Category Archives: Publications

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 Brochures

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

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.

Embossed Cards

Turkish embossed cards sent by Karen DeAntoni.

Engraved Cards

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.

 

 

 

John E. Fletcher in Bolivia

Jeff Fletcher (John E. Fletcher)

Country of Service: Bolivia
Service Project Title: Bolivia Mines Community Development
Dates in Service: 1967-1969
Keywords: Community Development

Accession Date: March 10, 2014
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 2 linear inches (located in small collections) + 1 digital collection

Document Types

  • Reports
  • Publications

Digital Surrogates

Finding Aid

  1. Newsletter 1968-1969 

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

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

Sharing Experiences With the World: Memoirs of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

Whether sharing tales of overcoming the challenges, adjusting to a new culture, or the humor found in daily adventures, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers each possess invaluable stories about the places they lived and worked.  Adventure, challenge, and personal connections built across cultural boundaries provide the basis of volunteers’ memoirs and narratives.  Regardless of where they served, each story serves as a way to educate Americans about the rest of the world.

In addition to what’s available in the Peace Corps Community Archive, check out the library’s growing collection of Peace Corps memoirs.  This list is far from exhaustive, but includes some of the best memoirs on the shelf.  Browse the shelves for other great reads.

 

Beyond SiberiaBeyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place by Sharon Dirlam
Based on a collection of journals written during their time abroad, Sharon Dirlam presents the story of her and her husband’s work as Peace Corps Volunteers in Birobidjan.  Serving in a Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia, removed from most foreigners, the volunteers learned about native Russians and their culture in a unique way.

 

 

From Microsoft to MalawiFrom Microsoft to Malawi: Learning on the Front Lines as a Peace Corps Volunteer by Michael L. Buckler
Buckler’s memoir, inspired by his journals, depicts his yearning to serve after divorcing and completely changing career paths.  The narrative recounts the fruitful collaboration between volunteers and locals in order to make significant changes within the community.

 

 

South of the FronteraSouth of the Frontera: A Peace Corps Memoir by Lawrence F. Lihosit
Lihosit narrates a story about joining the Peace Corps after losing his job, which led him to meet the woman he would eventually marry.  In addition to providing a sense of adventure, he presents the professional and personal challenges of living, working, and traveling throughout Mexico and Honduras during the 1970s.

 

 

TThe Unheardhe Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa by Josh Swiller
The Unheard presents a different perspective on the Peace Corps experience.  Josh Swiller attempted to act normal and fit in despite being deaf.  He joined the Peace Corps to experience a new opportunity.  His memoir recounts the daily events, as well as his work at a local health clinic.  This story provides insight into the challenges and rewards of serving in the Peace Corps with a disability.

 

Going Up CountryOther books in the library’s possession include collections of stories from Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.  Varying from region of the world and type of work, the stories reflect on past experiences abroad.  Going Up Country includes writers who return to the country of service to document the nation’s growth, change, and what any visitor should know about the place.  Tales from Colombia presents the perspectives of the earliest Peace Corps volunteers to Colombia called to action by President Kennedy’s charge.  Humor evades the stories, ranging from around the world, included in The Funniest Job You’ll Ever Love.

 

Additional Suggestions:

  • A Land Without Time: A Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan, by John Sumser
  • Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth: 50 Years of Amazing Peace Corps Stories, edited by Jane Albritton
  • Going Up Country: Travel Essays by Peace Corps Writers, edited by John Coyne
  • Power Lines: Two Years on South Africa’s Borders, by Jason Carter
  • Tales from Colombia: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 41 Peace Corps Volunteers Who Answered President Kennedy’s Call to Serve, by Gary Dean Peterson
  • Tarnished Ivory: Reflections on Peace Corps and Beyond, by Peter Bourque
  • The Funniest Job You’ll Ever Love: An Anthology of Peace Corps Humor, edited by Lelah Conrad

Peace Corps Volunteers as Versatile Educators

Education remains to be an essential part of the Peace Corps’ work.  Many of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, whose donations comprise the PCCA collection, worked in some form of education during their service.  The Peace Corps Community Archive contains documents, photographs, letters, and training materials from individuals who served in a variety of educational settings.  Those experiences include classroom teaching, preparing educational materials, producing educational television programming, providing training for local educators, and community development.

Boge Boys 1965

Boge (second row, eighth from left) poses with other Peace Corps volunteers and the boys’ Basic Training School near Hyderabad, India.

