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ARGABRITE, Russell R. (b. 1922). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the battleship USS California during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: May 3, 1984
ARMSTRONG, Bob (b. 1932). Attorney, former Texas Land Commission Land Commissioner
Attorney, former Texas Land Commissioner. His views concerning water policy in Texas. Early political activities; race for Land Commissioner; multiple use environmentalism; land use planning; environmentalism vs. economics; coastal zone management; water resource development; Trinity Barge Canal; strip mining legislation; forest management; Carter presidential campaign. Filed Under: Texas Political History.
Date of Interview: February 18, 1983
ARMSTRONG, Hazen (b. 1899). Farmer-rancher
Farmer-rancher. His reminiscences about life in Denton, Texas, 1910-30; business activities around the city square and county courthouse; city streetcar service; identification of old Oak Street residences; Cascade Plunge swimming pool; forced removal of African Americans from ”Quakertown” section of Denton to the east side of the railroad tracks in 1920s; early automobiles in Denton; Denton during World War I; medical practices; childhood leisure time activities; Prohibition in Denton; Great Depression; farming practices in the 1920s and 1930s; contrasts between banking practices of the 1920s and 1930s with those of the 1980s; comments on the oil industry. Filed Under: City of Denton (TX) History.
Date of Interview: March 29, 1986
ARMSTRONG, J. C. (b. 1918). U.S. Army Air Forces WWII Veteran. 20th Bomb Group
His experiences as a B-29 pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bombing missions from Guam and Saipan to Japan, 1945; Japanese flak and fighter opposition. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: October 17, 1996
ARMSTRONG, Jane (b. 1937). Homemaker
For the Ray Roberts Lake Oral History Project. Homemaker. Her reminiscences of life on the Scott Jacobs Farm, Denton County, Texas, 1920-87. The purchase of the land by her grandfather, Clint Jacobs; her identification of implements and outbuildings found on the farm; oil income and farm improvements during the 1920s and 1930s; rural entertainment and leisure activities; crops and planting; food preservation; in-town shopping; making homebrew and bootlegging activities; schools and churches; cemeteries; epidemics; folk medicines and remedies. Filed Under: Denton County History.
Date of Interview: August 20, 1987
ARMSTRONG, Roy G. (b. 1919). U.S. Army WWII Veteran, 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, Texas National Guard
Member of the “Lost Battalion.” His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Java and capture; Bicycle Camp, Batavia, 1942; Changi Prison Camp, Singapore, 1942; building of Burma-Thailand Death Railway, 1942-44; Tamarkan and Kanchanaburi, Thailand, 1943; Da Lat and Saigon, French Indo-China, 1944-45; liberation. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: October 15, 1980
ARMSTRONG, Vivienne (b. 1947) and Louise Young (b. 1947). Community Activists
Longtime activists in the Dallas lesbian community. Armstrong’s childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, New Jersey, and California; decision to study nursing and settle in Denver, Colorado; “coming-out” narrative. Young’s childhood in Ada, Oklahoma; education at East Central State University and the University of Colorado; “coming-out” narrative. Their meeting and early relationship; descriptions of Denver’s gay and lesbian communities. Involvement with various groups such as the Daughters of Bilitis and Gay Liberation Front. Decision to move to Dallas. Involvement with groups such as the National Organization for Women and Dallas Gay Political Caucus/Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance and in various political campaigns. Young’s career at Texas Instruments and Raytheon, and efforts to create more equitable human resources policies from within the corporations. Effects of HIV-AIDS crisis on Dallas’s gay and lesbian communities. 2008 marriage. Relationships with family members. Secrets to a long relationship. Filed Under: Gay Activism.
Date of Interview: February 4, 2010
ARNOLD, Annie Mae (b. 1926).
Her recollections about the African-American community in Texarkana, Texas, 1931-94; marriage customs; farm work; diet; birthing and child delivery; courting practices; education; cooking; child-rearing. Filed Under: African American History.
Date of Interview: October 20, 1994
ARRECHEA, Florencia (b. 1986). DFW Immigration Oral History Project
For the DFW Immigration Oral History Project. Childhood memories of growing up in Necochea, Argentina till the age of 17; family applying for U.S. visa lottery, the process and acceptance; moving to Texas and the culture differences; her family’s struggles and determination to succeed; her life perspectives as a young adult living in the U.S. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: January 7, 2016
ARTEAGA, Ivan (b. 1974).
For the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. Mexican national and immigrant to suburban Princeton, Texas. Childhood and education in Mexico City; family’s decision to immigrate to Provo, Utah, in 1995; first impressions of the U.S.; marriage; decision to relocate to Texas; opinions regarding anti-immigrant feelings prevalent in American culture; opinions regarding U.S. immigration bureaucracy; feelings about his two children’s U.S. citizenship. Filed Under: Mexican Immigrant History.
Date of Interview: October 27, 2009
ARWINE, John (b. 1917).
His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Hurst, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Camp 1816 at Lake Worth, Texas; description of camp; life in camp. Filed Under: The New Deal.
Date of Interview: March 8, 1993
ASH, Mary K. (b. 1915). Mary Kay Cosmetics Cosmetics entrepreneur
Cosmetics entrepreneur. Early sales experience and its impact upon future business philosophy, methods, and success of Mary Kay Cosmetics; planning prior to launching company; problems and solutions in beginning; early legal problems with competitors; concern for women’s opportunities; female orientation of company; development and growth of sales; role of her children in company; methods of recruiting; training, attitude building; marketing and sales techniques; incentive plans; sales territories; pricing; party plan; employee promotion; views on successful managerial traits; views on motivational differences between men and women; application of Golden Rule toward employees and customers; attitudes and philosophy toward employee relations; use of intuition in decision making; reasons for growth of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Filed Under: entrepreneurship.
