Tag Archives: Memorabilia

Peggy Walton in Ukraine

Country of Service: Ukraine
Service Type: 1994-1996: English teacher trainer; 2013-2016: Peace Corps Response volunteer
Dates in Service: 1994-1996; 2013-2016
Keywords: Education, Response

Accession Date: August 9, 2021
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 linear foot + 1 digital file

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Documents
  • Journals
  • Newspapers
  • Photographs
  • Scrapbooks

Digital Surrogates

Finding Aid

  1. Application and Training Materials  
    1. Passport 
    2. Acceptance letter 
    3. Training schedule  
  2. Correspondence 
    1. With friends 
    2. With parents 
    3. With sons  
  3. Journals 
    1. (2) 
  4. Maps & Memorabilia 
    1. Maps of Ukraine 
    2. Peace Corps Pins 
  5. Newspaper Clippings 
  6. Postcards and Photographs 
  7. Scrapbooks 
    1. (2) 
  8. “Ukrainian Adventures” 
    1. 11 parts and reflections 

Creating their Stamp Around the World: Postal Stamps of the PCCA

Stamps often feature flora, fauna, or an interesting image related to the country or region it’s created for. Also, Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) had the lucky chance to live and serve in countries all over the world. As a happy consequence, the two come together when PCVs send their mail home via exciting and new stamps from the countries they served. The Peace Corps Community Archive (PCCA) houses collections of correspondence between PCVs and their family and friends. These correspondences oftentimes include the envelopes each letter was sent in, which means the stamps are often intact. Much can be learned from these stamps, including, illustrations of native inhabitants, local flora and fauna, important technological advances, and much more. Not only do these stamps help carry connections back home for PCVs, but the stamps also share an insight into the exciting communities they served.

Charlotte Daigle-Berney served in Uganda from 1966-1968. On a postcard dated February 1967, she included these three stamps, which feature the local fauna of Uganda. The set of these stamps were released on October 9th, 1965. The stamps feature, from left to right, the Black Bee-Eater, the Narina Trogon, and the Ruwenzori Turaco. All three are native species to Uganda and represent the environmental climate of the country. These stamps offer insight into the vibrant fauna of the country in order to excite both visitors and locals to the nature around them.

 

In addition, Albert and Anne Briggs served in Malaysia from 1964-1966. Anne wrote a letter to her parents on January 5, 1967 and included these stamps. The stamp was released on November 15, 1965 and features the local flora of Malaysia, the Rhynchostylis retusa, also called the Foxtail Orchid. Below, it reads the name “Sarawak,” a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. By “reading” this stamp, one can connect the beautiful flora with a specific location in Malaysia and thereby gather important information about the stamp’s place of origin.

 

Lastly, Bobbe Seibert served in Honduras in the year 2000. Some of her communication with back home was through email, however, Seibert did send a multitude of letters. The first stamp features a nurse tending to a patient and the words, “Correos de Honduras” or “Post of Honduras.” The stamp celebrates Red Cross nurses and the care they have for their patients. The design for the stamp has gone through numerous designs but this stamp was released in 1999.

Another stamp features Ramón Valle, a Honduran olympian from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Valle went to the Olympics in 1996 to represent Honduras in men’s swimming. “Translating” these stamps allows us insight into the perception of Honduras. First, the country values its medical care to those in need. Next, a successful Olympian is a symbol of Honduras and represents their country abroad and at home. Since Valle did not represent Honduras in 2000, but rather, represented the country in 1996, the stamp was possibly produced to encourage the country’s interest and support in the Olympic games. This is supported by the fact the stamp was produced on September 13, 2000 and the Olympic opening ceremony was on September 15, 2000.

All of these stamps share insight into the countries and regions they represent. While some PCVs didn’t notice which stamp they sent their mail home with, other stamp collectors reveal at the significance each stamp offers.

 

For more information, please visit the Peace Corps Community Archive website. To use the collections or make a donation, please contact the AU Archives at archives [at] american.edu.

Kim Herman in the Dominican Republic

Country of Service: Dominican Republic
Service Type: Community Development
Dates in Service: 1967-1969
Keywords: San Rafael del Yuma, Cano Prieto School, Los Naranjos, Blandino, Friends of the Dominican Republic Archive

Accession Date: November 8, 2016
Access: No commercial uses (i.e. only uses specified on permission form allowed)
Collection Size: 1.0 linear feet

Document Types

  • Photographs
  • Correspondence
  • Publications
  • Reports
  • Training Materials
  • Official Paperwork (ID cards, passport, etc.)
  • Sound (3″ reel to reel)
  • Travel Documents

