Tyrone Harris
Interviewed on December 9, 2003, Tyrone Harris begins the interview by talking about athleticism and his basketball coach, Coach Magnani. He mentions the Great Mills High School Conference Championship in 1974 and 2003, both times the team won. He speaks at length about school, Coach Magnani, and discipline as a student-athlete. Mr. Harris talks about attending an after-school program like “Gear Up” and having an adult mentor, he graduated from high school in 1972. He attended Great Mills High School during the first years of desegregation and attended the segregated Carver School for elementary school grades 1-8. He discusses negative experiences in school, detailing a violent incident. He then speaks at length about his connection to softball, especially going to the arenas, and the influence of Jackie Robinson. Mr. Harris then talks about malnutrition in college and finding a job that can support him. He talks about how students should visualize their future, mentioning summer employment opportunities for Great Mills High School students. He also talks about the county recreation and parks programs, he then talks about providing students with good stories and opportunities to learn. Mr. Harris concludes the interview by talking about personal injuries, advice, and stories from being on the Great Mills High School basketball team. 

Harold Herndon
Interviewed on December 19, 2003, Harold Herndon came to St. Mary’s County in 1960, he was a band teacher at George Washington Carver. He talks about the children in band and class leadership roles along with the desegregation process in schools. He mentions how he received a certain amount of respect as a teacher and that the instruments were of low quality at Carver School, especially in comparison to white schools. The parents and students raised money to by George Washington Carver band uniforms, he mentions Mr. John Lancaster. Mr. Herndon taught jazz band at George Washington Carver and Great Mills High School, he speaks at length about the differences between various schools in St. Mary’s County. He talks about applying for a principal position at Esperanza Middle School but that he was not hired, he retired in 1979, took a leave of absence, and never returned to St. Mary’s County Public School System. He speaks at length about learning environments, especially in desegregated schools, and the behavior of students. Mr. Herndon concludes the interview by discussing problems with discipline in the 1960s and how the schools in St. Mary’s County did not desegregate right after Brown vs. Board of Education. 

Stuart Newkirk
Interviewed on July 21, 2007, Stuart Newkirk begins the interview discussing the UCAC project, he lived most of his life in St. Mary’s County and retired when he was 52 years old. He lives with his wife and two children, and attended Great Mills High School in the fall of 1965, one year before the county closed the segregated “colored” schools. Before GMHS he attended George Washington Carver School, Mr. Newkirk and his siblings were constantly picked on in school. He talks about the teachers defending and protecting him in school, and he speaks fondly of the teachers. He details negative experiences at GMHS but he lived in Carver Heights thus he was able to see his friends in the afternoon. The distractions and harassment at GMHS led to his grades failing, he says racism has become so complicated that the youth today don’t know when they are being mistreated or treated differently. He answers questions about what was lost by integration and reconfirms that he had not learned black history at Carver School. Mr. Newkirk concludes the interview by discussing his perspective and experiences different from others and his complicated relationship with white people in the community.

Salvatore Raspa & Donald O'Neal
Interviewed on December 17th, 2003, Sal Raspa describes his time at Great Mills High School and his experience teaching math and science there in the early 1960s before being promoted to assistant principal and eventually principal. Currently working for the St. Mary’s County Board of Education at the time of the interview, Dr. Raspa discusses his perspective on the integration of schools in St. Mary’s County and the temporary unrest that happened because of it. He recalls that he didn’t view it necessarily as a racial issue at the time, instead thinking that it was general student unruliness. He also discusses some of the court cases that came out from the student unrest, including a stabbing. Dr. Raspa finishes the interview with a discussion about some of his most successful students, one of them being a neurosurgeon who needed additional help during high school.

