The Online Oral History Archive
Read the transcriptions of more than 200 interviews conducted since the 1980s. Oral histories are indexed by name, neighborhood and subject. Click on the column headers to sort the list, or enter any term in the search box. Click on the links to read the transcriptions in PDF format. Or view the map, at right, to read stories about your neighborhood.
Index of Oral History Transcriptions
| Name | Date | Keywords, People, Places | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul-Wali, Aida | 2015 | Immigration, Ethiopia | Aida Abdul-Wali was born in Ethiopia. She has lived in Alexandria since 1980. She talks about leaving Ethiopia to the sound of machine-gun fire and escaping to Yemen and Egypt before finally reuniting with her mother in the United States. She discusses the differences in culture, schools, and food of the many places she has lived. Years later, she revisited all those places with her daughter. |
| Ablondi, Unalane | 2007 | Education, George Washington High School | Unalane Ablondi was in Washington, D.C. and moved to Alexandria, Va., from Edgewater, Md., when she was fourteen years old, during World War II. She describes what Alexandria was like during the 1940s, when there were corner grocery stores and few restaurants. She talks about her classmates and activities at George Washington High School and her interest in dramatics. She also talks about her mother, Una Franklin Carter, a journalist with the Northern Virginia Sun and the Old Town Crier. Mrs. Ablondi moved back to Alexandria with her husband and children in the 1970s and was one of the first docents for the restored Carlyle House. She describes how Alexandria changed between the 1940s and the 1970s and how it continues to change now. |
| Abney, Joyce Paige | 2008 | African American Community, Freedmen Cemetery Descendant, Old Town | Joyce Paige Anderson Abney is a fifth-generation Alexandrian, descended from Armistead Webster. Mrs. Abney discusses growing up in segregated Alexandria, including schools and swimming pools. |
| Abraham, Mollie | 2011 | Community Organizations and Projects, Living Legend of Alexandria (2011), Del Ray | Mollie Bass Abraham, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, came to Alexandria as a young woman and worked with her husband, Meyer. She raised three children here and was active in the schools, her synagogue, the Alexandria Breast Cancer Walk, and the Civic Association. As a Living Legend of Alexandria for 2011, she talks about why she became active in community affairs and how Alexandria has changed over the years. |
| Abramson, Ethel | 1981 | Old Town | Ethel Abramson grew up at 711 King Street in Old Town Alexandria. Her family lived above the business her father ran from 1927 to 1947. This interview took place at her husband's office at 312 S. Washington Street. In this interview, Mrs. Abramson describes what Old Town was like when she was younger, namely who lived where, what businesses existed there, and so on. |
| Abramson, Ethel | 1999 | Old Town | Ethel Abramson was born in 1915 in Baltimore, She has lived in Alexandria for the past 80 years. She discusses social life during that time including the Depression. Her father was a successful businessman and her husband the longest practicing dentist in Alexandria. Throughout her interview, she compares social and everyday life in Alexandria today to that of the 1930s and 1940s. Her memories are obviously very happy ones and her descriptions are quite vivid and entertaining. |
| Abramson, Sydney | 1981 | Old Town | Sidney Abramson was born in 1911. He lived above his father's store at the corner of King and Washington streets. During the interview, Mr. Abramson describes the changes in businesses on King Street starting from the 1920s and 1930s over time, and includes references to Wiel's Butcher Shop, Askins Men's General Store, and Hoffman's Tailor Shop, to name a few. Memories of flivver trucks and pianists at silent movies are also recalled. |
| Adem, Martin | 2005 | Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Marty Adem is a semi-retired self-made businessman who came to Alexandria when he was six years old. He was born in 1933. As a child and then a rising businessman, he was aware of the socio-economic changes, which have taken place in Alexandria in the past seventy years. During this interview, he is asked to compare life in Alexandria as he was building his business to everyday life as it exists in Alexandria today. |
| Aguirre, Canek | 2023 | City Council | Canek Aguirre reflects on his journey to becoming the first Latino elected to the Alexandria City Council, from a childhood in Los Angeles to a distinguished career dedicated to public service. |
| Alford, John | 2018 | World War II | John Leroy Alford was born October 27, 1925 in Rotan, Texas. The interview covers his upbringing in Texas and California, his 20-year career in the Navy, including his ship’s downing of the last kamikaze plane in World War II, his devotion to duty, and his subsequent career as a Federal civilian worker and as a Federal contractor working in support of the Camp David Peace Accords. He also discusses what he would say to young people today, his thoughts on which generation is the greatest, and the importance of voting. |
| Aminrazavi, Mehdi | 2015 | Immigration, Iran | Mehdi Aminrazavi, Philosophy of Religion Professor at Mary Washington University, was born on September 22nd, 1957 in Mashhad, Iran. In the interview he recalls his youth in Iran up until his decision to pursue a college education in Seattle, Washington. He reflects on his first impression of Washington and how he adjusted to American culture. While Mehdi was studying at the University of Washington, the Iranian Revolution began. He explains his student activism and describes the effects the conflicts had on him and his family. About half-way through the interview Mehdi’s wife, Marylynn explains the manner Mehdi and other Iranian students were regarded in Seattle, Washington during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. In 1985, Mehdi and Marylynn moved to Alexandria, Virginia to start their family. He recalls his various jobs, raising his children multi-culturally, and participating in the developing Iranian community. |
| Anand, Vineeta | 2015 | Immigration, India, Del Ray | Vineeta Anand was born in India and has lived in Alexandria for twenty-seven years. During this interview she accounts growing up as the daughter of a military officer and her frequent moves within India. She discusses coming to the United States to attend graduate school for journalism, her subsequent job search, and her life in Philadelphia and then Alexandria. She explains how she has maintained her connection to India through Indian cooking, culture, and connection with family members, as well as staying involved in the neighborhood community of Del Ray in Alexandria. |
| Barilotti, Alyssa | 2020 | Chronicling the Pandemic, City of Alexandria employee, Alexandria Archaeology Museum | Alyssa Barilotti is a volunteer with Alexandria Archaeology, a part of the Office of Historic Alexandria. She describes how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed her work situations, how she stays connected to friends and family online and how the pandemic has changed her apartment building and her neighborhood. Alyssa also discussed the connection between the rise in social media use and participation in social justice protests since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. Included in her interview are her thoughts on the difficulty in anticipating what will happen next because of the pandemic and how large cultural changes have influenced the millennial generation. |
| Barringer, Hood | 2007 | Historic Preservation Movement, Gerald Ford, Clover/College Park | Hood Barringer was born in 1917 in Washington, D.C. and moved to Alexandria, Virginia later in life. Hood was an active member in many Alexandria committees, and participated in events through the Lyceum. She is also a former neighbor to the late President Gerald Ford. Hood Barringer gave an hour of her time on her 90th birthday to share these stories. |
| Barry June and Jim | 2010 | Education, George Washington High School | June (Parsons) Barry and James Barry were born in Alexandria in the 1930s. During the interview, they recall attending George Washington High School, discuss the social activities they enjoyed both as part of and outside of school and comment on the segregation at the time and how it affected them. |
| Barton, Barbara | 2023 | Childhood; College Experience, T.H.I.S, Cultural expectations of Women, Volunteering, Tourism | Barbara Burtonreflects on her experiences working in the tourism industry for Alexandria in the latter half of the 20th century. |
| Barton, Hugh | 2023 | Wartime experience, Career in Tourism, Alexandria Journal, Alexandria in the 1990s | Hugh Bartonis world traveler who lived and worked briefly in Alexandria in the 1950s and returned in 1994, and has lived there since. He describes various incidents in his life, including a seven day flight across the Pacific, living on a farm in Maryland during World War II, working as a journalist and a travel marketer in Hong Kong and Guam, and finally returning to Alexandria and becoming involved in community activities. |
| Basegmez, Serdar | 2015 | Immigration, Turkey | Serdar Basegmez was born in Ankara, Turkey, but raised in Istanbul. He came to the United States to study. Although he went to high school and college in Ankara, he always knew that he wanted to live in the United States to learn English, travel, attend concerts, etc. He enrolled in Montgomery College in Maryland and took part-time jobs to make ends meet. He moved to Houston, Texas, to set up a business. It was there he began the process of naturalization, which he completed in 1987. After being in Houston a while he decided to move back to the Washington, D.C., area. Since returning to the D.C. area, Mr. Basegmez has owned a variety of small businesses. He currently owns a catering company and two dry cleaners. Serdar says he has a positive outlook on life in general, and that’s made his immigration experience a positive one. |
| Beach, Howard | 2005 | Potomac Yard | Howard Truslow Beach was born in 1920 and has lived in Alexandria for 86 years. Topics discussed include Mr Beach's childhood, his positions at Potomac Yard from 1941 to 1982, training, benefits and opportunities at the Yard, a work-day, a description of the Yard and its history, social life and minorities at Potomac Yard, railway terminology, and changes to the Yard over time. |
| Beach, Howard | 2006 | Potomac Yard | Howard Truslow Beach provided a second interview in 2006. Mr. Beach was born in 1920 and has lived in Alexandria for 86 years. The interview continues the discussion of Mr. Beach's memories of working at Potomac Yard Railroad. Topics discussed include social life and minorities at the Yard, railway terminology, and changes to the Yard over time. |
| Beane, Candace | 2021 | TWIG | Candace Beane moved to Alexandria in 1978 and has been a member of TWIG for twenty-one years. She talks about how moving to Alexandria and being a TWIG member has helped her form meaningful relationships with other members. During the interview, she recalls the many TWIG projects she was involved in and shares her plans for TWIG moving forward as the organization’s president. |
| Belk, Judy | 2024 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort, Integration; Systemic Racism; Philanthropy; Fighting Injustice; Segregation; African American History | Judy Belk is a fifth generation native of Alexandria. She is a descendant of the Casey and Adams families who were early residents of The Fort and Seminary neighborhoods. She reflects on her childhood years between the late l950’s- early70’s) including living without access to indoor plumbing; being one of the first African American students to integrate Minnie Howard School; and her family’s fight to hold on to its land under threat of an eminent domain take-over by the city. She shares how these early experiences have shaped her career as a prominent philanthropic leader, writer, and social justice advocate. In recognition of her writing and civic leadership, in 2013, Belk was inducted in the Alexandria African American Hall of Fame. |
| Belk, Maydell Casey | 1994 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Maydell Casey Belk is around sixty years old at the time of this interview, and had lived on Fort Ward near Old Town Alexandria for fifteen years from 1952 until 1967 before moving to her current house. The objective of this interview is the development of the African-American neighborhood on Fort Ward, situated on a steep hill just outside Old Town. In it Mrs. Belk describes what it was to live there before there was indoor plumbing, running water, or air conditioning, and how life centered around the local church. |
| Bernheimer, Sigmund | 2004, October | Sigmund Bernheimer was born in Alexandria in 1914. "Sig," relays his family history and childhood memories. Memories include those of the family businesses on King Street, such as the Torpedo Inn. Sig remembers selling newspapers at the Torpedo Factory as a young boy and taking newspaper routes for the local papers, and also describes for us Alexandria's trolleys and taxis. | |
| Bernheimer, Sigmund | 2004, November | Sigmund "Sig" Bernheimer grew up in Alexandria. He lived through the flu epidemic after World War I, remembers the streetcars that used to run through Alexandria to Washington, D.C., and served in the Pacific during World War II. Sig spent most of his life working in the appliance business; his wife worked in the printing and engraving business, where she printed stationery for the vice-president of the United States. | |
| Bezu, Zion | 2015 | Immigration, Ethiopia. PTA, education | Zion Bezuwas born and raised in the eastern part of Ethiopia and came to the United States to study at a university. In the summer of 2005, she visited a family who lived in Alexandria, and she decided to stay here. She also applied to change her status from a student visa to a request for asylum due to her family’s religious persecution. Since 2005, she’s earned two master’s degrees. She is the first African immigrant to become a PTA [Parent Teacher Association] President in the City of Alexandria. As a way to keep her children connected to Ethiopian culture, Zion started giving Amharic language lessons. Her parents’ emphasis on education has stayed with Zion her entire life, from her own education, to that of her children, and now for students in Alexandria’s public schools. |
