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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2015-006
Lillian Baer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ivory Coast in an education program. She worked in a secondary school in the city of Man teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Peace Corps training began at Dartmouth, the summer after her junior year in college, and continued a year later after graduation in Quebec and then in Bouaké, Ivory Coast. Lillian describes an extremely difficult and frustrating first year as a volunteer, struggling with the language. She persevered, however, and found the second year to be very satisfying and productive. After competing volunteer service, Lillian served for six years as Peace Corps staff, from 1973 to 1979, as Education Specialist for the Africa Region in Washington, D.C.; Director of Regional Training Resource Office in Dakar, Senegal; Acting PC Director in 3 countries; and Associate PC Director for Education and Training in Senegal. Lillian went on to live in Senegal for 32 years. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, October 23, 2014. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2014-038
Harry E. Bennett served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Belize from 2002 to 2004 on a sustainable agriculture and rural community development project. Harry and his wife joined the Peace Corps when Harry was age 53, after thirty years of living and working on an organic farm in Kansas. His Peace Corps projects in Belize provided an excellent opportunity for Harry to combine his university studies in business with his long experience in farming. He worked with Mayan subsistence farmers in projects to supplement their family farming with cooperative efforts to bring in cash. A project to grow hot chile peppers failed when their market disappeared, but a subsequent project to grow cacao in the rainforest was successful. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, February 19, 2014. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2015-031
Stephen Vincent served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria from 1965 to 1967. After Peace Corps training at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Stephen was assigned to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he taught humanities, literature, poetry, and creative writing. The interview includes discussion of tensions at the university leading up to the Biafran War. Stephen recounts an incident in which he got into hot water for giving credit to the Peace Corps for funding a poetry recording project, and another in which his own poetry helped him gain permission to leave the war zone. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, June 3, 2015.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2015-030
Abdullahi Edward ("Ed") Tomasiewicz served in the Peace Corps in Nigeria from August 1966 to August 1967 as an agriculture and rural development volunteer. He was assigned to a small industries business loan grant project in Kano, a project funded by the Ford Foundation and administered by the regional Nigerian government. A few years later, Ed went back to Nigeria and discovered that the people whose projects he had helped fund had gone on to become successful businessmen. By the time of this interview, Ed (age 72) had spent a significant portion of his life in Nigeria and had also obtained Nigerian citizenship. Unfortunately, all but the first half-hour of this interview has been lost. 1 digital audio file. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, June 6, 2015.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2015-029
Laura Good served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines from 1982 to 1984, working in the field of local development administration. Prior to the Peace Corps, Laura had gained experience in anthropology, environmental science, and urban planning. In the Philippines, Laura and her husband lived and worked on the very small island of Siquijor. Laura assisted the local county government in a number of projects, including the reforestation of mangrove trees. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, May 27, 2015.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2016-037-001
(PART 1 OF 2) Henry John Drewal served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria from 1964 to 1966 in an education program. His training at Columbia University included study of the Yoruba language. In Nigeria, Drewal was assigned to teach French and English at the African Church Grammar School in Abeokuta, a city in the Yoruba-speaking western region. He was also assigned to be the school's sports master, and focused on volleyball and tennis. Among his accomplishments was the construction of the school's first tennis court. During school holidays, Drewal organized and ran vacation arts camps for the primary school children. In his spare time, he continued his study of Yoruba and apprenticed himself to a Yoruba sculptor, an experience which had a profound impact on the rest of his life. After the Peace Corps, Drewal returned to Columbia University graduate school in African art history and anthropology, earning a Ph.D. At the time of this interview, he continues to do research in the history of African art and the diaspora. He is active at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, and is on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, September 11, 2014. 1 tape.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2013-008
Meredith Green served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador from 1967 to 1969. She was known by her married name, Margaret Schroeder, at the time. She and her husband were first stationed in a small coastal community, then later moved to the larger city of Machala. While her husband worked as an engineer, Green had to find her own niche within the community development program. She undertook various activities including teaching women in the community how to make and use steel barrel ovens. She also held classes on nutrition, clean drinking water, prenatal health, and art. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, July 18, 2013. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2013-005
Jack Laun served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama from 1967 to 1969 on a community development project. He had already completed a law degree from Stanford when he applied to the Peace Corps. Laun was stationed in the very remote village of La Soledad, in Veraguas province, where he worked with impoverished farmers on a cooperative rice farming project. In the interview, Laun discusses some frustrating parts of his service such as the flooding rains and the inaction of the local government, as well as the joys of living among very kind people. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, March 26, 2013. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2012-026
