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AARON, John (b. 1942). NASA engineer, manager
For the Skylab Oral History Project. NASA engineer and manager. Childhood in Dodson, Texas, and Vinson, Oklahoma; education at Bethany Nazarene College and Southwestern Oklahoma State University; career with NASA in mission control, space shuttle development, and software development, and International Space Station programs; duties on various Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions; Skylab program’s importance to NASA and space exploration; perceptions of NASA’s working and management culture. Filed Under: Space Exploration.
Date of Interview: November 4, 2006
ABBEY, Lillie (b. 1890).
Reminiscences and experiences of a long-time resident of Denton, Texas; Oklahoma land rush; life in Denton during the 1920s and 1930s; Great Depression; farm life. Filed Under: Life Experiences.
Date of Interview: December 11, 1974
ABBITT, Raymond E. (b. 1912). Episcopalian missionary
Episcopalian missionary. His experiences as a civilian internee of the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II. Capture on Mindanao; Davao internment camp, 1942-43; Santo Tomas, Manila, 1943; fall of Manila and liberation, 1945. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: February 25, 1975
ABBOT, J. Lloyd (b. 1918). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
Miscellaneous comments about his service in the Pacific Theater during World War II. U. S. Naval Academy, 1935-39; assignment to USS Enterprise, 1939; assignment to USS Glimer, 1939-41; flight training at Pensacola, 1941; assignment to Advanced Carrier Training Group (Pacific), 1941-42; assignment to VF-6 (Fighting 6) aboard the USS Enterprise, 1942; assignment to VS-1D-14 in the South Pacific, 1942-43;
commanding officer of VS-66, Wallis Island, 1943; antisubmarine patrols out of Wallis Island; assignment to Nanumea, 1943; assignment to Tarawa, 1943-44, with an SBD squadron; assignment to the Chief of Naval Air Training, Pensacola, 1944-46, as engineering officer; postwar naval and civilian career. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: March 14, 1998
ABE, Zenji (b. 1916). Imperial Japanese Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences as a dive-bomber pilot during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his participation in the Aleutians Campaign, June 1942, and the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot,” May 1944; surrender of Rota Island, September 2, 1945. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: May 1, 1993, May 4, 1993
ABEL, Marlyn S. (b. 1912). Army Air Forces WWII Veteran, 498th Air Service Group, 9th Air Force
His experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Preliminary training in New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, and Kansas; troop convoy to England, 1944; preparations for the Normandy Invasion, 1944; entry into Normandy on D + 6; transfer to 9th Air Force; initiation to combat; bombing of Saint Lô, July 25, 1944; supplying U.S. fighters and fighter-bombers; rest and recreation in France; black market activities; Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45; Rhineland Campaign, 1945; Munich and the end of the war; postwar adjustment to civilian life. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: August 14, 1998
ABERNETHY, Byron R. (b. 1909). Labor arbitrator
Labor arbitrator, Lubbock, Texas. Circumstances surrounding termination of his employment at Texas Tech University. Filed Under: Firing at Texas Tech.
Date of Interview: January 6, 1981
ABERNETHY, Byron R. (b. 1909). Labor arbitrator
Labor arbitrator, Lubbock, Texas; director of regional War Labor Board, Dallas, Texas. Family background; farming near Beach, North Dakota; activities as principal in Dodge, North Dakota; employment in political science department at University of North Dakota, 1937; experiences during the Great Depression; research on crop insurance and liberty concepts in labor relations; activities as director of regional War Labor Board office in Dallas and as vice-chairman of the Board, 1943-45; contributions of War Labor board to bargaining process; employment in political science department at Texas Tech, 1947; discussion of “ad hoc” and “permanent” arbitrators; comments on arbitration process and selection of cases to arbitrate; comments on operating requirements of professional arbitrator; comparison of 1940s and 1980s arbitration processes; views on injection of legalism in arbitration process; explanation of expedited procedures; comments on differences in arbitrating in Northeast and Southwest; “ego security” as a factor in arbitration cases; discussion of origin of full-time professional arbitrators; purposes of and involvement with the National Academy of Arbitrators. Filed Under: Labor.
Date of Interview: January 6, 1981
ACIERNO, Sharon “Tommie” (b. 1949). U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran
For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. Vietnam War veteran. Childhood in Brook Park, Ohio; decisions to drop out of high school and to enlist in the U.S. Army; basic training at Ft. McClellan, Ala.,; clerical training; assignment to Ft. Huachuca, Ariz. and base in Heidelberg, Germany; “coming out” experience with self and with family; decision to volunteer for assignment to Vietnam; clerical duties with logistics unit at Long Binh, including work with Graves Registration; camaraderie among gay and straight troops; experiences with apathetic citizens and antiwar protesters upon return to U.S.; work as drill sergeant at Ft. McClellan; decision to leave Army; decision to relocate to Dallas; struggles with alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder; experience in Veterans Administration psychiatric ward; relocation; opinions regarding “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and treatment of women in the military generally; work with Vietnam Veterans of America group. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: October 9, 2007
ACOSTA, Atzhiri (b. 1992). Dallas DREAMers Oral History Project
For the Dallas DREAMers Oral History Project. Reflections on moving from Guadalajara, Mexico to Texas with her family as a small child; the struggles and fears her family has faced as undocumented immigrants; her education experiences; thoughts on the DREAM Act. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: November 7, 2015
ADAIR, William G. (b. 1917). Survivor of Bataan Death March U.S. Army WWII Veteran Businessman
Businessman, Army veteran, survivor of the Bataan Death March. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Bataan and capture; Bataan Death March; Camp O’Donnell, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942-43; hell ship to Japan, 1943; Zentsuji, Shikoku, 1943; Rokuroshi, Honshu, 1945; liberation. Filed Under: Prisoner-of-war Experiences.
