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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2011-004
Marilyn Lashley served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia from 1978 to 1980 as a teacher trainer. She joined during a period when Peace Crops was enrolling families with children. Marilyn and her husband (both teacher trainers) and two young children attended training at Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, and in Liberia. Lashley was first assigned to Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute. After one term, she separated from her husband and transferred to Gbarnga to work on a curriculum materials development project. Mid-service Lashley transferred again to Monrovia and then was forced to evacuate from Liberia with her children in 1980 due to a coup and civil unrest. In the interview, she shares her experiences as an African American female teacher. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, October 10, 2010. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2006-007-005
Martha Allshouse Hull served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines from 1961 to 1963 in an education program. She had graduated from San Francisco State with a degree in social studies education. Hull trained at Penn State for an assignment in the Philippines as an educational aide. After lengthy language and cultural training, she was assigned to an isolated island and worked in a local elementary school. In her second year, Hull transferred to a project in Mindinao, helping to develop a national university that would integrate Muslim and Christian students. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 13, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2012-010
John Archer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia from 1967 to 1969 on a rural community development project. He participated in a Peace Corps Advanced Training Program, which included 8 weeks of training between his junior and senior years of college. After completing additional in-country training, Archer was assigned to the village of San Lorenzo in southeastern Bolivia, where plans to work alongside a Bolivian counterpart did not pan out. He tried to find a creative role for himself amid the village's developmental and social services programs by partnering with a local agricultural extension agent and coaching a basketball team. During the second year, Archer started working more with the Heifer Project to introduce animals to the community, then transitioned to working in an orphanage in Tarija, where he developed recreation programs and tutored the children. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, December 1, 2011. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2011-014-002
Stephen (Steve) Hayden served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia from 1967 to 1969 on an agricultural development project. The Peace Corps project group was huge but Hayden ended up alone in the small, self-contained world of an island atoll with a population of only 300 people. He became deeply involved with the community and worked with its elders to try to resolve a longstanding land ownership conflict. He returned beginning in 2002 to continue to help the original land claimants establish their rights. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, March 9, 2011. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2011-014-001
Sally Davenport served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania from 1963 to 1965 in an education program. She had previously worked as a congressional intern and spent a summer with Crossroads Africa in Ghana. Davenport trained at Syracuse University. In Tanzania, she worked as an English teacher in an upper primary school in a remote resettlement village on the shores of Lake Victoria. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, March 9, 2011. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2010-035-004
Charlotte (Kelso) Thompson served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile from 1969 to 1971 on a housing project. She and her husband were recruited to participate in a self-help housing project for married volunteer couples. The husbands worked as architects and the wives worked as social workers in Chilean communities where government-supported self-help housing projects existed. Thompson's role as a social worker was ill-defined but she found other useful ways to be involved in her community. The project was terminated early before the end of the second year after the election of President Salvador Allende. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, August 14, 2010. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2010-002-005
Adam Lutynski served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia from 1966 to 1968 on a rural community development project. He and his wife Marie were part of a group of four volunteers sent to a remote village district. They formed a team that traveled to surrounding villages to make presentations about community development projects in support of work done by local rural village organizers. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 5, 2009. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2009-060-004
Barbara-Jean Payne Janes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Pakistan from 1961 to 1963 as a teacher. Janes had a degree in chemistry and was part of the very first group sent to West Pakistan. She trained at Colorado State, at the Peace Corps training camp in Puerto Rico, and in-country in Peshawar. Janes was first assigned to teach science at a girl's school in Faisalabad, but after three months she transferred to the Women's College in Peshawar where she taught chemistry and biology. Since 2002, Janes has been involved in a Pakistani-based project to strengthen girls' education and has made several return visits to Pakistan in conjunction with this work. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, June 14, 2009. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2009-060-001
Howard Ellegant served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1964 to 1966 on an architecture and engineering project. Ellegant had worked as an architect prior to joining. He trained at Los Angeles State College, in Puerto Rico, and in-country. Ellegant was stationed in Medellin to work with an Alliance for Progress program to develop schools in rural areas. It was a joint Colombia-U.S. program and was staffed by both Colombians and Peace Corps volunteers. Ellegant drew up architectural plans for rural school buildings, which involved traveling out to various sites. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, June 14, 2009. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2009-015-004
Michael Ford served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1964 to 1966 on a rural community action project. He was in the very first group assigned to Kenya; these volunteers worked as land settlement officers in a program developed after the country's independence to transfer property from white Europeans back to native Kenyans. Ford trained at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, with agricultural training in Madison. In Kenya, he was assigned to the Shamata settlement scheme near the town of Thomsons Falls in a Kikuyu area. After four months, he was transferred to the larger Ol Kalou settlement scheme nearby. At both places, Ford provided accounting, administrative, and agricultural support. He also tried to go out and visit every farmer on the scheme in person. After the Peace Corps, Ford completed a PhD in African studies and political science. He returned to visit Ol Kalou in 1987. In the interview, Ford also discusses his experiences as a Black American in Kenya. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, November 6, 2008. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2009-015-003
Linda Meinders Webb served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1966 to 1968 on an applied nutrition project. She learned Telugu during training at Dartmouth College. Webb was part of a Peace Corps nutrition education team working in the village of Chandragiri in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. Her role within the team was to work with the community to start nursery schools. At the end of her tour, she worked at the Peace Corps office in Bangalore for a month. She later also worked as a recruiter for VISTA and Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, November 3, 2008. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2009-004-001
Judith Stadler served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador from 1967 to 1969 on a community development project. She worked at the village level in an obstetric clinic, doing health education work. Note: Beginning of interview is missing. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 6, 2008. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2008-055-001
