Oral History Commons^™

Lists Of Oral History Interviews, Barbara C. Allen

All Oral Histories

The main document is a simple list of interviews conducted by History 650 and Honors 122 students of La Salle University faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, neighbors, and Christian Brothers. The supplementary file is a spreadsheet with more details.

Interview Of Fred J. Foley, Jr., Ph.D., Fred J. Foley Ph.D., Jeanmarie Turner

All Oral Histories

Dr. Fred Foley, Jr. was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in December of 1946. His parents were Fred Joseph Foley and Doris Nelson Foley. He moved to the Philadelphia area with his family when he was four years old. He is married, has three children and four grandchildren. He lived in Delaware County growing up. Dr. Foley attended St. Andrew's Grade School and Monsignor Bonner High School for Boys. He attended St. Joseph’s College as an undergrad majoring in Politics. He graduated with a B.A. in Politics in 1968. He attended Princeton University for his Master’s and Ph.D. programs. He graduated …

Interview Of Margaret Mcguinness, Ph.D., Margaret Mcguinness Ph.D., Stephen Pierce

All Oral Histories

Dr. Margaret McGuinness was born in 1953, in Providence, Rhode Island. She went to an all-girls Catholic high school called St. Mary’s Academy Bayview in Providence where she graduated in 1971. McGuinness went on to major in American Studies and Civilization as an undergraduate at Boston University graduating with a B.A in 1975. She continued her work at Boston University where McGuinness earned a master’s of theological studies (M.T.S) focusing on Biblical and Historical Studies in 1979. She would move to New York to work on her dissertation at Union Theological Seminary finishing with her Ph.D. in 1985 concentrating on …

Interview Of Rosanna Mastrangelo, Rosanna Mastrangelo, Juliana Mastrangelo

All Oral Histories

The Interviewee:

Rosanna Mastrangelo was born in February 1964, in South Philadelphia. Her parents, along with the rest of her family, were Italian immigrants who had come to America after the end of World War II in hopes of rebuilding a better life for themselves. Raised in a tight-knit Italian neighborhood and surrounded by Old World traditions, Rosanna quickly realized the importance of remaining close to one’s roots, especially in forming her unique sense of identity. But as she went to school and became acquainted with people of other backgrounds and experiences, it became ever more clear that her sense …

Interview Of Richard Kestler, F.S.C., M.A., Richard Kestler Fsc, Alexandria Moraschi

All Oral Histories

Brother Richard Kestler, FSC. was born John Kestler on January 8, 1942 to John and Alice Kestler. He grew up in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brother Richard attended elementary school at his parish of St. Martin of Tours and went on to La Salle College High School, graduating in 1960. By this time, he made the decision to join the Christian Brothers and began this process for about a year before attending La Salle College. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and gained a Master’s in Theology soon after. Brother Richard also has Master’s …

Interview Of Alice L. Hoersch, Ph.D., Alice L. Hoersch Ph.D., Selena Bemak

All Oral Histories

Alice Lynn Hoersch was born in 1950 in Abington, PA to Albert and Alice Hoersch. She moved to Honey Brook, located in Chester County, PA at two-years-old. Hoersch lived in Honey Brook until she finished graduate school in 1977. She attended Honey Brook Elementary School. She graduated as valedictorian from Twin Valley High School in 1968. Hoersch studied geology at Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1972. She received both her master’s and Ph.D. in metamorphic petrology from Johns Hopkins University in 1974 and 1977, respectively. The same year she obtained her Ph.D., Hoersch began teaching as an assistant professor of …

Interview Of Stephen Andrilli, Ph.D., Stephen Francis Andrilli Ph.D., Jane Highley

All Oral Histories

Stephen Francis Andrilli was born in August 1952 in Bryn Mawr, PA. He was born to Francis and Leatrice Andrilli. Dr. Andrilli is the oldest of four children; his three sisters are Carol (now Carol Strosser), Patricia (now Patricia Kempczynski), and Barbara (now Barbara Parkes). Aside from a few years of living in Gettysburg, Dr. Andrilli has lived in the Philadelphia area for most of his life. He attended St. Jerome School, where he finished 8th grade. He then attended LaSalle College High School, where he graduated in 1969 at age 16. He entered La Salle University (formerly La Salle …

