Oral Histories A-G

Adamle, Dr. Tony - December 3, 1991 - sports medicine; football injuries; artificial turf; family life; college sports; growing up in Cleveland; old office. (43 minutes) [transcribed]

Adams, Nancy & Miriam Baier - April 29, 1997 - schooling; the Depression; WWI & WWII workforce; first car; Developmental Services; husband; May 4th shootings; changes in Kent; New Jersey years; famous people; historic events; media; Hanford Reservation; Kent Environmental Council. (50 minutes) [transcribed]

Amodio, Leonard - November 1989 - tape only; no bibliographic information [transcribed]

Amodio, Paul - date unknown - no tape, only bibliographic notes; athletic director; Christopher Columbus Club; the Depression; Pete's Tavern; work with Twin Coach; work at Kent State; work with railroad; marriage; the old country.

Antonelli, Ruth -November 28, 1990- small businessmen in S. Kent; S. Kent employment characteristics; Erie Railroad; ethnic characteristics of S. Kent; family's immigration to America; neighborhood activities; the ice business; family & friends; WWII employment; W.P.A.; the Depression; Flood of 1913; origin of Kent; carpooling; WWII and home life; WWI; trains; manufacturing; hobbies; entertainment; The Hermit; artesian wells; Fells Naptha soap. (45 minutes) [poor quality sound-not transcribed]

Apicello, Sam - date unknown - no tape, only bibliographic notes

Apley, Mabel -November 30, 1990- Longcoy family; Haymaker family; farm life; meat business; grocery store; first truck in Kent; Kent Packing Co.; tramps in Kent; railroads in Kent; the Depression; WWII and business women; marriage and divorce; home economics teacher in Kent; KSU years; rationing and home economics class; teaching; Dean of Girls; generation gap of late 1960s; May 4th; assassination of JFK; Calvin Coolidge; single parenting in 1930s and 1940s; Longcoy Elementary School; houses. (60 minutes) [transcribed]

Bechtle, Harold - March 20, 1991 - high school jobs; life during WWII and 1930s; service in Navy during WWII; Foreign Legion; Twin Coach; KSU; Kent fires; street cars; Brady Lake and Silver Lake Park; automobiles; paving of South Water Street; railroads; first airplane landing in Kent; world wars; Pearl Harbor; Hiroshima & Nagasaki; comparing the two world wars; the Depression; the New Deal; employment as electrician; Kent Post Office; political involvement of father; personal life; WWII memorial. [transcribed]

Beckwith, Ed -September 17, 1985- (transcript only, no general bibliographic information) personal background; work with the railroads; Kent and manufacturing or railroad cars during Civil War; model trains; Philadelphia's 30th Street Station; Kent manufacturing and the railroads; Akron canal boats and coal; end of railroading era in Kent acquaintances; Kent hotels and restaurants; train wrecks; wrecking crews; trains during wartime; the Comfort Station; the Depot. [transcribed]

Begala, Harriet -April 30, 1991- personal history; changing the Democratic party; Begala runs for office; campaigning; patriotism; May 4th, 1970; sexism; public offices; Desert Storm vs. Vietnam; more changes in Democratic party. [transcribed]

Bergen, Rev. Ronald- February 11, 1991 - Faith Lutheran Church; changes in Kent; church groups; community activities; different locations of church; dedications; Lutheran Campus Ministries; church history.

Bietz, Helene - December 9, 1992- (no tape, only bibliographic information) family history; Imperial Dry Cleaning Business; downtown offices; student at KSU; dance instructor; recitals; the Depression; dance instruction business; retirement; FDR and WWII; television; feminist movement and Bietz family; sexism; entertainment in Kent; Palace Theater in Akron; Brady Lake entertainment; architectural changes; Hugo Bietz (artist); changes in Kent; 1930s business district in Kent; Moose Club fire; bowling alleys in the 1940s; public transportation; Franklin Station; Williams Brothers; May 4th, 1970.