Betsy Markland Schwartz served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1963 to 1965 on rural community development projects. She was in training at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces at the time of President Kennedy's assassination. Once in Guatemala, Schwartz was assigned to the town of Quezaltepeque with two other new volunteers and initially worked in a CARE school lunch program. After several months, she married a fellow Peace Corps volunteer and the couple was reassigned to Flores in the northern Peten region. When Betsy became pregnant, the Peace Corps moved them to Aldea Lo De Bran on the outskirts of Guatemala City where she worked on Spanish literacy, health and sanitation, and building latrines. She eventually gave birth while still serving as a volunteer. After Peace Corps, the young family spent six years in Colombia and Ecuador. Schwartz went back to Guatemala for a visit in 1995. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, March 1, 2008. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2008-010
James (Jim) Maurer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1966 to 1968 on an agriculture project. He applied upon graduating high school and began serving two years later when he was a college student. In India, he worked on a pig production project that he describes as well-intentioned but poorly planned. It required more skill in community development than animal husbandry. Maurer ended up frustrated and disappointed at the lack of progress. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, October 17, 2007. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2007-073-004
Ruth Ficek Stepien served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1966 to 1968 as a staff secretary in the Worldwide Secretaries program. She had graduated from business school and worked for two years prior to joining. She trained at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with a group of volunteers who were assigned to many different countries. In India, Stepien was assigned to the Peace Corps regional office in Hyderabad as secretary to the assistant directors. The office was very busy and she worked long hours to support the hundreds of volunteers in the area. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, June 10, 2007. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2007-018-002
Wilson K. Mason served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil from 1966 to 1968 in an urban community development project. He served alongside his wife Gwen. The couple trained at Experiment in International Living in Vermont, including a three week field experience in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They were assigned to a small rural town in northeast Brazil and worked through the local schools on a variety of projects. Wilson was also involved with development of small scale garden farms. After some local conflict, the Masons were reassigned in the second year to a larger city and continued their teaching and small scale agriculture projects. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, December 7, 2006. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2007-018-001
James (Jim) Hamill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru from 1965 to 1967 in an urban community development project. A graduate of Iowa State in architectural studies, he completed training at Cornell University. Hamill was assigned to Arequipa to work at a local housing agency on building design and engineering. He married a Peruvian woman during his second year of service. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, December 8, 2006. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2007-010-011
Anne Wiggins Thompson served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania from 1965 to 1967 in a secondary education project. She was a graduate in mathematics from Sam Houston University. Her training was at Syracuse University and included Swahili and practice teaching in Syracuse public schools. Thompson taught math and science at a girls' secondary school run by Anglican nuns. The school was in temporary quarters for the first six months until it could be relocated to a newly built site in Korongwe. During one vacation, Thompson worked with a United Nations smallpox eradication project in the bush. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 17, 2006. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2007-010-008
Tom Katus served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanganyika from 1961 to 1963 on a road surveyor project (Tanganyika I). Katus had an engineering degree from the South Dakota School of Mining. His group trained at Texas Western College in El Paso. They met President Kennedy at a Rose Garden ceremony in August 1961, then helped set up the Peace Corps Outward Bound training camp in Puerto Rico. The group also had in-country training with an emphasis on learning Swahili. Katus worked under a British regional engineer based in Morogoro. He and fellow volunteer Jerry Parsons did field survey work, such as basic road mapping and market surveys, as part of a feeder road development program. After his tour, Katus founded Volunteer Training Specialists, Inc., which provided training to 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers destined for Africa. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 15, 2006. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2006-007-002
Ralph Gilman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana from 1962 to 1964 in a secondary education program. A graduate of Stanford University with a degree in physics, he trained at the University of California, Berkeley. In Ghana, Gilman taught math and general science in a new government secondary school. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 13, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2006-007-001
Benjamin W. Bellows served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador from 1997 to 2000 on an animal production project. Ben grew up on a diary farm in Michigan and earned a degree in economics and history at the University of Michigan. He trained in-country concentrating on language with field training in agriculture. He was assigned to the village of Chiguinda near the Amazon basin and worked as a veterinarian. In his third year, he was a volunteer coordinator at the Peace Corps office in Quito. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, September 18, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2005-056-009
Joanne Powhida Roll served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1963 to 1965 on a rural health development project. She trained at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque along with more than 300 volunteers training for Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, June 18, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2005-056-005
Thomas D. (Tom) Hansis served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 1969 to 1971 on a rural community development project. Prior to the Peace Corps, he had completed a degree in Latin American studies. Hansis trained first at Camp Crozier outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by another month of agricultural studies in-country at Choluteca, Honduras. He was stationed in Catacamas but his role with the local agricultural colony never really developed. After a year, Hansis requested reassignment and moved to the capital city of Tegucigalpa to work with the national cooperative development agency. He also discusses a brief war between Honduras and El Salvador that broke out two months after he arrived in the country. After his service, Hansis worked as a Peace Corps trainer in Puerto Rico for six months. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, July 30, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2005-056-001
Russell Breyfogle served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1964 to 1966 on a secondary education project. He joined in 1963 as an experienced teacher and an Army veteran, and completed training at Columbia University Teachers College. As part of the first Peace Corps group in Kenya, he taught at an established Anglican secondary school in Maseno, north of Kisumu. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, June 22, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2005-042-002
Judy Struve Muncrief served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1965 to 1967 on a community development project. Her training included intensive language, Outward Bound training in Puerto Rico at Camp Crozier and Camp Radley, as well as a stay in a small village. The men in the program were assigned to work with the government ministry of community development while Judy and the other women were assigned to a small village in an unstructured and unsupervised setting. In her two years, Muncrief found and participated in many creative community development and educational activities within her community. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, April 4, 2005. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).