Oral History

Oral History List

AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-sixth Legislature. Relationship with Governor William Clements; appropriations; tax relief; Peveto bill; consumer legislation; “Killer Bees”; split primary. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: November 30, 1979
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-seventh Legislature. Elections of 1980; initiative-referendum; interest rates; tax relief; state water plan; property tax legislation; law-and-order issues; comments about Governor William Clements; redistricting; Speaker Bill Clayton and Brilab; fish and game laws. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: January 20, 1982
AGNICH, Fred (b. 1913). Texas House of Representatives Businessman Republican
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-eighth Legislature. Speaker Gib Lewis and financial disclosure; appointment as chair of the Environmental Affairs Committee; appropriations and taxes; comments about Governor Mark White; teachers pay; personal legislation. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: November 22, 1983
AKIN, Henry D. (b. 1927). Richardson Independent School District Attorney
Attorney. His role as the attorney for the Richardson, Texas, independent school district during the integration of the Richardson and Hamilton Park schools during the 1960s and 1970s. His working relationship with Principals J. J. Pearce and Raymon Bynum; effect of Civil Rights Act of 1964; Response to H.E.W. guidelines; decisions of 5th Circuit Court; closing of Hamilton Park Junior High School; redrawing school boundaries; dealings with Steve Gurwin of Department of Justice; development of Pacesetter. Filed Under: School integration.
Date of Interview: February 12, 1989 to March 30, 1989
ALAYTSEVA, Vladislava (b. 1986).
For the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. Uzbekistani-born immigrant to Dallas, Texas. Childhood in Uzbekistan; move to the U.S. at age eleven; transition to American school system; first impressions of the U.S.; mother’s family in Russia; transition of Uzbekistan from a Soviet satellite to an independent Muslim nation; differentiation between being ethnically Russian or Uzbekistani; identity as a Russian; definition of “culture”; comparison of life in Uzbekistan and the U.S.; elements of Uzbekistani culture brought to America; observations about Russians and American; culture shock in America. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: November 26, 2012
ALBARADO, Nolan J. (b. 1917). U.S. Army WWII Veteran, 19th Coast Artillery
His experiences at Schofield Barracks with the 19th Coast Artillery during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: November 15, 1987
ALBIN, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. (b. ca. 1900). Farmers
Farmers. Their observations on land speculation, settlement, and development around Taft, Texas, 1910-30. Agrarian life; Mexican-Anglo relations; Ku Klux Klan. Filed Under: Agrarian Life.
Date of Interview: May 30, 1969
ALEXANDER, Marvin (b. 1923). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences at Ford Island Naval Air Station with VP-24 during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: July 7, 1978
ALEXANDER, Nan (b. 1938).
Nan Alexander speaks about her time as a model and buyer in the Dallas fashion industry. Starting in the 1950s, Alexander served on the Neiman-Marcus teen board. Later in her career, she also worked for Neiman-Marcus in their flagship downtown location as a sportswear model, was trained in the junior executive program, assisted with Fortnight events, and served as a buyer. Alexander’s modeling experience also included working with manufacturer Howard Wolf and the modeling agency Kim Dawson Agency at the Dallas Apparel Mart. Her career spanned technological changes in tracking inventory and consumer buying habits, as well as fashion changes – particularly serving as a buyer who made some of the first pantsuits available to Dallas women. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: July 22, 2022
ALEXANDER, Shuford M. (b. 1924). U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran, 346th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force engineer
Engineer. His experiences as a fighter pilot in Italy during World War II. Enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; basic training at Camp Livingston, Louisiana, 1942; pre-flight training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, 1942-43; primary flight training at Waco, Texas, 1943; advanced flight training at Foster Field, Victoria, Texas, 1943; fighter training in the P-39 at Thomasville, Georgia, 1943-44; temporary assignment to Constantine, Tunisia, 1944; assignment to the 346th Fighter Squadron at Piombino, Italy, 1944; introduction of P-47 Thunderbolts and transfer to Tarquinia, Italy, 1944; Operation STRANGLE, 1944; his being shot down, October 1, 1944, by flak over Piacenza; his rescue by Italian partisans; his link-up with a British A-4 Mission and his attempt to reach Allied lines; his betrayal by a German agent and his subsequent capture, October 31, 1944; his escape on November 7, 1944, and continued search for Allied lines; his observations of and opinions about the partisans; his second encounter with a British A-4 Mission; his friendship with the Martani family in the village of Tosca; his group’s trek through mountain snow in January and February, 1945, to reach Allied lines; their meeting with British paratroopers; his meeting with African-American soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Division; his reunion with his squadron in Pisa on February 16, 1945. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: December 2, 1999
ALEXANDER, William J. (b. 1927). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran Advertising Executive
Advertising executive. His experiences as a teenager during World War II; his experiences as a sailor during the last months of World War II. Early youth in Casper, Wyoming, 1933-42; his close relationship with his older brother; life in Casper during the Great Depression while living with his aunt and uncle; local reactions to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor; his move back to Denver to be reunited with his parents and employment at the Brown Palace Hotel; the family’s move to Los Angeles and his employment at Earl Carroll’s Theater; vignettes about John Barrymore, Sammy Kaye, Harry James, and Betty Grable; wartime rationing; the family’s return to Denver; his brother’s enlistment in the Navy; his employment at Station KOA in Denver, 1943-45; his making broadcast announcements about D-Day, June 6, 1944; the sinking of his brother’s destroyer, the USS Spence, during a typhoon, December 18, 1944; the effect of his brother’s death on him and his parents; his joining the Navy, April 2, 1945; boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois; V-J Day celebrations in Chicago; assignment to Opa Locka Naval Air Station, Florida; his role as director of the base chapel choir at Opa Locka; his postwar career. Filed Under: World War II.
