His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixtieth Legislature. Influence of lobbyists; House Rules; power of committee chairs; defeat of pari-mutuel betting bill; value of Texas Legislative Council; stand on annual legislative sessions; comments about African-American legislators Curtis Graves and Joe Lockridge; personal political…
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.”
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.
Attorney for the Receiver (State Insurance Board). His experiences during the Texas insurance scandals of the mid-1950s. James Allred’s gubernatorial campaigns; early insurance litigation; appointment as assistant state attorney general, 1953; state insurance frauds and scandals; U. S. Trust and Guaranty case; relationship with Texas Insurance…
For the DFW Metroplex Immigrants Oral History Project. Birth, childhood, and education in Puebla and Cholula, Mexico; family history, including grandparents’ migration from Spain and Italy; college experience at Universidad de las Americas; discovery of music history as a discipline of study; first impressions of U.S. on family visits; decision to…
Holocaust survivor. Her experiences during the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism in Memel, Lithuania, prior to Nazi occupation; early childhood life; move to Kaunas (Kovno), 1939; Russian occupation, 1939; German occupation, 1941; establishment of Kaunas Ghetto; Die Grosse Aktion (“The Great Roundup”); escape from the Kaunas Ghetto; life as a disguised…
For the Tarrant County War Veterans Oral History Project. Childhood in Buffalo, New York; family experiences in military service; decision to join U.S. Marines at age of seventeen; basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina; assignments to Quantico and Yorktown, Virginia; decision to volunteer for service in Korea; assignment to 1st Battalion…
His experiences while aboard the submarine USS Chub in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Submarine School, New London, Connecticut, 1943-44; assignment to the Chub, 1944; his responsibilities as an electrician’s mate; various patrols in the North China Sea, the Java Sea, and off the Philippines.
Librarian. Her experiences as a student at the library school at the Texas State College for Women and as a librarian. Early exposure to books and libraries; enrollment at the Texas State College for Women, 1940; comments about her college teachers and library science courses; employment as a student at the college library; college social life;…
Community activist. Her experiences as an activist in the Mexican-American community of Denton, Texas; family background; comments about the lack of discrimination against Hispanics in Denton; her education in the Denton schools; her first experience with discrimination at the train station in Denison, Texas, at age seventeen; her acceptance to…
College administrator. His experiences as a member of the faculty advisory committee that was responsible for the selection of John Kamerick as president of North Texas State University.
His experiences concerning the desegregation of North Texas State College, 1954-56; comments about President J C Matthews and chair of the Board of Regents, Ben Wooten; observations about race relations in Denton, Texas.
Businessman. His experiences as a fighter pilot in the European Theater during World War II. Education; enlistment in the 7th Regiment, New York National Guard, 1941; federalization of the National Guard and the redesignation of his unit as the 207th Coast Artillery; enlistment in the Army Air Forces and acceptance as an Aviation Cadet, 1941;…
Businessman. His experiences in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. Pre-war education and farming activities in Olney, Texas; enlistment in the Army Air Forces, c. 1941; assignment to Chanute Field, Illinois, c. 1941-42; Officer Candidate School, Miami Beach, Florida, c. 1942; assignment to Perrin Field, Sherman, Texas, c. 1942-44;…
Her experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-sixth Texas Legislature. Biographical information; personal political philosophy; decision to enter politics and seek political office; Equal Rights Amendment; abortion and right-to-life; election to Texas Senate, 1972; Women’s Caucus; comments about Governors Dolph Briscoe and William…
Political activist, former legislator. Her views concerning the impact and significance of women on the development of the Republican Party in Texas, 1960-90. Evolution of GOP in Texas; personal political philosophy; views on abortion.
Member of the Texas Senate from Fort Worth, Republican. Her experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-seventh Texas Legislature. GOP gains, 1980 elections; initiative-referendum; interest rate ceilings; state water plan; property tax legislation; law-and order bills; redistricting.
For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Lawyer and longtime Dallas LGBT activist. Childhood as a Navy brat; education; time in the Navy; coming out; Dallas LGBT history; LGBT activism; Baker v. Wade; AIDS crisis in Dallas; The Dallas Way; importance of younger LGBT generation knowing and preserving LGBT community history.
SMITH, GRADY LEROY, JR., President, Antiquestone, Inc., Bertram, Texas. Family background; experiences working with father for Trafton Tile Company, Austin; self-employment in the tile installation business, 1966; description of tile installation procedures; entry into tile manufacturing business, 1967; partnership with James Dyke, Jr. And Sr. to…
Former executive, Caltex Petroleum Corporation. Education; employment with Texaco at the Port Arthur refinery; second-hand information on formation of Caltex; transfer to Caltex, 1938; assignment to Philippines, 1938, as a lube engineer; servicing Caltex’s commercial accounts in the Philippines; lubrication surveys in Philippines; competition with…
Marina Ardovino recounts briefly the history of her restaurant, Ardovino's Desert Crossing. Following, she tells how she and some restaurant staff organized a mass gay wedding following New Mexico's decision to recognize same-sex marriage in 2013. Finally, she discusses her involvement in El Paso's LGBTQ+ community.
