Smithsonian Institution Archives

Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews, 1996

Summary

Collection ID:
SIA.FARU9594
Creators:
Dates:
1996
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
160 audiotapes (Originals). audiotapes (Reference copies).
Repository:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Introduction

Introduction
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives' record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry
This collection is comprised of one hundred and sixty interview sessions, totaling approximately 68.5 hours of recordings and 289 pages of transcript. Thirteen of the interview sessions have been transcribed, while the remainder of interview sessions have been described in short summaries.
Interviewees were Smithsonian staff, retirees, volunteers, and visitors, including:
Lorie Aceto - 033
Paul Allen - 044
Leslie Atkins - 034
Preston Atkins - 034
Betty Belanus - 123
Louise D. Belcher - 027
Stephen Belcher - 027
Dick Bell - 140
Cordelia Benedict - 141
Francine Berkowitz - 026
Maggie Bertin - 132
Carvester Booth - 050
David Bosserman - 133
Steven Bostwick - 137
Anita Buffaloe - 105
Josephine Burman - 057
Olivia Cadaval - 040
Richard Callwood - 139
Nathaniel Carleton - 071
Judy Chelnick - 099
Barbara Coffee - 091
Sheila E. Cogan - 095
Ronald Colaprete - 081
Judie Cooper - 058
Patricia Cox - 038
William E. Cox - 077
Myron Curtis - 009
Melissa Darden - 135
Herb Davis - 056
James Deutsch - 055
David DeVorkin - 006
Kathleen Dorman - 029
Doc Dougherty - 157
James Early - 062
Douglas Evelyn - 068
Edgar Farley - 101
Edward Fisher III - 153
Jody Fitterer - 008
Lou Fleming - 088
John Franklin - 085
William Gagham - 124
Jim Galvin - 096
Helen Gaul - 102
Mark Geiger - 083
John Gibson - 011
Jane Glaser - 041
Lee Galssco - 122
Andrew Goffrey - 042
Carol Gover - 036
Elease Hall - 092
Sara Harkavy - 080
Marguerite Harding - 021
Robert Harding - 078
Rebecca Hartman - 080
William Hartung - 017
Martha Hayes - 052
Leonard Hirsch - 125
Alice Hirschfeld - 002
Elaine Hodges - 134
Cynthia Hoover - 024
Bernard Howard - 136
David Howery - 131
Karin Hoyes - 001
Regina H. Ingrim - 160
Reuben Jackson - 111
David Jickling - 117
Myron Johnson - 047
Larry Jones - 042
Mitchell Jones - 149
Steve Jones - 042
Ken Jordan - 042
Martin Kaufna - 066
Walter Kelly - 144
Dana Kent - 065
David Kessler - 070
Kethshara Khlok - 147
Donald E. Kloster - 015
Ramunas Kondratas - 106
Amy Kotkin - 145
Kamille Kreger - 051
Michael Kreger - 051
Manjula Kumar - 010
Katharine Landfield - 114
Peggy Langrall - 086
Dorothy Laoang - 037
Felix Lapinski - 022
Jeffrey LaRiche - 152
Elyse Lattner - 159
Tom Lauderbaugh - 076
Myron Lecar - 059
Rose Lee - 061
Martin Levine - 107
Steven Lubar - 110
Marian Hope Lund - 003
Ian MacTavish - 073
Joseph Madeira - 014
Peter Magoon - 148
Barbara Manioc - 096
Sally Maran - 087
Kenneth Mason - 143
B. C. May - 004
Virginia McCawley - 121
Mary McCutcheon - 104
David McFadden - 025
Joseph H. McGuiness - 082
Adriana McMurray - 097
Jimmy Melendez - 044
Felicia Messina-D'Haiti - 084
Per Midboe - 073
Harry Miller - 138
Barbara Moore - 103
David Moore - 064
Marvin Nakashima - 005
Diana N'Diaye - 035
Norman Novack - 155
Jen Page - 146
Geoffrey Parker - 150
Joan Paull - 060
Marvette Perez - 109
Catherine Perge - 032
Don Phillips - 042
Jeff Place - 154
Nancy Pope - 119
Jean Porter - 007
Fred Price - 053
Louis R. Purnell - 089
Larry Randall - 054
Jahari Rashad - 158
Sharon Reinckens - 019
Sharon Rohnback - 093
Anne Roocker - 069
Rex Roocker - 069
Ingrid Roper - 031
Cordelia Rose - 115
Deborah Rothberg - 130
Lucile Rowe - 018
Margaret Santiago - 113
Lori Schlemmer - 098
Volkor K. Schmeissner - 127
Eric Scott - 046
Mina Smith Segal - 043
Ruth Selig - 108
Arnold Sperling - 048
David Squire - 156
John Stine - 030
Sally Sweetland - 023
Nancy Sweezey - 151
Charles Tamosa - 142
Kenneth Thomas - 045
L. Susan Tolbert - 112
Billy Turner - 020
Raineldo Urriola - 094
Vincent VanAllen - 128
Tom Vennum - 028
Jane Walsh - 012
Rita Wanpeha - 120
Mark H. Warmaling - 072
Deborah Watkins - 075
Mick Weltman - 067
David West - 079
Dennis Whigham - 074
Janice Whigham - 192
William White - 049
Amy Wilson - 063
Jennie Witthoff - 039
Douglas Wonderlic - 118
Mary Wood - 016
Chuck Woolf - 126
Steptoe Wrenn - 013
Holly Wright - 116
Agnes Yore - 090
Elizabeth Zimmer - 100
Amanda Zocchi - 038
Interviewers were Smithsonian staff and volunteers, including Francine Berkowitz, Maggie Bertin, Dorothy Blink, David Bosserman, Emily Botein, Olivia Cadaval, Tim Carr, Vivien Chen, Martin Collins, Eduardo Contreras, Odette Diaz, John Franklin, Shenandoah Gale, Joanne Gernstein-London, Margy Gibson, Terrica M. Gibson, John McKiernan Gonzalez, Pamela M. Henson, Paula Johnson, Katherine Kirlin, Felix Lapinski, Tom Lawrence, Brian LeMay, Magdelena Mieri, Pilar Somma Montalvo, Jen Page, Marvette Perez, Catherine Perge, Sarita Rodriguez, and Polly Stewart.