| Bierce, C. Richard | 2001 | Historic Preservation Movement | C. Richard Bierce was interviewed in 2001, as part of the development of a Lyceum exhibit commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Bicentennial. During this interview he shares his thoughts on Alexandria in the early [19]70s, just prior to the Bicentennial, in terms of the City's historical consciousness or attitude toward historical preservation. |
| Bierce, C. Richard | 2006 | Historic Preservation Movement | C. Richard Bierce was asked to review his role in preservation projects in the City of Alexandria since his arrival in 1973—most notably the restoration of Gadsby's Tavern and the Carlyle House. |
| Blancas, Miguel | 2021 | Chronicling the Pandemic, City employee, Immigration, Mexico | Miguel Blancas came to Northern Virginia after meeting his wife in a study abroad program in Spain. Mr. Blancas started working for the City of Alexandria in the Court Service Unit. In February 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Blancas began working for the Emergency Operations Center [EOC] where he developed a tracker for recording the continuance of operations plans for the City. He has continued to work for the EOC as a documentation leader within the planning section of EOC. Mr. Blancas keeps in touch with distant family members with digital video communications and relaxes by biking on the W&OD Railroad Trail. He is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Public Administration. |
| Bohlayer, Edwin | 1982 | Rosemont | Edwin Bohlayer, born in 1893 in what is now the Rosemont area of Alexandria, talks about the neighborhood he grew up in, which then included a large dairy farm. He describes the well behind the house on Summers Drive that yielded ice-cold water in summer. He also talks about the racecourse in Del Ray and about Luna Park in what is now Arlington. He remembers one of the stores on King Street in Alexandria that would give regular customers a turkey or a fifth of whiskey at Christmastime. |
| Boltwood, Harvey | 2005 | Chamber of Commerce | Harvey Boltwood, born and raised in Alexandria, has been an active Alexandria community member since the 1960s. Involved in the former Retail Merchant's Association at that time, he joined the Chamber of Commerce soon after the two organizations merged in 1968. He has been involved in community service work such as tutoring and volunteering for the Red Cross as well. He was chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in 1988. Mr. Boltwood currently works for Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust. |
| Bontz, Howard | 2009 | Business and Working Community | Howard Bontz was born in 1922 and moved to Virginia in 1969. In this second interview, he talks briefly about his family tree with lineage to a Bailey's Crossroads innkeeper. He details his work life in Chicago, his army experience, his training with tabulating machines (working for Remington Rand, for example), and his career as a data processing operator (with Computer Systems Command). He explains how this training and experience with computers brought him to Virginia. |
| Bontz, Howard and Dorothy | 2008 | Business and Working Community | Howard and Dorothy Bontz were interviewed together in 2008. Dorothy was born December 1918 in South Dakota and lived in Washington, D.C., in 1941-1942 and 1946-1948. She returned as a widow to Virginia in 1999. She describes her experiences with the War Department in Washington, D.C. at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, her later employment with the Strategic Air Command, and racial tensions in the late 1940s in Washington, D.C. She also recounts how she met Mr. Bontz in August 2005 and their subsequent marriage. Howard Bontz was born in Chicago, Illinois, in June 1922. |
| Bradby, Julia | 1992 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Julia Maria Adams Bradby was born on June 8, 1920, and has lived in Alexandria for 72 years. She traces the lineage and locations of the Bradby family and also discusses other community members and the neighborhood she grew up in, including the Episcopal Theological Seminary, several churches, Fort Ward, and Donaldson's store. |
| Brasfield, Julia | 2021 | TWIG | Julia Hampton Brasfield grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and completed her education at the University of Georgia and at the Duke University School of Law in North Carolina. She talks about her involvement with The TWIG after moving to Alexandria, first as a member working on different committees and then as president of the organization in 2003. Julia, now living in North Carolina, recalls some memorable moments and contributions to The Twig. |
| Brooks, Courtney | 1996 | African American Community, Education, Parker-Gray High School, World War II | Courtney Brooks was born in Alexandria in 1923. He served with the 515th Port Battalion in England and France. He worked for the federal government and also played in bands in Alexandria and across the South. He talks about his life here, including the desegregation of the City, his experiences in World War II, and his successful music career. |
| Brooks, Courtney | 2002 | African American Community, Education, Parker-Gray High School, World War II | Courtney Brooks worked for the Records Center of the General Accounting Office, but his real interest as an adult was in activities that he started in childhood. One was playing drums in the Armstrong High School Band. The other was playing sports in the neighborhood. He played in his own band, the Courtney Brooks All Stars, and others all around the country. In 1946 he started a semi-pro football team, the Alexandria Rams, which was integrated by 1951. A decade later he started a football team for boys coming out of high school. He was also instrumental in starting a baseball league for youth. In all of these, he experienced and advanced the shift from segregation to integration. Today he is still helping his neighbors by volunteering at a food mission, directing the Blues Society, and organizing neighborhood festivals. |
| Brooks, Henry | 2011 | Living Legends of Alexandria (2011) | Henry Sidney Brooks was nominated in 2011 as a Living Legend of Alexandria. After settling in Alexandria during the 1970s, Mr. Brooks outlines his career, which includes positions within the US Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA), the Federal Energy Administration (FEA), and the Small Businesses Administration. He discusses his family's immigration history, as well as his current wife Carolyn's. His story is peppered with intriguing anecdotes which involve some well-known individuals of modern times (Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, and Frank Lloyd Wright). There is scarcely a volunteer position that he has not undertaken and his community service record is inspiring. Mr. Brooks has held leadership roles on the Sister City Committee, Virginia School Boards Association, the Bienvenidos and Healthy Families programs, the Campagna Center, Boy Scouts of America and ROTC. He campaigned and lobbied for current and past Virginia legislators such as Patsy Ticer and Mark Warner. Mr. Brooks has cultivated a deep passion for his home and professes his incredible devotion towards educational programs for children of all ages within his community. |
| Burns, Reba | 2022 | TWIG | Reba Burnsshares her experiences being a volunteer and president for TWIG over the years. |
| Burts, Mabel | 2002 | African American Community, Education, Parker-Gray High School, Torpedo Factory, Old Town | Mabel Burts has fond memories of her neighborhood around St. Asaph and Franklin streets. where she was raised by an extended family, including her grandmother who had been a slave. She worked at the torpedo factory and Ft. Belvoir's Army Hospital. She has been very active at her church assisting in many social activities and benefit programs. |
| Byrd, Rosa | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Rosa Byrd, Ellen Nelson, and Tara Casagrande reflect on their experiences attending the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project’s pilgrimage to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. |
| Byrd, Rosa | 2023 | Lynnhaven | Rosa Byrdreflects on a lifetime of devotion to community activism and family, as well as the deep connection she and her family share with the city of Alexandria. |
| Cable, Walter H Jr. | 2006 | Potomac Yard | Walter H. Cable, Jr., lived and attended school in Alexandria as a boy and continued to live in the City for much of his adult life. Both before and after four years of service in the United States Navy, his principal adult employment was with Potomac Yard, where he worked for forty-three years. He describes his Alexandria boyhood as well as operations and various positions that he held at Potomac Yard. He also briefly discusses his wood-carving hobby. He made a gift of his carving of Bruce Ball, a Chief of Police, to the Lyceum: Alexandria's History Museum. |
| Campbell, Dee | 2007 | Old Dominion Boat Club, T.C. Williams High School, Old Town | Dee Campbell had a long and distinguished career coaching rowing in the Alexandria City's high schools, starting in 1959 when he became an assistant boys' coach at what was then Francis Hammond High School. He eventually became the girls' coach at T.C. Williams High School and held that post until he retired in 2005. He spent his boyhood on Prince Street and the Potomac was always a major force in his life. He describes himself as a wharf rat as a child, living the life of a Huckleberry Finn. He learned to row at Old Dominion Boat Club after World War II and competed when club rowing was a high-profile sport on the Potomac, drawing rowers from as far away as New York City to compete in regattas such as The President's Cup. Campbell remembers getting girls' crew established at the new T.C. Williams High School when female rowers had to keep their clothes in a drawer in the microfilm section of the Torpedo Factory and their boats on racks outdoors. Known as the dean of girls' scholastic rowing, Campbell saw many changes in rowing in the city, including the construction of the Alexandria schools' new boat house, now the Dee Campbell Rowing Center. |
| Campbell, Lynwood Jr. | 2011 | African American Community, Living Legends of Alexandria (2011) | Lynnwood Campbell, Jr. was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947 and has been nominated as a Living Legend of 2011. During his life, Lynnwood has accrued many civil rights "firsts:" he was the first minority student in St. Mary's elementary school, the first black cashier at a local popular grocery store, and even one of the first black speakers at a national accounting conference. An accountant by training, Mr. Campbell was born with an unquestionable duty to community which is evidenced by his tenure with the Urban League, NAACP, the Human Rights Commission and the Alexandria School Board. He successfully campaigned to increase early childhood development in Alexandria schools and raised academic requirements for athletes – a debate that drew national attention! He has witnessed the incredible changes within the city of Alexandria during the height of desegregation and discusses the positive and negative effects it has had on the local population. |
| Carpenter, Sandy | 2016 | World War I | Sandy Carpenter's grandfathers, Charles Renshaw and Fred McLein, participated in World War I as soldiers in the U.S. Army. She describes their careers after being in the military. |
| Carrasco, Yolie | 2017 | Education | Yolie Carrasco, whose oldest son Marcos has autism, was interviewed along with Mildred Rivera, whose twin sons Christian and Brandon also have autism. Carrasco and Rivera have for several years been speaking about autism and other disabilities to school children in Alexandria, Virginia. They talk about how the program got started, and how it has grown, and what they hope people will learn from it. They also discuss some of the challenges of raising autistic children, drawing from their own experiences. |
| Carrier, Keating King | 2005 | Seminary Hill and The Fort | Keating Karig Carrier was born in 1926. She has lived in Alexandria since 1934, first on Russell Road and then, since 1938, on Seminary Road. She graduated from St. Agnes Episcopal School in Alexandria. Ms. Karig's father was the distinguished journalist and author, Walter Karig. Ms. Carrier recounts life growing up on Seminary Hill, attending St. Agnes School, recreational activities, filling the role of Acting Postmistress at the Seminary Hill Post Office, local transportation and commerce, buildings on Seminary Hill, and Seminary Hill animals -- both domestic and wild. |
| Carson, Anita | 2022 | TWIG | Anita Carsondiscusses her work in the hotel industry before marriage. Soon after she arrived in Northern Virginia she began volunteering with TWIG. Ms. Carson served on many different committees for TWIG and she was recently honored for her twenty-five years as a TWIG member. |
| Casagrande, Tara | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Rosa Byrd, Ellen Nelson, and Tara Casagrandereflect on their experiences attending the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project’s pilgrimage to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. |
| Casey, Michael | 2023 | Education | Dr. Michael Caseyreflects on his family and childhood growing up in Alexandria, high school and college experiences, work with the American Red Cross, and career as an educator. |
| Chalier, Jaron | 2022 | Immigration, Holmes Run | Jaron Chalieris an American with a global upbringing. He first moved back to the USA as an elementary schooler in 2009 and soon moved to Alexandria. Jaron recounts his unique feelings of reverse culture shock growing up in cities like Bangkok and Hong Kong as a U.S. citizen before attending American public school. Jaron continued living outside the USA after the 7th grade and eventually decided to return to the USA as an adult to start a career in international relations. |
| Chang, Eric | 2020 | Legacy of George Floyd | Eric Chang discusses his first hearing about the death of George Floyd, his decision to participate in the protests and how the protests inspired him about the possibility of change in the future. He also discusses the differences in the mood of the protests on different days and how the protests at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC differed from the protests in Alexandria, Virginia. |
| Child, Mary | 1999 | City of Alexandria Employee | Mary Moss Child was born in the early twentieth century and has lived in Alexandria since 1938. She volunteered for the Alexandria Boys and Girls Club and became Personnel director for the City in 1955. The city had about 800 employees, by her estimate, at that time. At first each department offered different benefits. Mrs. Child oversaw benefit restructuring so that they were more equal across the board. |