Zora Siemasko & Jane Sypher
Interviewed on November 24, 2003, Zore Siemasko was first introduced, she was the assistant principal at Leonardtown and then came to GMHS as assistant principal. Jane Sypher is then introduced and she was the assistant principal at GMHS when Siemasko became principal. Sypher’s family came to St. Mary’s County from Philadelphia in 1909 and bought a farm in Leonardtown, ZS taught mathematics at GMHS until 1982 when she became assistant principal. JS attended an integrated catholic school prior to GMHS, ZS began teaching at GMHS in 1962 when there were a few black students, they mentioned St. Mary’s Academy. JS talks about dating, Seven Gables Hotel, and an assembly held at GMHS to welcome the Carver students. The class interviewed Ted Newkirk, and then JS talked about litigation beginning in the process of black students attending GMHS. ZS had put forth a black student for an award at Esperanza School and she talks about a “Pep Bus”. JS and ZS speak at length about GMHS and social/political events along with the view/perspective of parents whose children attend GMHS. They conclude the interview talking about students and local opportunities in furthering their education or seeking employment.

Edward Allen Smith
Interviewed on November 16 and December 14, 1996, Edward Smith was separated from his immediate family when he was young and was adopted by Mr. & Mrs. William B. Thompson and accepted them as his grandparents. He talks about how school was rough on blacks during those days, he dreamed of becoming a musician and the family lived off of field and farm crops. He feels that times have improved in some ways but then moves on to talk about leaving Washington D.C. and attending St. George’s Catholic Church as a child. Mr. Smith talks about his marriage and attending church at Bethesda United Methodist Church, community activities and life in general. He discusses race relations, segregation, county vs. city, and citizenship. He mentions an important personal event in August of 1963 and how he wanted more education, he states that the biggest change in the county would be the Base, Piney Point facility, and St. Inigoes facility. Mr. Smith concludes the interview by talking about the news from the Washington Post Times  Herald and serving in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Smith was later interviewed on September 18, 2004 where he describes coming to St. Mary’s County during the Christmas holiday time of 1930. He begins the 2004 interview by discussing school, his favorite subjects, and the sports he played. He talks about how education prepared him for life, visiting the Hampton Institute twice and the Washington Conservatory of Music. Mr. Smith concludes the interview tby alking about his children and the importance of education, he says some of his great-grandchildren listen to his stories about his experiences in school.

Joseph J. Holly

Joseph Jackson Holly Jr.’s interview took place on July 6, 2016. Mr. Holly discusses growing up in Southern Maryland during the 1960s and 1950s. He was an only child. He went to school until the seventh grade. After the death of his mother in 1932, he dropped out of school but stayed with his father until he was 21. Then he got married and moved out. He worked a couple of farm jobs before settling at the ice plant, where he worked for 32 years. He and his wife had eight children. He played guitar in a band for fun. They typically performed in Morganza. Mr. Holly discusses Our Lady’s Chapel in Medley’s Neck, the church he has attended his entire life. He reminisces about meeting the Pope and the feeling of seeing President Obama. He concludes with advice, telling people that you do the best with what you have.

Sarah Milburn

Sarah Milburn was interviewed on December 6, 2018. She was raised in a large family with 13 children in the St. Andrews area. Her family heavily relied on farming crops, such as tobacco. They would also belong to a local Catholic church called Our Lady’s Chapel in Medley’s Neck and attend St. Aloyisous’. Mrs. Milburn attended a one-room schoolhouse that educated elementary-age students and older ones. The class sizes were usually small, typically under 20 students. She would go on to attend Maryland Springs after 5th grade. Mrs. Milburn would marry at 19 after meeting her husband when he was on furlough from service. Mrs. Milburn stayed home from work for the first five years of the marriage and raised their five children. However, she also worked at the base, doing cleaning. Throughout her interview, she notes that race relations were particularly challenging. However, she also notes a sense of unity in the Black community because of the circumstances. 

James Walter Neal

Interviewed on June 1, 2002, James Neal was born in 1940 in Leonardtown, he has been working at the St. Mary’s Hospital for 38 years. His wife went to Banneker and graduated from Bowie then returned to teach at Banneker. He talks about playing games in school and details a typical day at school, he got in a fight once. He talks about his favorite teachers and the important lessons they taught in class, he talks about integration which leads to a discussion about Joan Groves. He mentions being in the military and how integration not only affected him but his children as well. Mr. Neal details his civil rights experience at Morgan and concludes the interview by answering a question about whether he thinks integration has gone as far as it can go.