Historical Note

Historical Note
A section of the 1996 Festival of American Folklife was devoted to capturing the history and memories of Smithsonian for the Smithsonian Institution's celebration of its Sesquicentennial in 1996. Staff and volunteers of the Institutional History Division and the Center for Folklife Programs conducted interviews with Smithsonian staff, volunteers, and visitors about their memories of the Smithsonian. Between June 26 and July 7, 1996, some 173 individuals were interviewed alone and in groups. Interviewees included a wide array of Smithsonian staff from many museums and organizations, several Smithsonian volunteers, and a number of visitors to the Festival. Staff interviewees ranged from guards in a K-9 unit, to administrators, curators, educators, "skull" crews who move large objects, registrars, administrative staff, and horticultural staff, among others. Interviews of visitors focused on their reminiscences of visits to the Smithsonian museums and previous Folklife Festivals. Additional interviews of collected Smithsonian staff can be found in Record Unit 9508, Senate of Scientists Interviews; Record Unit 9522, Association of Curators Reminiscences; Record Unit 9595, Smithsonian's 150th Birthday Interviews; and Record Unit 9622, National Museum of Natural History Centennial Interviews.

Administration

Author
Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9594, Smithsonian Memories Project, Festival of American Folklife Oral History Interviews

More Information

Notes

Oral Histories


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Henson, Pamela M., interviewer Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gibson, Terrica M., interviewer Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Montalvo, Pilar Somma, interviewer Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Institution -- Anniversaries, etc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Festival of American Folklife Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Institution Sesquicentennial (1996 : Washington, D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral history Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Visitors Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Volunteers Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museums -- Employees Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans -- History Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anniversaries Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum curators Topic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiotapes Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Transcripts Genre/Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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