Category Archives: 2020s

New StoryMaps Material (and Farewell)!

Over the course of the past year, a new part of my fellowship has been learning how to use ArcGIS Storymaps, a really helpful tool for producing excellent maps and digital exhibits. I migrated two exhibits completed by Chloe Eastwood for Omeka to StoryMaps, called “Developing Volunteers” and “Services Asked For, Given, and Received.” They are excellent-I highly recommend you check out her work! Many Peace Corps Community Archive fellows contributed to the Omeka exhibit “Answering the Call: The Peace Corps and Its Volunteers,” which I migrated to StoryMaps and also added to. Today I published “The Peace Corps Through the Decades,” a summary of the agency’s history as told through Volunteers’ stories.

This is also my last contribution as the 2022-2024 Peace Corps Community Archive fellow. I am incredibly grateful for Leslie, Jeana, Austin, and Laura’s help and support over the past two years. I have grown substantially in my capacities for archival work, research, and writing-which I would not have achieved without them. Thank you also to everyone who’s read my work and to all of the Volunteers who have donated their stories. Special thanks also goes to Jessica Vapnek and Arnold Zeitlin, who graciously let me contact them with questions about their donations and experiences last spring.  I have enjoyed learning and writing about the lives of Peace Corps Volunteers-it’s been a pleasure! I am excited to see the work produced by a new Fellow in the fall.

In memory of Arnold Zeitlin (1932-2023)

Jim Dries in the Philippines

Service Type: Education

Dates in Service: 1963-1965

Keywords: Education

Accession Date: July 14, 2023

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 0.25 feet

Document Types

  • Reports
  • Publications

Related Items in Other Repositories:

  • The Museum of the Peace Corps Experience features an article about Dries’s docudrama about Lillian Carter’s Peace Corps experience. The film can be streamed here.

Finding Aid:

  • “Language Teaching in the Philippines,” 1950, 1956
  • The Philippines Peace Corps Survey: Final Report, 1966

William Dennis Grubb in Colombia

Place of Service: Zipacón

Service Type: Community Development

Dates in Service: 1961-1963

Keywords: Business, Community Development

Accession Date: January 14, 2022

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 1.5 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Reports
  • Publications
  • Film/Video
  • Sound

Related Items in Other Repositories:

JFK Library: Peace Corps, 1962: January-March subcollection- see scans 36-38, 60-61 for an advertisement featuring Grubb, a report on an administration trip to Colombia, and a letter about Grubb from Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Director, to Gordon Tullock, a University of Virginia professor

Finding Aid:

Box 1

  1. Documents
    1. Documents, 1961-July 1963, undated
    2. Documents, August 1963-1970
    3. Documents and Photos on National Politics, c. 1978-1984
    4. Documents and Similar Materials, 1981-1986
    5. Documents and Similar Materials, 1988-1990, undated
    6. Documents, 2008-October 2010, undated
    7. Documents, c. November 2010-2018
    8. Documents from Grubb’s passing and funeral, 2021
    9. Graduate Projects, 1966-1969
    10. Stamps, Money, and Envelope, undated
  2. Newspaper Articles
    1. Newspaper Articles and Photos, 1961
    2. Newspaper Articles, 1962-1964
    3. Newspapers, 1983-1984
    4. “After the Yankees Left For Home,” article, September 29, 1986
    5. Oversized Articles, c. 1961-1969 [in oversized collections]
  3.  Photos
    1. Photos, c. 1961-1963
    2. Photos, c. 1960s
    3. Photos, c. 1980s
    4. Large Photos, c. 1961-1963
    5. Filmstrips and Related Photos, c. 1960s
  4. Publications
    1. Making a Difference: The Peace Corps at 25, autographed by Loret Miller Ruppe, Peace Corps Director, 1981-1989
    2. Portrait of a Peace Corps Gringo by Paul Arfin, autographed by Arfin, 2009
    3. New York City and Bogotá Maps, 1971, 2007
    4. Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Poster [in oversized collections)
  5. Audiovisual (Box 2)
    1. DVDs/ CDs
      1. American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver, 2008
      2. School at Ricon Santo, undated
    2. Miniature tape labeled “TV,” undated
    3. 6 film reels
  6. Other
    1. Peace Corps Colombia button, c. 2010s

