K–Z

Browse Our Interviews

The alphabetical ranges contain an annotated list of the projects in the Center for Documentary Research and Practice archive,1968 to the present. On these pages, the projects are listed alphabetically by project title. Each annotation includes the year(s) the project was conducted, the number of interviews, the major time period(s) covered by the interviews, the interview’s access status, and a list of subjects discussed by the interviewees. The project title hyperlinks to our new finding aid at Archives.IU, where you can find more information about the project and each interview in that project. The project number hyperlinks to our previous finding aid at Archives Online. Both finding aids contain the same basic information, but the new finding aid has corrections and updates.

Copy Costs

The Center can make copies of interviews upon request, in most cases. Please contact the office before sending payment for any interview copies to ensure that we can fulfill your request. Additional information for obtaining a copy of an interview can be found on our Copy Costs and Policies page.

Statement on Potentially Offensive Language

At the Center for Documentary Research and Practice’s Oral History Archive, we are committed to using inclusive and non-derogatory language when compiling finding aids and catalog records. The Center for Documentary Research and Practice’s Oral History Archive and Indiana University in no way condone the use of racist or otherwise offensive language. Because of this, we acknowledge that some of our collections may contain language that can be viewed as potentially offensive or damaging to the people and communities that are described within them.

Additionally, because of the nature of our collections, you may encounter potentially offensive material that has deliberately been left intact for historical and contextual accuracy. Our reason for this is that the original content and language are important to understanding and interpreting the bias and racism that was present at the creation of the resource. However, when content within our finding aids and/or metadata is identified as potentially offensive, and we believe it was recorded by an archivist, it will be updated to reflect current standards of practice.

If you encounter language or content in this collection’s finding aids or metadata that you find offensive or damaging, please contact us at this email.

Our statement was written with guidance from the statements at the following links:

Additional Resources:

Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia, Anti-racist Description Resources

Santa Clara University “Statement on Harmful Materials”

Princeton University “Statement on Language in Archival Description”

Temple University Libraries “SCRC Statement on Potentially Harmful Language in Archival Description and Cataloging”

K

Korean Immigrants In Indiana (1990), #073
10 interviews. Time Period: 1940s-80s. Life histories of male and female Korean immigrants.

L

Legal Profession in Indiana (1976-1977, 1979), #113
6 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-70s. State legislature, local legal systems, legal education, Ku Klux Klan, penal system, Indiana Bar Association, circuit courts, organizations involved in legal system or legal issues.

Life History: Henry Glassie (2014), #116
1 interview. Time Period: 1930s-2014. Growing up in Virginia, early influences, early folklore collecting, education, book projects, public history projects, university positions, value of history and folklore, impact of technological changes.

Life History: Lee Hamilton (2014), #119
1 interview. Time Period: 1930s-2014. Growing up in southern Indiana, education, law school, entry into politics, campaigning, serving as a congressman, presidents under which he served, congressional committees, 9/11 and the post-9/11 world, IU Center on Congress.

Life History: Ruth Rives (1998), #074
1 interview. Time Period: 1930s-90s. Growing up in Berlin before and during World War II, post-war Berlin, air lift, immigration to America, children, career, education, religion.

Louisville Tornado of 1974 (1976), #075
17 interviews. Time Period: 1970s. Anecdotes of survivors. Damage done by tornado. Aftermath.

M

Manhattan Project (1982), #076
2 interviews. Time Period: 1930s-40s. Development of the atom bomb. WWII. Scientists’ views of A-bomb research. Life histories and personal anecdotes of scientists.

Media Perceptions of Contemporary Problems (1975-1976), #077
10 interviews. Time Period: 1970s, but interviewees asked to recall teenage years, which is generally 1920s. Interviewees are mostly IU professors. Use of the media. Accuracy of the media. Use of world resources. Overpopulation. U.S. role in supplying the world with basic necessities. Expectations for the future. Contrast between 17-year-olds now and in 1920s.

Medical Profession in Indiana (1975, 1976, 1978), #078
3 interviews. Time Period: 1910s-70s. Interviewees born turn of century. Life histories. Medical practice. Training. Advances in medicine. Patient anecdotes.

Mental Health Care in Indiana (1977), #079
4 interviews. Time Period: 1960s-70s. Treatment of mental illness by chemical means. Funding by state. Systems of care in community centers and state hospitals. Concern for patients’ rights. Public attitudes to mental illness. Special education. Department of Mental Health.

