Share your memories of Cliff Kuhn with OHA friends and colleagues
We invite you to share your favorite stories and memories of OHA Executive Director, Cliff Kuhn.
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We invite you to share your favorite stories and memories of OHA Executive Director, Cliff Kuhn.
Comments
I met Cliff briefly two years ago at the International Oral History Conference in Barcelona. As we started preparing for the 2016 IOHA Conference at Bangalore, India, Cliff wrote to me with warmth and encouragement. Not only had he publicized the conference, he also generously assured me that he would be happy to chair or coordinate a session. We were in the process of creating a preliminary program when we heard of his passing. We are shocked and can’t quite believe that he won’t be there with us next year. On behalf of IOHA and on behalf of the Oral History Association of India and well as on my own behalf, I would like to say that we will all sorely miss him.
Indira Chowdhury
President, International Oral History Association
President, Oral History Association of India
I didn’t know him at all, but my family and I want to express condolences and also heartfelt and personal thanks for the Veterans History Project. This past spring my daughter, Wendy Ide, (then a senior in high school) interviewed my father, Ernest Vierk, a World War II veteran, for the Veterans History Project. It is so terrific to have my father’s experience in the US army documented at the Library of Congress. It also is provided a wonderful expression of the connection between my daughter and her grandpa.
Where is Brother Blue when we need him? He would have known the words of praise and celebration Cliff’s life and work deserve. I can only say how grateful I am for the times we shared. Everybody has a story, we say, and Cliff’s was full of passion and commitment, love and laughter, and so very much good work, a story well worth remembering, and telling, and retelling. We will, Cliff.
I just knew Cliff tangentially from attending OHA. He was always there every year for the decade or two I’ve been attending. He was always full of energy and said Hi tho we didn’t have interests in similar aspects of the discipline. I was glad when he was able to work with the office in Georgia and felt he would bring a lot of enthusiasm to his new responsibilities. I feel this shows in recent OHA publications and how well the conference went in Tampa. I hope his welcoming spirit stays within the organization.
Cliff made me passionate about oral history research and what it had to offer to my own work. But then he took it many steps further, meeting with me to help me learn how to conduct responsible and thoughtful oral histories; taking time out of his busy schedule to train my graduate students how to conduct oral histories; and encouraging me to pursue projects that initially seemed overwhelming. But what I’ll remember most is his generosity in connecting with me with other people as a way of supporting my professional growth. There wasn’t an ounce of ego involved, just a genuine excitement about encouraging the work and a personal warmth and enthusiasm that always made me feel appreciated as a colleague. There are no words for how big a hole he leaves behind.
What an incredible person! I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Cliff Kuhn since 2002 when I enrolled in his undergraduate Georgia History class at GSU. We quickly became close and he served as an academinc mentor for the remainder of my undergraduate and masters degrees.He was always quick to share his knowledge and help students. He taught me what it means to truly listen. Over the years we maintained contact and when I became a teacher myself, he helped me to build an oral history project at the high school where I’m now employed and came to speak with our students for the inaugural year. We shared some great times, great meals, he even cut a jig at my wedding! He was more than just a mentor, he was my friend and he will be sorely missed. I’ve shed many tears since hearing of his passing, but take great pride in knowing that he will live on through me and the countless others who had the pleasure of knowing him.