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Oral History

Oral History: Bringing the Metro to Arlington

Interview with Roye Lowry

The arrival of the Metrorail in 1977 forever changed the landscape of Arlington, shaping the region for decades to come.

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Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

In 2010, Arlington County released the documentary, “Arlington County’s Smart Growth Journey." It focused on the development of Arlington via the Metro system and featured interviews with people involved in this historic growth period. In this interview, narrator Roye Lowry details the trials and tribulations of the landmark Metro project, some of which are featured in the Smart Growth documentary.

Lowry served on Arlington’s County Board from 1962-1965. During that time he helped lay the groundwork for the construction of the Northern Virginia Metro system and related County development.

Metrorail car, 1969, WMATA photo.

Narrator:  Roye Lowry
Interviewer: Mary Curtius
Date: December 5, 2007

From the documentary:

[7:35]: The schools were a major interest. But also, the development of Arlington became of interest because we were just building apartments and gas stations almost everywhere.

[14:57]: The first place was Rosslyn. We got to give a lot of credit to the man who was then the head of our highway division, Stoneburner, Mr. Stoneburner because they wanted to run 66 right flat down what would have then been the middle of Rosslyn, which would distort any possibility of development.

[13:27]: When they began to talk Metro plans, we were for it because that is the only way we’re going to escape having highways.

[29:17]: The notion was we tried to unite public purpose and private profit. If you can successfully do that in anything you’ve got a winner.

From the oral history interview:

On the Metrorail coming to Arlington:

Roye Lowry: Arlington was just in the way. People who lived out in the hinterlands, no matter where, they just wanted to get through here to get to Washington. We lived here. We were in the way and we weren’t going to move. We had this notion of preserving a community of approximately 200-210,000 people. That was the notion and it turned out to be pretty good.

Mary Curtius: What was the population back in ‘61, ‘62? Was it anywhere near 200,000?

RL: No, it had to be 160,000 maybe, something like that.

Rosslyn Station construction sign with crane in background.

On development in Arlington:

MC: Do you think you understood at the time. I understand the preservation motive, you wanted to save Arlington from being carved up.

RL: But we’re redeveloping at the same time.

MC: Did you think it would help redevelopment, that Metro would help redevelopment?

RL: We were pretty sure it would. Metro is going to run through Arlington. There are going to be some stations. It’s not just going to run through Arlington. It took much longer than was anticipated to get it going. I remember when there was some kind of ceremony, dedication ceremony or something in Clarendon when the Orange Line. It was a big celebration. I was standing there in the crowd and I saying it’s seven years behind schedule right now when it gets there.

Roye Lowry conducted this interview as part of Arlington County’s “Smart Growth” documentation project, and the full interview can be accessed at the Center for Local History – VA 975.5295 A7243oh series 8, no. 10. Fifteen additional interviews in this series are also available at the Center for Local History, and the full “Arlington County Smart Growth Journey” documentary is available online.

Front page of the Northern Virginia Sun, from July 2, 1977.

Page 2 of the Northern Virginia Sun, from July 2, 1977.

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.

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.

Oral History: Renting in Clarendon in the 1950s

Interview with Ann Brock

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Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

Arlington in the 1940s and 1950s was very different than it is today, but it has always remained an interesting and unique place to live. In this oral history segment, longtime Clarendon resident Ann Brock shares her memories of renting apartments in the neighborhood when she and her husband were newlyweds in the early 1950s.

Photo of Clarendon Circle Intersection, circa 1950s. On the right is Washington Boulevard, top center is Clarendon Boulevard. and left is Wilson Boulevard.

Narrator: Ann Brock
Interviewer: Emily Curley
Date: February 27, 2019

EC: So where was the first place that you lived in Clarendon?

AB: Are you ready for this?

EC: I’m ready.

AB: Where the IHOP is now, there was a Chinese laundry and my husband and I had an apartment over top the Chinese laundry. That was our first residence.

EC: (laughs) Okay, and what was that like?

AB: It was unusual—(laughing)—but it was fun.

EC: Okay. So where did you move after that?

AB: Well, I’ve got to think because we moved quite a few places. Let me say at one point we lived on North Nelson Street in a duplex apartment there. And then we lived at what was called then, the Lehigh apartments which bordered Arlington Boulevard and the name Lehigh came from the old Arlington Boulevard being Lee Boulevard, which divided north and south. And then we moved, briefly, out to McLean and we were only there about a year and then we came back. We rented our house on Washington Boulevard for fourteen years before we purchased it.