Birkner, Bill (tape #1) - November 14, 1990- Kent Historical Society; purchase of railroad station; Governor's role in purchasing station; Pufferbelly Restaurant, Chamber of Commerce and Kent Historical Society -restoration of railroad station; museum collection; Birkner Tower; history of railroads in Kent; community and railroad; prosperity in Kent during war years (due to railroads); businesses connected with railroad; railroad routes; railroad accidents; traffic problems with railroad; opposition to railroads; prominent families and railroads; primary function of railroads. [transcribed]

Birkner, Bill (tape #2) - April 16, 1991- tape without bibliographic information; incomplete interview-one tape must be missing.

Bissler, Eve -April 7, 1992- Samuel Bissler and founding of business; family life; Kent quarry and livery; funeral parlor and furniture store; grapefruit farm in Texas; sons and family business; death of Samuel Bissler; Robert Bissler family; move to Kent from Canada; applying for citizenship; trip to Europe; community activities; Kent State Museum; move of funeral home and closing of furniture store; Coterie Society; Athenis Society; [transcribed]

Bissler, Rick - December 17, 1996- farm life; teamsters; Herriff's; Eckert's livery; opening of furniture store; moving out of downtown; incorporation; new funeral facility; Jerry and Dick join staff; death of Sam; new warehouse; death of Ira; end of ambulance service; more family members join staff; death of Jerry; retirements; furniture store closes; deaths. [transcribed]

Blair, Richard - December 15, 1986- family history; early recollections; the Depression; travelling in Portage County; Franklin Roosevelt; radio shows; big band music; cost of entertainment during the 1930s; move to Kent; job with the railroad; beginning of Kent Office Supply; time in the service; WWII; Pearl Harbor; German P.O.W.s; the USO; Kent after the war; return to Kent; joins family business; marriage and children; office products and prices; changes in business; assassination of JFK; President Johnson and Vietnam; May 4, 1970. [transcribed]

Boykin, Wallace -April 29, 1995 - WWII involvement; 50th Anniversary of WWII; race relations; education/trade; body shops; children; Greg's draft; family pride and values; sports; Woody Hayes; high school games; pressure of Boykin name; younger generation; Kent city improvements; family involvement; city of Kent; football; Kent Roosevelt High School. [poor sound quality-not transcribed]

Bradstock, Leah - December 4, 1991 - family background; harness making business; new transportation and its effect on Kent; first electricity in Kent home; first radio and radio programs; family's first car; railroads in Kent; Marsh Block; automobile and Kent; industry and farming in Kent; the Depression; college years and southern attitudes toward Blacks; college attendance at Kent State; automobile and Kent State; Gougler Machine; transportation during WWII; commercialization of downtown Kent; out of state students at Kent State; cost of gas during 1930s; cars of the 1930s; first car; recreation in Kent. [transcribed]

Brown, Joshua (tape #1) - November 10, 1985 - family background; school days and Betty Holden; time in the service; Twin Coach experience; discrimination against Blacks; President of Kent Chapter of NAACP; dismissal from Kent Water Department; community support for NAACP; deterioration of the family in the U.S.; time spent of Kent Board of Education; memories of school children he helped; early Kent Blacks and the railroad; African-American community in Kent; naming of Kent schools; feeding hobos; the Depression; customs and traditions; changing of family name; Underground Railroad and Fairchild Ave.; churches in Kent; housing discrimination; children; death of Martin Luther King, Jr. ;service on City Council. [transcribed]

Brown, Joshua (tape #2) - 1993 - no bibliographic information

Bumphrey, Mildred - July 20, 1983 - restaurant at Erie Depot; Kent Normal School; Thomas Elgin family; Erie Depot Restaurant; Gibson and Ott Restaurant; Elgin genealogy. [transcribed]

Campana, Tom - November 26, 1991 - first impressions of Kent; first job in area; experiences as athletic director; teaching background; athletic programs; women's sports; coaching; athletes; helping students; Kent Roosevelt athletic programs; student growth; pressure on student athletes; criticism from community; transition from player to coach; teaching years; changes in teaching. [poor sound quality-not transcribed]

