Recorded Interviews

Permanency, durability, and accessibility of oral histories for generations to come are essential to any successful oral history project. Since one cannot go back in time and improve the quality of an original recording, the best-case scenario involves using the highest archival-quality media available today. Today, LHS works with state-of the-art digital media and captures high definition audio and video. We can digitally copy and distribute oral histories without loss to quality, share stories across private and public online platforms, and preserve extraordinary amounts of information with limitless computer memory, using the highest quality archival standards. We record oral history interviews in digital audio and high-definition video and offer you the chance to see and hear your loved ones for generations to come.

I did not think that I was deserving of being put on tape. [However], this record of my personal history will give me a kind of immortality, touching the minds and hearts of my grandchildren.

Harold

Grandfather, California

Your expertise not only in the interviewing part, but in lighting, positioning, was impressive. I felt like a film star being directed by an expert director.

Golda

Philanthropist, California

I learned so much. I had no idea my grandmother spoke 5 languages! I also realized that my aunts both earned their masters degree – such modern women for the 1940s!

Helen

Daughter, Wisconsin

I believe that your work will prove therapeutic to some who feel the loneliness of not being able to share memories of their lives. Thank you for your interesting and stimulating presentation.

Jan

Director, Senior Center, California

Anita Hecht recently presented her life history work in a panel about writing memoirs at our college. Her professionalism and expertise was immediately obvious. She not only understands the societal importance of recording our personal histories but also the integrity and quality with which those stories are told — in terms of presentation, respecting the goals of her clients, and creating a well-crafted narrative. The audience left feeling both enlightened and inspired by her work.

Guy

College Educator, Wisconsin

Your gentle questioning and sympathetic manner helped me search and express ideas that had never occurred to me, but lay buried in my subconscious.

Joseph

Cantor-Educator, California

The preliminary meeting also made me more comfortable so that at the interview itself, I could relax, ignore the camera and just have a pleasant chat, reminiscing with you.

Melvin

Retired Businessman, California

Anita’s work is something we treasure. I have always believed in leaving a record of our family’s history to my children, grandchildren, and beyond, but I had no idea how captivating and meaningful the process would be. Our project soon became multigenerational, with Anita skillfully interviewing my parents, my wife’s parents, and my children as they grew up. Words are inadequate to express how much I treasure the gift these well-written and recorded family stories will be for my family as the future marches on. Anita is the best.

Scott Cook

Founder & CEO, Intuit

As the Archivist of Temple Emanu-El, an historic San Francisco congregation founded in 1850, my association with Ms. Hecht began in 2004 when she and I embarked on a project to digitize a series of decade-old oral histories she conducted in the 1990s. I cannot emphasize enough my respect for Ms. Hecht’s professionalism and for the initiative, creativity, and practicality she brought to our project. Furthermore, as I watched each of the interviews she conducted on behalf of Temple Emanu-El, I was especially struck by the sensitivity with which she guided her subjects. It was readily apparent that her preparation for each interview was extensive and that her ability to gain the trust of each subject and engage him or her in a lively, meaningful conversation was impressive. In addition, the supplementary written materials, which accompanied each interview could not have been more expertly produced.

Paula Freedman

Archivist, Edith S. Green Oral History Project of Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco, CA

I wanted you to know how meaningful the making of the oral history was for me. You are just a pro.

Fae

Grandmother, California