| Coakley, Celeste | 2007 | Old Town | Celeste Coakley was born in Alexandria in 1918. She grew up in Old Town and has been a member of the First Baptist Church of Alexandria for 73 years. She recalls shopping at neighborhood stores, playing hopscotch on the sidewalk of Prince Street, walking to school, and going into Washington, D.C. on the trolley that ran along Commonwealth Avenue. She was in the last class to graduate from Alexandria High School, where she played basketball. |
| Cole, Marcia | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Lonnie Rich and Marcia Coleinterview each other about their pilgrimage to Montgomery, AL, and their reflections on race in America. |
| Cockrell, Vernon | 2001 | West End | Vernon Cockrell was born in Alexandria in 1920 near where Patrick Henry School is now. His grandfather, Charles Branner Cockrell, owned a farm in that area, as well as a mill located near the intersection of Quaker Lane and Duke Street. The mill used water from Holmes Run and got shipments of corn via the railroad. Mr. Cockrell's father, Charles Norman Cockrell, worked at the mill and owned a feed store, which Mr. Cockrell converted to a hardware store. He later built a new store on Duke Street that has since been replaced by another building. Mr. Cockrell talks about growing up in Alexandria and the many changes he has seen in the City. |
| Coleman, Allyson | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Allyson Coleman, Andrew Taylor, and Antwoine Taylorreflect on their experiences participating in the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project pilgrimage. |
| Collins, Kathryn | 2012 | Del Ray. Dominion Gardens, Parkfairfax | Kathryn Collins moved to Alexandria from Massachusetts in the early 1940s with her husband and young son when her husband got a job with Pennsylvania Central Airlines. She reminisces about: life in Alexandria neighborhoods --Del Ray, Dominion Gardens, and Parkfairfax -- where the family lived through the 1950s; her education in Pharmacy in the 1930s, when it was rare for a woman to choose that field; her volunteer work in Alexandria schools and at Alexandria Hospital when it was on Duke Street; and her other employment. Ms. Collins's son, Len Collins, who was present for this interview, has also been interviewed by Alexandria Archaeology. |
| Collins, Len | 2012 | Fort Ward Museum, Del Ray, Dominion Gardens, Parkfairfax | Leonard 'Len' Collins moved with his family to Alexandria as a toddler in the early 1940s, and has lived in Alexandria most of his life. He grew up in three Alexandria neighborhoods: Del Ray, Dominion Gardens, and Parkfairfax, and was educated in six Alexandria schools before leaving for military school (VMI). Later, he returned to Alexandria and has lived here most of the time since then. For the past eight years, Mr. Collins has served as a docent at Fort Ward Museum. In this interview, Mr. Collins shares memories of his family, homes, neighborhoods, and schools. He tells us about watching the Four Mile Run floods and later, as a Boy Scout, rowing around helping flood victims; the airport job he held as a teenager; what life in the 50s was like for a teen in Alexandria; and his decisions to go to VMI and later return here. He talks of how Fort Ward looked when he was a boy, the 1960s restoration, and current interest in commemorating the community established at the Fort after the Civil War. |
| Conkey, William | 2023 | Historic Preservation | Bill Conkeyreflects on his career as an architect in the D.C. Metro area, with focuses on his time spent working on D.C. Public Schools, his time on the Parker-Gray Board of Architecture Review, and the material and cultural significances and struggles of a historic preservation architect in the City of Alexandria. |
| Council, LeRoy | 2023 | Douglass Cemetery | LeRoy Councilreflects on his childhood experiences in Orange County and Alexandria with his grandmother and mother. He also describes his memories of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Cemetery. |
| Cox, Al | 2023 | Historic Preservation | Al Coxreflects on growing up in Dallas Texas, learning and implementing preservation architectural practices in his community, the projects he worked on while serving as the City of Alexandria’s Historic Preservation Architect, and the changes he has seen occur in Alexandria since the early 1990s. |
| Davis, Mildrilyn Stephens | 2016 | World War I | Mildrilyn Stephens Davis discussed her grandfather, U.S. Army Captain Robert Kenneth Stephens, who served in World War I. Captain Stephens served in the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, based in France. He was awarded a Purple Heart medal for wounds received in battle. After World War I, he worked as a pharmacist. |
| Dodd, Joseph and Carol | 2004 | Education, George Washington High School, Del Ray, Old Town, Rosemont | Joseph and Carol Dodd were interviewed in 2004. Joseph tells us about growing up on South Royal St – about his schools, playmates, the neighborhood, and the city market among other things. Together they comment about Alexandria's different neighborhoods, such as Old Town, Del Ray, and Rosemont, throughout the years. |
| Douglas, Elizabeth | 1992 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort, Macedonia | Elizabeth Douglas was born in 1919 and has lived in Alexandria, Virginia her entire life. She discusses the adventures and hardships of Elizabeth's youth and schooling in Alexandria, Arlington and Washington, D.C. Stories of everyday life in the 'Macedonia'-area of Alexandria, as well as some of its more notable residents are also told. Elizabeth gives us her family history and tells us about her favorite childhood games, favorite foods, and unusual pets. |
| Dowell, Wanda | 2013 | City of Alexandria Employee, Fort Ward Museum | Wanda Dowell worked at the Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site in Alexandria, Virginia. Wanda started working at the historic location in 1965 and worked there for thirty-seven years. |
| Ebbin, Adam | 2023 | Politics, Virginia state senator, LGBTQ+ | Adam Ebbintalks about his early interest in politics and his experience in various Virginia government offices. |
| Evans, Carnot | 2017 | African American Community, Education | Dr. Carnot Evanswas born in Washington, DC, in 1928, and has lived in the area for most of his life. He discusses his schooling, his career as a medical doctor, his time in California during his military service, golfing and sailing, trips to an Alexandria cemetery. His mother Mary Dulany Evans was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He also discusses the life of his grandfather, William Blayton Dulaney, a barber who was an Alexandria resident and a friend and employee of President Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. William Blayton Dulaney later worked as an accountant for the Federal Government. |
| Fawcett, Margery | 1999 | Margery Fawcett was born in 1904 and lived in Alexandria since she was 17, after moving here from Washington, D.C. During the interview, Margery relays a description of the stores that populated King Street and stories associated with them, including the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop and Shuman's Bakery. Memories of living during the Depression and bootleggers during Prohibition are also shared, as are those of Presidential visits to Alexandria through the decades. | |
| Fawcett, Margery | 2004 | World War I and II | Margery Fawcett's father was rector of St. Paul's and she was very active in the affairs of the church, the activities which are discussed in this interview. The interview also includes memories of World War I and World War II, stories of her great grandfather and older brothers, as well as her experiences as a Red Cross nurse and driving a Model-T. |
| Fischman, Robert and Antoinette | 2005 | Merchants and Entrepreneurs, Del Ray, Old Town | Robert and Antoinette Fischman were interviewed together in 2005. Bob was born in Del Ray in 1925 and is a lifelong resident of Alexandria. He grew up in Del Ray during the Depression, when livestock, coal deliveries, and revival meetings were part of neighborhood life and everyone found some way to cobble together a living. Bob shares stories about his grandfather and father, both railroad workers at Potomac Yards, as well as stories about his grandmother's rooming house in Del Ray. An award-winning dress designer, Bob opened and ran clothing and tailoring shops in three Old Town locations and continued tailoring later, for a total of 55 years in the business. Toni Fischman, Bob's wife, suggested several interesting topics as the interview progressed and shared her own memories of the Palm Theatre, eating at Lipp's and the character of some Alexandria neighborhoods at an earlier time. In 2021, Bob Fischman recounted his experience at Normandy on D-Day in this ten-minute video. Listen to Mr. Fischman's interview with the National Museum of the War in the Pacific. Later in the war he participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. |
| Foster, Shenise | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI; City of Alexandria Employee | Shenise Foster, an interpreter at the Black History Museum describes her personal reasons for attending the 2022 Pilgrimage to the Equal Justice Initiative Museum. |
| Gaddy, Anne | 2021 | Chronicling the Pandemic, Health Department employee | Anne Gaddy, MD, is the Deputy Director of the Health Department for the City of Alexandria. Dr. Gaddy discusses the multiple roles that the Health Department regularly takes on and their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial vaccinations by the Health Department began in December 2020. Dr. Gaddy is grateful for the strength and flexibility of the staff and volunteers who have worked during the pandemic since 2020 and the importance of funding public health. |
| Gillyard, Jennifer | 2021 | Chronicling the Pandemic, Election Officer | Jennifer Gillyard is a social worker who is involved with several organizations in Alexandria, Virginia. She discusses some of the challenges of being a volunteer interfaith chaplain at INOVA Alexandria Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in her work and family, and working as an election official in 2020. Ms. Gillyard speaks about her roles with the Economic Opportunities Commission and Hogar Immigrant Services in Alexandria and why the musical Hamilton and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are important to her. |
| Gailliot, Ed and Shirley | 2004 | Del Ray | Edward and Shirley Gailliot were interviewed together in 2004. Ed, born in 1929, was raised in a 'Sears and Roebuck' house, (built by his father) located in the Del Ray neighborhood and still extant today. Ed shares memories of Hoover Airport, Potomac Yard whistles, his father's carpool to Washington Navy Yard, as well as his years working for the phone company. Shirley Gailliot moved to Alexandria in 1941 as a child; she reflects on her childhood in Del Ray, playing with the girls’ basketball team, and her years as a bank employee. |
| Gochenour, James | 2007 | Potomac Yard | James Gochenour was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1933 and has been in Alexandria since 1957. He started working at Potomac Yard in 1960 in a variety of positions all the way up to foreman when he retired in 1995. During this interview, he describes the type of freight that came through Potomac Yard and the various problems that would arise and their solutions. He also speaks of the many skilled workers necessary for the success of the Yard and their job descriptions, many of which he filled during his tenure. Mr. Gochenour is also on the Board of Directors of the Potomac Yard Retired Employees Association and, as such, is very active in its operation maintaining social contact with fellow retired employees. Throughout the interview, he is very upbeat and positive about all of his memories of the Yard and maintains a very humorous attitude, finding obvious enjoyment in his recollections. |
| Grimm, Norman | 2005 | Education, George Washington High School, Del Ray | Norman Grimm was born on September 18, 1931, and has lived in Alexandria his whole life. With a broad knowledge of the Del Ray area of the city, Norman takes us on a tour of the Del Ray streets, revealing stories of the Cottage Park neighborhood, the Potomac Yard railroad area, the "Raymond Houses," and the changes in the area over time. He also shares memories of being a kid, sledding, and attending George Washington High School. |
| Grimm, Ralph | 2005 | Del Ray | Ralph Grimm was born November 25, 1926, on East Alexandria Avenue, which was in Arlington County at that time. His family later moved to Del Ray, and he discusses the history of the neighborhood and his opinion about how it was given the name "Del Ray." He has many poignant stories and memories of life in Del Ray, which he shares with the interviewer. He grew up and worked in Del Ray until 1978 at which time he was transferred by his employer, State Farm, to Roanoke. He retired to Florida in 1997, but returns to Del Ray often to visit friends, his four children, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He shared with the interviewer many photos and other memorabilia from his life. |
| Gross, Miracle | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage | Miracle Grossreflects on her experience on her experiences while on the Alexandria City Remembrance Programs pilgrimage to Mobile, Alabama, to honor Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas. |
| Guajardo, Rodrigo A. | 2015 | Immigration, Chile | Rodrigo A. Guajardo was born December 31, 1957 in Chile. He immigrated to the U. S. in 1980 fearing for his life living under the Augusto Pinochet regime. During the interview he recalls his childhood and youth, life under the Pinochet regime, his early struggles here, his involvement as a volunteer for twenty-four years with the City of Alexandria Police Department, his extensive work history, and his invention that, can significantly solve the problem of corrosion while providing jobs for thousands of people all over the world. He speaks passionately about the freedom he has enjoyed since coming to the U.S. |
| Harlow, Peggy | 2023 | OHA volunteer, Navy | Peggy Harlowreflects upon her childhood in Massachusetts, Ohio, and New Jersey. It was during this time that she developed an interest in history. She then describes her 20+ year career in the U.S. Navy. Lastly, Peggy recalls her experiences volunteering for Gadsby’s Tavern and the Office of Historic Alexandria. |