Finding Aid

  1. Box 1
    1. Slides – Peace Corps Training, Camp Radley, Arecibo, PR, July-Oct 1967 
    2. Slides – Santo Domingo, San Rafael del Yuma, La Guazuma school, Almacen, Brindle’s Wedding 
    3. Slides – El Naranjo, Blandino, Yuma 
    4. Slides – Constanza Conference, Benerito School 
    5. Slides – Macao Swim Trip, Various offer subjects 
    6. Slides – Mexico Trip, December 1968-January 1969 
    7. Slides – Los Jobitos Road, Jarabacoa Conference, Blandino Road Inauguration 
    8. Slides – South American Trip, Columbia, Peru, Maccu, Piccu 
    9. Slides – South America Trip, Bolivia, Chile, Rio de Janiero, Despidida (going away party) 
    10. Slides – Projects: Cano Prieto School, Los Naranjos Road, 
    11. Photographs and Negatives 
    12. Correspondence 1  
      1. July 1967-Dec 1967 
    13. Correspondence 2
      1. Jan 1967-Oct 1969  
    14. Peace Corps documents correspondence, passport, ID
    15. Project Donations/Project Reports 
    16. Peace Corps Training 
    17. 11 rolls of negatives 
    18. 8mm reel recordings 
    19. Community Development Manual 1
    20. Community Development Manual 2 
    21. Spanish Community Development Publications
    22. Village Technology Handbook

Maureen Carroll in the Philippines

Country of Service: Philippines
Service Type: Education
Dates in Service: 1961-1963
Keywords: Castilla, Sorsogon

Accession Date: October 28, 2016
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.5 linear feet

Document Types

  • Photographs
  • Correspondence
  • Publications
  • Reports
  • Memoir
    • “Answering Kennedy’s Call: Pioneering the Peace Corps in the Philippines”

Finding Aid

  1. Ugaling Pilipino 
    1. “An Introduction to Filipino Thought and Action” 
  2. Should you eat rice? Compilation of Reports & Letters of PCVs in the Philippines  
    1. A compilation of Materials Written by and excerpted from Reports and Letters of Peace Corps Volunteers in the Philippines 
  3. Peace Corps Paperwork 
  4. Photographs 
  5. Publications & Newspaper Clippings 
    1. About the beginning years of the Peace Corps 
  6. Correspondence 

Exhibits on Display: The Peace Corps and its Volunteers

 

Alongside the annual conference of the National Peace Corps Association held in Washington, D.C. in September 2016, AU Archives and Special Collections is debuting two exhibits highlighting its Peace Corps Community Archive. One exhibit will be a physical exhibit on campus and the other online.

The Peace Corps through the Lens of its Volunteers will be on display through the end of the semester on the third floor of the Bender Library.

PCCA Exhibit Screenshot

The Peace Corps and Its Volunteers, the online companion exhibit, will go live this Friday August 26.

Both exhibits draw from the Peace Corps Community Archive and showcase the experiences of Peace Corp Volunteers through journals, letters, and photographs from the 1960s to the present.

For more information, please visit the Peace Corps Community Archive website. To use the collections or make a donation, please contact the AU Archives at archives [at] american.edu.

“The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love”: Serving in the Peace Corps

Since President Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, over 220,000 volunteers have served in 140 different host countries across the world. Once assigned to a country, volunteers serve a variety of roles. Departments of specialization include education, development, and health. While actively working with communities, Peace Corps volunteers have to adapt to life in a new culture and environment.

Volunteer Meghan Keith-Hynes speaking to a Haitian woman near a stone circle plot.

Volunteer Meghan Keith-Hynes speaking to a Haitian woman near a stone circle plot.

Although passionate and eager to serve developing communities, Peace Corps volunteers may not necessarily have previous experience in their field of work. The sense of being “thrown into” such work can create both excitement and anxiety for new volunteers. Through their previous connections at home and their new connections abroad, Peace Corps volunteers successfully navigate their exciting and unexpected experiences.

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Adjusting to New Worlds

When browsing the collections of the Peace Corps Community Archive it is difficult to miss material that demonstrates excitement, fatigue, curiosity, or frustration surrounding issues of adjustment to life in a foreign country.

Often, volunteers expressed these sentiments through letters, diary entries, and artwork. In some cases, notation of adjustment can even be found in the official Peace Corps paperwork.

In this post, we’ll explore the materials of three new collections to illustrate how volunteers adapted: Gage Skinner (Chile, 1964 – 1966), Susan Shepler (Sierra Leone, 1987 – 1989), and Bobbe Seibert (Honduras, 2000).

Gage Skinner, an anthropologist by training, joined the Peace Corps in 1964. As one of the first groups of Peace Corps volunteers, Skinner used his time in Chile to teach Mapuche Indians the practice of beekeeping. But he was unaccustomed to the long hours spent traveling by foot around rural Chile, so Skinner inquired about horses for sale in nearby towns.

Skinner_Journal3066

Sunday, February 14, 1964, Skinner wrote about walking four hours “back into the hills” to see a horse “offered for sale.” PCCA.

Skinner purchased a horse in late April 1964. To document the event, he glued this picture drawn by his little brother Greg into his journal.

Skinner_Journal2065

This drawing by Greg of Skinner’s horse appears in Skinner’s personal journal. PCCA.

