Reflections of Watchung was originally proposed as a quick 15-minute video about Watchung, but when I first sat down to conduct the first three interviews with longtime residents, I knew it could not be just a 15-minute video. There was something so captivating listening to our longtime residents talking about Watchung’s past, and places that I grew up knowing, but not knowing the history of.

I have said it from very early on that oral history are those stories you cannot put in a frame. We all have so many memories that we don’t have pictures of. In fact, many of these memories cannot be captured in a photo because they are so personal to each of us – how we experienced it and that’s what makes them so special. I think these oral history stories will become more important with time as Watchung’s most distant past gets further from our fingertips and I truly believe that it is critical we try to preserve it. This was what kept me motivated throughout the life of this project.

Making an oral history archive like this must be a passion as it is incredibly labor intensive. I had to live with every video cut and decide what information from interviews should stay and or get cut - that is easier said than done. All the videos need to be scripted and timed out, rearranged, and sometimes rerecorded. Sometimes there are photos or archival footage you need to look for, and sometimes there are photos you want to use, and none exist, but we rely on the interviews of those telling the stories to help paint the picture for the viewer – it’s what it’s all about.  You must keep the information that you think will be most interesting or what will connect with the public, but also the information that will best educate the public.

The project is also an ongoing journey of discovery – you find one piece of information and continually ask yourself more questions that brings you deeper and deeper into history.

There are so many people I would like to thank on this film making journey, you have all helped in so many ways and I cannot thank you enough for everything you did – big or small. To my editors Brian Erickson and Jake Feldman, thank you so much! I have to especially thank Sue Tucker in her support all these years. She took countless calls from me, helped to connect me with so many people who would tirelessly pour their hearts and knowledge out to me. These conversations helped to build the massive catalog of information encapsulated in these videos. Thank you so much, it has truly been the opportunity of a lifetime to be a part of it!

-Christopher Vander Fliet