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Oral History: Getting Involved in Local Politics

Arlington Voices the Oral History Collection

Interview with Ellen Bozman, Longest Serving County Board Member

Ellen Bozman is an important name in Arlington County. As the longest serving member of the Arlington County Board to date, Bozman supported countless causes that have made long lasting impacts on the county and Northern Virginia.

Born and raised in Illinois, Bozman came to Arlington after graduating from Northwestern University. She began her public service in Arlington with the League of Women Voters and served on other boards and committees until her run for County Board in 1974. During her time on the Board, Bozman saw significant changes in Arlington - its development, transportation, and citizens were very different when she retired in 1997 than they had been when she began 23 years earlier.

In this oral history clip, Bozman shares with interviews Edmund Campbell and Cas Cocklin her experiences working on other boards and committees before her first run as a Democrat-backed Independent candidate for the County Board:

NARRATOR: Ellen Bozman
INTERVIEWER 1: Edmund Campbell
INTERVIEWER 2: Cas Cocklin
DATE: May 15, 1987

EC: You ultimately became President of the League, did you?

EB: Yes. Those were busy years for the League and I was President from '63 to '65. Then, as you know, once you have been president of an organization, there's no readymade spot for you so you look around and you tend to do other things. Then I later chaired the Health and Welfare Council of Arlington and the Committee of One Hundred and finally in the early '70's chaired the Rock Springs Congregational Church Council. About that time, some of my friends jokingly said well since you've done a church council, you're ready to run for the Board.

CC: Had you ever given any thought prior to that to getting into politics?

EB: Only recently prior to that. And the change really came about when I served on the Planning Commission. Up until the time I served on the Planning Commission, I didn't think that, first of all, I thought of myself as an administrator rather than a politician. Secondly, I had been through some, I had been standing on the fringes and involved in some very, very tumultuous political times in Arlington.

EC: Such as?

EB: Well, when you go way back and I remember Barbara Riches who was on the School Board saying to me, "I don't care when they throw garbage on my front porch because I know they don't have anything more important they're doing." Very split community. Very difficult and personal political campaigns. A kind of atmosphere that I didn't think that I was ready or wanted to participate in. But times change.

To learn more about Ellen Bozman;s life and work, visit the Center for Local History's online exhibit, Women's Work.

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

What is the oral history collection?

Oral history is a popular method of research used for understanding historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of people’s personal experiences.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.

Green Valley Pharmacy

Dr. Leonard “Doc” Muse

Have you traveled down Shirlington Rd in the Nauck neighborhood, and stopped for a snack at the one story, white, shingled building on the corner of Shirlington Rd and 24th Rd S?

Established in 1952, the Green Valley Pharmacy is the first (and only) pharmacy and lunch counter in Arlington that would serve African American patrons during the Jim Crow era.

The man who opened the pharmacy was Dr. Leonard “Doc” Muse, a pharmacist and social activist. Muse was born in Florida in 1923 and after serving in World War II used his GI benefits to attend the Howard University School of Pharmacy. In 1952, he and his partner Waverly Jones bought the former Hyman’s Grocery and opened the Green Valley Pharmacy. The pharmacy served black and white customers, but mainly served as a neighborhood hub for Nauck- as a lunch counter, a drug store, and a first job for many young people in Green Valley. Doc provided free lunches for the hungry and free medications for those who could not afford their prescriptions.

In 2013, Green Valley Pharmacy was named as an Historic District by the Arlington County Board, and Muse himself was honored by the Arlington NAACP with the Community Appreciation Award. Muse’s commitment to social activism established him as a pillar of the Nauck community, positively influencing the young people of Green Valley and providing a social and political hub for the residents of Nauck.

Dr. Leonard Muse died on August 20, 2017.

A celebration of life service was held in his honor at Drew Model School on Saturday, August. 27, 2017.