Carson, John Jr. - December 11, 1992- (no tape, bibliographic information only) childhood background; start in politics; past mayors of Kent; time on city council/development of charter govt.; time as mayor of Kent; "Town and Gown Policy"; Kent Area Community Improvement System; first Kent recreation center; local politics of the 1970s; May 4th incident; Towner's Woods Project; influential people in Kent politics; change in political climate; development of Kent Historical Society; Mr. Carson reads poem about May 4th. [transcribed]

Chandler, Charles - April 30, 1996 - background; education; coming to Kent; service and Kent State University; past Kent State presidents; past Kent State faculty; current involvement at Kent State; regional campus experience; changes in KSU students since 1960; changes in university and its policies; problems since 1960; May 4th, 1970; return from London; reaction to decision to call Ohio National Guard; reactions to Grand Jury findings; long term effects of May 4th shootings; reactions to university's handling of events of May 4, 1970; opinions on May 4 commemorations; overall summary.{transcribed}

Cheges, John - April 23, 1991- tape only; no bibliographic information [transcribed]

Christianson, Henry - April 13, 1993 - background and family life in Joliet, Illinois; parents immigrate to Chicago from Sweden; Christianson family in Akron; father's construction in Chicago; Chicago livestock yards; impact of WWI on Christianson; father's first business (Akron); Carmichael Construction (Akron); cherry picking; post high school education; construction company moves to Kent; Charles Kisler; Gougler Machine; contracts with U.S. Army Corp.; service in U.S. Navy; marriage; contracts with Kent State; Christianson Construction under Henry; memories of father; buildings in Kent built by Christianson Construction; site work around Kent State; changes in construction; semi-retirement and retirement; Christianson Construction sold; association with Andrew Wright; Sure Seal Roofing; employees; advertising; contracts with Huntington and other banks. [transcribed]

Cicone, Albert - November 3, 1994 - store and family background; store locations and neighborhood; changes in Kent; ethnic neighborhoods; nature of business and competition; impact of frozen foods; social interactions; running the store; education; military service; end of small grocer; fire that ended store; family and residence; profits and losses; employees; family sports; first car; Gougler Machine; quality and cost of living; companies in town; families last businesses; morals; family origins in Italy and immigration.[transcribed]

Dante, Dr. Harris - November 19, 1991 - background in Iowa and Illinois; Secondary Social Studies Methods Instructor at Kent state; change of student attitudes 1950-1970; son's reaction to Vietnam; role on Faculty Senate; spring semester 1970; KSU Commencement, June 1970; reaction to May 4th; traveling to Columbus, May 1, 1970; burning of ROTC building; Wake Forest Meeting, May 4, 1970; Governor Rhodes; reaction of students at Wake Forest; movement of National Guard (May 4th); student actions (May 4th); involvement in government hearings; concerns of graduate students; fall 1970; first May 4th Commemoration Committee; Steve Sheriff; praise of President White; Faculty Senate meetings; Memorial Day threats; physical pains; closing KSU; Mayor Sartom; Akron Beacon Journal support; letters; Jerry Rubin and Ralph Nader; personal experiences with radical leaders; campus police training; Alan Canfora; President Nixon's anti-student protestors attitude; disbelief of conspiracy myth; May 4th and KSU today; Voices of Social Studies Education.[transcribed]

Davey, Paul H. - November 27, 1991 - no tape; bibliographic information only. Davey's radio show; John Davey and sons; "A Wilson Democrat"; "A fiscally sound person"; effect on Kent; 1940 defeat; Davey and the press; M.L. Davey and family; early influences.

Dessum, Ruth - December 6, 1989 - background; college education; Suffield School; experience as a principal; changes in schools; teaching; changes in students; teaching salaries; teaching in Lakewood; the Davey Company; school discipline; principal example; classroom techniques; the city charter; May 4, 1970; the Council's role in May 4th; May 4th memorial; May 4th again; rebuilding of city; being on Council; first KSU experience; proposed Kent mall; changes in City of Kent; Kent nightlife; today's youth; money; Kent's motto. [transcribed]

