Oral History Commons^™

Leighton-Cory, Jocelyn, Bella Shannon

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Jocelyn identifies as a Queer woman but also aligns with the label Gender-Queer. They are 40 years old and currently live in the city of South Portland where they serve as a member on the City Council and also work as a managing director at Space Gallery in downtown Portland. Jocelyn was born in Bangor, Maine, and lived there for a year before moving briefly to South Princeton, Maine, and eventually settling in Princeton, Maine, where they grew up. Jocelyn was raised by their single mother along with their older brother and younger sister. They received their B.A. in Arts …

Marcous, Dana, Robben Harris

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Dana Marcous is a spiritual, successful and fascinating man who at times lives in the extremes, but always seems to maintain his balance. His life story and his spiritual path are so closely intertwined, it might appear as if he has eclipsed the spiritual and physical world. From being a world-class hairdresser and opening one of the most successful hair salons in Maine, to pursuing a career as an actor in L.A., Dana is a person who always follows his dreams and looks for the signs. This interview contains stories of Dana’s early life, including his process of coming out …

Parker, Heidi, Tegan Bryne

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Heidi Parker is a 47-year-old lesbian, who uses she/her pronouns. Heidi Parker grew up in the South and Seventh-Day Adventist. One of her favorite parts about living in the South and still one of her favorite things today is the mountains. Heidi Parker has moved to a few places around the United States; including New York, Maine, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Morrow Beach. Heidi Parker worked as a PE teacher before getting a higher degree in Sports Management. After getting her degree, she moved to New York and worked at Syracuse and then moved to Maine to work …

Poetic Portraits Of Older Women In The Great Black Swamp, Sandra L. Faulkner

ICS Fellow Lectures

Dr. Faulkner discusses the importance of oral histories and listening to older women by presenting poetic portraits of older women in the Bowling Green area that she co-created from oral histories. This was a collaborative project with The Wood County Committee on Aging, the BGSU archives, and local women Faulkner interviewed about their experiences across their life course and contributions to our community. These poetic portraits and oral histories will be archived at the BGSU libraries for all of us to learn from.

Phyllis Sprague, Interviewed By Kristen Frey, Part 2, Phyllis M. Wheeler Sprague

MF144 Women in the Military

Phyllis Sprague, interviewed by Kristen Frey on November 14, 2001. Sprague was born in Newbury, Vermont in 1943. Sprague talks about joining the Army in 1961; a typical day in basic training and then working for the Army; experience as a medical officer in the Army; Sprague’s attitude toward the military and government becoming more patriotic after her service; way soldiers were welcomed home after Vietnam compared to the Gulf War; relationship between men and women in the military in the 60s; having to leave the military for pregnancy; absence of sexual harassment in the Army. Text: 10 pp. transcript. …

Paula Pietrowski, Interviewed By Annie Howley, Paula K. Pietrowski

MF144 Women in the Military

Paula Pietrowski, interviewed by Annie Howley, April 21, 2003. Pietrowski, age 36-37, talks about her decision to join the Coast Guard; her family and boyfriend’s reaction to her enlistment; her basic training experiences; returning to Maine for assignment; male vs. female commanding officers; tension between men and women and between women; minorities in the Coast Guard; sexual harassment; whether women should be included in the next draft; how she spent her leisure time; her discharge and transition to civilian life; rising through the ranks; gays and lesbians in the military; whether she would do it all over again; her most …

Deborah Smith, Interviewed By Sarah Beazley, Deborah Schultz Smith

MF144 Women in the Military

Deborah Smith, interviewed by Sarah Beazley, April 15, 2003, in her home in Brewer, Maine. Smith, age 42-43, talks about her decision to join the Air National Guard; rising through the ranks; her family and friends’ reaction to her enlistment; her current duties in the Air National Guard; her basic training experiences; how basic training affected her self-image; the bonds she formed with other female enlistees; discrimination in the military; changes in the role of women in the military; nursing as a historic profession for women in the military; women organizations in the military; her leisure time; meeting her husband …

Anne Tenney, Interviewed By Elizabeth Bunten, Anne E. Howes Ferris Tenney

MF144 Women in the Military

Anne Tenney, interviewed by Elizabeth Bunten, May 7, 2003, in Castine, Maine. Smith, age 81, talks about her decision to join the Navy (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in World War II; her basic training experiences; being assigned to New York City; her anti-submarine work; marrying and leaving the service after her pregnancy; remarrying another WWII veteran as a widow; public perception of women in the Navy during the war; minorities in the military; and changes in the role of women in the military. Text: 6 pp. transcript. Recording: No recording.

