Category Archives: Photographs

“Weevils and Beetles”: An Amusing Peace Corps Anecdote

Brian Adler and Cynthia Elliott, a married couple, served together in the Peace Corps in Suriname (2002-2004). His extensive diary records the daily life of a Peace Corps volunteer. In addition to assisting in community projects, Brian and Cynthia also found time to travel the countryside. In doing so, Peace Corp volunteers not only adapt to different and local cultures, but also to the environment as well. This amusing anecdote, taken from Brian’s diary, shows how volunteers, placed in new locations, cope with the forces of Mother Nature.

Harlequin Beetle in Hand, Brian Adler, American University Peace Corps Community Archive

“The bugs have gotten better and braver at night. This hasn’t pleased Cindy, She woke me up with a start the other night scared out of her wits. I think it was the Mephoquin. We both heard buzzing in the walls and at 3:30 in the morning I could care less so I quickly took to some light hearted joking by naming the insect “The Wood Weevel.”

Cindy was unimpressed. She made me get up several times to look for it, turn on the lantern, turn off the lantern because it smelled, etc. I never did get back to sleep because she would violently shake her bug netting every 20 minutes. I finally got up and told the jungle to stop it but I don’t think it listened.”

Rachel Teter in Panama

Rachel Teter

Country of Service: Panama
Dates in Service: 2011-2013
Keywords: Agriculture

Accession Date: August 13, 2014
Access: Donor must be notified via email when permission to publish is requested
Collection Size: 1647 items

Link to digital collection.

Document Types and Finding Aid

Unexpected Finds in the PCCA

The Peace Corps Community Archive is more than old documents and photos. In fact, the collection contains a few unexpected items.

Travel guides and brochures found in Steven Bossi’s collection.

Steve Bossi’s collection includes vibrant travel brochures, guidebooks, and maps of India in the 1960s. Guidebooks from Delhi and Agra include images and maps depicting the cities’ beautiful architecture and historic and religious sites. Each guidebook provides an historic overview of the city and its tourist attractions. The colorful maps reveal popular sites and accommodations, as well as industries, agriculture, infrastructure projects, and “handicrafts emporiums” found throughout the region.

Maps and travel guide from Steven Bossi’s collection.

Located amid the DeAntoni’s correspondence are Turkish greeting cards. Karen DeAntoni sent the cards to family members in the United States in 1965. The cards include embossed images and prints of engravings depicting Turkey’s culture and history.

Turkish embossed cards sent by Karen DeAntoni.

Top: An engraving of the rock relief at Yazilikaya–the Hitite King Tudhaliya IV. Engraving created by Charles Texier in the 1830s. Bottom: Ankara in 1701. From an engraving by Pitton de Tournefort.

Not only are these visually interesting, but they provide a new perspective of the places Peace Corps volunteers called home.

Peace Corps through Images: The People

Below are images of local citizens taken by Peace Corps volunteers. Each photograph captures local culture and customs through the nation’s people — as artisans, students, families, and participants in celebrations.

“Paraguayan artisan making ‘nanduti’ (spider-web lace) in her home shop in Itagua, the center of the nanduti artistry.” Caption written by Robert Meade.

Joyce Emery Johnston, Husking, 1965-1967

“Students husking–polishing the floor with a coconut husk. At 7:00 AM–before school duties.” Caption written by Joyce Emery Johnston

“Campesino home and family.” Caption written by Robert Meade.

Snake Charmer

Celebration. Captured by Norm and Janet Heise while working for Walt Sangree, professor of anthropology. circa 1963-1965.

Worth A Thousand Words

Images offer a chance to peak inside someone else’s world. Often, they provide the best means for understanding an event in the past, or an experience beyond our own comprehension. This is especially true when it comes to the many exciting and exotic opportunities encountered by Peace Corps volunteers.

Reading about these experiences, or hearing RPCVs recall stories from the past, doesn’t convey the same understanding as seeing it with your own eyes–even if that means through a photograph. While they may have faced difficult challenges and unpleasant moments, Peace Corps volunteers also witnessed beautiful landscapes, sampled local cuisine, and embraced traditional cultures and customs.

From ordinary to the unusual, images in the PCCA depict the wide variety of Peace Corps volunteers’ experiences. Enjoy a few of the images found in the collection.

Miango Village near Jos. Home of the Irigwe people studied by Walt Sangree, professor of anthropology at Rochester University. circa 1963-1965.

Pearl Diver

A Peace Corps volunteer followed by a crowd of children. Winifred Boge remembered, “she always got a big ‘following’–she was smiling and friendly to all.”

Peace Corps volunteer on top of a termite mound in Concepcion, Paraguay.