 

Peter Reid in Tanzania

Place of Service: Mwanza (Bwiru Boys Secondary School)

Service Type: Education

Dates in Service: 1964-1966

Keywords: Education, Youth,

Accession Date: April 13, 2023

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 5 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Reports
  • Publications

Related Items in Other Repositories:

Nunn Center Oral History Interview

Finding Aid:

Note: Peter Reid is also the author of Every Hill a Burial Place: The Peace Corps Murder Trial in East Africa. Most of these documents are from Reid’s research and writing process for the book.

  1. Box 1: 1960s Documents
    1. Tanganyika Independence Act, 1961
    2. Training Directory, 1964
    3. Tanganyika Directory, December 1965
    4. State Department file scans on trial; 1966, 2012; Part 1
    5. State Department file scans on trial; 1966, 2012; Part 2
  2. Box 2: Note Cards
    1. Note Cards with research for Every Hill a Burial Place
  3. Box 3: Every Hill a Burial Place Writing, Drafts and Publishing Logistics
    1. Reviews and Descriptions
    2. Table of Contents
    3. Every Hill a Burial Place draft, c. 2018
    4. FOIA Requests, 2012
    5. Every Hill a Burial Place Annotated Outline, 2019
    6. Responses to Every Hill a Burial Place draft, c. 2018-2019
    7. Dollar-Pound Calculations, 2017
    8. Opinion Polls and Folder Notes, c. 2018
    9. Every Hill a Burial Place draft comments, 2014-2017
    10. 1966 Timeline
    11. Abstract and Keywords
    12. Blurbs
    13. Book Cover
    14. Dramatis Personae
    15. Acknowledgements/Dedication
    16. Manuscript Submission 7/22/19
    17. Every Hill… Final Galley Prints
    18. Every Hill a Burial Place Index Drafts, c. 2020
    19. Kentucky Schedule
    20. Kentucky-Marketing
    21. UK Copy Edition-Annie Barva
    22. Manuscript cleanup
    23. Kentucky Readers Comments
    24. Map
    25. Every Hill
    26. Getty Images
    27. Peace Corps World Wide postings
    28. Tanzania PC Timeline
    29. Bibliography
    30. Kosmski [sic]
    31. Green/Hoover Library
    32. Clemmer permission
    33. Duncan Whitfield permission
    34. Ellison permission
    35. Essaye permission
    36. Georgiadis permission
    37. Hawes permission
    38. JFK permission
    39. McHay permission
    40. McPhee permission
    41. The Daily Nation photos
    42. Peppy Wedding Photo
    43. Every Hill a Burial Place draft photos, c. 2015-2019
    44. Michigan State
    45. Ohio U. Press
    46. Rutgers
    47. Stanford University Correspondence, 2019
    48. Brill Publishers
    49. PC Files I: March-April [1966]
    50. PC Files II: May-August [1966]
    51. PC Files III: 8/66-1/67
    52. PC Files PHR
    53. Manuscript 11/18
    54. End Notes
    55. Printed Academic Reviews
  4. Box 4: Every Hill a Burial Place Research (donor alphabetized by topic)
    1. A
      1. Assessors
      2. Autopsies-copies
      3. Anatomy/pathology
    2. B
      1. Book Locker
      2. Bagley, Gail
      3. Carroll Brewster
      4. Body disposition
      5. Bail
      6. Batimba Prison
      7. Brooke-Edwards
    3. C
      1. Clemmer, Betty
      2. Coyne online 2010
      3. Conclusion/epilogue materials
      4. Coyne, John
      5. Ceremony in Lone Tree
      6. Counsel [sic]
      7. Communication-Tanzania
    4. D
      1. Dower
      2. Daniels, Trish
      3. DAR, Maswa, Mwanza
      4. Dunne, Marianne
      5. Dockeray, G.C. Dr.
    5. E
      1. Ellison Letters
      2. Essaye, Terry
      3. Ellison, Phil and Ann
      4. Engle Ellison, Pam
      5. US Embassy/PC Roster, 1966-1967
      6. Erokwu, Judge
      7. Effiwat, Edenden
    6. F
      1. Ferenbach, Vicky Simons
      2. Fallen PCVs
      3. Fry, Donn
      4. National Archives, FOIA Request
    7. G-H-I
      1. Hawes, Charlotte
      2. Georgiadis-Notes from Talk
      3. Georgiadis, Byron (Nick)
      4. Harvard [?] Convictions, U.S.
      5. Hamilton, Donna
      6. Peace Corps Handbook
    8. J-K
      1. Kinsey, Bill
      2. Kinsey, Peverly
      3. Kennedy Library
      4. King, Barrington
      5. Kennedy Presidency
      6. Kifunta, Martin C.D. Inspector [?]
      7. Josephson, Bill
      8. Journal of Africa Law
      9. Kopjes, Geology
      10. Kajina, Timothy
    9. L
      1. Libel/Privacy
      2. Ledbetter, Delores
      3. Llamarada- Mt. Holyoke
      4. Father Robert Lepbure
    10. M
      1. Nancy Neaher Mass
      2. McHugh Documents
      3. Mganga, Philip AMO [?]
      4. Lawrence Mbogoni
      5. McPhee, Jack
      6. Gene Mihaly
      7. McHugh Sections
      8. Tom McHugh
      9. Mugobi, Fred
      10. Maps
      11. Mbeya
      12. Meisler, Stanley
      13. Mwanza
    11. N-O
      1. Nyerere, Julius
      2. Oliver, John
    12. P-Q
      1. Platt, Judge Harold
      2. Preliminary Hearing, 5 May 1966
      3. Platt Decision
      4. Post-trial Communication and Press
      5. Preliminary May Procedure in US and [?]
      6. Peace Corps Books
      7. Peace Corps L[?]
      8. Archives/Peace Corps
      9. Peace Corps History
      10. Peace Corps Online
    13. R
      1. Richter, Richard and Joan
      2. Ratigan, Barbara
      3. Ruth Reynolds, Sunday News NY[?]
      4. Read, Jamey
      5. [?], Stuart
      6. J. Read of Tanzania law[?] change, 1968
    14. Box 5: S
      1. Sullivan, Kathleen
      2. Sack, Paul
      3. OJ Simpson
      4. Site-Description
      5. Singh, Gurbachan
      6. Sayusayu
      7. Stevens, Robert
    15. T
      1. Time Magazine 9/16/66
      2. Tanzania VII COS Report
      3. Tarini [?], Charles Father
      4. Vilindo, M[?]-Witness [empty]
      5. Word/Pages in a book-estimates
      6. Teachers for East Africa
      7. Tanganyika 1923 Law of Property and Conveying Ordinance
      8. Tanganyika Order in Council, Prisoners[?]
      9. Tanzania Interim Constitution 1965
    16. W
      1. Women and the Peace Corps
      2. Tanzania Report on Party, 1965
      3. Website Links
  5. Publications
    1. Every Hill a Burial Place: The Peace Corps Murder Trial in East Africa, 2020, 2022
  6. Newspapers (in Oversize Collections)
    1. Newspapers, 1964-1965; 2009
    2. Newspapers, 1966, 1989

