A conversation at the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton with Walter S. Rugland about the spirit of giving in the Fox Valley

This week, StoryCorps is recording 15 interviews with local residents about a wide range of topics at the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton.

Each of the recordings will soon be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Storycorps will identify one to be professionally edited for National Public Radio and featured by the museum.

Matt Carpenter, executive director, History Museum

The StoryCorps recording sessions are a perk of the History Museum winning the National Medal for Museum & Library Service in 2018.

“Getting that award is the biggest honor that can be bestowed on a museum, and these StoryCorps recordings are a feather in the cap of our community and a chance to share Fox Valley history with the nation,” says Matt Carpenter, executive director of the History Museum.

One of those audio recordings features a conversation between our own Tammy Geenen, vice president of Community Engagement, and Walter S. Rugland, whose father, Walter L, Rugland, formed the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region in 1986.

The 81-year-old Rugland reminisced about growing up in the Rugland family, philanthropy, his dad’s dream and vision for creating the Community Foundation, and where the philanthropic spirit in the Fox Valley comes from.

“I think it’s important for people to understand how our Community Foundation came to be. It will be a great story preserved for years to come,” Carpenter says.

We’ll share the interview in the future!

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