The Washington Museum Association honored Jason Jones, City of Auburn videographer, with an award of excellence for “Auburn Our Story,” a series of six videos produced by the White River Valley Museum.

The videos share the history of Auburn through the stories of the city’s residents. The oral history project is a collaboration of the White River Valley Museum and the City of Auburn, inspired by Mayor Pete Lewis’s love of oral history.

Each video is about 30 minutes long and features interviews with residents who have a unique perspective on Auburn’s history, including an antique sawmill operator, a lifelong teacher, a longtime butcher from the first supermarket on the West Coast, and a Japanese-American who experienced internment during World War II. The short films also present historic photographs, background information and shots of relevant museum exhibits.

Jones received the award for the videos “Denny Swanson and His Saw Mill,” “Fran Calkins on Early Education in Auburn,” “Ken Bradford on Downtown Auburn and Massey’s Supermarket” and “Mae Yamada on Farming and Internment.”

Other videos in the series are “Touring the White River Valley Museum Exhibits” and “Mary Olson Farm Tour, 2007.”

Jones is currently producing a seventh video on Auburn’s railroading history, featuring interviews with five Northern Pacific retirees, including a telegrapher, engineer, railroad clerk and rail historian Jim Fredrickson.

‘Auburn Our Story’ videos are available at www.wrvmuseum.org and aired regularly on TV21. DVDs also are available for purchase in the museum gift shop. For more information, call the museum at 253-288-7433.

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