Joyce Neal

Joyce Neal’s interview which took place on November 12, 2024. Her family is deeply rooted in St. Mary’s County, with both her grandparents and parents being born there. Growing up, her family worked on a tobacco farm. She went to Banneker for kindergarten, Hollywood Elementary, Leonardtown Elementary, Leonardtown Middle, and Leonardtown High School. Neal talks about her ambitions to be the first Black woman NASCAR racer and her later experience at the University of Maryland to become a doctor during her advanced education. She eventually moved on to medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina and started her practice. She now does OB shifts for the local hospital. Neal also discusses how medical practices have changed throughout St. Mary’s County, such as the institution of MedStar over individual/local practices.

Howard Young Jr.

Howard Young was interviewed on October 18, 2024. Young was born in Mulberry Fields. His father was a farmer, and Young grew up planting corn, potatoes, beans, and other crops. He describes catching the invasive bugs that would eat and kill Ms. Faye’s trees and other jobs he would complete for her. He went to school until the 11th grade and then began working to help care for his sister. Young also discusses the history of Mulberry Fields, specifically the enslaved population that labored on and was buried there. 

Catherine D. Thompson

Interviewed on November 15, 1996, Catherine Thompson was one of seven children born to John Robert Shelton and Mary Henrietta Edelen Shelton. She was born in Leonardtown, MD on February 22, 1918, she speaks at length about her family and their community involvement with the St. Aloysius Church in Leonardtown. Mrs Thompson discusses peer pressure and how that affects children/teens nowadays which leads her to talk about the relationships between her siblings. She talks about travel and how only two black people had cars in Leonardtown, her father would take the family on buggy rides. There were a lot of illnesses in the family which Mrs Thompson details specifically what doctors took care of them and the remedies used. She talks about her parents teaching discipline but not preparing her well for life and she highlights her struggle with education. Mrs Thompson got married when she was 19 and was very busy especially with her 13 children and religious involvement with organizations such as the Big Foot Helpers Club. She speaks at length about the quality of life in St. Mary’s County, highlighting both the past, present, and future of the county’s inhabitants. She details the struggle with race relations and segregation but how that affected her feelings and perspective toward St. Mary’s County. Mrs Thompson concludes the interview with a discussion about her hobbies and objects she collects. 

Nanny Theresa Young

Interviewed on November 2, 2003, Nanny Young was born in Leonardtown, MD, her parents are Jane Francis and Frank Swales, and she is the youngest of 19 children. Her grandmother was a slave on the Blackstone Plantation at the current location of the St. Mary’s Academy. Her mother married young and her sisters went to the city to work, her brother fought in WWI. Her life was spent in the heart of Leonardtown, she remembers segregation but doesn’t hold onto the past. Mrs. Young speaks at length about her parents and grandparents, she attended St. Aloysius Beneficial Hall and she mentions Banneker High School. She talks about the steamboats and floating theaters that would come to the Leonardtown Wharf; there was an A&P store in the location of the first National Bank in Leonardtown. She discusses hotels and how the steamboats would leave Leonardtown and go to Medley’s Neck and then to St. Mary’s City, she lived and stayed at a hotel and worked for Citizen for Progress. She talks about the topic of prejudice, family, and Mr. Young who lived in Leonardtown. Mrs. Young concludes the interview by talking about religion, race, and the importance of the way she was raised. 

Happyland
Alma Jordan discusses Happyland, a store/rec center where people went to socialize, during an interview on Aug 26, 2021. She was interviewed by Mikki Thompson Waters, Merideth Taylor, Clarissa Ashton Stripling, and Janice Walthour for the Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions Oral History Documentation Project. Jordan, Thompson Waters, and Walthour discussed their experiences growing up with the Happyland Club as a place for community. The club would host dancing and movies, sell groceries, and serve locals.