Diltz, Garth -May 3, 1990 - background; education; initial involvement with Kent Fire Department; history of Kent Fire Department; dangerous experiences with fire department; dangers of toxic gas; requirements for becoming a fire fighter; changes in fire fighting techniques; size of Kent Fire Department throughout history; fears; design of fire trucks; May 4, 1970 ROTC fire; large Kent fires; Kent State donations; how Kent has changed because of fires; responsibilities while with fire department; types of fire calls; ambulance and paramedics; rescues; safety at Kent State; residence; May 4, 1970; assassination of JFK; various presidents; American international economic policy; past and present KSU students; decline of Akron rubber industry; proposed shopping mall; diversified industries; hobbies; govt. of Franklin Township; recycling; origins of Diltz family; the Depression; [transcribed]

Dix, David - September 25, 1992- no tape; bibliographic information only. Background; education; family; changes in journalism; early days of Record Courier; big news stories; Scranton Commission story; newspaper awards; feelings about the proposed mall; coverage of May 4, 1970; political viewpoints; Record Courier's mission; greatest accomplishments; effects of recession; competitors; comparison to Plain Dealer and Beacon Journal; childhood goals; employees; prominent citizens.

Dix, Helen - December 4, 1994 - history of Dix family; E.C. Dix; John Dix; Albert Dix; E.C. Dix; newspaper business; failure of Hamilton paper; purchase of "Ravenna Republican"; purchase of Kent papers; papers merge; Robert Dix; environmental education and improvement; member of Trustees of Kent State University; purchasing of suburban papers; Record Courier employees and editors; reporting on the Ravenna Arsenal; circulation of paper; reporting on May 4. 1970; changes in the community; environmental issues; most memorable days in the news; [transcribed]

Dragonowski, Stan - December 8, 1992 - no tape; bibliographic information only. Parents' immigration to U.S.; family formation; ethnic breakdown of Kent's neighborhoods; educational experiences; parents receive citizenship; athletics; the Depression; Kent State University career; farm work; service in Army during WWII; Kent after the war; marriage and family life; U.S. Steel (Cleveland); death of wife and move to Tennessee; return to Kent and second marriage; Treasurer for Ravenna Oil Company; Rough Rider Organizational Association; children; Horning farm; Mrs. Dragonowski's family; residence.

Duckwitz, Elsie - April 30, 1990 - reasons for moving to Kent; starting a new church; local organizations; Faith Lutheran Church in Legion Hall; growth of church; rent in the early years; work at Kent State; new chapel; church groups; Faith Lutheran Ladies Aide; May 4, 1970; 85th birthday; childhood in Cleveland; marriage; changes in church; political issues; events that effected church; Pastor Gizor; railroad in Kent (1930s); members of church; Twin Lakes camping trips; names of KSU buildings; Pastor Burgumen; new addition to chapel; new constitution on church; comparison of church in 1933 to church of 1990; 50th anniversary of church; future of church; historian of the church; elderberries; newspaper article; KSU students; Preacher Randa; transformation of Kent; transportation in the 1930s; growth of Kent State; Kent architecture; opinion on proposed mall; driving experiences; first Faith Lutheran Church in Kent; Portage County Homeless Shelter; Dean Keller; problems of starting a new church. [transcribed]

Dumm, Dr. Robert - date unknown - tape only; no bibliographic information.[transcribed]

Ellsworth, Frances - April 29, 1991 - background; Earlsville; Central High School; early Kent State history; first job; early Kent State professors; subjects and grades taught; the Depression; family; social activities; transportation to schools; Franklin Mills changes name to Kent; families during depression/recession today. [transcribed]

Fageol, Ida M. - April 17, 1986 - early life in San Francisco; 1906 earthquake; Fageol Rambler car agency in San Francisco & Oakland; father's work in Nevada City gold mines; marriage; early inventions; move to Kent; Fageol Motor Company; founding of Twin Coach; R.B. Fageol inventions; the Depression; early residence; children; unions; Twin Coach officials; impact of WWII; building fire trucks; post WWII; company during 1950s; closing of company (1957); death of W.B. Fageol. [transcribed]

