Ex-pupils of a former Oban primary school are being interviewed as part of a project to turn the building into a centre of community culture for the town.
Memories Matter – A Time to Share our Stories focuses on the lives of pupils at Rockfield Primary during the postwar years of 1945-55.
Audio recordings and transcriptions are being made which will form part of an exhibition, along with photographs, objects and documents from the time-frame.
Oban Communities Trust is working to refurbish the school, which closed in 2007, into a centre for community groups, art, culture and heritage.
Project co-ordinator Cori Princell said: “The goal is to get stories from people who attended Rockfield between 1945 and 1955 by talking to them about what Rockfield was like in the post war years, what it went through.
“We are getting some wonderful memories about the games they played, the food they ate, the places they went in the town and the businesses they frequented. We are getting some lovely stories.”
Six people, aged between 65 and 80, have been interviewed so far, and more are being sought. A group interview will be recorded later in the summer with help from Argyll College.
Mrs Princell said: “After the war it was hard for families to find jobs and housing. People moved around in temporary housing. There was great excitement after the housing estate was built at Dunollie.
“You get a sense of increasing stability as fathers and sometimes mothers found jobs.
“We expected to hear quite a lot about rationing, but it doesn’t seem like there were extreme shortages in Oban compared to other places.
“There was plenty of meat in the butchers and the fishing industry was still strong in those days.”
It is intended to display the exhibition when the Royal National Mod comes to Oban in October, before a permanent home is eventually found for it in the Rockfield Centre.
Mrs Princell added: “We’d like to find a ration book for our exhibition. We are also looking for classroom materials. Several people have told stories about the rocking horse that was in one of the infant classrooms – we’re dreaming of finding that horse, or one like it.”
The project has been made possible by £8,000 from the Heritage Lottery’s Sharing Heritage fund.
People can get in touch through the website www.obancommunitiestrust.org.uk