Love and Marriage in the Peace Corps

Not only did the Peace Corps experience provide opportunities to travel and develop skills, but also led to the development of romantic relationships between volunteers. Norm Heise noted the Peace Corps’ reputation for “being the best ‘unofficial matrimonial agency’ going at the time.” The PCCA collection includes several stories of volunteers’ dating escapades, but there are also two instances where volunteers married during their service.

August 18, 1963, St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University

Norm and Janet served as teachers at Toro Teaching Training College, in Northern Nigeria, from 1963-1965. After meeting in training at Columbia University, Norm Heise proposed to Janet Driggs. The two had known each other for less than a week. The couple married in August before departing in September for their assignments in Nigeria. As a result of their marriage, Peace Corps altered their placements to ensure the couple traveled, lived, and shared the experience together. Their collection includes photos and stories of their work in Nigeria.

Norm and Janet Heise in Toro, Nigeria, 1963

The DeAntoni’s story is a bit different. Both members of Turkey IV, Ed and Karen met during training and maintained contact while working in separate towns. The two friends began a romantic relationship, in the midst of their service, after connecting at a party. Karen wrote her parents on August 12, 1965, “I’m afraid this will come as an awful surprise, but then it’s more fun that way—last night I got engaged!” Because of the distance and the realization her parents did not know Ed, Karen anxiously awaited their response. Ed informed his parents by writing, “Before you start reading this, sit down, get composed, light a cigarette…In a word, it’s too good to be true. Karen and I became engaged last night, and I’m so happy I could cry.” Their collection of letters uniquely presents their same experiences from different points of view.

Karen’s letter to her parents announcing her engagement to Ed DeAntoni, August 12, 1965

Karen’s letter (pg. 2), August 12, 1965

Karen’s letter (pg. 3), August 12, 1965

Although Ed and Karen initially planned to return to the US to marry, they quickly decided to hold a wedding in Ankara, Turkey. Their desire to travel together, avoid inconveniencing roommates, and being in love seemed sufficient enough. The approaching marriage influenced many of the couple’s letters home—especially Karen’s—discuss wedding plans, financial needs, and concerns about family planning.

The DeAntoni’s wedding invitation, 1966

It is not surprising that living closely with other volunteers and sharing life-changing experiences established lasting bonds—both friendly and romantic. In a letter to his parents, Ed explained, “This common experience has given us a tremendous basis for learning about each other, a common feeling for so many things, and the ground for our love to grow and flourish.” For many volunteers, this experience of surviving a new place, establishing relationships, and sharing similar goals fostered the development of many romantic relationships.

From AU’s Collections: Friends of Nigeria

The Friends of Nigeria Archive is another resource for learning about Peace Corps in Africa. Founded in 1996, the organization seeks to educate the public about Nigeria and promote continual service to the Nigerian people. As the national network for Nigeria Peace Corps alumni, Friends of Nigeria includes returned volunteers and staff, as well as members of other organizations who served in the country.

In 2010, Friends of Nigeria–an affiliate group of the National Peace Corps Association–established their Archive at American University. Friends of Nigeria Archive includes organizational records consisting of by-laws, annual reports, newsletters, financial records, and membership directories. However, the archive also includes many collections donated by members of group. Items of interest include audio recordings, memoirs, photographs, and correspondence.

Several of the collections included in the Peace Corps Community Archives are from the Friends of Nigeria Archive. Be sure to browse the Catalog for specific collections with materials from volunteers’ training and service in Nigeria.

Sources:
“Welcome Friends of Nigeria,” http://www.friendsofnigeria.org/
“Special Collections,” AU Library, (2014) http://www.american.edu/library/archives/collections.cfm
Sarah Kana, “Friends of Nigeria Supports WE CARE Solar,” National Peace Corps Association (2014) http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2012/05/friends-of-nigeria-supports-we-care-solar/

New Arrivals: Peace Corps Orientation in Paraguay

As Paraguay III arrived in December 1969, Peace Corps staff greeted and educated new volunteers about the place they would call home for the next two years.

“Arrival of Paraguay III volunteers, Asuncion International Airport, December 1969.”

“Assistant Director Tony Bellotti addressing newly-arrived Paraguay III volunteers in Peace Corps office, Asuncion.”

The previous images, as well as the ones that follow, are part of the Robert Meade collection. As a member of Paraguay II from 1968-1969, Meade traveled throughout Paraguay documenting his experiences. Those images enabled Meade to create a slide show to educate new trainees, as well as others, about Paraguay. Included in his slide show are images of eastern Paraguay, historic sites, Peace Corps activities, and the capital city Asuncion. Meade’s orientation slide show presents unique images of the country and people, and ultimately provides volunteers with an idea of the places and work they might experience. After completing his two-year commitment, Meade continued working as a trainer in Peace Corps training centers located in Escondido, California and Ponce, Puerto Rico. [Note: All image captions were written by Robert Meade.]

