New Rochelle Voices Through the Ages

Join us for a panel discussion exploring the history of New Rochelle through personal stories! Hear from Monica Genuardi on local first hand accounts of the Revolutionary War, Barbara Davis on oral histories describing the early 20th century, and the Humans of New Rochelle team on contemporary voices. Experience the voices that have shaped New Rochelle and the techniques used to record, preserve and share them. The New Rochelle Public Library Archive includes a collection of Oral History Records.

Registration is requested. Register online or call (914) 813-3706.

Panelists: 

Monica Genuardi is a project archivist at the Westchester County Historical Society, working on organizing and describing the McDonald Papers, a collection of Revolutionary War Era firsthand accounts, in order to make them publicly accessible online. She holds an M.A. in World Heritage Studies and an M.I. in Information Science with a concentration in Archives and Preservation. Monica has worked on a range of projects in archaeology, history, and the digital humanities.

Barbara Davis is the New Rochelle City Historian and the co-director of the Westchester County Historical Society, where she is responsible for the programming, publicity, and other operations of WCHS, the only organization that collects and promotes the countywide history of Westchester. Beginning in 1988, as executive director of the New Rochelle Tricentennial, Barbara has been capturing the stories of New Rochelle residents by recording their oral histories. While in the position of community relations coordinator for the New Rochelle Public Library, from 2004 - 2020, she oversaw several oral history projects and collections.

Annie Gombiner and Veronica Yu are both graduates of the New Rochelle High School Class of 2024 and incoming first-years of the Harvard College Class of 2028. They have been managing Humans of New Rochelle (HONR) since 2021, interviewing and photographing an array of New Rochelleans to continue the idea that everyone has an important story. Hoping to expand the reach of HONR, this summer they installed an exhibit of a selection of HONR interviews at the City Hall NRCA Rotunda Gallery, which is up through August 30.

Moderator:

Wenting Yu founded Humans of New Rochelle in 2019, inspired by Humans of New York to set out on the streets of New Rochelle and ask strangers for their stories, with her constant philosophy that everyone has a story worth sharing. Since the inception of this project, Wenting has worked with Humans of St. Louis, one of the largest “Humans of…” branches in the world, and met Brandon Stanton, founder of the original Humans of New York.