| Harris, Marilyn | 2021 | TWIG | Marilyn Harris is a life-long Virginian who moved to Alexandria after working for the US Government in Germany. She has formed several lifelong friendships in Alexandria through TWIG. She talks about how proud she is of the many contributions that TWIG has made to Alexandria Hospital and the community, especially the Thrift Shop. While she is now a resident of South Carolina, she still maintains her special connections within TWIG. |
| Hatch, Norman | 2008 | Del Ray, Old Town | Norman (Norm) Hatch was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1921. He came to Alexandria in 1943, settling in Presidential Gardens. After World War II he and his wife Lois moved to Old Town upon purchasing a 1797 house on St. Asaph Street. Five years later they moved to Aldie, Virginia, for a brief period of time before moving to the Mount Ida/Del Ray section of Alexandria in 1951. Norm was a cinematographer and a federal administrator in photography for the Marine Corps and the Department of Defense. He was President of Photo Press International, Ltd., in Alexandria for more than twenty years, producing editorial/commercial photography for foreign publishers. |
| Hayman, Ben | 2001 | Merchants and Entrepreneurs, Del Ray, Old Town, Arlandria | Ben Hayman was born in Alexandria to parents who had emigrated from Eastern Europe. His parents owned property and sold goods on King Street in downtown Alexandria. Ben Hayman, his wife Betsy, and his son Jimmy owned and/or operated several stores in different neighborhoods of Alexandria, including downtown, Del Ray, and Arlandria. Ben and Jimmy Hayman talk of the many different types of stores in Alexandria that attracted customers from as far away as Manassas when Alexandria was the major shopping destination for Northern Virginia. They describe the effects of Urban Renewal on the city, as well as the effects of the establishment of malls at Bailey's Crossroads and Landmark. The City of Alexandria took special note of the Hayman family's contributions to the city, including the annual fashion show benefiting Alexandria Hospital. |
| Hirsch, Kathy | 2020 | TWIG | Kathy Hirschhas lived in Alexandria for thirty-six years. Both her children were born in Alexandria Hospital. She been an active member of Twig for over twenty years and served as president of the organization in 2005-2006. She discusses how she values being a Twig member and how she intends to stay active as long as she can. |
| Hirschkop, Philip | 2019, May 22 | Law and Human Rights | Philip Hirschkop was born on May 14, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of three boys in an Orthodox Jewish family. In the interview he talks about his early education, military life, and his life in Alexandria. He undertook cases on Mildred and Richard Loving as clients in a landmark case (Loving v. Virginia) that ended the enforcement of state bans on interracial marriage. Hirschkop went on to argue five additional cases before the Supreme Court in the 1970s. The cases also include Kirstein v. University of Virginia, Cohen v. Chesterfield County, and Landman v. Royster. Other clients have included Norman Mailer, the American Nazi Party, PETA, and "numerous anti-war protesters during the 1960s and 1970s." Hirschkop has served on the ACLU's national Board of Directors and as Chair of the ACLU of Virginia, which he helped found in 1969. In the 1960s, after the McCarthy era, he served as the vice chair of the National Committee to Abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee, which now is the Defending Dissent Foundation. He also remembers Justice Warren. Also talks about the Prison Rights Movement and the Peace Movement. |
| Hirschkop, Philip | 2019, June 5 | Law and Human Rights | Philip J. Hirschkop, in this second interview, talks about dealing with various types of cases in his career. |
| Holly, Maggie | 2015 | Immigration, Ireland, Guatemala, China | Maggie Holley has lived in Alexandria for more than twenty years. During the interview she discusses her childhood in Ireland, as well as leaving Ireland to volunteer in Guatemala and Honduras. She recalls moving to the United States and maintaining connections to Ireland, and talks about adopting her children from Guatemala and China. |
| Hooff, Elizabeth | 2006 | Seminary Hill | Elizabeth Hooff moved to the Seminary Hill area of Alexandria from Philadelphia in 1947. When she first lived in the area, Seminary Hill had large farms and relatively few homes; it had not yet been incorporated into the City of Alexandria. Mrs. Hooff talks about the homes and her neighbors and the changes that have occurred over the years in Seminary Hill. |
| Howard, Christine | 2002 | African American Community, Education, Parker-Gray High School, Jefferson-Houston Elementary School, Parker Gray | Christine Howard, born in Alexandria in 1930, talks about growing up in the 300 block of North Patrick Street. Her mother, who owned a restaurant at the corner of North Fayette and Queen Street until it closed during the Great Depression, believed strongly in education, and Christine and her nine siblings all achieved education beyond high school. Christine attended Parker-Gray School and talks about Ebenezer Baptist Church as well as Hopkins House and other recreation centers for young people in the city. She earned her undergraduate degree at West Virginia State College and her master's degree from the University of Virginia, and she taught in the Alexandria schools while the schools were segregated and throughout the process of desegregation and later. She was Principal of Jefferson-Houston Elementary School for 14 years and was active in the Urban League, the Alexandria Community YMCA (now the Campagna Center), Hopkins House, and the Commission of Equal Opportunity. |
| Hulfish, Tom | 2022 | Old Town, Waterfront, Health Care, Navy | Tom Hulfishdescribes his early memories growing up in Alexandria, Virginia. He recalls the area of what is now known as the Old Town area and the waterfront. Hulfish also describes his memories serving in the Navy and then continuing on with a career in healthcare. Additionally, Hulfish describes his involvement with Alexandria’s politics and healthcare |
| Islas, Michele | 2020 | Chronicling the Pandemic, Mother of Light Center | Michele Islas was born and raised in California. She has lived in Alexandria, Virginia for almost twenty years. During the interview she recalls how she and her family have been handling the pandemic, creating Sunday holiday celebrations. She also discusses how COVID-19 has impacted her paid and volunteer work with the immigrant community in Alexandria and Northern Virginia and the Front Porch/Steps Photography Project. |
| Izar, Priscilla | 2015 | Immigration, Brazil | Priscila Izar was born in São Paolo, Brazil, but has lived for several years in Alexandria with her husband and daughters. In the interview she talks about growing up in Brazil and earning her degree in urban planning. She discusses coming to the United States for her master’s degree, and then the time she and her husband spent working in South Africa, Brazil, and Albania before moving to Alexandria. |
| Jennings, Verdella | 2023 | African American Community, Lyles Crouch, Parker-Gray High School, Charles Houston Recreation Center, City employee | Verdella Jenningsreflects on her family and childhood experiences growing up in Alexandria and work at Charles Houston Recreation Center. |
| Johnson, Lucian | 2009 | African American Community, Freedmen Cemetery Descendant, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Lucian Johnson's ancestors are buried in Alexandria's Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery. A life-long resident of Alexandria, Virginia, his family history is one of strength and community cohesion during the Depression and the difficulties he encountered attaining an education. Mr. Johnson offers a detailed description of the changes in road ways and housing development in Alexandria. |
| Johnson, Margaret | 2022 | TWIG | Margaret Johnson, an Alexandria resident since 1926, reflects on her experiences growing up in Alexandria, serving in the TWIG (the Junior Auxiliary of the Alexandria Hospital), and the Alexandria Hospital Board of Directors. |
| Johnson, Mary Crozet Wood | 1992 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Mary Crozet Wood Johnson was born in Alexandria and lived in a house near the corner of Quaker Lane and Woods Lane. She tells of the neighbors who lived in that area. She also talks about the one-room schoolhouse she attended at Fort Ward, which she knew as "The Fort," and the clothes she wore and the games she played. She tells of the occupations of her parents and grandparents, as well as the local churches her parents attended. |
| Johnson, Michael | 2023 | African American history, Untouchables, Alexandria Public Schools, community outreach, racism, Parker-Gray, Uptown, Marine Corps | Michael Johnsonreflects on his experiences growing up in Uptown/Parker-Gray, the community of Parker-Gray, his time spent in the Marin Corps, his concern regarding the history of African-Americans in Alexandria, and his work with the City of Alexandria |
| Johnson, Michael | 2022 | African American history, Untouchables, Civil Rights, Alexandria Public Schools, community outreach, racism, Parker-Gray, Uptown | Michael Johnsonreflects on his life in Alexandria, living on the 700 block of North Patrick Street. Mr. Johnson discusses experiences and interactions with police in his neighborhood and his time serving in the Marine Corps. Mr. Johnson also discusses returning to Alexandria after serving and the changes he saw in his neighborhood. He then reflects on his work in the community, particularly with youth in the community, through The Untouchables, the city school system, the rec center, and, most recently, working in community outreach for the City of Alexandria. |
| Jones, Leslie | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage; Education; Racism; Equity | Ra Alim Shabazz and Leslie Jonesreflect on their experiences participating in the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project Pilgrimage. |
| Kasik, Mary | 2019 | TWIG | This interview was with three former presidents of TWIG, Jocie Kazanjian (1990-91), Helenmarie Shipp (1991-92), and Mary Kasik (1992-93) and focuses on the history of the TWIG organization, it’s structure and membership, and it’s contributions to the Alexandria community. TWIG is the Junior Auxiliary of the INOVA Alexandria Hospital. Twig is an organization of women dedicated to providing financial aid, volunteer service, and support to the hospital. Information on how the interviewees became involved with TWIG is also discussed. |
| Kazanjian, Jocie | 2019 | TWIG | This interview was with three former presidents of TWIG, Jocie Kazanjian (1990-91), Helenmarie Shipp (1991-92), and Mary Kasik (1992-93) and focuses on the history of the TWIG organization, it’s structure and membership, and it’s contributions to the Alexandria community. TWIG is the Junior Auxiliary of the INOVA Alexandria Hospital. Twig is an organization of women dedicated to providing financial aid, volunteer service, and support to the hospital. Information on how the interviewees became involved with TWIG is also discussed. |
| Kaboré, Francine | 2015 | Immigration, Burkina Faso | Francine Kaboré was born in the West African country of Burkina Faso. She was raised by a large, extended family that included grandparents, aunts, and uncles. She got her bachelor’s degree in her country and came to the United States for an advanced degree in telecommunications. However, having written a play “Angels on Earth,” inspired in part by the children slain in Newtown, Connecticut, she contemplates changing her major and career goals to include writing. She hopes to return to her home and family after finishing her studies. She discusses the differences in culture and the challenges of living so far from home, learning English, and dealing with snow for the first time. |
| Kebe, Lois | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Lois Kebe and Allison Silberbergdiscuss the pilgrimage they took to Montgomery, Alabama as part of the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project and how the city can address its past and intentions moving forward. |
| Kimbunda, Darly | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Darly Kimbundareflects on his experiences while on the Alexandria City Remembrance Programs pilgrimage to Mobile, Alabama, to honor Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas |
| Knapper, Virginia | 1982 | African American Community, Old Town, Cross-Canal | Virginia Knapper was born December 25, 1897 in a house located at 911 North Fairfax Street. Mrs. Knapper recalls her home, which was in the area of town known as Cross Canal. She describes the Cross Canal, its' respective bridges and locks, its width and depth, as well as other vignettes of life near the Canal. Mrs. Knapper shares memories of family members, as well as her job at the glass factory, fishing in the Potomac River and the terrain of north Alexandria. |
| Knight, Helen and Marian Knight Redmond | 1982 | Old Town | Helen Knight and Marion Knight Redmond are two lively sisters who lived in Alexandria their entire lives. The elder, Helen, remembers details about growing up at 427 South Fairfax and also recalls many of the family's neighbors and relatives. The sisters discuss summer vacations, childhood games, their first family car and moving from Old Town up to the hill near the Masonic Memorial. |
| Kosinski, Irina | 2015 | Immigration, Russia | Irina Kosinski came to the United States to study. She grew up in a middle-class family in Novocherkassk, Russia, which is in the southern part of her homeland. Her mother was a university professor, and her father was a research scientist. Irina now works for the National Institutes of Health. Irina remembers her childhood as happy, with good, moderate weather. She is the middle child of three. Irina first came to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1994, when she was twenty years old, to work on her degree. After returning to Russia for two years, Irina moved to the United States permanently in 1996 to marry her husband, whom she met at Chapel Hill the first time she came to the United States. After five years, his architectural firm transferred him to Alexandria, Virginia, and they moved to Alexandria two weeks before the attacks on September 11, 2001. Irina loved Alexandria from her first time here and continues to enjoy her life here. She tries to maintain aspects of Russian culture by celebrating Russian Orthodox holidays, cooking Russian foods, and teaching her children the Russian language. |