Patricia A. (Pat) Wand served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1963 to 1965 on a rural community development and health education project. Her training in New Mexico involved an Outward Bound challenge. In Colombia, Wand was assigned with another female volunteer to the small town of Buesaco, near Pasto in southern Colombia along the Pan American highway. Her involvement with the local people went beyond sewing and health classes. Responding to the voiced needs of the outlying communities, Wand and her partner were also involved in building four rural schools and a bridge. In the interview, she relates how she heard about the assassination of President Kennedy, which happened only two months after she arrived in Colombia. Over twenty years later on a return visit to the town, Wand was able to see some of the lasting impact her presence had made among the people with whom she had lived and worked. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, July 17, 2012. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2012-023
David Zakem served as a Peace Corps volunteer in four different countries: Somalia (1968-1969, agriculture); Swaziland (1969-1971, secondary education); Belize (1987-1989, community education); and Guatemala (1989-1992, maternal and child health care). He talks about leaving his project in Somalia because he felt the assignment would ultimately hurt the people with whom he was working. The Peace Corps headquarters agreed with his assessment of the situation and reassigned him to Swaziland. After establishing a career in international education and pursuing an advanced degree, Zakem rejoined the Peace Corps and was sent to Central America. In the interview, he discusses the influence of his Peace Corps experience on the rest of his life. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, June 9, 2012. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2014-054
Margaret (Eger) Taylor served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea from 1968 to 1970 as an English teacher. She served along with her husband, David Eger. Prior to the Peace Corps, several experiences in her formative years led to her interest in working with people in different cultures, and to a desire to break out of the old-fashioned view of gender roles in the U.S. In Korea, Taylor taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at a women's university in Seoul. She described several instances of cross-cultural gaffes in which well-intentioned and inquisitive Americans inadvertently offended Koreans. Taylor's experience in the Peace Corps influenced her later career as a clinical psychologist. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, June 6, 2014. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2014-032
David Wessel served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1962 to 1964 in a rural community development project. He was a member of the Colombia II group. Wessel was the first PCV to hail from the State of Louisiana. He worked in the Department of Antioquia, in a mountainous area of Colombia, where his projects included organizing a cooperative of tomato growers, setting up a town library, and building schools. After completing his service, he worked for a while as a Peace Corps recruiter. Wessel has remained involved in the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and in the Colombia Support Network. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, February 4, 2014. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2010-034
Sara Williams served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru from 2008 to 2009 on a community health project. She applied at age 65, and had over 40 years of professional experience in the field of health care, having worked as a nurse, a public health educator, and a clinic administrator. Williams completed in-country training in Peru. She was assigned to a difficult location in a remote post that was six hours away from medical care with inadequate housing and a lack of clean water, which resulted in her being almost constantly ill. In spite of her declining physical health, Williams accomplished a considerable amount of work before terminating early for medical reasons. In her interview, she discusses how a different placement might have enabled her to better serve the Peace Corps during her time in Peru. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, August 16, 2010. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2010-003-004
Joyce M. Bowden served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia from 1963 to 1966 on a health project. She initially began training as part of Bolivia V for a project in public health education, but had to leave because her father became ill. Returning to Seattle to join Bolivia VI, Bowden completed further training in Puerto Rico and then went on with one other trainee to study at a leprosarium in Louisiana. In Bolivia, she was stationed at a leprosarium in a remote area, from which she traveled to outlying villages to educate patients' families and local health workers about leprosy. Bowden also interviewed incoming patients to obtain their medical history and began a system of record keeping at the leprosarium. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, September 5, 2009. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-040
Robert L. "Bob" Staab served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkey from 1965 to 1967. He applied and was accepted to the Peace Corps before finishing his bachelor's degree. His training began in Oregon at Portland State University, and continued in Ankara, Turkey, at the Middle East Technical University. Staab was assigned to work on a rural community development project in a village near Edirne, in western Turkey. His work focused on building and developing a community center. Three months into his service, Bob and his fiancee, Sylva, married in a traditional Turkish wedding ceremony. The couple spent their final five months of Peace Corps service teaching English to adults in Ankara. The Staabs returned to Turkey to visit the village in 2001 and again in 2014. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, 7 March 2017. 2 digital files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-039
Sylva Telford Staab served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkey from 1965 to 1967. She was motivated by a visit from Sargent Shriver to her college campus, and applied to the Peace Corps during her senior year. Her training began in Oregon at Portland State University, and continued in Ankara, Turkey. Staab was assigned to work on a rural community development project in western Turkey in a village near Edirne. After her marriage to a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Sylva moved to her husband’s village, where she worked with women in health care, began a preschool, and helped develop a library with funding from CARE. The couple spent their final five months of Peace Corps service teaching English to adults in Ankara. The Staabs returned to Turkey to visit the village in 2001 and again in 2014. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, 7 March 2017. 2 digital files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-038
Kathleen Snyder Cox served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 1971 to 1973. After training in Puerto Rico, she was assigned to work on a public health and nutrition project organized by Caritas (Catholic Relief Services). Snyder was stationed in Juticalpa, the capital of the Olancho Department. She worked with impoverished women from outlying villages, and trained them in nutrition education and health care so that they could return to their villages to function as "promotoras de salud" (community health workers). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, March 2, 2017. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-037