Erma Frances Fletcher, Interviewed By Amy L. Stevens, Erma Frances Dancer Fletcher

MF144 Women in the Military

Erma Frances Fletcher, interviewed by Amy L. Stevens, April 24, 2003, in Dexter, Maine. Fletcher, age 79, talks about her family history; her early life; working in a factory after high school; the stigma against female military service; enlisting in the Navy in World War II; her basic training experiences; marching for President Roosevelt; surviving on a small stipend; missing out on serving in Manila; her transcription work; how she spent her leisure time; meeting her husband during the war; regretting not staying in the service after 1946; moving to Washington, D.C. after her service; her sense of patriotism during …

Mary Jane Miller, Interviewed By Elizabeth Bunten, Mary Jane Chase Miller

MF144 Women in the Military

Mary Jane Miller, interviewed by Elizabeth Bunten, May 9, 2003. Miller, age 80, talks about her family; enlisting in the Navy (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in World War II; her family and friends’ reaction to her enlistment; her basic training experience; the relationship between male officers and female enlisted; her not going overseas during the war; whether she would do it all again; changes in opportunities for women in the military; leaving the Navy after the war; delivering a top secret message; and working under women officers. Text: 8 pp. transcript. Recording: No recording.

Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, Interviewed By Davida Kellogg, Part 1, Judy-Ann Carroll

MF144 Women in the Military

Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, August 20, 2002, in Ms. Kellogg’s home in Orono, Maine. Carroll talks about her service in the United States Army through the College Junior Program; her training conducted at Fort McClellan, AL; being stationed later in Darmstadt, Germany; serving as a training officer with the Women’s Army Corps and as a Military Police Officer. Text: 35 pp. transcript, 10 pp supplemental material. Time: 01:45:42. Restrictions: None.

Listen:

Part 1: mfc_na3253_c2366_01
Part 2: mfc_na3253_c2366_02
Part 3: mfc_na3253_c2367.1_01

Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, Interviewed By Davida Kellogg, Part 2, Judy-Ann Carroll

MF144 Women in the Military

Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, August 20, 2002, in Ms. Kellogg’s home in Orono, Maine. Carroll talks about her service in the United States Army through the College Junior Program; her training conducted at Fort McClellan, AL; being stationed later in Darmstadt, Germany; serving as a training officer with the Women’s Army Corps and as a Military Police Officer. Text: 35 pp. transcript, 10 pp supplemental material. Time: 01:45:42. Restrictions: None.

Listen:

Part 1: mfc_na3253_c2366_01
Part 2: mfc_na3253_c2366_02
Part 3: mfc_na3253_c2367.1_01

Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, Interviewed By Davida Kellogg, Part 3, Judy-Ann Carroll

MF144 Women in the Military

Colonel Judy-Ann Carroll, interviewed by Davida Kellogg, August 20, 2002, in Ms. Kellogg’s home in Orono, Maine. Carroll talks about her service in the United States Army through the College Junior Program; her training conducted at Fort McClellan, AL; being stationed later in Darmstadt, Germany; serving as a training officer with the Women’s Army Corps and as a Military Police Officer. Text: 35 pp. transcript, 10 pp supplemental material. Time: 01:45:42. Restrictions: None.

