Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-093
Gary Mount served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia from 1967 to 1970 on an agriculture project. He served alongside his wife Pam. The couple was among the first volunteers to be trained in-country in Udot on Truk. After that they were sent to Colonia in the Yap District where Gary worked with an agriculture extension agent. They moved to the small, remote Satawal Island after the leaders there requested them. Mount recalls their initial trepidation at leaving the ship, but after being greeted by the entire village with song and dance, they quickly settled in. He describes his many projects working with the men of the island and his special closeness with three of the leaders. After being a part of a very small community for three years, returning home presented challenges, and Mount describes how they were ultimately solved. He also recalls a return visit to Micronesia 25 years later and his happiness at seeing that the results of his projects were still helping the people there. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, June 10, 2019. 4 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).