| Kramer, Carolyn | 2016 | Education, Francis C. Hammond High School, World War I, Torpedo Factory | Carolyn Kramerwas born in Alexandria and attended Francis C. Hammond High School in Alexandria, Virginia. Her parents were from Fort Valley, Virginia, and her mother, Fleta Tamkin, moved to Alexandria and worked at the Torpedo Factory Naval Station during World War II. After the war, her parents stayed in Alexandria. Her father, Ray Boyer, worked as a meat-cutter at local grocery stores and later at the commissary at Cameron Station. Carolyn discusses growing up in Alexandria and teaching in public schools. |
| Kukro, Rod | 2023 | Del Ray, Historic Preservation | Rod Kuckroreflects on his experiences in the Del Ray Civic Association, including the character and commercial development of Del Ray, helping to initiate the process for Del Rays Historic District Designation, and his efforts to protect the historical structures in Del Ray. |
| Kutner, Michael | 2020 | Chronicling the Pandemic, Alexandria Medical Reserve Corps | Michael Kutner is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach who moved to Alexandria in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He discusses the effect of the pandemic on his daily life and his volunteer work with the Alexandria Reserve Medical Corps. Michael also talks about the challenges of keeping in touch with friends out of the area as well as the importance of a sense of community. |
| Lail, Gladys "Dani" | 1982 | Del Ray | Gladys Lail, known to her friends as "Dani" was born in 1911 and grew up in Hume Springs outside of Alexandria, Virginia. She discusses what life was like while she was growing up and how the town has changed since her childhood. She discusses the progress that the city has made and what she thinks about the differences in the city that she grew up in but in some aspects does not recognize anymore. |
| Lawson, Vola | 2009 | Civic Leaders, City of Alexandria Employee, City Manager, Parkfairfax | Vola Lawson, who was Alexandria's city manager for 15 years until 2000, began her love affair with the city as a young bride, living in Parkfairfax in the mid-1960s. She and her husband David hadn't planned to stay long. They had their eye on suburban Maryland for their home. But tenant issues at Parkfairfax sucked them into community activism that eventually translated into a city job for Vola Lawson and a long and distinguished career of public service. Beginning as a city community outreach director, she moved on to become assistant city manager for housing. In 1985 she was appointed city manager. After retirement, she lived once again in the Parkfairfax neighborhood where she remained active and involved in the community until her death in December 2013. |
| Lazich, Mike | 1992 | City of Alexandria employee, Fort Ward Park, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Michael Lazich worked at Fort Ward Park. The Fort Ward area, which was home to a number of African American families, became a park in 1961 because of its significance in the Civil War. Michael Lazich was one of the first workers to clear the land of dead trees and to make the park accessible. He started work there in 1962. He and the interviewers walk through the park as he describes the buildings, trees, and plantings that were there in the early 1960s and the changes that have been made. |
| Lechuga, Myriam | 2015 | Immigration, Cuba | Myriam Lechuga, whose father was a Cuban diplomat and whose mother was a journalist, immigrated to the United States in 1967 when she was twelve years old. Ms. Lechuga recalls growing up in Havana, Cuba, and her journey to the United States with her mother and maternal grandparents. A long-time resident of Alexandria, she speaks of the challenges her family faced in their new location, her experience in Alexandria Public Schools when they desegregated, her college education, and her subsequent career. She also discusses possible plans for returning to Cuba to reconnect with family members who are still there. |
| Lewis, Jim | 2022 | Seminary, Oakland Baptist Church, Virginia Theological Seminary, Quander, African American, John L. Lewis, Parker-Gray High School, Earl Lloyd | Jim Lewisdiscusses growing in the Seminary neighborhood of Alexandria, attending segregated Alexandria Public Schools, and his family’s connections to Oakland Baptist Church and the Virginia Theological Seminary. He speaks about his Quander family ancestors on his mother’s side and his father’s Lewis family. Mr. Lewis shares how he and three other African American players broke the color barrier on the West Virginia University basketball team in 1964. Additionally, Mr. Lewis discusses his father’s work for the labor leader John L. Lewis (no relation) who lived at the Lee-Fendall House in Alexandria, Virginia. |
| Lineberry, Julie Robben | 2021 | TWIG | Julie Robben Lineberry was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, moving first to Fort Smith, Arkansas, at the age of eight, and then to St. Louis, Missouri, to complete her education. Julie recalls her involvement with various TWIG presidential and cookbook committees and talks about how her friends and connections have been an important part of both her career and her membership with TWIG. |
| Liss, Jonathan | 2015 | Immigration, Community Organizer | Jonathan Liss was born December 11, 1958, in Brooklyn, New York. He has lived in Northern Virginia since he was approximately five years old. During the interview he recalls his childhood and ongoing work as a community organizer and advocate for immigrants and low-wage workers. He speaks passionately about causes such as affordable housing, workers’ rights, police violence, and voter rights in both Alexandria and the Commonwealth of Virginia. |
| Loftin, Walter Jr. | 2006 | Walter Loftin, Jr. was born in Alexandria in 1931. His father worked for the Southern Railway. Mr. Loftin has traveled across the United States in trains and developed a detailed chronology of the history of railroads in Alexandria. He grew up in the 1500 block of King Street, in one of the row houses that are now stores but were then homes. He remembers going to the Richmond movie theater (now the Old Town Theatre) and the roller-skating rink. He worked in different jobs for the railroads, as a substitute teacher in the Alexandria City Public Schools, and as the head of his own train travel company. He has owned two railroad cars that he used for excursions. | |
| Lovell, Linda | 2021 | TWIG | Linda Lovell was born in San Antonio, Texas, moving to Kentucky at age three, and has lived in Alexandria her adult life. She has since decided to retire in Alexandria as she enjoys the many activities in the city. She talks about her love for antiques and cooking and how TWIG has been instrumental in making connections with other people with the same interests. |
| Lovell, Linda | 2023 | Office of Historic Alexandria volunteer | Linda Lovellreflects on volunteer experiences including how the Office of Historic Alexandria has grown and evolved and the benefits of volunteerism. |
| Lunati, Barbara and Mia | 2015 | Immigration, Germany, China | Barbara Lunati was born in Germany in 1964 and has lived in Alexandria for the past eighteen years. During the interview she recalls her youth, her love for the outdoors, and meeting her husband. Upon her arrival, she explains her first impressions of Alexandria, Virginia and the various ways she has remained connected to her German heritage. In response to a life changing event, she explains her decision to become an adoptive parent and the course she has taken to incorporate her daughter’s Chinese heritage in their home. Towards the latter part of the interview her daughter, Mia joins the conversation and recalls what her experiences have been learning about Chinese culture. |
| Lyles, Mabel | 2002 | African American Community, Education | Mabel Lyles spent her early childhood with her mother's family in the rural countryside of Spotsylvania County, VA. She tells stories of washing clothes in the stream there and going to school in a one room schoolhouse. She was able to attend Virginia Union University in Richmond on scholarship and went on to become a teacher. She moved to a segregated Alexandria in 1950 where she taught school and served her church in Christian Education and other activities. |
| Macaluso, Laura | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Laura Macaluso, Ph.D., lived in Alexandria for two years of the pandemic (2021-2022). As a public historian, Laura reflects on her perspective as an outsider, an introvert, and an ACRP pilgrimage member. |
| Malone, Nora | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage | Nora Malone reflects on her experience on her experiences while on the Alexandria City Remembrance Programs pilgrimage to Mobile, Alabama, to honor Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas. |
| Mauduti, Narges | 2015 | Immigration, Afghanistan | Narges Maududi was born in 1979 in Kabul, Afghanistan. She arrived to Alexandria, Virginia in 1991 as a refugee with her immediate family. During the interview she recalls her first impressions of Alexandria, her education starting in the sixth grade at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, and her various jobs within the city. Narges explains how her family has succeeded in remaining connected with not only each other, but their traditional culture and family traditions. |
| Mays, Gilbert and Maudy | 2006 | African American Community, Education | Gilbert and Maudy Mays both grew up in rural Brunswick County, Virginia. Gilbert joined a segregated U.S. Army just prior to World War II, served during the war in Europe in truck support, went to college under the G.I. Bill, and obtained a Master's degree from the University of Virginia in 1957. He worked for the Virginia State Department of Education (1958-1970) and later served as Assistant Principal and Principal in the City of Alexandria. He retired in 1983. Maudy grew up in a family of 16 children, nine of whom were boys. She graduated from St. Paul's College in Virginia with a degree in education and worked with teachers to improve their awareness of subtle as well as more explicit forms of prejudiced behavior. |
| McArtor, Maria P. "Pat" | 2008 | Del Ray | Maria P. ("Pat") McArtor is a fourth-generation Alexandrian who grew up on Del Ray Avenue in the home her parents purchased in 1922. Her father worked at Fruit Growers Express, and Pat recalls her home life, her education—including attending St. Mary's Academy—and the churches, businesses, and theaters in the neighborhood and broader Del Ray area. |
| McGinley, Jack | 2007 | Potomac Yard | Jack McGinley arrived in Alexandria in 1965 upon accepting a position with the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad to supervise special projects, specifically projects at Potomac Yard. Well respected as an engineer and circuit designer, Mr. McGinley was appointed superintendent (chief operating officer) of Potomac Yard shortly thereafter, in 1968. Mr. McGinley describes the implementation of automation processes that he assisted with during his tenure at the Yard (he retired in 1992), as well as railroad industry changes, worker culture, and his continuing activity with the Yard (via membership in the Potomac Yard Retired Employees Association) today. |
| McKnight, Charles | 1992 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Charles McKnight was born in Alexandria and talks about growing up in the Fort Ward area. His great-aunt, Clara Adams, was a founder of Oakland Baptist Church, and Charles and his family lived with her while he was growing up. He describes Clara Adams' house and its beautiful yard facing Braddock Road. He also talks about the schools he attended, relating how he had to take a bus all the way to Manassas to attend high school. He also tells of how safe he and his family felt in Alexandria; doors were left unlocked. Charles served as secretary and Sunday school superintendent for the Episcopal mission at St. Cyprian. |
| McKnight, Edmonia Smith | 1994 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Edmonia McKnight was born in Fort Ward (Fairfax) in 1921 and has lived in Alexandria, Virginia, her entire life. During the interview she discusses life on Fort Ward during the Depression, as well as the families who made their homes there. Mrs. McKnight gives us a rich and vivid description of her family's garden, animals, and food preservation methods. She recalls her primer, Baby Ray. She also speaks from her heart about slavery and integration in Alexandria. |
| Mencho-Aguilar, Onelio | 2015 | Immigration, Guatemala, Education, T.C. Williams High School | Onelio Mencho-Aguilar was born in Aldea Monrovia, a small town in Guatemala in 1992. At the age of 12, he decided to leave his home in Guatemala for safety reasons and move to the United States. He immigrated to Los Angeles, California and eventually settled in Alexandria, Virginia. He majored in English Literature, and is an ELL [English Language Learner] teacher at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. During the interview Onelio recalls his primary school years, his childhood home, and his decision to move to the United States. |
| Mejia, German | 2015 | Immigration, El Salvador | German Mejia was born in El Salvador. He first came to the United States in 1980. He worked in restaurants in Houston, Texas, and Washington, D.C., before creating his own restaurant, Los Tios, in Alexandria, Virginia. |
| Miller, Helen | 1999 | African American Community | Helen Miller proudly traces the history of civil rights for African Americans through her own family. Her grandfather, himself the son of a slave owner, was one of the first black residents of Aurora Hills. Her father was a cook at the Capitol and "kept his place" in spite of the many famous people he saw each day. Because of his steady job he was able to buy a house for his family when his children were small. Helen, and many others, marched and participated in sit-ins in order to open libraries, restaurants, banks, and ABC stores to blacks, as customers as well as employees. She marched for city jobs in the Fire, Health, and Police Departments. She pioneered as one of the first black graduates of the Police Academy. Her daughter was one of the first black bank tellers in the City. In addition, she tells us delightful stories about her childhood - swimming in the Potomac, the fire at the Vinegar Factory, and bootleggers during prohibition. |
| Mills, Ralph | 2009 | Education, George Washington High School, Rosemont | Ralph Mills was born in 1926 and has lived in Alexandria since 1938, after spending his early years in Washington, D.C. In Alexandria, Ralph has lived in the Rosemont neighborhood and recalls ice and milk deliveries, his paperboy route, sleigh riding down Walnut Street and playing 'pick-up' football with his fellow "Rosemont Eagles." Ralph also discusses how he got into the printing business and stories of his ancestors with Kansas roots. |