Date of Interview: November 11, 2002
ALI, Dr. Shazia (b. 1975). Immigrant Eastfield College College Administrator
For the DFW Metroplex Immigration Oral History Project. Pakistani-born immigrant to Mesquite, Texas; Professor of English at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas. Childhood in Pakistan and Dubai; education in Catholic Convent in Karachi, Dubai and in England and Richland College in Dallas, Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas; speaks English and Urdu; religion is Muslim; worked as a journalist for The News by Jang Publishing, covering stories on poverty and child abuse; legally immigrated via marriage; long-distance relationship from United States to Pakistan; life in America as a Pakistani immigrant; obtained college degree up to and including the Doctoral degree in United States; raising children as Muslims and Americans; perceptions of September 11, 2001 and being profiled as a possible terrorist; embracing of Muslim religion and adapting dress style. Filed Under: Immigration.
Date of Interview: October 19, 2012
ALLDAY, Martin L. (b. 1926). U.S. Army WWII Veteran, 96th Infantry Division Attorney
Attorney. His experiences with the 96th infantry Division at Okinawa, 1945; close action ground combat; his battle wound. Filed Under: World War II.
Date of Interview: October 8, 1994
ALLEE, A. Y. (b. 1905). Company D, Texas Rangers Captain
His version of the Crystal City Incident, 1963; Mexican-American relations. Filed Under: Mexican American Civil Rights.
Date of Interview: February 21, 1969
ALLEN, Adolph C. (b. 1917).
His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Louisiana and Mississippi; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 5415 at Camp F-5 in New Augusta, Mississippi; description of camp; life in camp. Filed Under: The New Deal.
Date of Interview: February 25, 1993
ALLEN, Billy W. (b. 1920). U.S. Marine Corps WWII Veteran Schoolteacher
Schoolteacher. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Pre-war duty in China with 4th Marines; fall of Corregidor and capture; Bilibid Prison, Manila; Cabanatuan, 1942; hell ship to Japan, 1942; Osaka, 1942-45, and American air raids; liberation. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: March 1, 1976
ALLEN, Freddie (b. 1926) and Olla Lee (b. 1927).
Their experiences as residents of Hamilton Park, Texas, 1959-91. Segregated education in East Texas; decision to buy home in Hamilton Park; home improvements; zoning problems; PTA and other school involvement; Flooding problems; desegregation of Hamilton Park School; property restrictions; the “Buy Out.” Filed Under: Segregated Education in Texas.
Date of Interview: February 24, 1991 to March 3, 1991
ALLEN, Robert M. (b. 1923). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while temporarily assigned to the Submarine Base during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. (His permanent assignment was aboard the aircraft tender USS Avocet. He was attending signalman school at the Submarine Base). Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: October 14, 1995
ALLEN, Roy (b. 1921). U.S. Army Air Corps WWII Veteran Contractor
Contractor. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Capture in the Mindanao jungle; Davao Penal Colony, 1942-43; hell ship to Japan, 1943; Tokyo, 1943; Yokkaichi, Honshu, 1944-45, and American air raids; liberation Filed Under: World War II.
Date of Interview: November 4, 1970
ALLEN, Sheila (b. 1958). Attorney
Attorney. Her experiences as a resident of Hamilton Park, Texas, 1958-91. Education at Hamilton Park School; desegregation of Hamilton Park School; experiences at Richardson Junior High; experiences in law school at the University of Texas; relationships between Hamilton Park and other African-American communities; school activities as a teenager; The “Buy Out.” Filed Under: Desegregation.
Date of Interview: June 21, 1991 to September 4, 1991
ALLISON, Joe (b. 1923). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
Company transportation executive. His experiences while aboard the submarine USS Silversides in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Filed Under: Military History.
Date of Interview: March 2, 1996
ALLRED, David (b. 1936). son of former Governor James V. Allred, Democrat Journalist Texas House of Representatives Democrat
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Regular and First Special Session of the Sixty-second Legislature. Origins of “Dirty Thirty”; Sharpstown stock-fraud scandal; comments about Speaker Gus Mutscher, Representatives William Heatly, Frances Farenthold, and Tommy Shannon. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: July 29, 1971
ALLRED, David (b. 1936). son of former Governor James V. Allred, Democrat Journalist Texas House of Representatives Democrat
Journalist, member of the Texas House of Representatives from Wichita Falls, son of former Governor James V. Allred, Democrat. His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fourth Legislature. House speakership race; committee chairpersons; House rules; Equal Rights Amendment; establishment of Public Utilities Commission; public school financing; Constitutional Convention. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: July 8, 1975
ALLRED, David (b. 1936). son of former Governor James V. Allred, Democrat Journalist Texas House of Representatives Democrat
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Second Special Session of the Sixty-fifth Legislature. Influence of Proposition 13 in California; treasury surplus; comments about Governor Dolph Briscoe, Speaker Bill Clayton, and Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby; personal reaction to the special session; repeal of sales tax on residential utility bills; increase in inheritance tax exemptions; taxation of agricultural and timber land; initiative-referendum; Peveto bill; formation of the “Filthy Fifty”; Sam Houston Caucus; House Study Group. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: October 25, 1978
ALLRED, David (b. 1936). son of former Governor James V. Allred, Democrat Journalist Texas House of Representatives Democrat
His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-sixth Legislature. Sam Houston Caucus; Impressions of Governor William Clements, Speaker Bill Clayton; consumer legislation; interest rates; tax relief; Peveto bill; comments about “Killer Bees.” Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: October 31, 1979