EC: Okay. Can you describe what renting was like back then? Was it as difficult as it is now?

AB: Oh, it was nothing—when we lived in the Lehigh apartment we had a one-bedroom apartment for $37.50 a month. And then after we had our son we moved to a two-bedroom apartment in Lehigh, same place, and that was $97.50 a month. Unbelievable isn’t it?

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.

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.

Oral History: Presidential Sightings

Interview with Captain Carl Porter

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Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

Carl Washburn Porter, a retired Navy captain and veteran of both world wars, lived in Arlington for most of his life.

Porter’s father worked in construction in the area during the early 20th century and Carl worked alongside his father during the summers, often using a horse-drawn wagon to bring construction supplies to job sites throughout the county.

Carl Porter as Boy Scout, c. 1909. Porter was a member of Troop #1, one of the first Boy Scout troops organized in the United States.

On more than one occasion during his childhood, Porter saw some famous faces in his travels around the area. Porter and his father even met President Wilson when their car broke down on Lee Highway! Porter shares that story, and other tales of Presidential sightings, in the following audio clip:

Narrator: Captain Carl Porter
Interviewer: Arthur W. True
Date: March 5, 1975

CP: While I am speaking of this, I also remember another time that my dad was going up Lee Highway (above Cherrydale) and we had a flat tire; and this was not uncommon in those days. And Dad had pulled over to the far side of the road and just started to work on the car, when another car pulled up behind. Someone got out and walked over, and it was – again, it was President Wilson, who was probably on his way up to the Golf Club – and stopped and asked if they could be of any help in fixing the tire. It shows how times have changed.

While I am mentioning this, I also recall that Theodore Roosevelt (a number of years before that), when he was President, he used to walk around the area between the White House and the Ellipse and Lafayette Park; and I remember seeing him standing out on the street in from of the old Boy’s YMCA on G Street, between 17th and 18th Street, with derby hat, frock coat, and pince-nez glasses. I remember his sons, approximately the same age as my brother and me – they attended Friends School in Washington – but they were, of course, just the same as any other boys: they liked to play baseball and whatnot; and when they went into the White House, they wouldn’t hesitate to barge in the front door and yell, “Ma, where is my baseball glove?” or something like that – any more than youngsters do that we are familiar with, or as we did ourselves.

Porter died in 1989, at age 92. You can find his oral history interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History - VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.2 no.23.

Photo: Carl Porter, Boy Scout Troop #1, c. 1909.

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.

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.

Oral History: H-B Woodlawn Beginnings

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Interview with Ray Anderson, H-B Woodlawn Principal

It’s back-to-school season, so we're sharing a segment from a recent oral history recorded with Ray Anderson, former principal of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program.

H-B, as it’s commonly known, started in 1971 and spent almost fifty years on Vacation Lane in Cherrydale. This year the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program moved to an entirely new building in Rosslyn to accommodate the growing number of students who want to attend the school.

The photo caption from the 1996 H-B Woodlawn yearbook reads, "It provides a good place to experiment and grow. It is a place where being different is not only accepted, but is the norm."

We wish all Arlington students and teachers a good start to the school year!

1996 H.B. Woodlawn yearbook, page 1.

Narrator: Ray Anderson
Interviewer: Emily Curley
Date: January 23, 2019

RA: I decided I—conventional school was too conventional for me and I was lucky enough to write up an idea, after two years, for a separate school. And in fact, I have the memo I wrote with me and in January of 1971, I commented on the racial, economic and social diversity of Arlington [0:07:00] and conditions in the schools and particularly at Wakefield. I made some recommendations about Wakefield and the last half of my memo started, “I recommend a system of rigid and closely supervised discipline.” Wow. Okay? “Since many of our present students and faculty will find that such system inhibits the learning process for them, I further recommend the establishment of a new high school in Arlington.” And then I go on for a couple of pages on what that would be.

It got passed around in Arlington, people wrote me notes and stuff like that. By March of ’71—because this is all reflecting the times, right?—the school board was having a hearing because they had three elementary schools they were closing to open the new Glebe School and they were closing Woodlawn, Langston, and Lee. Lee is now an art center on Lee Highway. Langston is still in the school system and used for educational purposes and a community center as well. And Woodlawn is now the hospice.