Listen:

Part 1: mfc_na3253_c2366_01
Part 2: mfc_na3253_c2366_02
Part 3: mfc_na3253_c2367.1_01

Agnes E. Flaherty, Interviewed By Melissa Piselli, Part 1, Agnes E. Flaherty

MF144 Women in the Military

Agnes E. Flaherty, interviewed by Melissa Piselli, February 22 and April 26, 2005, South Portland, Maine. Flaherty, born in Portland, Maine, talks about her parents, Anna and Mark Flaherty; her family’s involvement in nursing; enlisting in the military during WWII as a nurse in the Army Air Core; working out of Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire; her experiences and favorite memories as a flight nurse; early medications; experiences with the Women’s Army Core (WAC); patriotism during WWII; serving in the Pacific as a flight nurse; working out of Hickam Air Field in Oahu, Hawaii; relationship between nurses and doctors …

Agnes E. Flaherty, Interviewed By Melissa Piselli, Part 2, Agnes E. Flaherty

MF144 Women in the Military

Agnes E. Flaherty, interviewed by Melissa Piselli, February 22 and April 26, 2005, South Portland, Maine. Flaherty, born in Portland, Maine, talks about her parents, Anna and Mark Flaherty; her family’s involvement in nursing; enlisting in the military during WWII as a nurse in the Army Air Core; working out of Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire; her experiences and favorite memories as a flight nurse; early medications; experiences with the Women’s Army Core (WAC); patriotism during WWII; serving in the Pacific as a flight nurse; working out of Hickam Air Field in Oahu, Hawaii; relationship between nurses and doctors …

Beth Parks, Interviewed By Sarah Kneeland, Part 1, Mary Beth Clayfield-Parks

MF144 Women in the Military

Beth Parks, interviewed by Sarah Kneeland, February 16 and 23, 2005, Corea, Maine. Parks talks her experiences in the Vietnam War and how she dealt with it afterwards: reasons for becoming a nurse; training at D.C. General Hospital; volunteering as an officer in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC); Viet Cong tunnels underlying the base camp at Cu Chi; attacks against their camp; operating rooms in the MASH and evacuation hospitals; it was the peak of her career; army vs. civilian nursing; attending the reunion; Annie Cunningham, Glenna Goodacre and Diane Carlson Evans; her film “A Chunk of My Soul”; coping …

Beth Parks, Interviewed By Sarah Kneeland, Part 2, Mary Beth Clayfield-Parks

MF144 Women in the Military

Beth Parks, interviewed by Sarah Kneeland, February 16 and 23, 2005, Corea, Maine. Parks talks her experiences in the Vietnam War and how she dealt with it afterwards: reasons for becoming a nurse; training at D.C. General Hospital; volunteering as an officer in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC); Viet Cong tunnels underlying the base camp at Cu Chi; attacks against their camp; operating rooms in the MASH and evacuation hospitals; it was the peak of her career; army vs. civilian nursing; attending the reunion; Annie Cunningham, Glenna Goodacre and Diane Carlson Evans; her film “A Chunk of My Soul”; coping …

Barbara Beal, Interviewed By Amy L. Stevens, Barbara Ann Kasnic Beal

MF144 Women in the Military

Barbara Beal, interviewed by Amy L. Stevens, May 1, 2003, in Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, Maine. Beal, age 56, talks about her service as an Army nurse in the Vietnam War; her family and friends’ reaction to her deployment; her anxiety prior to deployment; her training experiences; her preconceptions of the war vs. the reality; her emotional experience of the war; her typical day at the medevac hospital; the dangers of the job; her leisure time; socialization between men and women; her most important relationships during the war; her reception upon returning as a veteran; whether the war …

Christine Dipompo, Interviewed By Sarah Beazley, Christine Ermentrout Dipompo

MF144 Women in the Military

Christine DiPompo, interviewed by Sarah Beazley, May 15, 2003, in her home in Brewer, Maine. DiPompo, age 82, talks about her family background; joining the Women's Army Corps in World War II; her basic training experiences; barracks life; her work as a W.A.C. lab technician; married women being forced out of the lab; working a second job at a plastics factory; her treatment from her male and female superiors; visiting home; social life during the war; meeting her husband, a fellow lab technician; her family and friends’ reaction to her enlistment; the W.A.C.’s scandalous reputation; lesbians in the W.A.C.; her …

Angel Tyler, Interviewed By Miranda Coombs, Angel Tyler

MF144 Women in the Military

Angel Tyler, interviewed by Miranda Coombs, May 5, 2003. Tyler talks about her experiences in the Gulf War. Text: 23 pp. transcript. Time: 00:57:59. Photographs: p14544-p14548.

Listen:

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