Jean Elizabeth Lawrence

Jean Elizabeth Lawrence was interviewed with her daughter on July 23, 2021, for the UCAC. She was born and raised in Valley Lee, MD. Mrs. Lawrence was the oldest of 6 children. Her father passed away when she was 9 years old; afterward, her mother remarried. Mrs. Lawrence attended Great Mills Elementary before moving on to St. Peter’s, where she would meet her future husband, Mr. Carl Cornelius Lawrence, after he carried her books home. She would have 12 children with Mr. Lawrence. Mrs. Lawrence touches on the harrowing experiences of her upbringing, including facing segregation in daily environments. However, Mrs. Lawrence also emphasizes the importance of registering to vote. 

Elfreda Mathis

Elfreda Marie Talbert Mathis' interview took place on April 5, 2024. Mathis discusses life on her grandparents' farm, where they grew tobacco and corn. They also had a large garden that her aunt ran, and the produce was available to the whole family. She talks about her chores, daily life, and the jobs of her family members. Her uncle ran the Happyland Club, and she spent much of her childhood there with her siblings and friends. She attended St. Peter Clavers for school before transferring to Jarboesville. In college, she majored in elementary education and became a Piney Point Elementary School teacher. She was often the disciplinarian of the school. Later in life, she ran for political office and played an active role in the community.

Thomas Purnell Saxon

Interviewed on December 19, 2003, Thomas Saxon attended GMHS in the 1960s but attended catholic schools prior to GMHS. He mentions racial tensions and how there were about ten African American students. He talks about racism and how there was a hostile school environment which he tried to not pay attention to. Mr. Saxon participated in school activities at the segregated school but after high school, he would work as a janitor for the Board of Education. After graduation he went into the army, he then moved on to speak at length about the transition from Cardinal Gibbons Institute to GMHS along with the difference in conditions between the two schools. He worked in ground support on Base when he got out of the service, he then talks about Marvin Joy and Mr. Mose. Mr. Saxon concludes the interview talking about specific GMHS students and how Cardinal Gibbons closed because of money. 

Bernard Thompson

Bernard Thompson was interviewed on May 14, 2022, for the UCAC. Mr. Thompson was born in 1946 in Valley Lee, Maryland, to Turner and Robert Campbell Thompson. Mr. Thompson was one of eight children and was raised Catholic. Mr. Thompson’s mother died when he was four, and his Aunt Jeanette Thompson Talbert raised him for three or four years. He was later returned to his father, Mr. Turner T. Thompson, his grandmother, and his Aunt, Elizabeth Thompson. Mr. Thompson attended St. Peter Claver and Cardinal Gibbons High School in Ridge, MD. Mr. Thompson learned how to hunt and fish from his Uncle Milton. After high school, Mr. Thompson enlisted in the Marines to avoid being drafted for a different service. While on leave from the service, he married his wife, with whom he had four children. He would go on to work as a chauffeur, then a janitor on the PAX base, a water plant operator after taking more classes, and finally became a firefighter on base after training at UMD.

Janice Talbert Walthour

Interviewed on July 21, 2004, Janice Walthour was born in Valley Lee and delivered at home by Dr. Bean, she moved to Carver Heights after a few years and then moved to Valley Lee at age 10. She went to St. Peter Claver for 1st grade and Jarboesville for 2nd grade, she mentions the new school, Washington Carver. Mrs. Walthour reflects upon her early memories, education, and wanting to become a guidance counselor in elementary school. She went to Morgan State College in Baltimore where she focused on school and family functions. She says Immaculate Heart of Mary was the only church that wasn’t segregated; she was assigned to be a teacher at Lexington Park Elementary at the beginning of desegregation and then became Principal at George Washington Carver for 15 years. Mrs. Walthour talks about how the population was made up of military families, low-income families, single parents, and transitional students. She speaks at length about standardized testing, reading skills, and Carver, she then talks about the NAACP, Associates/Committee/Membership, voter registration, and the UCAC. She mentions her poetry, changes, and changes from integration in schools. Mrs. Walthour concludes the interview by talking about changes at technical-vocational schools and her accomplishments.