Interview Of Kevin J. Harty, Ph.D., Kevin J. Harty Ph.D., Meghan Skiles

All Oral Histories

Dr. Kevin J. Harty was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1948. He grew up in Brooklyn until his family moved to Chicago when he was about twelve years old. His father worked for the telephone company, which spurred the family’s move to Chicago, and his mother stayed home and cared for the family. Dr. Harty attended high school in the suburbs of Chicago, graduating when he was fifteen and a half years old. Between high school and college, he worked for a year in a department store, and briefly considered going into the fashion industry. He attended Marquette University …

Interview Of John Mackin, John Mackin, Alex Palma

All Oral Histories

John Mackin was born in 1943 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He moved to Longbeach, New York when his father returned home from WWII. Soon after his family moved there, they moved again to Collingswood, New Jersey. Finally, his family moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey when John was 16. John attended public and Catholic school growing up and attended Boston College for his higher education. John hit a rough page after college during which he struggled with alcoholism. At the time of the interview, he worked at the La Salle University Connelly Library. A position he got in 1984 while the …

Interview Of Brian Henderson, F.S.C., M.A., Brian Henderson F.S.C., Rebecca Oviedo

All Oral Histories

Brother Brian Henderson was born in 1959 and grew up in Southwest Philadelphia. He graduated from West Catholic High School for Boys in 1977 and La Salle University with a B.A. in Religion and Psychology in 1981, and later earned a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies in 1992. He has been a De La Salle Christian Brother since 1979, taking final vows in 1987. All of Brother Brian’s apostolic assignments have placed him serving inner city youth. His first assignment was as a youth care worker and religion teacher at Saint Gabriel’s Hall in Audubon, PA, a residential treatment facility …

Interview Of Margaret Mary Markmann, Ph.D., Margaret Mary Markmann Ph.D, Alexander P. Rowan

All Oral Histories

Dr. Markmann was born in 1948 at the Anderson Hospital in Center City, Philadelphia. She was the fourth of eleven children born into a household of her mother, her father and her grandparents. She grew up in Philadelphia and has lived in the area for her entire life only leaving once after she completed nursing school. During her childhood her extended family lived nearby, her grandmother lived down the street and her Aunt and Uncle lived in the opposite direction. Her father was the direct descendent of Irish immigrants who settled in South West Philadelphia and lived in Southwest Philadelphia …

Interview Of Mary Butler, Mary Butler, Zach Bower

All Oral Histories

Mary (King) Butler was born in 1942 in King and Queen County, Virginia. Her parents are Hayes and Blanche King. Her father’s parents were Archie King, Sr. and Rossie King. Her mother’s parents were Joshua and Peggie Whiting. Mary is the oldest of four children. Her two brothers were born in 1943 and 1951, and her sister was born in 1961. Her nuclear family lived close to her father’s parent’s farm in Plainview, VA. Her family was active in both Union Prospect Baptist Church and First Baptist Church.

Butler worked often on her grandparent’s farm as a child. Butler and …

Interview Of Joseph Grabenstein, F.S.C., M.A., M.Ed., M.L.S., Joseph Grabenstein, F.S.C., Wesley Schwenk

All Oral Histories

Brother Joseph Grabenstein is the Head Archivist of the La Salle University Archives and also manages the Brothers of the Christian School, District of Eastern North America Archives that are housed here at La Salle. He worked as an assistant archivist from 1992 until 1994 and was made head archivist January 1, 1994. Grabenstein was born in 1950 in Cumberland, Maryland to Herman and Irene Grabenstein. He is a 1968 graduate of Bishop Walsh High School and received his Bachelor of Arts in History in 1973 from La Salle College. He taught a variety of classes including history, geography, religion …

Interview Of Thomas J. Wurtenberger, Thomas J. Wurtenberger, Charles D. Muzyczek

All Oral Histories

Thomas J. Wurtenberger was born and raised in the Lower Olney (Feltonville) section of Philadelphia in 1935. He was raised primarily by his mother after the death of his father in 1944. Tom attended North Catholic High School where he took business courses. He did not have aspirations to attend college right out of high school. He was encouraged by a former employer to better himself by going to college and earning a degree. One year after graduation Tom enrolled at La Salle College. He chose La Salle because of its reasonable tuition and proximity to home. Originally Tom desired …