Fenn, Alice - April 24, 1996 - parents; maternal grandmother and President Garfield; Merrill Hall cornerstone and time capsule; Dr. John McGilvery; Mae Prentice; Dunbar sisters; training school and University school; student teaching; graduations; library work; Professor Stump; gender issues; teaching profession; teaching in Barberton; Miss Fishley; Ravenna; WWII; experience as physical education teacher; work at Kent State admissions office; changes in students over time; May 4, 1970; Wayne Pomphrey, South Pole. [transcribed]

Ferrara, O.B. (tape #1) - October 14, 1986 - immigration from Italy; father's work with Erie Railroad; early life in Kent; downtown Kent; father's gardening; starting the grocery business out of their home; grocery business in the 1920s; businesses of the 1920s; family life; education; work in muck swamps; competitors (Kline, Longcoy, Farrell); customers; the Depression and its effects; Franklin Roosevelt; first store is built; second store; marriage; entertainment in the 1930s; university community as customers; fashions of the 1930s; being an Italian in Kent; Ku Klux Klan in Kent; Italian-American clubs; WWII and Mussolini; Pearl Harbor; rationing and food stamps.

Ferrara, O.B. (tape #2) - date unknown - tape only; no bibliographic information.

Foote, Richard (tape #1) -December 13, 1991 - background, Twin Lakes; education; the Depression; Frank Merrill; student life at Kent State (1939-1943); work prior to WWII; Haymaker family; WWII; winning Silver Star on Okinawa; China; reaction to bombing of Japan; life in Kent after WWII. [transcribed]

Foote, Richard (tape #2) - December 13, 1991 - continued from tape #1 - May 4, 1970. [transcribed]

Foust, Elizabeth - November 26, 1991 - Mrs. Cook; Portage County Welfare; City Building; Winnefred Cole; Board of Trustees; second marriage; Kent Welfare; service groups; death of husband; adoption; juvenile judges; Marie Miller. [transcribed]

Frankhouser, Charles - April 15, 1991 - background; start of business; National Automotive Parts; move to Kent opening of business; Goodyear University; NAPA auto parts; automobile technology; evolution of automobile; price of cars; life in Kent; cars and gas mileage; cars and the Depression; failure of certain cars; gasoline; solar car; problems caused by automobile; social life and automobile; electric cars; car dealerships in Kent; cars and politics. [transcribed]

Gambaccini-Briers, Sue - May 7, 1997 - early years at Kent State; treasurer's office; changes on campus; working for Dean White; Dean White's career; May 4, 1970; Olds becomes president; changes made by Olds; first African-American secretary; first woman vice president; president Golding; Donald Zimmerman; changes in buildings; increased enrollment; new library; president White's family and travel; Twenty-Year Club.[transcribed]

Gardner, Carl - April 8, 1991- background; Twin Coach; Lou Fageol and boat engines; food service and Kent State; May 4, 1970; food service and campus description; Food Workers Union; Twin Coach Union; war and service; city of Kent; industry of Kent; railroads and Kent; Kent street life; wages in the old days; KSU, "the best job ever"; FDR; minimum wage opinion; Brimfield High School; sports and school; Kent semi-pro teams; hobbies and entertainment; barbershops; Townhouse Hotel; movie houses; Opera House; Saturday nights in Kent; Prohibition in Kent; law and the bootleggers; Chicago; African-Americans in Kent; Akron and Twin Coach; W.C. Fields. [transcribed]

Geldhof, Elizabeth - November 16, 1991 - background and childhood in Kent; college education; college and career choices available to women; family influences; Pufferbelly Train Station; WWII industry in Kent; father's career; Longcoy Grocery Store; ice trucks; teaching in Austintown and Kent; changes in students; Kent State during WWII; Kent sororities and fraternities; college students' social lives; Kent Hotel; Kent Main Street; Franklin Ave. during WWII; Ravenna Arsenal; Kent Historical Museum; Kent losing business due to malls; cars in Kent; cars in Kent; May 4, 1970; marriage vs. education/career; mother; churches in Kent; hippies in Kent; substitute teaching in Kent; students of the 1960s; children; Governor Davey's daughter; Governor Davey's home; Elite of Kent (club); the Robin Hood. [transcribed]