Boge Girls 1965

Winifred Boge with students at the girls’ school in Hyderabad.

Winifred Boge served in India in 1965, where she worked with Basic Training Schools for men and women.  The Basic Training Schools educated and prepared local citizens to work as teachers in community schools.  The majority of Boge’s work relied on her training as a dietician to educate teachers-in-training about basic nutrition and wellness.  Several photos of Boge depict her serving meals for the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) mid-day meal program, which delivered lunch to students who might not otherwise have access to regular meals.

Boge serving mid-day meals for CARE (1965).

Boge serving mid-day meals for CARE (1965).

A different form of education also occurred in India at the Andhra Pradesh Science Workshop.  As Steve Bossi’s experience demonstrates, the group collaborated with local teachers to improve methods used in science education.  Volunteers at the Andhra Pradesh Science Workshop assisted with the publication of the Science Teachers’ Handbook.  A copy of the handbook can be found in the collection.

Bossi and Science Teacher Workshop participant. Written on image reverse: “This little wonder is an improvised spring balance made from a piece of bamboo, strapping and music wire.”

Between 1965 and 1966, Terry Kennedy participated in a unique program organized by the Colombian Government—Colombia Educational Television Project.  The program sought to create educational programming for schools, as well as train local teachers how to strategically incorporate the programming into their classroom instruction.  Stanford University collaborated with the project to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and overall success.  One of Stanford’s final reports is located in the PCCA collection.

Perhaps one of the more unique experiences is that of Margie Tokarz, who served in Antigua during the late sixties.  She worked in collaboration with the Red Cross to educate deaf children.  A set of personal letters document her experiences working with the Red Cross, as well as another teacher from England.

Each of these individuals and their experiences represent the types of education Peace Corps volunteers carried out during their time abroad.  However, these are only a few of the stories available in the collection. If you’re interested in learning more, make an appointment to come and browse the collection.

Robert Meade in Paraguay

Robert Meade

Country of Service: Paraguay
Place of Service: Carmen del Parana, Asuncion, Puerto Rico
Service Type: Public Health
Dates in Service: 1968-1969
Keywords: Agriculture, Community Development, Health

Accession Date: October 29, 2013
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.75 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • 35mm slides
  • Training Materials
  • Reminiscences of Paraguay I (1997)
  • Publications- Image of Paraguay and Paraguay (Paraguay’s geography, culture, and history)

Finding Aid

  1. Box 1
      1. Correspondence 
      2. “Image of Paraguay” and Informational Texts 
      3. Orientation Slides 
      4. Paraguay Trainees Booklet, 1967-1968 
      5. “The Political Parties and Politics of Paraguay” 
      6. Public Health Program Training Materials (1 of 2) 
      7. Public Health Program Training Materials (2 of 2) 
      8. Puerto Rico Learning Center Participant Yearbooks 
  2. Box 2
      1. Slides 
      2. 30th Reunion Materials 
      3. Training Materials 

Peace Corps Philippines IX

Country of Service: Philippines
Service Type: Education
Dates in Service: 1962-1964
Keywords: Education

Accession Date: October 1, 2013
Access: No restrictions other than copyright
Collection Size: 1 item

Document Types

  • Publication- Memories and Reflections (includes photographs, interviews, and excerpts from diaries and letters)

Peggy Gleeson Wyllie in Colombia

Peggy Gleeson Wyllie

Country of Service: Colombia
Place of Service: Fusagasuga and Guapi
Service Type: Nursing and Nursing Education
Dates in Service: 1963-1965
Keywords: Education, Health, Nursing

Accession Date: February 2011; Friends of Colombia Archive
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 3 folders

Document Types and Finding Aid

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Publications
  • Slides

David Wessel in Colombia

David Wessel

Country of Service: Colombia
Place of Service: Rivere, Huila and Antioguia
Service Project Title: CARE Program
Dates in Service: 1962-1964
Keywords: Education, Health, Nutrition, Sanitation

Accession Date: July 2000; Friends of Colombia Archive
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.75 linear feet

Document Types and Finding Aid

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Publications

Terry Kennedy in Colombia

Terry Kennedy

Country of Service: Colombia
Place of Service: Tangua, Narino
Service Project Title: Educational TV Project (ETV)
Dates in Service: 1964-1966
Keywords: Education, Information Technology, Youth

Accession Date: June 1999; Friends of Colombia Archive
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 linear foot

Document Types and Finding Aid

  • Correspondence
  • Notebooks
  • Photographs
  • Publications
  • Slides