The photo of Green Valley Pharmacy was taken by Matthew Welborn in 2010, as part of a student photography contest, "Capturing Arlington," sponsored by the Center for Local History.

To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

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Where Were These Photos Taken?

Can you guess the location of these images? 

Here are a few clues:

  • The photos were taken in the early 1960s, shortly after the building was completed.
  • This building was the first publicly financed construction project for this County department, and has housed this department since the 1960s - although it underwent a major renovation in the early 1990s.
  • In 1995, the department installed the first public internet terminals with the help of a grant.

If you guessed that the photos feature Central Library, you are correct!

Although Central Library no longer looks the way it did in these photos, the spirit of the Library has remained the same – to serve the residents of Arlington County and create space for culture and connection.

To learn more about the history of Arlington Public Library visit The Center for Local History's online exhibit “Women’s Work.”

To see more photos from Arlington’s diverse history visit the Center for Local History, located on the 1st floor of Central Library.

Neighborhood Activist Joan Cooper

For nearly 50 years, community activist and Nauck resident Joan Cooper worked for change in her neighborhood. 

She also challenged others to make changes to improve the community, stating, “People have to realize, that we as community members have to do our job, too.”

During her active years Cooper helped to advocate for an integrated school system in Arlington County, drove individuals to drug and alcohol detox programs, helped patrol corner blocks of the Nauck neighborhood, and worked tirelessly to rid her streets of illicit narcotics.

“Be persistent, consistent, and insistent,” was her message, and in July 1992, through an initiative called “Crackdown on Drugs,” Cooper’s efforts and leadership on this campaign were recognized by then President George H.W. Bush, when he visited Drew Model School.

cooper003

In the same year, she was also named a Notable Woman of Arlington by the County’s Commission on the Status of Women.

To learn more about Joan Cooper, make an appointment to visit the Center for Local History.  located on the 1st floor of Central Library. To learn more about the Green Valley neighborhood you can also visit the the Green Valley Heritage Project page.

How To Prepare Tin Cans For Collection in 1943

This colorful advertisement from 1943, produced by the Arlington County Salvage Committee, describes “To the Housewives of Arlington County” how to properly clean and prepare tin cans for recycling in order to aid war efforts during WWII.

The two sided circular, which “makes known to you the vital need of tin in the War effort,” is part of the Robert McAtee, (1913-2014) archival collection. Mr. McAtee, who lived in Arlington for most his life, and in the Maywood neighborhood for decades, owned Seven Corners Rentals on Leesburg Pike. McAtee was an active community historian who documented both his neighborhood and physical changes throughout Arlington county. Thanks to donors like Mr. McAtee, who spent a majority of his life collecting material culture about Arlington County, historians today are able to see the significant shifts and changes of the community over the last century.

To learn more about Robert McAtee, life in Arlington during WWII, or to see more items like this, visit the Center for Local History located on the 1st floor of Central Library.

The Dudley Family Home

Oh, to sled down that hill...

The Dudley Family Home stood on a hill on North Military Road - the same hill where you now find the Cherrydale Branch Library, one of Arlington’s beloved neighborhood libraries.

This photo, taken in the 1920s, comes from the Dudley Family Photographs, 1920-1950 collection. The collection contains an assortment of intimate family portraits, beach adventures, local business, and street scenes, taken mostly during the 1920s and 1930s. Examining the Dudley Family images allows viewers to step back into time and feel as though we are part of their adventures…

To learn more about The Dudley Family, Cherrydale Branch Library, Arlington’s diverse history, or to see more images like this, visit us at the Center for Local History located on the 1st floor of Central Library.

Wakefield High School Student Posters

The students who attended Wakefield High School during the 1969/1970 school year were a busy and creative group.

From after school clubs to theater productions; from student body elections to themed dances; Wakefield students showcased their events, programs and causes with simple but effective hand silkscreened posters:

David Crist, graduate of Wakefield Class of 1970, saved and donated over 90 of these posters to the Center for Local History.

