By Reddy Guntaka, Tanmay Wagh, Madhuri Keshavarao, Tai Luong
Title: Oral Histories - Houston History Project, 1996-
ID: 07/2006-005
Primary Creator: Houston History Project
Extent: 25.0 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
Oral histories are arranged numerically. Identifers include the Houston History Archives (HHA) number, interviewee's name, and subject module. Interviews consist of typewritten transcripts and audio interviews, presently available for reading and listening in the Special Collections Department of M.D. Anderson Library.
All formats for an interview are shelved by number in appropriate storage boxes. Transcripts (typed pages) are housed in record cartons, audiotapes and CDs are housed in specialty boxes. Each format includes sequential numbers appropirate boxes. Because boxes and formats are configured differently, Box 1 in one format does not hold the same set of interview numbers as Box 1 in another format. However, searching for a specific interview number across formats will produce all available interivew materials for that interviewee.
Date Acquired: 00/00/2005
Subjects: African-American studies, Arts, Business, Culture, Disaster response and recovery, Emigration and immigration, Energy development, Environmental issues, Medicine, Mexican Americans - Study and teaching, Native American studies, Religion, Sports, Women’s history
Forms of Material: Audiocassettes, Compact discs, Interviews, Sound recordings, Transcripts
Languages: English
When UH’s Center for Public History and the University Libraries collaborated to create the Houston History Archives (UH-HHA), part of their mission included a repository for oral histories that tell stories of the growth and development of the Gulf Coast region from multiple points of view. To that end, the Houston Oral History Project in the Center for Public History trains history graduate students to research and interview Houstonians with recollections of the city’s civil rights, women’s, cultural, political, or medical past. In furtherance of the mission, the UH Oral History Project entered into a collaboration with the City of Houston that will bring to the UH repository interviews of one hundred of Houston’s leaders from all walks of life. Another large collection headed for the repository is the Offshore Energy Oral History Project, a collaboration among several UH professors and other universities to document the growth of the oil refining industry along the Gulf Coast before and after World War II. Topics available include interviews with Katrina emergency responders in Houston, a series of interviews with African American (black) generals, interviews with members of Houston's Indo-Asian population, and interviews from the Afro-American Physicians project, as well as a number of other topics.
Related Materials:
Oral Histories from the Houston History Project digital collection (http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/houhistory)
African-American studies
Arts
Business
Culture
Disaster response and recovery
Emigration and immigration
Energy development
Environmental issues
Medicine
Mexican Americans - Study and teaching
Native American studies
Religion
Sports
Women’s history
Repository: University of Houston Libraries
Access Restrictions: Open for research.
Use Restrictions:
Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, locating copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electric form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian.
Photocopy decisions will be made by Special Collection staff on a case-by-case basis. Patrons are responsible for obtaining permission to publish from copyrights holders.
Related Materials: Oral Histories from the Houston History Project digital collection For more information please see http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/houhistory.
Preferred Citation: Oral Histories-Houston History Project. Courtesy of Special Collection, University of Houston Libraries.
Interviewer(s): Ernesto Valdes
Project: University of Houston
Captain Mack was born in Galveston, TX, graduated from Ball High School and went to Prairie View A & M for 2 ½ years. In this interview Mr. Mack discusses his job as a ferry boat captain in Galveston. Some of the highlights of the interview include his explanation of general emergency procedures, as well as evacuation and ferry guidelines during a hurricane. He also talks about the day to day activities of running the ferry, including training for the merchant mariner’s license, transporting 18 wheelers and spring breakers, how they deal with suspicious packages on the ferry, and what it is like to navigate the waters.
Interviewer(s): Ernesto Valdes
Project: University of Houston
Captain John R. Shaw was born in Flint, Michigan in 1952, and later served four years as a Navy Quartermaster. In 1981, Captain Shaw became a deck hand at the Galveston ferry and three years later became a Captain. During this interview Captain Shaw provides some history of the ferry system from the time it was taken over by the State of Texas. He also explains the positions and duties of each of the six crew members who serve on a boat. Some of the other highlights of the interview include a discussion of damages as a result of Hurricane Ike, dealing with fog, and outlining experiences when stationed at Guantanamo Bay during his Navy years.