Edward Ferriter in India 

Place of Service: Ranipet 

Service Type: Health Education 

Dates in Service: 1970-1972 

Keywords: Education, Health, Youth 

Accession Date: September 2023 

Access: No restrictions 

Collection Size: 0.2 linear feet 

Document Types 

  • Reports 
  • Publications 

Finding Aid: 

  1. Documents 
    1. Peace Corps Documents, 1970-1972 
    2. Training Booklet, 1970 
  2. Publications 
    1. Memoir, 2020 (2 copies) 

Darrel Young in Colombia

Place of Service: San Pablo

Service Type: Community Development

Dates in Service: 1961-1963

Keywords: Community Development

Accession Date: December 17, 2015; October 15, 2022

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 0.1 linear feet (located in Friends of Colombia, Box 50)

 

Document Types

  • Publications

 

Finding Aid:

  • “Peace Corps Random Writings/Designs,” 2015
  • “Peace Corps Random Writings/Designs,” 2022 update

 

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and the Third Goal

The Peace Corps has always operated with a three-point goal in mind: serve host countries, introduce host countries to Americans, and to help Americans better understand non-Americans. [1] Peace Corps Volunteers do not stop fulfilling this third goal when they finish their service. One of the ways that Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) have accomplished this goal is by establishing organizations that work to help their country of service.

