Lest We Forget Collection

Lest We Forget was a film and audio project that captured personal and historical reflections and remembrances of people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities, their families, their advocates, and their communities who lived during the decades of statewide institutionalization and subsequent deinstitutionalization in Ohio. The goals of the project were to collect oral, video, and written histories of the personal stories of people with mental retardation who lived in a state institution for any period of time. The project also collected the stories of their family members, professionals who worked in the institutions and advocates who worked toward social and legislative change.

The Oral History Component of the project was managed by disability advocate and musician Jeff Moyer. Moyer managed another similar oral history program at the Western Reserve Historical Society, but the Lest We Forget project sought to not only record and preserve oral histories but to expand into written histories, video histories, and a feature-length documentary. Lest We Forget: Spoken Histories was released as a two-CD audio documentary accompanied by music provided by Jeff Moyer.

The Video History Component of the project was produced by Judy Leasure and the video production company Fanlight Productions. The video footage from the oral histories were used as well as a variety of other images including family videos, photographs, and historical footage. The Written History Component of the project was edited by Judy Leasure and she also served as the lead writer for this portion of the project.

Initial feasibility discussions were completed in July 2002, and the project development was underway. The oral histories were collected throughout 2003 and 2004, and the marketing of the project began in 2004. The award-winning video documentary Lest We Forget: Silent Voices, a Mark R. Lyons film, is now available to purchase on DVD through Fanlight Productions. The film was featured at the Sprout Festival, the Athens International Film Festival, and numerous screenings across Ohio. The film received a 2008 Award of Excellence from Ohio Public Images and a Leadership Award from The Inclusion Network of Cincinnati. Lest We Forget was narrated by Julia Reichert and was edited by James Klein. The film was a production by Partners for Community Living. The 42-minute documentary was completed in 2007.