| Montague, Robert III | 2006 | Historic Preservation Movement, Old Town | Robert Montague, III was former President of the Historic Alexandria Foundation and former Chairman of the Preservation Commission as well as former President of the Old Town Civic Association and the Northern Virginia Conservation Council. Mr. Montague reviews some of the issues with which those groups dealt since his arrival in Alexandria in 1964. The issue of legal easements on properties as a means to help preserve the character of Alexandria is of particular importance and interest to him. |
| Moraski, Joseph John | 2009 | The Fort, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Joseph John Moraski, in the 1950s, spent time playing in the area that is now Fort Ward Historical Park. He recalls the East Bastion structure, a small cemetery in the area, as well as a ravine where he and his brother found mini-balls, speculating it was once a shooting range for the soldiers. |
| Morgan, William | 2016 | World War I | William Morgan’s father, Sergeant Herbert Morgan, served in with the 37th Division during World War I. In this interview, Mr. Morgan describes his father’s experiences and shows pictures of his father from the war. |
| Morris, Wilbur S. | 2006 | Potomac Yard | Wilbur S. Morris was born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in 1924. Having obtained his first position for the RF&P Railroad in 1943 in Fredericksburg, Mr. Morris worked his way up to Master Mechanic at Potomac Yard in Alexandria in 1968. During the course of the interview Mr. Morris explains his responsibilities as Master Mechanic and the intricacies of the Potomac Yard operations. |
| Napper, Charlene | 2023 | Cross Canal, Montgomery Projects, African American Community | Charlene Napperreflects upon growing up at Cross Canal, the trailer courts, and the Montgomery Projects. She also reflects upon living and raising children in Alexandria during desegregation. |
| Napper, Eric | 2023 | Uptown, African American Community | Eric Napperis a long-time resident of Alexandria, Virginia. He was born in the Uptown neighborhood of the City. Eric reflects on his childhood and adult life in Alexandria. He specifically reflects on African American life in Uptown, while he was growing up as a child. Additionally, he describes the changes he has seen in the neighborhood and the City as a whole. |
| Nawaz, Seema | 2020 | Immigration, Pakistan, TWIG | Sameera "Seema" Nawaz is originally from Pakistan. She moved to Alexandria with her family in 1983. An active member and former president of TWIG, she shares her experiences on being a TWIG and the committees and projects she has worked on. Seema discusses the role TWIG can play in the community, especially during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. She talks about meeting fellow TWIG members in other countries and the special connections she formed by being a TWIG. |
| Nelson, Ellen | 2023 | ACRP, EJI | Rosa Byrd, Ellen Nelson, and Tara Casagrande reflect on their experiences attending the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project’s pilgrimage to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. |
| Ness, Lee and Janet | 2023 | Historic Preservation, Del Ray | Lee and Janet Nessdiscuss their experiences in Del Ray since moving to the neighborhood in the 1980s; Janet also discusses the differences between English and American Main Streets; Lee discusses researching the Town of Potomac and Del Ray; and both discuss the changes they have seen in Del Ray over the last 30 years. |
| Nguyen, Tu-Anh | 2015, June 4 | Immigration, Vietnam, Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Tu-Anh Nguyen was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam. In about 1984, after years of hiding from the Communists, Tu-Anh’s family escaped by boat and came to the United States. They lived first in New Orleans then joined family members in Alexandria Virginia. She went to school in Alexandria, then moved to New York for education and training in the fashion industry. In her first interview, Tu-Anh talks about growing up in the government-sponsored housing, helping other relatives get settled in the US, growing up here and going to New York for school, then her return to Alexandria. |
| Nguyen, Tu-Anh | 2015, June 30 | Immigration, Vietnam, Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Tu-Anh Nguyen talks about her time in Charlottesville working for a bridal gown designer. She also discusses moving on to New York City, where she struggled in the fashion industry, and finally finding her way back to Alexandria, where she opened her boutique in Old Town. |
| Parker, Richard | 1981 | Merchants and Entrepreneurs, Old Town | Richard Parker was a life-long resident of Alexandria. His father owned a grocery store in the 700 block of King Street between 1904 and 1945. Mr. Parker discusses the store, including the pickle barrels out front, the cakes popular with children and how his father initially made deliveries via horse and wagon. Other businesses in the 700 and 800-blocks of King Street are recalled, such as Lemenschawsky's shoe repair and the Hoy's stove and tinware shop. The streetcar line's route between Mount Vernon and Washington, D.C. is also vividly described. |
| Partlow, Nora | 2015 | Immigration, Cuba, Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Nora Partlow, owner of St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Del Ray, Alexandria, was born in 1949 in Cuba. She has lived in Alexandria since 1985. During the interview, she recalls growing up on her grandfather’s farm outside of Holguín, Cuba, before moving to New Jersey, attending school in the United States, getting married, and coming to Virginia to live her dream: running her own business, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub. |
| Patrianakos, Vasilios (Bill) | 2015 | Immigration, Greece, Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Vasilios (Bill) Patrianakos was born in 1954 in Greece and has lived in the United States since 1969. He is the restaurateur of the Atlantis Pizzeria and Family Restaurant located at the Bradlee Shopping Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Bill recalls his childhood, growing up in Greece, and the events that led his family to move to the United States, as well as the beginning of establishing a family restaurant. |
| Patterson, Lillian | 2021, part 1 | African American Community, Parker-Gray, Lyles-Crouch, Education. | Lillian Pattersondiscusses growing up in the Uptown neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia. She attended the segregated Lyles-Crouch and Parker-Gray Schools. She worked for the Federal Government while in High School and she later attended Storer College, in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Ms. Patterson also discusses her grandfather’s undertaking business and the Old Town waterfront area of Alexandria. |
| Patterson, Lillian | 2021, part 2 | African American Community, Girl Scouts, League of Women Voters. | Lillian Pattersondiscusses Miss Martha Miller’s kindergarten in Alexandria. Ms. Patterson talks about how she met her husband Edward Lloyd Patterson, her work for the Girl Scouts in Florida and then returning to Virginia to get married. She talks about her many volunteer roles in organizations ranging from Project Discovery, Alexandria’s Human Relations Board, and the League of Women Voters. |
| Payne, Harold | 1999 | Harold Payne was born in Alexandria and lived here all his life. His family moved often to different neighborhoods so he has great stories about many different areas of the city. He was a member of the Lions' Club for forty five years. | |
| Peeler, Heather and Sally Gardner | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Heather Peeler and Sally Gardnerreflect on their participation in the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project. They both attended the pilgrimage to the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. |
| Pierpoint, John | 2005 | Torpedo Factory, Hume Springs | John D. Pierpoint was born in Hume Springs in 1928. Mr. Pierpoint recounts stories surrounding his family's home in the Hume Springs area, as well as his grandfather's heating business and helping out with his uncle's store. Sharing memories of his boyhood paper route via bicycle, and his experiences as a teen working at the Torpedo Factory, Mr. Pierpoint paints a vivid portrait of Alexandria and its streets during the 1930s and early 1940s. During the interview, memories of dating, the prom and meeting his wife, Pauline are also fondly remembered. |
| Price, Mabel Porter | 2002 | African American Community. Education, Parker-Gray High School | Mabel Porter Pricewas born at home on Jefferson Street in Old Town, Alexandria, in 1908. She talks about the neighborhood of Jefferson and South Alfred Streets and her neighbors there. She also talks about shopping on King Street on Saturdays and memories of attending Parker-Gray. Mrs. Price worked for the federal government; her husband worked for the telephone company. They raised two children, both of whom graduated from college. She describes her marriage of 77 years and reflects on what a good life she has had. |
| Puskar, Cynthia | 2021 | Board of Lady Managers, Alexandria Hospital | Mary Ryan and Cynthia Puskarboth volunteer with the Board of Lady Managers for Alexandria Hospital. Both women grew up in the Washington, DC area and began volunteering for the Board of Lady Managers after they retired. They discuss the history of Alexandria Hospital, the evolution of the Board of Lady Mangers for the hospital, and the many different fundraising activities the group has done in the past and currently during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Reed, Delvin Jalon | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Delvin Jalon Reedreflects on his experiences while on the Alexandria City Remembrance Programs pilgrimage to Mobile, Alabama, to honor Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas. |
| Reed, Kevin | 2023 | Old Town, Del Ray | Kevin Reedreflects on his time spent in Alexandria as a child and as an adult, with a particular focus on Alexandria’s industrial past. |
| Reeder, Ruth | 2016 | City of Alexandria Employee, Alexandria Archaeology Museum | Ruth Reeder was raised by her parents while traveling with the Foreign Service and has lived in countries around the world. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, she served in the Peace Corps, where she met her husband. She and her husband moved to Alexandria and she began volunteering for the museum. In 1994, after three years of volunteer service, she became the Education Coordinator for the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. |
| Redmon, Gant | 2024 | Campaigning, urban renewal, volunteering | Gant Redmonreflects on is life since moving to Alexandria in the 1960s, including campaigning for Republican candidates in Alexandria, working as an Attorney in the city, volunteering and chairing various city committees and community organizations. |
| Redmon, Gant | 2005 | Chamber of Commerce | Gant Redmon is a partner at the law firm of Redmon, Peyton, & Braswell, L.L.P., in Alexandria. He has practiced law in Northern Virginia since 1964; he has specialized in banking, commercial and real estate transactions, and estate planning. He was chairman of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in 1989 and was interviewed in 2005 as part of the Chamber of Commerce Oral History Project. He talks about some of the activities of the Chamber and the issues facing the business community in Alexandria. |
| Rich, Lonnie | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Lonnie Rich and Marcia Coleinterview each other about their pilgrimage to Montgomery, AL, and their reflections on race in America. |
| Ring, Jane | 2020 | TWIG | Jane Lee Ring came to Alexandria, Virginia with her husband in 1956. All four of her children were born at Alexandria Hospital, where she has been actively volunteering ever since she became a member of TWIG. She has served as president of TWIG in the 1970s and was one of the women who began the idea of buying a permanent location for the Thrift Shop. Jane believes in the good deeds the wonderful women of TWIG do for the members of the community and the hospital. |
| Rivera, Mildred | 2017 | Education | Mildred Rivera, whose twin sons Christian and Brandon have autism. was interviewed along with Yolie Carrasco, whose oldest son Marcos also has autism. Carrasco and Rivera have for several years been speaking about autism and other disabilities to school children in Alexandria, Virginia. They talk about how the program got started, and how it has grown, and what they hope people will learn from it. They also discuss some of the challenges of raising autistic children, drawing from their own experiences. |
| Robinson, Lawrence | 2023 | African American History, Departmental Progressive Club, Segregation | Lawrence P. Robinsonreflects on his experiences living through segregation and integration. He describes the impact of community organizations and his involvement with them. |
| Roland, Dorothy Joan | 2006 | Old Town | Dorothy Joan Roland (known as Joan) was born on North Fairfax Street in Alexandria in 1932. She has lived most of her life in the 200 or 300 block of Queen Street. The interviewer is her neighbor. Miss Roland describes life in downtown Alexandria before, during, and after World War II. She talks about the farmer's market in Market Square, where she and her family shopped every Saturday, and the apartment buildings that are now the single-family homes of Old Town. She also talks about the small-town atmosphere of Alexandria while she was growing up and how much she has enjoyed living in the city. |
| Rowen, Tom | 2022 | Korean War | Tom Rowenreflects on his childhood in Northern Virginia. He describes his time in the Navy and Korean War. He also describes his career in engineering. |