The first image above features an advertisement for “The Night Before Christmas Fashion Show" from December 1969, and was silk screened onto either poster board or construction paper. In a very era-appropriate touch, the poster highlights that “Fashions by Sears” were to be modeled at the evening’s 8:00 p.m. production.

The Center for Local History's online Community Archives includes a large number of high-resolution images of the Wakefield 1969-970 Student Posters.

Oral History: Dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington Voices the Oral History Collection

Interview with Agnes Quade

In observance of Veteran’s Day, the staff at the Center for Local History present a clip of an oral history interview with Charles and Agnes Quade, who recalls attending the first dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, at Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, 1932. After some research about Sgt. Frank Witchey (spelled Witchie here) we have determined that Mrs. Quade misspoke during her interview and based on her information about meeting the Sergeant, she was actually there on the original dedication date in November 1921 (thank you to an eagle-eyed patron for pointing this out to us!).

In this segment, Mrs. Quade shares her memories of seeing Sergeant Witchey - a man her husband would eventually meet - play Taps at the Unknown Soldier’s tomb.

NARRATOR: Agnes Quade
INTERVIEWER: Theda Nichols
DATE: May 3, 1975

TN: Now, while we’re on the War subject, didn’t you tell me that you had attended the first dedication of the Unknown Soldier in 1932?

AQ: Yes.

TN: Uh-huh.

AQ: I did.

TN: Could you tell me what you remember about that?

AQ: And that was just a wonderful, impressive occasion. I went out to the National Cemetery, to the Amphitheater. And my mother was here from Atlanta, Georgia, at the time – had come 600 miles; and I thought, “Oh, how wonderful [that] we are here for such a solemn day.” It meant so much to everyone.
And when we arrived, out at the Cemetery, I asked one of the men who had charge of the services if it would be possible that we could get a seat.
And he said, “Oh, no!” – that all the seats were taken, and that others – we just didn’t have any room for anyone else in the Amphitheater; we could stand outside, and we could hear, probably.
And I said, “But my mother’s here, and she’s from Atlanta, Georgia.”
He said, “Just a minute, Lady.”
And over he came with two tickets, which I still have – and I treasure! – and brought me a program. And he ushered us in to about the fourth row of the Amphitheater.
And it was a very solemn service. I have Kodak pictures of the first Unknown Soldier’s Tomb – with the wreath, and with the colors, the flags, and the different divisions of the military, which were at that particular service.
And I would like to add there that the man, who was Sgt. Witchie, is a wonderful bugler – played “Taps” that day over the Unknown Soldier’s Tomb – on November the 11th, 1932.
And in several years, my husband happened to meet Sgt. Witchie; and now we have an autographed copy, a picture, framed, of him playing “Taps” at the Unknown Soldier’s Tomb on November the 11th, 1932.

You can find Charles and Agnes Quade’s interview in its entirety at the Center for Local History- VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.2 no.24 

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

What is the oral history collection?

Oral history is a popular method of research used for understanding historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of people’s personal experiences.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.

Women’s Work: Ruby Lee Minar

Have you shopped in Lee Heights? Visited Lyon Park?

Then you have been to neighborhoods created by real estate developer Ruby Lee Minar.

You can read a short history of Ruby Lee Minar's influential career in Arlington real estate development in our online exhibit, Women's Work.  The exhibit includes original documents, which are housed in the Center for Local History's Community Archive.

In the 1920s, entrepreneur Ruby Lee Minar built a real estate empire in and around Arlington. It was so expansive that the American Business Review described her as the “most successful woman in realty development in the country.”

By May 1921, Minar had become the exclusive sales agent for the Lyon Park subdivision owned by Lyon & Fitch. Minar also purchased a 400-acre tract of land between the Washington Golf and Country Club and the Potomac River, which was developed into a subdivision named Lee Heights.