Movie Theater History in Bloomington, Indiana (1998), #080
9 interviews. Memorable movies. Theaters in Bloomington. Theater fires. Theater interiors. Theater staff. Changes in the movie theater business.

N

National Forests in Indiana (1977, 1981), #082
4 interviews. Time Period: 1960s-70s. Use of natural resources. Public attitudes to forests. Hoosier National Forest. Conservation vs. use. State lobbying and legislation.

P

People of Indianapolis (1983), #084
43 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-80s. Interviewees of all ages, but a preponderance born before 1910. Being African- American in Indianapolis. Migration in search for jobs. Work. Family. Union work. Black musicians. Transformation of neighborhood from white to black. Civil Rights. Being a black professional. Unions. Racism. Racial relations.

Personal Experiences in World War I (1974-80), #085
9 interviews. Time Period: 1900-1920s. Transportation to Europe. Training. Weapons. Battle conditions. Lives of interviewees before the war. Public attitudes to war. Campaigns and battles. Life in the trenches. Armistice.

Perspectives on the Indiana Economy (1981-1982), #086
30 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-80s. Interviewees are business leaders (rather than “workers”) in all aspects of Indiana economy, past and present. Farming. Industry. Banking. Small business. Prospects for future. Changing economic conditions. Business development.

Philanthropy: History of Fundraising (1988), #087
20 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-80s. Life histories of fundraisers. Skills. Motivations and values. Public images of fundraising. Women in profession. Causes served by fundraising. Changes in profession. Professionalization and organizations. Generational issues.

Planned Parenthood Association (1976-1977), #088
3 interviews. Time Period: 1960s-70s. Bloomington and Indianapolis. Growth, staff and funding. Community response to association. Connections in local, state, national connections. Other social organizations. Nurse practitioners. Contraception.

Port Gibson, Mississippi (1992), #107
2 interviews. Time Period: 1930s-1990s. Great Depression. Black voter registration. Civil Rights Movement. World War II. School integration.

Preservers of the Past: Indiana County Historical Societies (1995-1996), #089
11 interviews. Time Period: 1960s-90s. Historical society development. Publications. Exhibits. Events. Funding. Volunteers. Connections of members to local history. History as teacher for the present and future. Importance of preserving local history.

R

Remembering Indiana in the Twentieth Century (1995-1997), #090
15 interviews. Time Period: 1930s-90s. Interviewees from Indianapolis and Evansville. Flanner House Homes in Indianapolis. Union members in Evansville. Daughters of the American Revolution in Evansville. Race relations. Changing roles of women. Changes in economy in cities and the country as a whole. Great Depression. World War II. Changes in family life in the twentieth century.

Retired IU Faculty (1985), #091
15 interviews. Time Period: 1910s-80s. Interviewees born around turn of century. Early lives of interviewees. Career development. Teaching. Research. Student life. Retirement. Women in the academy.

Roller Skating Association (2000-2001), #109
4 interviews. Time Period: 1930s-1990s. Involvement with the Roller Skating Rink Operators Association and Roller Skating Association. Roller rink management. Equipment. Music.

Romanian-Americans In Lake County, Indiana (1976-77), #12
115 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-1970s. Immigration to the United States, marriage, family, ethnic traditions, employment, education, religion.

S

Social Face of Death (1996-1997), #111
24 interviews. Time period: 1940s to present. Coping with death. Terminal illness. Death of loved ones. Medical attitudes. Religion. Family attitudes and responsibilities.

Social History of Spencer, Indiana (1974-1976), #092
55 interviews. Time Period: 1910s-70s. Variety of ages, but preponderance of interviewees born near turn of the century. History of the everyday life of a town. Education. Family life. Religion. Local events. Town politics. Changing moral standards. Class. Economic changes. Generational differences. Life during the Depression. Small town vs. large town life. Teachers. Medical care. Blacks in Spencer. Youth exodus.

Social Work (1976), #093
1 interview. Career in social work. Social work in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Family Service Association of Monroe County.

Socialism in Indiana in the 1920s (1975-1976), #094
3 interviews. Time Period: 1920s. Mostly about Harry Oatis, who ran for mayor on Socialist ticket in Elwood, Indiana, in 1925 and was defeated by 10 votes. Reminiscences on politics. John Lewis. Welsh immigrants in Elwood. Government corruption. Tin and steel industries: pensions, strikes (esp. 1909), unions.

