Project collects the stories of ordinary people.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

There may be 8 million stories in the naked city, but it isn't just New Yorkers who have a story to tell.

That's the message of StoryCorps, a mobile recording unit in an Airstream trailer that rolls into Portland this week. The project, which is being sponsored by National Public Radio, aims to make audio recordings of ordinary people telling their own stories. The StoryCorps trailer will be parked at Pioneer Courthouse Square through Oct. 17. All of the interview slots have been filled, but there may be cancellations.

The brainchild of award-winning radio documentary producer and MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship recipient David Isay, StoryCorps is the largest oral history project ever undertaken in this country. During the next 10 years, StoryCorps hopes to collect more than 250,000 interviews from people across the country. The interviews will be archived at the Library of Congress and may be broadcast on National Public Radio.

"We've seen the power that these stories have had on the millions who have heard them," Isay said in a news release. "(StoryCorps) helps Americans appreciate the strength in the stories of everyday people they find all around them."

The backbone of the StoryCorps concept is the idea that family members are encouraged to interview each other. Those people who participate in the project are given a copy of the interview to take with them.

The idea of exploring another family member's past and creating an archived version of their story for future generations is a concept Eugene's Marty Hall is familiar with. Hall is the owner of Legacy Life Videos, a company that conducts interviews with family members and produces high-quality videotapes of the conversations. He came up with the idea after interviewing his then 89-year-old mother shortly before she died.

"I learned a lot of stuff that I never knew about my mom," Hall says. "It captured her smile, her laugh, all those visual body cues that help you remember who that person is."

Hall says his business isn't just about capturing the voices of the elderly before they pass on, but also about capturing a person's thoughts at any particular moment in their life. The same idea is being emphasized by the organizers of StoryCorps, who encourage participants to interview everyone from an aunt to a neighbor to a waitress at the local corner cafe. One extension of the project aimed to capture the stories of people impacted by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Even though the Portland StoryCorps trailer may no longer be taking reservations, there are still ways you can make an oral history project. You can hire a company such as Hall's, or you can make your own audio or video record.

Or, if you still feel strongly about participating in the StoryCorps project, there are a limited number of do-it-yourself audio recording kits available. These "StoryKits," which require a $100 fee plus a $500 deposit, include MiniDisc recorders, microphones, headphones and a user's guide. For more information, check the StoryCorps Web site.

STORYCORPS IN PORTLAND

America's largest oral history project comes to Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square

When: Thursday through Oct. 17

Appointments: All appointment times for interviews are currently filled up; check the StoryCorps Web site for cancellations

More: For more information on the StoryCorps rental StoryKits call [phone] or go to http://storycorps.net/participate/record_an _interview/locations/

CAPTION(S):

This booth at Grand Central Station in New York is part of the StoryCorps project, where ordinary people are interviewed. Their stories may be broadcast on National Public Radio. "I learned a lot of stuff that I never knew about my mom. It captured her smile, her laugh, all those visual body cues that help you remember who that person is." MARTY HALL LEGACY LIFE VIDEOS