One Hundred Summers: Camp Stella Maris – 1926 to 2026 may now be complete, but the work of preserving CSM’s stories continues.
No single book could contain every memory, voice or experience shaped by Camp Stella Maris. That is why we are using the StoryCorps platform to build a living oral history of Camp Stella Maris—one told in the voices of the campers, counselors, staff members, families, alumni, volunteers, and friends who have made CSM what it is.
Whether your connection to CSM began decades ago or only recently, your story is part of camp’s continuing history—and it deserves to be told/preserved.
Two Easy Ways To Record Your Story
Conduct an Interview in Person using the StoryCorps App
To get started, go to the app store on your mobile device and download the StoryCorps app. Once downloaded, we encourage you to setup a StoryCorps account and connect to the Camp Stella Maris community (see code below). Once you’ve done so, you’re more or less ready to record a conversation with someone beside you on a phone or tablet. Learn about the StoryCorps App
Conduct an Interview Remotely using StoryCorps Connect
Using StoryCorps Connect requires no account setup and instead takes you directly to a web-based app (similar to Zoom) that allows you to invite someone to the interview, record the interview, save the interview and eventually connect the interview to the Camp Stella Maris community. To take this path please read more here: Learn about StoryCorps Connect
Regardless of the path you take, once your interview is complete, we invite you to add it to the Camp Stella Maris Stories community in the StoryCorps Archive. Again, you must join the Camp Stella Maris Stories community in order to add your story.
Finishing Account Setup
Regardless of the interview path you take, the easiest way to setup your StoryCorps Account is to download the StoryCorps app from the store on your mobile device. Simply follow the prompts to create your account. To connect to the Camp Stella Maris community on StoryCorps just add the The CSM community code which is: CAMPSTELLAMARIS143
Adding the above code to your account will automatically make you a member of the Camp Stella Maris community on StoryCorps.
Before the Interview
Choose a quiet, comfortable place and allow enough time for the conversation to unfold naturally. Forty to sixty minutes is ideal, but even a brief conversation can preserve something important.
Bring photographs, letters, yearbooks, newsletters or other keepsakes that may help awaken memories.
Above all, do not worry about creating a perfect interview. Pauses, laughter, emotion, forgotten names and unexpected turns are part of an honest conversation. A story does not need to be dramatic to matter. A friendship, a camp tradition, an act of kindness or an ordinary summer afternoon may reveal something essential about Camp Stella Maris.
A list of sample CSM interview questions have been assembled for your review. You do not need to ask every question. The list is meant to help begin the conversation, not prescribe it.
Plan for approximately 40 to 60 minutes, although a shorter conversation can also preserve something meaningful. Choose a time and place where both participants will feel comfortable and are unlikely to be interrupted.
Once your interview is done, both participants must consent before an interview can be shared publicly. Once submitted to the Camp Stella Maris community, your interview will be reviewed. Upon approval, it will be published and then it will become part of CSM’s oral-history collection and will also be preserved through StoryCorps at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
There is no deadline. The Camp Stella Maris collection of stories may have begun with the publication of 100 Summers but using the StoryCorps platform, camp’s collection of stories is intended to grow for generations to come.
Every Camp Stella Maris story belongs here. Share yours.
StoryCorps offers a planning worksheet with additional guidance:
View the StoryCorps Planning Worksheet and Interview Tips
An interview does not need to feel formal. The best interviews often become relaxed conversations in which one memory naturally leads to another. Listen closely, ask follow-up questions, and allow room for pauses, laughter, emotion, and unexpected recollections.
StoryCorps also offers advice for creating a meaningful conversation: Read StoryCorps’ Tips for a Great Conversation
When recording independently, choose a quiet location and make sure your phone, tablet, or computer can capture clear audio. Review the StoryCorps Recording Recommendations