| Ryan, Mary | 2021 | Board of Lady Managers, Alexandria Hospital | Mary Ryan and Cynthia Puskarboth volunteer with the Board of Lady Managers for Alexandria Hospital. Both women grew up in the Washington, DC area and began volunteering for the Board of Lady Managers after they retired. They discuss the history of Alexandria Hospital, the evolution of the Board of Lady Mangers for the hospital, and the many different fundraising activities the group has done in the past and currently during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Sabatini, William | 2020 | Chronicling the Pandemic | William (Billy) Sabatini was born and raised in New York and attended Pace University studying literature and communications. He worked in the radio industry in New York and Los Angeles at stations including WCBS-FM, WNBC, and KCBS-FM, before moving to Washington, DC and then Alexandria, Virginia to work in the early satellite radio industry at Worldspace. While living in Alexandria with his family during COVID-19 he began a photography project. The Front Steps Photography Project documented families under quarantine in front of their houses. During late spring and early summer in 2020 he photographed over 400 families. The project raised money to buy meals from local restaurants to feed healthcare workers. |
| Sampson, Charles | 1999 | City of Alexandria employee, Fire Department, Old Town | Charles Sampson was born in Alexandria and lived here all his life. He was a member of the fire department from 1937 until his retirement in 1975. As a result, he knew the streets, businesses, and landmarks of Alexandria like the back of his hand. He carefully kept a collection of photos and mementos from his career which he has donated to the Alexandria Library and is now available in its Special Collections. |
| Sangare, Yahne-Marie | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage | Yahney-Marie Sangarereflects on her experience on her experiences while on the Alexandria City Remembrance Programs pilgrimage to Mobile, Alabama, to honor Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas. |
| Sare, Jerry | 2001 | World War II, Torpedo Factory, Chinquapin Village, Rosemont | Jerry Sare, his six siblings and mother came from Wyoming to Alexandria in 1940, when his father received employment at the Torpedo Factory. First living in temporary housing at Rosemont, the family soon moved into Chinquapin Village (located on the grounds of the present day Chinquapin Park Recreation Center). Mr. Sare recalls Alexandria and the close-knit Chinquapin community in the 1940s and 1950s. During World War II, Chinquapin Village was established as housing for workers at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. He provides descriptions and design layout of the Chinquapin houses and the grounds and relays humorous stories of being a teen in Chinquapin Village, including working at the grocery store, Halloween, swimming holes and innocent mischief. |
| Scott, Naeem | 2023 | Naeem Scott | , an Alexandria City High School student, reflects on childhood experiences. |
| Seeley, Vicky | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage | Vicky Seeleyreflects on her experiences traveling with the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project to Montgomery, Alabama in October 2022. She also discusses growing up in Brooklyn, New York, attending the University of Alabama, and her perspective of Alexandria, Virginia. |
| Siegel, Carol | 2023 | Parker Gray, Roger Anderson, Eudora Lyles | Carol Siegelwas born in 1939 in New York City. She came to the Washington D.C. area in 1957 to attend American University, married and had 2 sons , moved to Arlington, and later moved to Alexandria in 1972. She discusses her childhood memories and her experiences in Alexandria. She also discusses her project documenting the Parker Gray neighborhood in 1985-86 as it was becoming gentrified. She received a grant from the Alexandria Commission on the arts, and spent a year interviewing and photographing many of the people and places in the community. She talks about the many connections and friendships she made during the year. She later went back to school and received a MA. in Expressive Arts and worked with Seniors at the Adult Day Care Center for almost twenty-five years. She received “The Annie B. Rose award of lifetime achievement" in 2017. |
| Shabazz, Ra Alim | 2023 | ACRP Pilgrimage; Education; Racism; Equity | Ra Alim Shabazz and Leslie Jonesreflect on their experiences participating in the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project Pilgrimage. |
| Sheer, Frank | 2020 | Chronicling the Pandemic, Merchants and Entrepreneurs, Rosemont | Frank Scheer grew up in Alexandria in the Rosemont neighborhood. Several years after college he founded Road Res-Q, a roadside assistance business. Mr. Scheer discusses changes in his business due to the pandemic and his work volunteering with roadside assistance during the initial months of the pandemic. He discusses challenges for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance for everyone to have an emergency plan. |
| Sheridan, B. J. | 2009 | Education, George Washington High School | B. J. Sheridan grew up in post-Depression era Alexandria and became a fighter pilot during the Korean War. In this self-recorded reflection, B.J. speaks about his many adventures -- childhood adventures at Hunting Creek and Lake Barcroft, and later adventures, including working for United Airlines. He recalls his childhood home at 207 S. Washington, stories of his uncles and his stepfather's car dealership, 'Hunter Motors,' as well as anecdotes of famous people he once knew. |
| Shih, June | 2015 | Immigration, China | June Shih was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia by parents who immigrated to Alexandria from China and Taiwan. She worked as a speechwriter and went to law school before moving back to Alexandria to raise her own family. She recalls her parents’ life and school years in Alexandria, her time in China during college and after working for a newspaper, and moving back to raise her daughters and take care of her parents. |
| Shipp, Helenmarie | 2019 | TWIG | This interview was with three former presidents of TWIG, Jocie Kazanjian (1990-91), Helenmarie Shipp (1991-92), and Mary Kasik (1992-93) and focuses on the history of the TWIG organization, it’s structure and membership, and it’s contributions to the Alexandria community. TWIG is the Junior Auxiliary of the INOVA Alexandria Hospital. Twig is an organization of women dedicated to providing financial aid, volunteer service, and support to the hospital. Information on how the interviewees became involved with TWIG is also discussed. |
| Sias, Charles | 2023 | Parker-Gray School, Vietnam War, The Dip, Lyles-Crouch Annex | Charles Siasreflects on his life growing up in Mississippi and the City of Alexandria. Also recounts his time spent at Parker-Gray High School, service during the Vietnam War, and living in Northern Virginia. (Known as Charles E. Williams in high school). |
| Silberberg, Allison | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | Lois Kebe and Allison Silberbergdiscuss the pilgrimage they took to Montgomery, Alabama as part of the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project and how the city can address its past and intentions moving forward. |
| Smith, Charlotte Spittle | 2005 | Education, George Washington High School, Old Town, Rosemont, Seminary Hill | Charlotte Ann Spittle Smith was born in Alexandria in 1921. Her parents were also born in Alexandria, as was her grandmother. Charlotte lived in several neighborhoods as a child, including Seminary Hill, Rosemont, and Old Town. The Great Depression had an impact on her family and where they lived. She talks about growing up in Alexandria and about the city during World War II, how she met her husband, and the changes in Alexandria over the years. She was a graduate of George Washington High School and worked for the government during the war. She recalls the trolley that ran through Alexandria to Mount Vernon, and she tells of being taken to view the damage caused in Old Town by a tornado. |
| Smith, Dorothy Hall and Barbara Ashby Gordon | 1994 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Dorothy Hall Smith and Barbara Ashby Gordon grew up in Alexandria. Mrs. Gordon grew up in the vicinity of what is now the Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, which they called "the Fort." Mrs. Smith, her cousin, visited there in summer. The women describe the homes and families "up Fort," and they talk about growing up at a time when Braddock Road required new tar be put down each year; when Barbara walked to her aunt's house to get milk from the cow; and when no one felt it necessary to keep their doors locked. They also describe in detail the house belonging to the Jacksons at the Fort. During Reconstruction, the Fort Ward area was a neighborhood of African Americans. The women talk about the importance of remembering the neighborhood as it was before it became a Park. |
| Smucker, Luisa | 2006 | Seminary Hill and The Fort | Luisa Smucker was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. She moved to Fairfax County in 1946, and the portion of the county in which she lived became part of Alexandria a few years later. In this interview Mrs. Smucker relates something of her family background, her early memories of Alexandria, changes in her neighborhood, the annexation of the portion of Fairfax County where she lived to Alexandria, and some of the people in her neighborhood. |
| Speck, David | 2005 | Civic Leaders, Chamber of Commerce, City Council | David Speck was born in New York City in 1945, but his parents moved to Alexandria when he was six weeks old. He is Managing Director of Investments for Speck Caudron Investment Group of Wachovia Securities. He has been a very active member of Alexandria's Chamber of Commerce since 1978. He was also a member of the Alexandria City Council for several terms. The interview was confined to questions supplied by the Curator of the Lyceum; since Mr. Speck had only half an hour of his business day to devote to this interview, subject matter was confined to the specific questions. |
| Speck, David | 2023 | Civic Leaders, City Council, Alexandria Public Schools, segregation, Rosemont, Beverly Hills, Jefferson Park, Seminary Ridge, Old Town | David Speck, former City of Alexandria Councilman and Member of the House of Delegates, reflects on his time spent growing up in and raising a family in the City of Alexandria, and his political career for the City of Alexandria. |
| Speck, David | 2024, June 5 | Civic Leaders, City Council, Jewish Alexandria, Ethical Culture Society, Civil Rights Movement, Interracial Attitudes, Interfaith attitudes, Black-Jewish relations. Hammond High School, Saint Stephen's, Mud Town. | David Speckformerly served on the Alexandria City Council and in the Virginia House of Delegates. Speck recounts his perspective on the University of Virginia, racial tensions in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his journey into politics. This interview was conducted for the “The Law of the Land, The Law of God: Blacks and Jews in Civil Rights Era Alexandria, Va” internship project in July and August 2024 by Yahney-Marie Sangaré. This interview was conducted on June 5, 2024 during the Alexandria City High School’s Senior Experience. This is the first part part of this interview. The second part of this interview was recorded on July 9, 2024. |
| Speck, David | 2024, July 9 | Civic Leaders, City Council, House of Delegates, Jewish Alexandria, Ethical Culture Society, Civil Rights Movement, Interracial Attitudes, Interfaith attitudes, Black-Jewish relations. | David Speckformerly served on the Alexandria City Council and in the Virginia house of Delegates. Speck recounts his perspective on the University of Virginia, racial tensions in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his journey into politics. This interview was conducted for the “The Law of the Land, The Law of God: Blacks and Jews in Civil Rights Era Alexandria, Va” internship project in July and August 2024 by Yahney-Marie Sangaré. The first part of this interview was conducted on June 5, 2024 during the Alexandria City High School’s Senior Experience. This is the second part of this interview |
| Steele, Shirley Sanderson | 2008, June 6 | African American Community, Parker Gray | Shirley Sanderson Steele shares her memories of her maternal family members (the Wheelers), as well as the Lees and Craigs. She recalls many of the black-owned businesses in her neighborhood and childhood games. She describes the loving and secure atmosphere provided by her family and her neighbors in the area of North Henry Street where she grew up. |
| Steele, Shirley Sanderson | 2008, August 13 | African American Community, Parker Gray | Shirley Sanderson Steelerecalls her childhood home, neighborhood and many African American owned businesses. While raising her family she completed and received her high school diploma. She and her second husband, Mr. Steele, also spend time talking about segregation in Alexandria, the struggle for civil rights including library sit-ins and the benefits of integration. |
| Strother, Sarah O. | 2009 | African American Community | Sarah O. Strother was born in 1938 in Farmville, Virginia. She moved with her parents and older sister to Alexandria when she was two years old and has lived in different locations in Old Town since then. She remembers early days at play and at school, family meals and and entertainment, and raising her two children. |
| Struthers, Susan | 2018 | Immigration, England | Susan Struthers was born March 2nd, 1947 in South London, England. This interview covers her upbringing in England, her six years as an Officer in the Royal Air Force, and her subsequent work as an administrative assistant, legal secretary, World Bank employee, and Federal contractor for the U.S. Government. She also discusses interests away from work and offers advice based on her life experiences. |
| Sullivan, John and Mary | 2003 | Del Ray | John and Mary Sullivan live in the Del Ray area of Alexandria. John grew up there and Mary has lived there since her marriage in 1946. They describe the businesses and families of their neighborhood, and what it was like for their children in the fifties and sixties as they were growing up. John had a long career with the FBI. Mary was a homemaker, a community and church volunteer, and also held some professional positions. They are a couple who has seen the neighborhood change throughout the years. |
| Swain, Marty | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage | Marty Swainreflects on her experiences traveling with the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project to Montgomery, Alabama and the Equal Justice Initiative in October 2022. She also discusses her experiences in education in Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia. |
| Taylor, Andrew and Antwoine | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage | Allyson Coleman, Andrew Taylor, and Antwoine Taylorreflect on their experiences participating in the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project pilgrimage. |