So I went to the school board and I gave them this memo, which is entitled, “A Proposal for an Experimental Free High School to be Created by the Arlington County School Board.” And it’s three pages long. That was kind of interesting but I didn’t expect anything to happen.

You can find Ray Anderson's interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History - VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.3 no.425. Photo: 1996 H.B. Woodlawn yearbook, page 1. Call number: VA/X371.805 H431y 1996. Cover photo: Community Archives, Arlington Structures and Places, 1996-2006, H.B. Woodlawn, 1996, Object 933.

You can learn more about the history of H-B Woodlawn, including the new building in Rosslyn, on the H-B Woodlawn Secondary School website.

Oral History: Introducing New Breads to Arlington

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Interview with Carla and Wolfgang Buchler of Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe

Heidelberg Bakery is a local landmark in Arlington. Like the county itself, the restaurants and bakeries throughout the area are incredibly diverse and delicious.

In this oral history clip, Carla and Wolfgang Buchler, owners of the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, discuss the lack of diversity in breads that Wolfgang found in America when he first came to the U.S. in the 1970’s—and how tastes have changed, partly due to Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe’s delicious treats.

NARRATOR 1: Wolfgang Buchler
NARRATOR 2: Carla Buchler
INTERVIEWER: Andrew Ausel
DATE: March 8, 2017

Transcript:

WB: Well, for me, I didn’t have—like, in America you couldn’t find a good bread. Okay? That was my—you could find some pastries, but you couldn’t find any good bread around. So at the beginning, they actually gave me a very rough time when I baked bread like we baked in Germany. They brought it back, as if it was stale, but it was just normal, so we had to adjust some of our baking—

CB: In the 70’s people were—I guess exotic bread was French bread. So switching over to rye breads—

WB: Rye breads.

CB: Hearty breads. Kind of heavier things.

WB: Seeded breads, and everything. Yeah.

CB: Now it’s different, people are exposed to—I think they are more international with their tastes. In the 70’s it was a little different.

WB: And our white bread was not like in America. White bread, we tuck under and tuck over and it comes back up again. (Laughs). It was very different, but that difference is what established our name and our breads and our good products.

AA: Did you find that people were sort of—they had a hard time adjusting to your style of bread? Or was it like “Oh my Gosh! Why have I not been eating this?”

WB: I think it’s just the style. A lot of people just had never been used to eating a healthy bread.

You can find Carla and Wolfgang Buchler's interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History - VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser. 13 no. 6. Photo: RG216-0491, Eleanor Schlesinger Photograph Collection.

 

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 cataloged 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.

Oral History: Getting Involved in Local Politics

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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.

Oral History: Desegregation of Arlington’s Public Schools

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Interview with Dorothy Hamm, School Desegregation Activist

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of Arlington County public schools, the Center for Local History presents an oral history clip from an interview with Dorothy Hamm, who lived in Arlington at the height of the battle to desegregate Arlington’s public schools, and was part of different lawsuits throughout the county to integrate not only the schools but restaurants, hospitals, and theaters.

In this clip from 1986, Hamm shared her experience trying to register her son for school at Stratford and her activity in lawsuits to desegregate public facilities in Arlington County.

Dorothy Hamm has been honored by the County with the naming of a new middle school in Cherrydale, the Dorothy Hamm Middle School, set to open in September 2019.

NARRATOR: Dorothy Hamm
INTERVIEWER 1: Edmund Campbell
INTERVIEWER 2: Cas Cocklin
DATE: February 21, 1986

Transcript:

EC: You recall the Supreme Court decision directing the desegregation of the public schools "with all deliberate speed" which was made in l954. After that time, you became rather active in the shall I call it the desegregation movement, did you not?

DH: Yes, I did. My reason for doing that was because I felt that with the Supreme Court's decision my two sons would have an opportunity to attend Stratford, an integrated school and I told them the meaning of the Supreme Court's decision, and I also told them that they would be going to Stratford. However, almost 2 years had passed, they still had not been permitted to attend; and this is why I really got involved.

EC: What did you do?

DH: On one occasion, my husband and I took our oldest son to Stratford in an attempt register him, and he was denied.  I was also one of the original plaintiffs in the suit of 14 parents and 22 children.

EC:  What suit was this?

