Interview with Joan Walden
Date20 February 2025
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 48 Minutes, 39 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
Description(a) Audio file of interview with Joan Walden. She was interviewed by Lauren Palen on 20 February 2025 in West Hartford, CT. (b) Photograph of Joan Walden taken at her interview.
Joan Walden was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
The interview is conducted by Lauren Palen for the Community History Project at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. The interviewee, Joan Walden, introduces herself, mentioning her recent retirement and upcoming move to Pennsylvania. This sets the stage for a discussion about her life and experiences.
She describes her change becoming a Public Information Officer for the Connecticut Commission for the Arts. She also mentions Jack Dollard being a pivotal figure in her being able to get this position. This job opened the doors for her career allowing her to work for the Hartford Council and ultimately being able to have an event planning business of her own.
Hartford means a lot to her as it was the perfect place for her to grow, learn, and help others gain a prominent status. She describes her influence and accomplishments through the events she assisted in setting up. The events she mentions are a fundraiser for the American Paralysis Association, Oak Hill (Oak Hill School for the Blind) 100th anniversary event, events for the Athenaeum Theater, and The Socety for Savings Bank unveiling of an ATM. She had no set method on creating ideas for these events and relied on her creative problem solving skills to get the job done.
She mentions fear being her motivator along with her drive to never give up. She also describes her experience working with friends. She was mainly on her own as her parents passed when she was young and credits her peers as her main support system. She finishes the interview by discussing the importance of paying forward and helping others.
Joan Walden was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
The interview is conducted by Lauren Palen for the Community History Project at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. The interviewee, Joan Walden, introduces herself, mentioning her recent retirement and upcoming move to Pennsylvania. This sets the stage for a discussion about her life and experiences.
She describes her change becoming a Public Information Officer for the Connecticut Commission for the Arts. She also mentions Jack Dollard being a pivotal figure in her being able to get this position. This job opened the doors for her career allowing her to work for the Hartford Council and ultimately being able to have an event planning business of her own.
Hartford means a lot to her as it was the perfect place for her to grow, learn, and help others gain a prominent status. She describes her influence and accomplishments through the events she assisted in setting up. The events she mentions are a fundraiser for the American Paralysis Association, Oak Hill (Oak Hill School for the Blind) 100th anniversary event, events for the Athenaeum Theater, and The Socety for Savings Bank unveiling of an ATM. She had no set method on creating ideas for these events and relied on her creative problem solving skills to get the job done.
She mentions fear being her motivator along with her drive to never give up. She also describes her experience working with friends. She was mainly on her own as her parents passed when she was young and credits her peers as her main support system. She finishes the interview by discussing the importance of paying forward and helping others.
Object number2024.79.8a-b
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- West Hartford
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Women
- Professor
- Connecticut Commission on the Arts
- Hartford (Conn.)
- Artists
- Businesswomen
- Women-owned business enterprises
- Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, Conn.)
- Fund raising
- American Paralysis Association
- Non-profits
- Non-profit organizations
- Oak Hill School (Hartford, Conn.)
- Event planners
- Friendship
- Family
- Creativity
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
On View
Not on view