RG04 Oral History Record Group

In 1984, based on a determination that Nightingale's archives were inadequate in revealing the school's history, Head of School Joan McMenamin and the Alumnae Association initiated an oral history project. Alumna Marea Adams '74 conducted interviews of former faculty and staff, heads of school, trustees, parents, and alumnae (some interviewees represent more than one of these roles). This project continued through 1986. Some oral histories pre-date the project; there are also several oral histories from the early 1990s. Around 2014, Catherine "Kitty" Gordan and Diana Frangos, former Nightingale administrators and history teachers, began extensively researching Nightingale's history in order to create a book in connection with the school's Centennial in 2020. Many more oral histories were conducted to supplement their research. These interviews reveal more about daily life of the school at various points in time, impressions of influential teachers, and reflections of Nightingale's impact on the lives of its students that are not otherwise revealed by the records in Nightingale's archives.