In an earlier entry, dated January 13th, 1964, Skinner journals about how difficult it could be for volunteers to acclimate to their housing. As seen on the page below, he bemoans the uncomfortable living conditions in his first home in Chile:

“There are chickens and cats in the kitchen. They are flea-ridden. They defecate on the floors. There are flies in the kitchen.”

Skinner_Journal1064

Wednesday, January 13th, 1964, Skinner described his housing situation in rural Chile.  PCCA.

Susan Shepler, who taught mathematics in Sierra Leone in the late 1980s, offers little in her notes about discomfort. In fact, a survey she filled out in the April 1989 issue of Di News De, a local newsletter produced by the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, reveals Shepler’s openness to the new cuisine and customs.

Schepler_Quiz2062

This is the second page of a “Volunteer Survey” filled in by Susan Shepler from the April 1989 issue of Di News De. PCCA.

In this same issue of Di News De, however, researchers will encounter comics, short stories, and other creative expressions that indicate some of the challenges many volunteers faced. Two examples include a bus ride gone awry and a recipe to recreate familiar food.

Schepler_LorryRide060

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 1989 issue of Di News De. Susan Shepler collection. PCCA.

Schepler_Recipe063

April 1989 issue of Di News De. Susan Shepler collection. PCCA.

Unlike Shepler, Bobbe Seibert described distaste for some local foods and created her own recipes abroad. Seibert, who joined the Peace Corps later in her adult life, detailed her cooking practices in a letter to her father and stepmother, Jean.

On October 17, 2000, Seibert wrote to her parents to explain how she used corn to make a “wonderfully hot, smooth, and comforting” cream soup because she was “not particularly fond of” the homemade tortillas.

Siebert_Corn067

Letter from Seibert to her father and stepmother on October 17, 2000. PCCA.

In the same letter, Seibert  enclosed a photograph of her house. On the back of the image she cautions her parents about visiting, noting “Honduras is not a comfortable country.”

Siebert_Pic1068Siebert_Pic2069

Photograph from a letter to Seibert’s father and stepmother dated October 17, 2000. PCCA.

Seibert served on an agricultural team in Honduras in 2000 until a family emergency brought her back home to Alaska. Yet, her time as a volunteer is well chronicled in her journals, artwork, and correspondence.

In a letter to her husband John, for example, Seibert expresses excitement regarding her new host family and housing:

“My family is perfect.”

“Dona Marlen is a housekeer – not a maid, and they have two wonderful kids, Marleny – she’s eight years old and we go everywhere together and Edward who is two years old and mostly just smiles all the time.”

“The roof is corrugated but of very good quality it sounds wonderful when it rains as it did last night – quite hard.”

Siebert_NewFam070

This letter from Seibert to John on February 6, 2000, offers a positive reaction to a new housing arrangement. PCCA.

Celebrating or overcoming adjustments is part of the Peace Corps volunteer experience. By carefully studying the collections in the Peace Corps Community Archive, researchers can build an enriched understanding of a volunteer’s daily life, including the joys and struggles associated with adjusting to a new world.

For more information, please visit the Peace Corps Community Archive website. To use the collections or make a donation, please contact the AU Archives at archives [at] american.edu

 

Bobbe Seibert in Honduras

Bobbe Seibert

Country of Service: Honduras
Service Project Title: Hillside Farming Extension
Dates in Service: 2000
Keywords: Agriculture, Business, Community Development

Accession Date: July 29, 2015
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.5 linear feet

Document Types

    • Correspondence
    • Photographs
    • Reports
    • Diaries
    • Training Materials
    • Artwork
    • Memorabilia

Finding Aid

  1. Artwork by Bobbe 
    1. Sketches 
  2. “Azacualpa Initial Logbook” May 2, 2000-Nov 28, 2000 
  3. Daily Planner and Journal, 2000 – Address Book 
  4. Diary, Pre-Tour, Oct 15, 1999-Nov. 6, 1999 
  5. Diary, Pre-Service Training, March 2000 
  6. Diaries – Volume I – May 11, 2000-Aug 25, 2000, Volume II – Aug 27, 2000-Dec 1, 2000 
  7. Field-Based Training Log, March 4-August 11 
  8. Financial 
  9. Letters and Emails to Spouse, John Seibert, Feb 1, 2000-Oct 26, 2000 
    1. Includes Sketches 
  10. Letters from Bobbe to Family (Parents), March 11, 2000-Oct 17, 2000 
  11. Letters to Bobbe from Spouse, Family, and Friends – Feb 14, 2000-July 24, 2002 
  12. Memorabilia 
    1. ID 
    2. Paintings 
    3. Arrowhead 
  13. Paperwork, Official Peace Corps – 2000-2001 
  14. Photographs of the Community and Places 
  15. Photographs of Peace Corps Volunteers 
  16. Programs 
  17. Site Directory 
  18. Training Group Volunteer Pictures, “Peace Corps Honduras Mugbook” 
  19. Travel