Ruby Lee Minor was a prominent advocate for women’s rights in her roles as first president of the Washington, D.C. Soroptimist Club, a worldwide civic organization for business and professional women. She became the first woman admitted to the Virginia Real Estate Association and went on to be the only woman on the Alexandria-Arlington-Fairfax Real Estate Board.

Memorial Bridge illustration, from Ruby Lee Minar's brochure advertising Lee Heights

Oral History: Halloween Shenanigans

Arlington Voices the Oral History Collection

Interview with Shirley Bowman, Courthouse Neighborhood Resident

With Halloween quickly approaching, the staff at the Center for Local History want to share a segment of a particularly interesting story about Halloween in what is now the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington.

In this clip, taken from a larger interview with narrators Tally and Shirley Bowman, Shirley shares an anecdote about an unnamed neighbor who showed trick-or-treaters silent films from the Women’s Christian Temperance Union - a group that supported, among other things, the prohibition of alcohol.

Only after slightly bribing her son, another neighbor found out that these films about drunkenness and its dangers were being shown to the neighborhood children each Halloween. When Shirley confronted this neighbor, the films stopped.

Additionally, Shirley fondly recalls other neighborhood Halloween traditions, including taking pictures of trick-or-treaters in their costumes.

NARRATOR 1: Tally Bowman
NARRATOR 2: Shirley Bowman (speaking in this clip)
INTERVIEWER: Kate O'Connor
DATE: September 20, 1988

Transcript:

SB: Williams was the not the first people that lived in the house on the other side of Clements. They bought it from an old woman, older woman that was WCTU, do you remember, Women's Christian Temperance Union. Oh, Lord, I haven't said that word.
She used to give Halloween parties to all the children in the neighborhood and show them these movies on people drunk, they were almost like, well they were silent movies was what they were. And these men would get their paychecks and go to a saloon, you know, and then go out and our kids had never seen anything like that and here this was trying to teach them not to do this sort of thing, I guess. I guess that's what it was for.

And it was a couple of Halloweens before we found out, in fact, we didn't know, yeah, they'd gone over there…. You know, the children, she showed them, you know, kids, you don't get too much out of them. You know, she showed some movies. But she had lots of cookies and lots of punch, that's the only thing they would talk about until one day, Jenny Bond came over from Barton Street. She said, "Shirley, Halloween's coming up. Do you know what kind of movies she shows those kids?" And I said, "No. I really don't. But gee whiz, I thought they would be nice movies coming from over there, WCTU, you know, Women's Christian Temperance Union." And she said, "Well you know what happened at our house last night?"

Bill, her oldest boy about seven years old, her husband was late coming home. He was a lawyer in the government and he had a real high job over there. She said, "Well, I wonder what happened to Daddy?" And he said, "Well, maybe he stopped by the saloon and got some beers." And she said, "Where did you get that from?" So on questioning him and
feeding him some ice cream and cake, she found out that he found it over there at the Halloween party. So maybe he stopped by a saloon and was getting a couple of beers.

Well, that put a stop to that. I went over there and talked to her about that. I said, "You know, these families around here are not that type of family."

KO: How did she respond? Did she say why?

SB: Oh, she thought it was great. She had to quit having these parties because she wouldn't stop showing the movies. Everybody laughed. Frances's three daughters used to go down there, you know. I mean, it was funny. But it was something you didn't care anything about, having year after year.

KO: What about Halloween?

SB: Oh, everybody had their lights on. Everybody invited the children into the house. And my mother used to sit right there, she loved Halloween. She had the baskets of goodies and she would give out all the . . . and I would take pictures of the kids and we had a lot of strays too, but we never, not for years, I mean the first years we didn't, it was just neighborhood kids. And then friends away would always bring their children.

You can find Tally and Shirly Bowman's interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History - VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.3 no.9a.

 

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

What is the oral history collection?

Oral history is a popular method of research used for understanding historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of people’s personal experiences.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.



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