DH:  This was the suit that was filed by the N.A.A.C.P. in May of 1956, 2 years after the Supreme Court's decision.

EC:  This was the suit, was it, in the federal court for the Eastern District of Virginia before Judge Albert Bryan?

DH:  Yes, it was.

EC:  And you were one of the original plaintiffs?

DH: That's right.

EC:  Did you take any other action at that time other than participate in that suit?  I mean were you involved in any other desegregation movements at that time?

DH:  Not really at that time.  They came just a little bit later my suits involving the theatres, the hospital, eating places and working places.

CC: May I ask, in these desegregation suits where the children were involved, what was the feeling of the children?  Were they truly indignant and anxious for equality of education or opportunities or was there any compulsion on the part of the parents requiring the children's cooperation?

DH: No, I think all the children were very eager to go.  All of the parents were very anxious for their children to attend the school because they felt this was a better opportunity for their children knowing that all of them had attended segregated schools.

For more information on desegregation in Arlington County and its schools, please visit Arlington Public Library’s Project DAPS website.

Photo of students and librarian in the library of Hoffman-Boston from the George Melvin Richardson Collection, 1950s: projectdaps.org/items/show/42

 

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.

Oral History: Dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

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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.

Oral History: Halloween Shenanigans

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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.

Oral History: Interview with Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Vietnam Center Photo

Vietnamese Community Leader

In recognition of Asian and Pacific Island American Heritage Month, for May we are sharing community leader Nguyeb Ngoc Bich's oral history describing the Vietnamese refugee community in Arlington from roughly 1975 to 1980.

During that 5-year period, the U.S. population of Vietnamese immigrants - many of whom were refugees - had grown from 15,000 to 245,000. At the same time, the Clarendon neighborhood was transformed from a declining shopping destination to a supportive and bustling enclave, brimming with stores that provided both imported goods and a sense of community for Vietnamese-Americans. This area became known informally as “Little Saigon.”

But as construction on the Metro was completed and leases expired, Vietnamese business owners moved west to the Eden Center in Falls Church. This move was spearheaded by Nguyen Ngoc Bich, who had first come to the U.S. in the 1950s as a student.

In this clip, Mr. Bich describes the economic and social contexts of the rise of Little Saigon.

NARRATOR: Nguyen Ngoc Bich
INTERVIEWER: Andrea Dono
DATE: November 9, 2014

Transcript:

AD: Did you call it Little Saigon, or did you have another name for that area?

NNB: Little Saigon. Well, because before April 1975 the whole Vietnamese community in the Washington area was probably no more than about 3,000 people. But nonetheless, these three thousand people became the anchor for family. For instance, our family became the anchor for trying to resettle these twenty-some people that we brought from Vietnam and so on and so forth. Because of the fall of South Vietnam the embassy had to close. Then these people also have to find some way to make a living, and so a secretary there at the Embassy of Vietnam, her name is Zu Mak Zu (?), she was the very first one to open what you call the Saigon Market on Wilson Boulevard in the Clarendon area.
I think we were sort of lucky in a sense at the time. They were talking about building the Metro, and so they tore down a lot of things in the Clarendon area, and so the real estate became very, very cheap. Many of the major American establishments moved out. And because of that some of this real estate became available for very cheap. But they gave you a very short contract, like six months or one quarter.

AD: Were most of the buildings in that Little Saigon area mostly commercial, or were there some social services as well?

NNB: No, mostly commercial because the social services for the refugees tend to be run out of American establishments like the US CC, US Catholic Conference, the Catholic university or the Lutheran Services that are on 16th Street. In fact, the Lutheran Services is only three blocks away from the Vietnamese Buddhist temple up there. While most of the things are here, businesses, restaurants, tailor shop, photo shop, jewelry store, bridal things, we had all that. We all congregated around the Clarendon area. At one point we might have—I don’t think maybe 100, probably not 100, easily 70 or 80 establishments that catered to Vietnamese customers. And so a trip to Clarendon gets you not only to go and get what you need but also run into a lot of friends, new friends that we make, and that became the core of the community in this area.

You can find Nguyen Ngoc Bich’s interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History - VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.12 no.1. Photo: Vietnam Center Clarendon, Source: Photographs of the Arlington Historical Society, PG 230-1096

 

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.

From June 2017 – May 2018, we will post one oral history clip and transcript each month, focusing on Arlington’s history, culture and identity.

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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