The American University Archives features materials from these organizations, whether donated by a Volunteer or the organization itself. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers often founded these associations in the final decades of the twentieth century. Many have the title “Friends of [Country of Service].” These groups provide a way for members who served together or in the same country to keep in touch. However, they also have a central focus on providing resources to and keeping American attention on their country of service. As such, they continue to fulfill the third goal of the Peace Corps.

This flyer shows how the Friends of Costa Rica Organization clearly thought of themselves as fulfilling the Peace Corps’ third goal and wanted other RPCVs to do the same. Friends of Costa Rica, “Third Goal Forum!” 1996, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

The Peace Corps Community Archive has materials from organizations for RPCVS from five countries: Colombia, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic. A former fellow has written an amazing post about materials from the Friends of Nigeria, but the other four groups’ collections are also fascinating. Of especial note is the Friends of Colombia, which has been donating material since before the Peace Corps Community Archive began. The archive now has several decades of the organization’s materials, as well as the collections of dozens of Colombia RPCVs. These boxes are filled with stories, such as the organization’s founding, Colombian RPCV reunions, and donations and events that the group facilitated to help Colombians. However, Friends of Colombia has also worked to make a wider circle of Americans become more familiar with Colombians, such as through their participation in President Clinton’s 1992 inaugural parade. [2]

The founders of the Friends of Colombia in the living room where they started the organization. Photo undated, circa 2000. American University, Washington D.C.

While the archives does not have as much material from the Friends of the Dominican Republic, Ghana, or Kenya, these collections are still incredibly interesting. The Friends of Ghana organization has donated materials including meeting notes, newsletters, and the donation information. Members of the Friends of the Dominican Republic donated materials from their time assisting the organization (a list of members and related blog posts can be found here). Robert Scully donated materials from the Friends of Kenya. These groups also helped to facilitate connections between RCPVs, the country in which they served, and other Americans. For example, Robert Scully’s collection features Friends of Kenya materials from the 1990s and early 2000s, when he served on the organization’s board. During his tenure, the group donated to causes such as fighting polio in Kenya. Similar to Friends of Colombia, the group also interacted with Kenyans at the highest levels of government. This included the Kenyan ambassador to the United States, as seen below.

This is Robert Scully’s invitation to the thirty-third anniversary celebration of Kenya’s independence, courtesy of the Kenyan ambassador to the United States. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

All of these organizations have also continued to carry out the Peace Corps’ third goal. The Peace Corps Community Archive has information on dozens of charitable projects that these five organizations alone have assisted. As shown above, these groups frequently have a great deal of influence due to their ties to the Peace Corps and former country of service. Meetings with ambassadors or other high-ranking officials from their countries of service, such as Scully’s, are not uncommon. Such work has made it more likely that other Americans will learn about their countries of service. These groups have all helped Americans, whether or not they are RPCVs, better understand non-Americans, therefore fulfilling a key Peace Corps purpose.

 

 

 

 

[1]”2020 Fact Sheet,” Peace Corps, December 2019, https://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/about/pc_facts.pdf.

[2] “Friends of Colombia (FOC) Activities,” c. 1996. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Barbara VanderWerf (Jones) in Iran

Places of Service: Kerman and Arak

Service Type: Education

Dates in Service: 1964-1966

Keywords: Community Development, Education

Accession Date: March 21, 2023

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 0.25 linear feet

Document Types

  • Publications

Finding Aid:

  1. Training Materials, 1969
  2. Peace Corps magazines featuring stories about Iraq, 1964-1970
  3. Memoir, 2021