“Itinerant vegetable vendor, Asuncion.”

“‘Campo’ about 50 miles east of Asuncion along the main road.”

“Paraguayan girls selling ‘chipa,’ a chewy cheese bread found throughout the country, Eusebio Ayala.”

“Near Colonia Sroessner, far east Paraguay.”

“The Church of San Roque in Caazapa. Caazapa was founded in 1607 as a Franciscan mission. The town’s name means ‘after the forest’ or ‘in the clearing’ in Guarani.”

“Curing yerba mate over a mud over. Mate, an herbal tea, is the favored drink in the Paraguayan countryside.”

To see more images from Paraguay, visit the AU Archives and browse the Robert Meade Collection.

Ed and Karen DeAntoni in Turkey

Ed and Karen Thode DeAntoni

Country of Service: Turkey IV
Place of Service: Unye and Ankara
Service Type: Education
Dates in Service: 1964-1966
Keywords: Education

Accession Date: March 6, 2014; May 15, 2014
Access: Authors must be credited in subsequent uses
Collection Size: 1.75 linear feet

Document Types

Correspondence
Biographical sketches of Turkey 4-A
Peace Corps training materials including Turkish language manuals and notes
Peace Corps publications relating to serving and living overseas
Turkish Tourism Materials
Training materials of Turkey 12, Summer 1966 at Occidental College, CA
Map of Ed and Karen Thode DeAntoni’s travels in Turkey, 1965-1966, for slide presentations at Occidental
CD of photographs from training at the School for International Living in Putney, VT

Finding Aid

Correspondence, June 1964-April 1965
1. Letters to his family
Correspondence, May 1965-June 1966
“Current Turkish Thought” 1969-1972
Peace Corps Training Materials
1. Pamphlets and booklets
Training Materials from Robert College (1 of 2)
1. Notebooks kept during training
Training Materials from Robert College (2 of 2)
1. Training handbook
Training Materials for Turkey XII summer 1966
1. Project syllabus and biographies
Turkish Language Training Materials (1 of 3)
1. “Essentials of Modern English” and “Basic Course in Turkish”
Turkish Language Training Materials (2 of 3)
1. Language workbooks
Turkish Language Training Materials (3 of 3)
1. Vocabulary Notebooks
Turkish Study Materials (1 of 2)
1. Turkish magazine
Turkish Study Materials (2 of 2)
1. Turkish booklets, Turkish constitution
Turkish Tourism Materials
1. Pamphlets and Booklets
“The Turkish Village of a Social System” by George Helling 1966
1. Academic Paper
Correspondence, June 1964-December 1965
1. Letters to her parents
Correspondence, January 1966-May 1966
“As The Moon Rises over the Black Sea”
1. Article about Karen and Ed’s courtship
Biographical Sketches of Turkey 4A
Map of travels in Turkey, 1965-1966
Photographs from Training, 1964
1. CD

Combatting Malaria in Thailand

During the 1970s, Jonathan Green worked with a malaria control program in South Central Thailand’s Control Zone 3. Accompanied by a crew, Green ventured into the jungle to spray local villagers’ homes with DDT. If individuals suspected they might have malaria, the organization administered a blood test and provided medication for those who tested positive.

Here, Green wears his khaki uniform, like other Thai civil servant officials. According to Green, his boss suggested this type of uniform because villagers would be more trusting and recognize him as an official.

Green’s work took him into the jungle to visit local villages.

Green traveling by boat. Rain often made traveling on dirt roads impossible.

Members of the spray team walk along the trail carrying their equipment. Jonathan Green wrote, “Each sprayman carries a canvas bag containing several plastic bags of powdered DDT, his sprayer, and a bucket in which to mix the DDT with water. Powdered DDT is not soluble in water, so it is hard to mix. But then the whole idea is to spray a suspension on the interior walls of homes, so the water will evaporate and leave the powder adhering to the walls to kill mosquitoes who like to rest there.”

Spraying DDT underneath a dwelling’s eaves.

“Mr. Winai, the malaria control sector chief for Tongphum and Snagkhlaburi districts, examining a blood sample under the microscope.”

Jonathan Green’s collection is the only one currently in the Peace Corps Community Archive documenting a volunteer’s experience in Thailand. Green wrote detailed captions explaining each image and elaborating on his Peace Corps service.

To view more photos, visit Jonathan Green’s Facebook page.