Date of Interview: November 6, 1974 to November 11, 1974
ASHMORE, J. L. (b. 1920). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the battleship USS West Virginia during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: March 8, 1989
ASTON, Rogers (b. 1918). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences aboard LST-446 during the Solomon Islands Campaign, 1942-43; participation in the landings on Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Vella Lavella, and Bougainville; Marianas campaign and landings at Saipan and Guam, 1944. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: May 4, 1993
ASYOON, Alex (b. 1987).
For the DFW Metroplex Immigration Oral History Project. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan; growing up in Pakistan; father’s experience working for Afghan government and being captured by Taliban; immigrating to the United States; work and education experiences in the United States; contract work with the Department of Defense related to the War in Afghanistan; family background; cultural ties to the Middle East. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: March 20, 2021
ATCHLEY, Bob (b. 1921). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences at U.S. Navy Mobile Hospital Number Two during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: June 9, 1976
ATKINS, Barry K. (b. 1911). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences aboard destroyers in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Early education in England; U.S. Naval Academy, 1928-32; assignment to the USS Tennessee, 1932-33; assignment to the USS New Mexico, 1933-36; assignment to the USS Mahan, 1936-38; assignment to the USS Cuyama, 1938-39; developing techniques for refueling at sea; assignment to the U.S. Naval Academy, 1939-41; assignment to the Asiatic Fleet with the USS Parrott, 1941; start of World War II and operations around the Netherlands East Indies; Battle of Makassar Strait, January 23, 1942; assignment to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center, Melville, Rhode Island, August, 1942; designation as commander of PT Squadron 8; PT boat operations around New Guinea, 1943-44; appointment as skipper of the USS Melvin, October, 1944; Battle of Leyte Gulf and encounters with kamikazes; Battle of Surigao Strait, October, 1944; Lingayen landings; typhoon off the Philippines, December, 1944; offshore bombardments of Hokkaido and Honshu, 1945. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: February 20, 1997 to February 21, 1997
ATKINS, Irvin M. (b. 1904). U.S. Department of Agriculture Agronomist
Agronomist, U.S. Department of Agriculture and professor and small grains research leader, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas. Family background; employment with U. S. Department of Agriculture experiment stations, San Antonio and Denton, Texas; history of Denton station; development of varieties of small grains resistant to pests, disease, and adverse climate; discussion of wheat varieties; description of special equipment used at stations; experiences during Depression in Denton; refinements in equipment and methods at stations, 1950s; organization of stations; discussion of science of plant breeding; description of Texas A&M station’s activities; efforts to produce hybrid wheat; comments on future of American farmer. Filed Under: Texas Agricultural History.
Date of Interview: March 14, 1986
ATKINS, Joe L. (b. 1936). North Texas State College Educator
Educator. His experiences and role in the desegregation of North Texas State College, 1955-56. Rejection for admission; Atkins v. Matthews; early civil rights activities with NAACP Youth Council in Dallas; comments about Juanita Craft, Thurgood Marshall, W. H. Durham, and other civil rights leaders; comments about J. C. Matthews, Arthur Sampley, and other administrators at North Texas State College; decision to attend Texas Western College. Filed Under: History of University of North Texas.
Date of Interview: June 20, 1995
ATKINSON, Steven (b. 1962). LGBT activist
For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Businessman and long-time Dallas LGBT activist. Childhood in Dallas-Fort Worth area; awareness of sexuality; coming out; AIDS crisis in Dallas; the Dallas Way LGBT history project; local LGBT history; Dallas gay community; recent changes in legislation. Filed Under: LGBT History.
Date of Interview: November 23, 2015
AUSTIN, William P. (b. 1915).
His experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Childhood in Fort Worth, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Lake Worth, Texas; life in camp; description of camp; surveying land. Filed Under: The New Deal.
Date of Interview: October 15, 1993
AUTRY, Wilford (b. 1918). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: July 1, 1974
AYER, Hugh M. (b. 1924). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran College Professor and Administrator
College professor and administrator. His experiences as a member of FRUPAC (Fleet Radio Unit, Pacific) and the interception of Japanese naval codes in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Upbringing on a Kentucky tobacco farm; education; boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, 1943; training as a naval radio operator, University of Chicago; assignment to Bainbridge Island, Washington, 1943; interception of Japanese naval communications; katakana; Japanese call signs and communications signals; Japanese communications priorities; U. S. naval secrecy and security procedures; FOX broadcasts; Japanese circuits; search operations; interception of Soviet radio code; transfer to Station Wahiawa, Oahu, August, 1945; post-World War II career highlights. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: February 4, 1998
BABCOCK, Marjorie Rae Lutkins (b. 1927).
For the Women Veterans Oral History Project. Women’s Army Corps Enlisted, Keypunch Operator, Korean War-era Veteran. Childhood in Michigan; reason for enlisting; family’s reaction to enlistment; basic training at Fort Lee, Virginia; duty assignment at Governor’s Island, New York; temporary duty assignment at the Pentagon; duty assignment in Hanau, Germany; impressions of post-war Germany; placement in the Veterans of Foreign War’s Women’s Auxiliary despite veteran status; views on service; views on women in combat; advice for future women service members; brother’s experience in the Merchant Marines during World War II; daughter’s views on the military; daughter’s views on the military service of her mom and other family members. Filed Under: .
Date of Interview: March 31, 2013
BACHNER, Joel (b. 1918). U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
His experiences while aboard the battleship USS California during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Filed Under: Military Service.
Date of Interview: May 17, 1974