a factor in the recent increase in youth violence around the country, endeavors like this become even more important.

I begin the construction of each volume by giving the students control over all of the major decisions. By doing this, it truly becomes their work and learning is taken to heights unachievable in traditional teacher-imposed pedagogy. One of the first decisions they make is what the focus of the volume will be and who they will interview. During the planning stages of the first volume in 1997, the students defined various subgroups of Valley people, and chose to record people within these groups. The staff of the second volume wanted to focus on old Valley stories and continue the exploration of the Mexican population that the first staff had begun. This year, the Volume III staff wanted to build on what the previous staff had begun, but also wanted to get to know some of the interesting people who have moved here during the last few decades. Viewing the Valley through the eyes of someone who has lived elsewhere gives us perspective and acts as a reminder of how special Anderson Valley is. Besides, the stories are just too good to pass up!

In each of the volumes, the students have thought it important to interview people who moved here from Mexico. It is obvious to anyone who spends time in the Valley that the number of Mexican immigrants is increasing exponentially. Gathering the earliest stories of migration is vital in the process of understanding present and future dynamics of the community. This year, for the first time, we held two of the interviews in Spanish. Both of these women speak English, but noted that they would be able to share their stories much more fluently if the conversations were in their native language. This created the challenge of translating these interviews into English. I am proud to say that our bilingual students rose to the occasion and worked together to accomplish this.

The fact that students are preserving history, a task usually performed by adults, is an intriguing part of the project. I have gained a new respect for our youth, and I think Valley residents have as well. This is the first Voices of the Valley volume that involved a cross-graded group of ninth through twelfth graders. The older students created an atmosphere of maturity that influenced everyone. More importantly, all of the students, regardless of age, were expected to contribute equally. Each of them participated in at least two interviews and everyone transcribed. The transcription process, of course, is the most daunting part. It’s a seemingly endless process of careful listening and typing. Our students with English as their second language were especially challenged. Spoken English is filled with idiomatic phrases that are very difficult for an English learner to understand. I can’t think of a better way for an English as a Second Language learner to explore the subtleties of the language.

The students divided the remaining responsibilities into departments with the older students taking on the roles of department heads. The department head positions ended up not meaning much. Our staff worked truly as one. Students, regardless of age, would step up and take charge of something that needed to be done. Interest and expertise became paramount over class seniority. I applaud the younger students for taking that initiative and the older students for allowing that to happen when it was needed.

I am often asked what we’ll do when we run out of people to interview. I should be so lucky to live that long! There are far too many stories, and people to tell them, to even begin to entertain the idea of completion. Voices of the Valley is now an established class at the high school which points to the creation of many future volumes. We are all very proud of this book and compact disc set and hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

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