Amelia "Mimi" Budd was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria from 1965 to 1967. Her training at Western Michigan University included study of the Hausa language, along with preparation for teaching at the secondary level. When Budd arrived in Kaduna in the Northern Region of Nigeria, she was surprised to find that she was expected to teach in a primary school. After her first year of successful teaching, inter-tribal tensions began to mount as the country moved toward civil war. Romantic involvement with an Igbo military officer also placed Budd in a precarious situation. The Peace Corps moved her to a safer location in the Midwest Region where she taught in a secondary school during her second year. Along with other volunteers, she was evacuated when the Biafran army moved into the area. That harrowing experience did not deter Budd from involvement with the Biafra relief effort after the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, 2 March 2017. 2 digital files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-036
Paul Gilman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali from 1997 to 2000. As a child, he had lived in Zaire with his American parents, had attended Congolese schools, and had learned to speak Swahili, Lingala, and French. Gilman applied to the Peace Corps at age 29 after having earned two baccalaureate degrees, the second in electrical engineering, thinking that this would be a useful skill in Africa. Instead, the Peace Corps assigned him to an agriculture project in Mali. Training took place in Tubani So, in Bamako. After beginning to study Bambara, a language spoken in southern Mali, Gilman was informed that he would work in the northern area where Sonrai is spoken. Once he arrived in the town of Ansongo to help women with their gardening project, he discovered that no gardening was going on, largely because women traditionally do not participate in farming work. This frustrating situation led Gilman to extend for a third year, during which he helped the agency plan projects more carefully and oriented new volunteers. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, 5 March 2017. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-035
William "Bill" Lawrence was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire from 1972 to 1974. His training began in the Virgin Islands with French language instruction, then continued with practice teaching for a month in Lubumbashi, Zaire. Lawrence was assigned to a secondary school in a very remote area where he taught science in the French language. After completing his two years in Zaire, he then extended his service to work on a public health project in Upper Volta from 1974 to 1975. In this WHO-sponsored program, Lawrence worked on the eradication of river blindness (Onchocerciasis). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, 28 February 2017. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-034
Christy Allen served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland from 1974 to 1977. She applied to the Peace Corps after completing her undergraduate degree, despite strong opposition from her mother. Her training occurred in a number of different locations within Swaziland, and provided exposure to various kinds of schools as well as instruction in the siSwati language. Allen was assigned to work in a secondary school in Hlatikulu, a chilly mountainous area, in a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program. The interview includes a discussion of how white Peace Corps volunteers traveled through South Africa during apartheid, as well as the challenges that occurred when a volunteer married a host country national. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, 15 February 2017. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-032
Mike Wildman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1972 to 1974 as a vocational education teacher. He applied to the Peace Corps after receiving an electrical engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley. His training in Iran included the study of the Farsi language. Wildman then began his service in a vocational education program at a school in Isfahan. Together with an Iranian counterpart, he worked to translate a technical education teaching manual from English into Farsi. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, February 23, 2017. 1 digital file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-031
Ken Ng served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia from 1975 to 1978. Ng's training in Majuro in the Marshall Islands included the study of the Marshallese language and preparation for teaching. He then worked as a teacher and a teacher-trainer in the outer islands of Arno Atoll, and extended for a third year to teach in Mili Atoll. Six years after returning to the United States, Ng applied to the Peace Corps again. He was offered a unique role as a volunteer in a cooperative venture between the Peace Corps and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) as a teacher in China (1984-1986). He notes that this was nine years before the Peace Corps began its own programs in China. Interviewed by Phyllis Noble, 22 February 2017. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2016-049
Ray Kurtz Warburton served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia from 1966 to 1968. Warburton was a Harvard graduate and honestly admits that he was motivated to join the Peace Corps as a way to avoid the Vietnam War. He began his training at the University of Washington in Seattle, and received an additional month of training in Bolivia. Warburton completed two years of service with a community development project in the town of Rosario, where Seventh Day Adventists had established a base among the Aymara-speaking villagers. After a devastating earthquake in Peru in 1970, Warburton responded to an emergency need for Spanish-speaking architects to assist with recovery efforts. He returned to Peace Corps for a short-term assignment and spent four months planning the relocation of a town. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, August 9, 2016.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2016-048
Jane Hale served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chad from 1970 to 1972. She was already proficient in French before applying to the Peace Corps. She began training in Quebec at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatiere, and continued training in Niamey, Niger. Her preparation included teacher training, student teaching, and instruction in Chadian Arabic. In Chad, Hale was stationed in Abéché, where she taught English as a foreign language (TEFL) in a lycée (secondary school) that provided no text books. The interview includes a discussion of "cross-cultural training," as well as a description of the role of a Peace Corps volunteer in an area where there were many European workers. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, August 8, 2016. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).