George, Harry - Deember 13, 1995 - Bryce Road railroad tracks; background; Kent during Mr. George's childhood; neighborhood of Water Street; barber shop; Kent Opera House; West Kent; Akron-Kent Blvd./Majors Lane; childhood residence; Mrs. George's residence; schools; Kent Machine Co.; Kent during WWII; kindergarten at Kent Normal School; Kent after WWII; neighborhood children; naming of Haymaker Highway; neighbors; East Kent and Brady Lake; Twin Coach Co.; train station; stores on west side; activities in Kent after retirement; KSU shootings and Vietnam; children; changes at KSU after WWII; Brady Café and Robin Hood Inn; other Kent buildings; oldest remaining Civil War Veterans in Kent (including Mrs. George's grandfather). [transcribed]

Gilcrest, Carl (tape #1)- date unknown - tape only; no bibliographic information.

Gilcrest, Carl (tape #2) - 1/24/99 - tape only, no bibliographic information. [transcribed]

Green, Robert - November 7, 1991 - movies and radio; transport of grain by railroad; five basic wheats used in milling; types of flour; wheat qualities; transport of wheat; changes in transportation; delivery of wheat; milling process of wheat; building of Williams Brothers Mill; friends and co-workers; working conditions and methods of the past; Mr. Green's first project for Williams Brothers Mill; train wreaks in Kent; boiler explosion at mill; industrial accidents; train accidents; steam boiler accident; Pure Food and Drug Act; Minneapolis convention; Bob Dob's plan; government legislation and overtime policy; Coshocton Grainery; pranks; work in the flour packer; conventions; electrifying the mill; running wire with George Smutnic; purchasing equipment from Dover; broadened scope of early miller skills; design of a truck lift; elimination of bags; automatic scaling; bulking for incoming flour after late 1930s; sifter; new equipment; increase in efficiency.[transcribed]

Greer, Ruth Gibson (tape #1) - December 3, 1994 - born in Butler, PA; family's journey to Kent by railroad; father's interest in family restaurant; purchase of restaurant; Ott & Gibson Family Restaurant; responsibilities in restaurant; railroad men; trolley trips; the Depression and closing of restaurant; education; first family car; Kent receives state funded Normal School; Kent College; teaching experiences; Redmond Greer and Cleveland; Redmond runs for mayor of Kent; election of 1960; Mayor Redmond; tie-breaker in 1960 election; bridge named after Redmond; death of Redmond; daughter, Nancy as mayor of Kent; Nancy as Portage County Commissioner; changes in politics; Greer Heating Company; Redmond's leukemia; Florida winters; grandson takes over heating company; Ruth's life today. [transcribed]

Greer, Ruth Gibson (tape #2) - December 3, 1994 (continued from tape #1) [transcribed]

Gressard, Bill - November 30, 1990- background; role of grandfather in location of Kent State; educational background; job as columnist for Record Courier; job of the Resource and Recreation committee; conservation efforts of the 1940s and 1950s; recycling in Kent; dumping of wastes; river clean-up project; Akron Reservoir and toxic dumping; Cuyahoga River Project; Kent Sewage Disposal Plant; evolution of conservation; change in winter climate; Kent bog; changes of wildlife in Kent area; threats to wildlife; coyote; recreational activities in the 1940s; sports in the 1940s in Kent; sports today; wrestling at Kent; facilities for recreation; recreation in WWII; parks in Kent; Ravenna Arsenal; growth of hunting and fishing in Kent; Cuyahoga River Project involvement. [transcribed]

Gressard, Fred - May 6, 1992- family; growing up in Twin Lakes; the Depression; University School; U.S. Naval Academy; WWII; navy life after WWII; Kent and WWII; business life after WWII; Fairway International; Kent businesses of 1940s and 1950s; Kent in the 1960s and May 4, 1970; changes. [transcribed]

Gressard, Margaret (tape #1) - June 1, 1982 tape only; no bibliographic information.

Gressard, Margaret (tape #2) - June 1, 1982 (continued from tape #2) - tape only; no bibliographic information.