Interview Of John P. Rossi, Ph.D., John Patrick Rossi Ph.D., Kevin N. Bretz

All Oral Histories

This interview examines Dr. John Rossi’s life since his formal retirement in 2006. Major topics in the interview include Dr. Rossi’s publication of the La Salle history book, Living the Promise. Rossi details the archival experience, the research, drafts, and publication of the book. He also discusses the book’s reception at the school, as well as the community. Another major topic that was explored was Dr. Rossi’s travels and experience in Great Britain while he was researching his doctoral dissertation in the 1960s. Other topics include his analysis of history and his perspective on how technology has affected the …

Interview Of Charles A. Desnoyers, Ph.D., Charles A. Desnoyers Ph.D., Remus Lee

All Oral Histories

Dr. Charles Albert Desnoyers (b. 1952) was born and raised in North Plainfield, New Jersey with his parents and five younger siblings. He attended St. Joseph’s Parochial School and North Plainfield High School for the duration of his primary school education; it was in North Plainfield High School where he began showing an interest in history, due to the influences of his history teachers. He later attended Villanova University, changing to a sociology major after a year of general sciences. His graduation from Villanova University with a minor in history led him down the path to getting a Ph.D. and …

Interview Of Richard Monastra, Richard J. Monastra, Pamela Johnson

All Oral Histories

Richard Monastra is of the “baby boom” generation, having been born in 1946 in Philadelphia. He is the eldest of two children. He remains very close to his sister to this day. Mr. Monastra grew up in South Philadelphia in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He describes South Philly at the time as “magical”. He described his neighborhood as being made up of Euro-Americans who settled in South Philly after the Civil War. He attended St. Edmond’s Parochial Elementary School where there were as many as 60 kids in a class. After elementary school, he attended Bishop Neumann High School. While …

Interview Of Dominic Galante, Dominic Galante, Lewis T. Mladjen

All Oral Histories

Mr. Dominic Galante was born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The youngest of three children and a first-generation Italian-American, the majority of his life, both professional and private, was spent in Philadelphia. As a child Mr. Galante was raised in a devout Catholic home and attended Catholic grade school in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. Upon graduating from Northeast Catholic High School in 1962 he planned on joining the workforce, as attending college was not financially possible. In the fall of 1962, with the help of his high school typing teacher, he was interviewed and hired at LaSalle College …

Interview Of John J. Mcgoldrick, F.S.C., Ph.D., John J. Mcgoldrick F.S.C., Ph.D., Christine M. Thieme

All Oral Histories

Brother John Joseph McGoldrick (b. 1948), grew up in Southwest Philadelphia with his parents and older brother. Attending Most Blessed Sacrament School and later West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, Brother John was part of a strong Catholic community. It was here at West Philadelphia Catholic High School, where Brother John was introduced to the Christian Brotherhood. It was at this time that he realized that the life of service with the Brotherhood was the type of life he’d like to lead. At the age of fifteen, Brother John attended the junior novitiate and after graduating high school entered …

Interview Of Finn Hornum, Finn Hornum, Michael Laskowski

All Oral Histories

Finn Hornum was born in 1932 in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father was a businessman and his mother a homemaker and civil servant. He attended the University of Copenhagen. He moved to the United States in 1955 and graduated from Haverford College with a degree in Sociology. He enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Sociology and Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania and completed his coursework but not the dissertation thesis (ABD). He started teaching at La Salle University in 1967, was promoted to Assistant Professor, and served as Department Chair for many years. He retired in 2005.

Obituary:

Passed away …

Interview Of Sidney J. Macleod, Jr., M.F.A., Sidney J. Macleod Jr., M.F.A., Amy E. Brooks

All Oral Histories

Sidney MacLeod (often called Sid) was born in 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. He is the oldest of three children and the only boy. He earned his M.S.S. at Saint Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota and his M.F.A. at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. After graduate school he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served two years on several domestic military bases. He began working at La Salle in 1959. In 1961 he married his wife, Mary Jane. They have four children (three sons and one daughter). He continues to work at La Salle full-time. When he retires he …

Interview Of Helen Gidjunis, Helen Gidjunis, Paula Gidjunis

All Oral Histories

Interview topic: Mrs. Helen Gidjunis is a life-long resident of Philadelphia. The majority of her life she spent growing up in the shadow of La Salle College – now University. She moved to Uber Street in 1934, while La Salle’s groundbreaking occurred on February 29, 1928 at its fourth and current location at 20^th Street and Olney Avenue. She has observed the neighborhood change for seventy-nine years. When she married in 1949, she moved one street west to 20^th Street. She has been her block captain for many years and still retains that position and as such has …