Date of Interview: May 27, 1971
ADAMS, Elsie (b. 1906). Adams Abstract Company Business owner
Co-owner of Adams Abstract Company and rancher, Robert Lee, Texas; Chairman of Board, City Savings, San Angelo, Texas. Family background; experiences growing up on farm near Miles, Texas; comments on teaching at Klattenhoff and Robert Lee public schools; comments on procedures of abstract companies; explanation of different types of abstracts and purpose of title policies; comments on charges for abstract work; entry into real estate business; advertising of businesses; civic activities; development of Lake Spence. Filed Under: Family History.
Date of Interview: March 30, 1984
ADAMS, Estelle (b. 1927). Educator
For the Desegregating DFW Oral History Project. Childhood in Wheelock, Texas; attending Bishop College; career in elementary and middle-school education; community involvement; awareness of race; life under segregation; move to Dallas; Dallas school integration; history of Wheelock; importance of education; legacy of the Civil Rights Act. Filed Under: Civil Rights Movement.
Date of Interview: July 5, 2014
ADAMS, Jennifer L. (b. 1971). Educator
For the American History: Voluntary Simplicity Oral History Project. Educator, homesteader, and simple life advocate. Childhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; discovery of the Nearings; simple life community in Maine. Filed Under: Voluntary Simplicity.
Date of Interview: July 29, 2014
ADAMS, Kenneth V. (b. 1923). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran Truck driver
Truck driver, navy veteran. His experiences while aboard the destroyer USS Henley during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: February 16, 1976
ADAMS, Stanley Edward (b. 1910). Adams Abstract Company Businessman
Co-owner of Adams Abstract Company and rancher, Robert Lee, Texas; Chairman of Board, City Savings, San Angelo, Texas. Family background; experiences growing up on farm near Miles, Texas; comments on teaching at Klattenhoff and Robert Lee public schools; comments on procedures of abstract companies; explanation of different types of abstracts and purpose of title policies; comments on charges for abstract work; entry into real estate business; advertising of businesses; civic activities; development of Lake Spence. Filed Under: Family History.
Date of Interview: March 30, 1984
ADAMS, Virgil C. (b. 1928). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran Adams Exterminating Company Businessman
Owner and operator of Adams Exterminating Company, Denton, Texas. Family background; father’s employment with Morrison Milling Company and International Exterminating Company, Denton; experiences in Navy at end of World War II; employment with father’s company, Adams Exterminating, 1950; comments on public view of pest control business, 1940s; description of Purdue University’s courses on pest control; comments on business competitors; views on “self-policing” within the pest control business; development of large sprayer dealership; contrast of old and current methods of pest control; discussion of ant problems, expansion of company; requirements for licensing pest control business; discussion of variety of pesticides; comments on government regulations; expansion of market; civic and trade association activities; duties as president of Texas Pest Control Association. Filed Under: Life Experiences.
Date of Interview: February 11, 1982
ADKINS, Dorothy (b. ca. 1925). Schoolteacher
Schoolteacher, community activist, homemaker. Her experiences concerning the activities of the Denton Christian Women’s Inter-Racial Fellowship during the 1960s and 1970s. Group social activities and parties; desegregation of public places in Denton; school desegregation; street paving in the African-American section of Denton; public housing; job opportunities; Denton Christian Preschool. Filed Under: Community Activists.
Date of Interview: November 17, 1987
ADKINS, Dorothy (b. ca. 1925). Schoolteacher
For the Denton Women’s Interracial Fellowship Oral History Project. Texas State Fair; childhood; Denton Women’s Interracial Fellowship; activism; teaching career; contemporary times; white privilege and power. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: March 3, 2017
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
Businessman, member of the Texas House of Representatives from Dallas, Republican. General views concerning problems in Texas state government. Two-party politics; annual legislative sessions; legislative pay; ethics legislation; single-member districts; constitutional revision; “Dirty Thirty”; insurance legislation. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: January 6, 1972
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-third Legislature. Freshman representatives; influence of Common Cause; reform legislation; appropriations; environmental legislation; comments about Governor Dolph Briscoe. Filed Under: Government Service.
Date of Interview: August 17, 1973
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views while serving as a member of the Texas Constitutional Convention, 1974. Need for constitutional revision; Constitutional Revision Commission; Price Daniel, Jr., as chair of the Constitutional Convention; Finance Committee; Right-to-Work provision; failure of Constitutional Convention. Filed Under: Government Service.
Date of Interview: December 16, 1974
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fourth Legislature. House speakership race; appropriations; committee appointments; strip mining bill; public school financing; public utilities legislation; constitutional revision; comments about Governor Dolph Briscoe. Filed Under: Government Service.
Date of Interview: August 11, 1975
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fifth Legislature. Budget surplus; highway appropriations; public school financing; Peveto bill; personal legislation. Filed Under: Government Service.
Date of Interview: September 9, 1977
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His views concerning the development of water resources in Texas. Filed Under: Government Service.
Date of Interview: November 14, 1977