For the Denton County Historical Commission. Former Mayor of Shady Shores, Texas. Childhood in Clayton, Texas; life in Dallas-Fort Worth area; Shady Shores town council; mayoral service; development of Shady Shores infrastructure and emergency service; growth of Shady Shores.

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.

Childhood in the Congo and Texas; family history; living on the Alabama-Coushatta reservation near Livingston, Texas; enlistment in the Navy; assignment on USS Thurston; attending the V-12 program; assignment on the USS Long Island in the Pacific Theater; post-war college and teaching; recall by Navy during the Korean War; assignment to USS…

For the Desegregating DFW Oral History Project. Civil Rights activist and local political figure. Participation with NAACP and SCLC; Juanita Croft; mother’s activism; impact of Civil Rights Act; participation in the South Dallas Information Center; the Black Panther Party; college experience; police brutality and shootings; city political…

For the UNT African American Remembrance Oral History Project. Former Denton City Council member, community activist, and longtime Denton resident. Childhood in Dallas, Texas; teaching career in Dallas; marriage and move to Denton; three terms on Denton City Council; Civil Rights struggle; work for NAACP; Quakertown, future of Denton; family.

For the Women Veterans Oral History Project. U.S. Air Force Airmen (Weather Maintenance Technician), Captain (Administrative Officer), Persian Gulf War-era Veteran. Childhood as an Air Force brat; family history of military service; JROTC in Phoenix, Arizona; father’s views on women in the military; enlistment in the Air Force in a recently opened…

For the Mexican-American Women’s Educational Experience Oral History Project. Childhood memories living in a military household and diversity found on military bases; early school life; attending college; having a family.

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Zaida Basora was surrounded by Spanish colonial architecture and a culture that celebrated design for people and nature. She came to Dallas in the mid 1980’s to study and practice architecture. In the mid 1990’s she accepted a position with the City of Dallas in the Public Works department. Nationwide, concerns were…

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Owner of Mable Peabody’s Beauty Parlor and Chainsaw Repair, Denton’s first LGBT-friendly bar. Childhood in East Texas and in Gainesville, Texas; brief marriage to a man; coming out narrative; experiences managing bars in Dallas; experiences during the AIDS crisis; relationships with LGBT community;…

Events of the week of the “Texas Blackout” (February 14 - 20, 2021) as experienced by David Carlson, a resident of Sanger, Texas, where he owns a ranch (cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs). Carlson struggled to preserve the lives of his dogs and sheep during a mass-birthing event during the 2021 snow storm.

For the Denton County Historical Commission. Childhood memories and family history in Denton County. First mayor of Trophy Club. Career and working history: General Motors, Frito-Lay, Mercantile Corporation. Involvement with Denon County Commission’s Court. Development of Emergency Services District (ESD) and building of fire station to increase…

His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-fifth Legislature. Budget surplus; highway appropriations; public school financing; Peveto bill; personal legislation.

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 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.

Engineer. His experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Induction into the Army and basic training, Camp Hood, Killeen, Texas, 1943; transit to Europe as a replacement to E Company, 119th Infantry Regiment, 1944; action on the Siegfried Line, 1944; the Battle of Aachen, 1944; individual episodes of close ground combat; his…

For the Quakertown Oral History Project. Denton resident and UNT employee with personal interest in the history of Denton’s historic all-black Quakertown neighborhood. Career at UNT as Associate Vice President for Equity and Diversity; service to Denton African American Museum, which led to interest in history of Quakertown.

Building contractor. His experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His youth in western Pennsylvania; his decision to join the Marine Corps, December 10, 1942; boot camp, Parris Island, South Carolina, 1942-43; camouflage school, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 1943; assignment to the newly-formed 4th Marine Division, Camp Pendleton,…

Her experiences as a plant nurse at Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, Arkansas, during World War II and the postwar years. Hiring policies for African-Americans; racial problems; industrial accidents and plant medical facilities; social activities; U.S. Congressman Wright Patman’s role in her being hired; effects of depot on Texarkana.

Tax consultant, Army veteran, survivor of the siege of Corregidor. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Corregidor and capture; Bilibid Prison, Manila, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942-43; Tanagawa and Zentsuji, Honshu, 1943-45; liberation.

Musician. His experiences as a member of the “Light Crust Doughboys” western swing band, 1935-42. Early radio career in Tyler, Texas; comments about “Light Crust Doughboys” band members; appearances in Gene Autry movies (“Oh, Susanna” and “The Big Show”) for Republic Pictures; employment with Burrus Mill and Elevator Company promotional band;…

His experiences as a survivor of the sinking of the destroyer USS Johnston during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944; Marshall Islands invasion; Carolines invasion; Marianas invasion; Truk; Battle of Samar.

His experiences and personal views as a member of the Sixty-sixth Texas Legislature. Anti-consumer legislation; lobby influence; comments about Governor William Clements; compensation for victims of crime; Regional Transportation Act; “Killer Bees.”

Childhood and early adulthood in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. World War II-era Army Air Corps training in armaments and electronics. Stateside service in 303rd Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force; aviation cadet training; service as a B-25 instructor pilot; DC-3 tow pilot for the glider program.

His experiences while aboard the battleship USS West Virginia during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

His experiences at Schofield Barracks with the 11th Signal Company during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.