Interview Of Peter J. Finley, Ph.D., Peter J. Finley Ph.D., Meghan Bassett

All Oral Histories

Peter J. Finley Sr. was born an only child to parents John J. Finley and Margaret Francis Dunn in 1931, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He grew up in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. Peter attended St. Francis Xavier School for grade school, La Salle Prep School afterwards—located at 1240 North Broad Street at the time—and La Salle College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 1953. Peter’s connection to La Salle began early in his childhood; his father, John J. Finley, was in the College’s graduating class of 1924. Peter earned a master’s degree at the College …

Interview Of Bertram Strieb, M.S., Bertram Strieb, Daniel Falcone

All Oral Histories

Bertram Strieb was born in 1938 and spent the first five years of his life in North Philadelphia, near 22nd and Venango. He then moved to West Oak Lane, where he lived from the time he was about 5 until he entered college at age 17. Among the elementary and high schools he attended were Rowen, Logan, Wagner Junior High, and Central High School. Strieb studied physics at the University of Pennsylvania on a Mayor's Scholarship and continued in graduate work at Penn, where he studied under world-renowned physicist Herbert Callen. He began teaching physics at La Salle in 1964 …

Interview Of John Mccloskey By John Fallon, John Mccloskey, John Fallon

All Oral Histories

John McCloskey was born in 1920 in Philadelphia’s Olney section. Born into a working-class Irish Catholic family, McCloskey moved to Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County, in 1924. He graduated from Northeast Catholic High School in 1938. He held several jobs before settling in at Crown Cork & Seal’s seamless can manufacturing plant located at I Street and Erie Avenue in Philadelphia’s Kensington section. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He was selected to instruct future pilots in the operation of B-17 Bombers. He attained the rank of First Lieutenant. Following his time in the Army, McCloskey …

Interview Of Thomas Lorandeau, M.B.A., Thomas Lorandeau, Eric Lorandeau

All Oral Histories

Thomas Lorandeau was born in 1952 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the first four years of his life, Thomas lived in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia, directly across from Wissinoming Park. When Tom was four, he and his family moved to the Juniata Park section of Philadelphia. Tom has four siblings, all brothers; he is the second child in the family. Tom, and all of his brothers, attended Holy Innocents for elementary school and Northeast Catholic High for Boys for their secondary education. In 1970, Tom began his undergraduate studies at, then, La Salle College (University). During his time at La …

Interview Of Carl Clayton, F.S.C., Carl Clayton, John Young

All Oral Histories

Brother Carl Clayton was born George Clayton in 1938, the youngest of four boys, whose family resided in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Calvert Hall High School and received a scholarship to attend La Salle College in Philadelphia, PA, beginning in September 1956. After a brief time as a student, Mr. Clayton decided to enter the Christian Brothers order. He completed his spiritual and intellectual training and took the name Damian Carl. Eventually his name would change to just Carl. Br. Carl reported to Pittsburg Central Catholic in September 1961 and was later assigned to La Salle High School in 1963. …

Interview Of Richard Grande, Richard Grande, Frank Hopper

All Oral Histories

Richard Grande was born and raised in South Philadelphia. He was educated in the Philadelphia Parochial System from kindergarten through high school. He graduated from Bishop Neumann High School in June of 1960. He attended La Salle College from September 1960 through May 1965. In 1964, he was on the team of scholars who brought national recognition to La Salle College through their appearance on the nationally televised quiz program, the GE College Bowl. He majored in English at La Salle College and received his Bachelors degree in May of 1965. He received a teaching assistantship from the University of …

Interview Of Robert Schaefer, Robert Schaefer, Nobu Mcpherson

All Oral Histories

Robert Schaefer was born in 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Roman Catholic High School and La Salle College. He worked at La Salle as Director of Public Relations. His son, also named Robert Schaefer, became a Christian Brother. He discusses growing up in Philadelphia in the 1930s and 1940s, attending college at La Salle in the 1950s, and his military service in Korea.

Interview Of James Szczur, James Szczur, Christopher Spaman

All Oral Histories

Mr. James Michael Szczur was born in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, PA in 1947. He grew up in close proximity to both his grandparents. He was an only child of his parents, who were also born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Jim, as he was asked to be called during the interview, attended Catholic grammar and high school in Philadelphia. Upon completion of high school, he attended seminary for about 2 years in western PA. He left the seminary and returned home when his father suffered a heart attack. He was drafted into the army in 1968 during the …