Oral History Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS-381

Scope and Content Note

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This collection houses transcripts of oral histories conducted with a wide variety of Arizonans between 1958 and 2004. Interviewees include prominent Arizona residents like Eddie Basha, Paolo Soleri, George H. N. Luhrs Jr., Robert J. Donohoe, Harry Rosenzweig, and members of the Phoenix 40; early Arizona residents like Elma Cawthorne, Roberta Flake Clayton, Ruth Ward Crichlow, and Elizabeth Oldaker; Arizona politicians like Evan Mecham, Paul Fannin, Eldon Rudd, Samuel Goddard, Jack Williams, and John Rhodes; Arizona State University professors, administrators, and founding deans like Loretta A. Bardewyck, Henry A. Bruinsma, Robert Herberger, William G. Payne, J. Russell Nelson, and John Schwada; mining town residents like Maximo Alonzo, Ysaac Garcia, and Mary Flores Martinez; feminists like Nola Claire, Dianne Post, and Olivia Free Woman; civil rights activists like Calvin C. Goode, Lincoln Ragsdale, and Travis Williams; witnesses to the 1917 Bisbee Deportation like John Vercellino, Herbert V. Yong, and Frank Ryley; Japanese-American interment camp survivor Merry Kazuyo Masunaga; and World War II nurses like Mary Atkinson, Eunice Phelps Carr, and Virginia Rose Jepson. Interviewers include Charles C. Colley, Jack L. August, Rebecca Drieling, Rita Magdaleno, Dean Smith, Gordon A. Sabine, and Ron McCoy.

Dates

Creation: 1958-2004
Creation: Majority of material found within 1968-2004

Language of Materials

Material in English

Access Restrictions

Transcripts housed in Series I: Unrestricted Oral Histories are freely available to researchers. Transcripts housed in Series II: Restricted Oral Histories are unavailable to researchers either because no release could be found or because they represent draft versions of transcripts housed in Series I. Materials in Series III: Audio Recordings are unavailable to researchers due to their fragility.

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Historical Note

The Arizona Collection has been an integral part of the Arizona State University Libraries for many years. Although no official beginning date exists, the origin of the present collection can be traced back to 1917, when Thomas J. Cookson, the College Librarian, began building a small Southwestern Collection. In 1943, the primary focus shifted to materials about Arizona.

The Arizona Collection has changed considerably in size and scope since those times. In 1985, the Collection became part of the Department of Archives and Special Collections.

The Arizona Collection contains materials in all formats. Its strengths include over 8,000 linear feet of manuscripts and personal papers; oral histories; a book collection of over 30,000 titles; and more than 500,000 photographic prints and negatives.

Full extent

25 Box(es)

Full extent

14.25 Linear Feet

Additional description

Abstract

This collection houses oral histories conducted with a wide variety of Arizonans between 1958 and 2004. Interviewees include prominent and early Arizona residents; politicians; Arizona State University professors, administrators, and founding deans; mining town residents; feminists; civil rights activists; witnesses to the 1917 Bisbee Deportation; a Japanese-American interment camp survivor; and World War II nurses.