Southern Conference for Human Welfare/Education Fund (1983), #095
5 interviews. Time Period: 1930s and Civil Rights era. Interviewees are national figures (Virginia Durr, Shuttlesworth, Anne Braden). Struggle for equality in the South. Formation of SCHW/SCEF. Civil Rights work by blacks and whites. New Deal work for civil rights. Martin Luther King. FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. McCarthyism.

Stones River National Battlefield Community (1999), #096
10 interviews. Time Period: 1930s-90s. Interviews with community members in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in partnership with the National Park Service. Family histories. Stories about visits to historic site. Community relationships with National Park Service.

Studebaker (1984-1985), #097
50 interviews. Time Period: primarily 1938-1976. Interviewees are workers at Studebaker at all levels, but mostly line and other blue-collar workers. Many ethnicities and women. Work life at Studebaker. Labor-management relations. Why Studebaker closed down. Unions.

T

Testimonios: Documenting the Lives and Faith of Latino Immigrants (2001-2002), #104
11 interviews. Immigration to the United States. Migrant workers. Life in Indianapolis. Religion. Church’s role in community life. Latino communities in the Midwest.

Tuba-Euphonium Oral History (2000), #108
12 interviews. Time period: 1950s-2000. Instrument design, IU School of Music, Bill Bell, teaching techniques, playing techniques.

U

Ukrainian Americans in the Midwest (1990), #099
12 interviews. Time Period: 1930s-90s. Most interviewees born in the 1930s but a few born at the turn of the century. Early life in the Ukraine. Emigrating to America. Maintaining traditions in the U.S. Ukrainian religious ceremonies. Youth organizations. Weddings. Building and maintaining communities. Ukrainian language instruction.

United States Foreign Relations During World War II (1975, 1978), #098
4 interviews. Time Period: 1940s. American-British relations, 1944-47. American-Soviet relations in WWII. Foreign service, 1942-48. Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman. Recognition of Israel.

V

Village Mothers Oral History Project (1993-1994), #100
92 interviews. Time Period: 1900s-1990s. Interviews from David Ransel’s book on three generations of Russian and Tatar women. Marriage. Abortion. Birth control. Birthing. Child rearing. Midwives.

W

Wartime Military Experiences (1992), #081
12 interviews. Time Period: World War I through Vietnam. War experiences. U.S. Navy. Race relations. Being black in the military. Serving stateside.

West Side Community Center, Bloomington, Indiana (1985), #101
5 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-80s. Interviewees born in the 1910s. Bloomington Black community.

Whiting, Indiana: Generational Memory (1991-1993), #102
88 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-90s. Variety of ages in interviewees. Unions. Politics and political alliances over generations. Working for Standard Oil and other Whiting industries. Working-class experiences. Family structure. Discipline. Values. Ethnicity. Religious commitment and change. Deindustrialization. Environmental and gender issues.

William E. Jenner and Indiana Politics (1971, 1973-1974), #103
18 interviews. Time Period: 1920s-1960s, with emphasis on late 1930s-early 1940s. Interviewees are mostly Republican politicians or party functionaries. Jenner was U.S. Republican Senator from Indiana. Opposition politics. Workings of Indiana political “machine” in the 1930s-50s. Decline of party politics. Conserving state’s natural resources. Reminiscences about famous politicians: Capehart, Schricker, Dewey, Willkie. Getting major bills passed.

Women’s History (1977, 1980), #106
6 interviews. Time Period: 1940s-70s. Most interviewees born in the 1930s, one at turn of century. ERA. Women’s movement in Bloomington, 1969-76. League of Women Voters. Bloomington civic affairs and politics, 1945-75. Tension between university and community women. Bloomington vs. the rest of Indiana.

Writing The Saga of Coe Ridge (1976), #013
1 interview. Time Period: 1970s. William Lynwood Montell discusses oral history research, methodology, turning oral interviews into written history, writing “The Saga of Coe Ridge”.

Writings of Bruce A. Rosenberg (1976), #004
1 interview. Time Period: 1970s. Bruce Rosenberg discusses folklore theory, folk legends, folklore research, writing “Custer and the Epic Defeat.”