| Taylor, Beatrice | 2023 | Colored Rosemont, African American Community | Beatrice Taylorreflects on her life in Alexandria, Virginia. Including her experiences with segregation, growing up in Colored Rosemont, and time spent working with community organizations in Alexandria. |
| Taylor, Donald | 2022 | Elk Lodge, Third Baptist Church, Cross Canal, Parker-Gray, African American Community, Freedom Riders | Donald Taylorreflects on his live in Alexandria, his childhood. He also describes his experience in the U.S. Air Force. Donald then reflects on his work with the Elk Lodge and Third Baptist Church. |
| Thomas, Elsie | 2002 | African American Community, Parker Gray | Elsie Virginia Tucker Thomas was born in 1919 in Alexandria. She lived on Queen Street between North Patrick and North Alfred, and she talks about what the neighborhood was like. She also talks about the church she attended with her family. She went to school in Alexandria and graduated from Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. She also followed her mother's path and attended Virginia State College while her brothers went to Howard University. She supported her brothers in their work for civil rights; they protested the exclusion of African Americans from the Alexandria public library as early as 1939. Her father was among the citizens who supported the establishment of Hopkins House as a community center for young African Americans in 1939. This is the first of two interviews conducted with Mrs. Thomas; the second interview occurred in December 2006. |
| Thomas, Elsie | 2006 | African American Community, Parker Gray | Elsie Virginia Tucker Thomas, in this second interview, recalls her work as the second President of Hopkins House in Alexandria, established in 1939 (from 1954 to 1965). She also recalls the music at Zion Baptist Church as well as parades sponsored by the Odd Fellows. |
| Ticer, John "Jack" | 1997 | Civic Leaders, City Council | John Ticer was born in 1923 in Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated from college in 1948. In this interview, he talks about his father's significant civic career in Alexandria in the 1930s, which included City Council member, Railroad Operator, and Mayor of Alexandria. Mr. Ticer also gives insight to his mother's genealogy as well as information on his father's later years. |
| Ticer, John "Jack" | 1999 | Civic Leaders, City Council | John Ticer, known as Jack, was born in 1923 in his family's house in Alexandria, and never lived farther than seven blocks from there. Both of his parents also grew up in Alexandria, and while Jack was growing up here, his father was on the City Council, served as mayor, and had a long career with the railroad. Jack attended the old Washington School, now the Campagna Center, the old Jefferson School which has been torn down, George Washington High School, and graduated from the University of Virginia. He worked as a soda jerk at Nicklin's Drugstore, served as an enlisted man in World War II, and worked for Westinghouse Electric and Atlantic Research Corporation. He and his wife Patsy both served on the City Council, and Mrs. Ticer was a senator in the Virginia General Assembly. Jack continued to have an active interest in Alexandria's history until his death in 2007. |
| Tomkins, Steve | 2010 | City of Alexandria employee, Fort Ward Park | Steve Tompkins talks about his experience working to maintain the Fort Ward grounds and the changes that have come in the past decades. |
| Tostanoski, DeeDee | 2022 | ACRP Pilgrimage, EJI | DeeDee Tostanoskireflects on her experiences with the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project, serving on the Soil and Marker Committee, and going on the Pilgrimage to Alabama. |
| Urrutia, Evelin | 2015 | Immigration, El Salvador | Evelin Urrutia was born in 1977 in El Salvador. Her mother immigrated to the U.S. in 1988 during the Civil War. Evelin and her sisters stayed in El Salvador until her mother was able to bring her to Alexandria. Her mother worked cleaning hotel rooms, and while Evelin recognizes how hard her mother worked, she decided that working as a cleaner wasn’t for her. So she concentrated on school. At the time Alexandria schools didn’t provide an environment for high achievers who spoke Spanish as their first language. Evelin and others organized to demand a bilingual guidance counselor. While in high school, Evelin began working at Popeye’s restaurant, where she worked for seven years, eventually becoming manager. Now she works for Tenants and Workers United, a grassroots organization. Evelin insists on a better life for her children. |
| Voliotti, Vaso | 2015 | Immigration, Cyprus. Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Vaso Volioti was born in Cyprus on 1957 and immigrated to Alexandria, Virginia with her family in 1969. In this interview she discusses her extended family in Alexandria, her school years, cooking Greek-inspired Italian food, running her family's restaurant, and the aftermath of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Her son John (Johnny) also talks about his mother's experience as an immigrant and adds his own thoughts on the situation in Cyprus and growing up in a bi-cultural household. Several other family members are occasionally present. Most do not speak often; Johnny's wife and other family members speak, but most are not identified by name. |
| Van Landingham, Marian | 2024 | Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria Waterfront | Marian Van Landinghamreflects on her time spent creating, directing, advocating for and working in the Torpedo Factory Art Center in the 50th year of its operation. She also discusses her early life in Georgia, changes she has witnessed in Alexandria, and the threat of commercial development on the longevity of the Art Center. |
| Van Landingham, Marian | 2007 | Civic Leaders, Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly, Torpedo Factory Art Center | Marian Van Landingham, an Alexandria artist, is a founder of Alexandria's Torpedo Factory Art Center and former Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly, where she represented Alexandria for 24 years, from 1982 to 2006. During the interview, she discusses how the Art Center was established and its early years --when there was little heat and no air-conditioning for the artists. She also recalls her years in the Assembly, where she was one of the few female delegates. |
| Vaughn, Natalie | 1992 | African American Community, Education, Parker-Gray High School | Natalie Thompson Sanks Vaughn was born in Alexandria in 1920. She worked as a substitute teacher at Parker-Gray School in Alexandria and for a short time during World War II for the Office of Price Administration in Washington, D.C. She then taught in North Carolina and at Manassas Institute when it was the only high school for African American children in rural Northern Virginia. She was Dean of Women at North Carolina A&T College and taught at Bowie State Teachers' College before becoming a teacher, vice-principal, and then principal in the Alexandria public school system. She talks about segregation of the schools in Virginia and about their integration in Alexandria. She talks about what happened in the schools at the time of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mrs. Vaughn also gave an interview to the Oral History of the Public School Principalship Program in May 1988. |
| Ward, Betty | Living Legends of Alexandria (2011) | Betty Ward was born in 1933 and has lived in the Del Ray area of Alexandria since she was seven years old. Mrs. Ward was nominated as an Alexandria Living Legend in 2011. In this interview, she recalls her childhood in Alexandria; working at the Harding House Home with her grandmother, and for the Federal Railroad Administration. She currently works with her brother in his tour company giving tours of Alexandria. They have filmed a documentary about historic Alexandria. | |
| Warthen, Brice | 2001 | Chinquapin Village | Brice Warthen moved to Chinquapin with his family when he was 11 years old. He shares memories of the community's softball team and other activities provided for the children and teens. He describes the Chinquapin homes, its community center and the neighborhood context. "…It was a very friendly place to live." During World War II, Chinquapin Village was established as housing for workers at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. |
| Warthen, Shirley Grimm | 2003 | Del Ray | Shirley Grimm Warthen describes her childhood growing up in the 1930's and '40's in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. She had a special attachment to the city because her dad was one of its policemen. As the youngest of six children, she saw a larger view of life through her siblings, even experiencing World War II through the death of a brother. She describes walking to school, enjoying life at its best at the roller skating rink, going to the movies at the Palm Theater, and other common activities. |
| Wedeles, Dana | 2020 | Chronicling the Pandemic, City of Alexandria employee | Dana Wedeles talks about growing up in the Washington, DC area, moving to New York City, and then returning to the DC area over a decade later. She works for the City of Alexandria on open space planning. Dana describes first hearing about COVID-19 and how it affected her job with the City and the impacts it had on Parks Management and Maintenance. She discusses balancing work and her children’s education during the pandemic and how her neighborhood worked to ensure that children on their street were able to safely socialize outside. Because of the pandemic her job assignment changed and at the time of her interview she was working for the City’s Emergency Operating Command Center. Dana shared the stress of her grandmother’s illness with COVID-19 and the relief at her grandmother’s recovery. Dana also describes talking with her children about the protests after the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. |
| Wendemagegn, Afonia | 2015 | Immigration, Ethiopia | Afomia Wendemagegn moved from Ethiopia to the United States with her parents when she was seven years old. She is now eighteen and about to graduate from high school. During the interview she recalls her early memories of living in Ethiopia, her school years in Alexandria, and several trips back to Ethiopia. She also shares her favorite Ethiopian foods and music. |
| Williams, Buster | 1999 | African American Community, Education, Parker-Gray High School | Charles K. "Buster" Williams was born in Alexandria in 1908 and has lived here all his life. He attended elementary school at St. Josephs and Parker Gray, then went to high school in Washington D.C. because there were no secondary schools in the city for African Americans at that time. Some of the jobs that he talks about are hauling ice on an ice cart, boot black at a local barber shop, truck driver and delivery person for Virginia Public Service, working at the White House, and barnstorming as a semi-pro baseball player. He has fond memories of growing up in a small city as a child. |
| Williams, Paula Haskins | 2008 | African American Community, Freedmen Cemetery Descendant, Old Town, Cross-Canal, The Berg | Paula Haskins Williams was born in 1952 and has lived in Alexandria all of her life. During the interview, she discusses her family history, recalling how her father's family lived in the 'Cross Canal' neighborhood and later on, 'the Bergs.' She remembers her father telling her that their ancestors were buried in Alexandria's Freedmen's Cemetery. |
| Windelberg, Marjorie | 2021 | Chronicling the Pandemic, CERT | Marjorie Windelberg, Ph.D., is the Volunteer Coordinator for CERT – the Community Emergency Response Team. CERT has been active in helping during the COVID-19 pandemic, assisting with COVID-19 testing in 2020 and in 2021 assisting with the vaccine clinics. Ms. Windelberg describes the positive mood at the vaccine clinics. In 2020 because of COVID-19, CERT had to switch its trainings to be online and later outdoors. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CERT helped during a number of emergencies in the City of Alexandria include after a fire at a high-rise condominium building and the major flooding event that occurred in July 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic CERT assisted with sandbag distribution as part of the response to Hurricanes Isaias and Zeta. |
| Worku, Rhoda | 2015, May 20 | Immigration, Ethiopia, Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Rhoda Worku was born in Ethiopia and migrated to the United States for asylum in the early 1980s. She was the first in her family to migrate here and she has a restaurant business. |
| Worku, Rhoda | 2015, September 10 | Immigration, Ethiopia, Merchants and Entrepreneurs | Rhoda Worku talks about games she played growing up in Ethiopia, and her family’s role in Haile Selassie’s government. She talks about raising her two sons in Fairfax. She has a restaurant business and talks a little about cooking for the holidays. |
| Wu, Jenny | Immigration, China, Torpedo Factory Art Center | Jenny Wu is an artist who has exhibited at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. She was born in China and came to the US to attend college. Jenny discusses the differences in education between China and the US, her interests in math and science, and some of the challenges she faced attending college in the US as a student from another country. She discusses her art techniques and influences. | |
| Young, Sgt. Lee Thomas | 1996 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Sgt. Lee Thomas Young lived in the Fort Ward neighborhood before the Fort was established as an historic Civil War and recreational park. During these interviews, conducted in 1996 and 2009, he reflects what it was like living in the neighborhood, describes some of the houses and recalls his neighbors. His Fort Ward home, originally a church, was adjacent to one of the family graveyards that are still present on the site. He was one of the last people moved from the Fort Ward area to new housing in order to make way for the park. This interview was videotaped; Sgt. Young and interviewer, Patricia Knock walked through the areas as they talked about |
| Young, Sgt. Lee Thomas | 2009 | African American Community, Seminary Hill and The Fort | Sgt. Lee Thomas Young and several family members walked through his former property with Alexandria Archaeology Museum staff. |
| Zarek, Starlet | 2021 | TWIG | Starlet Zarek was born in Georgia and moved to Alexandria soon after Jimmy Carter was elected president. During the interview, she recalls her involvement with The Twig, and talks about her commitment to various projects and committees of the organization. Starlet has also worked as a volunteer, helping people to heal and to better their lives. |