Oral Histories

Description:: Guest speaker Carmen Benavides, long-time resident of North Lansing, member of the local Hispanic community, and retired principal from the Lansing School District, talks about her life experiences at the Turner-Dodge House and Heritage Center on March 6, 2003.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Meet Your City Video Series

Description:: An interview of William J. Van Hoesen, conducted by Bill Dansby in the Forest Parke Library and Archives, Capital Area District Libraries, in 2009. Mr. Van Hoesen was involved in the savings and loan industry, and lived in Lansing all of his life except for a few years in military service. No transcript has been produced. No summary appears in the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Lansing 150 Oral Histories

Description:: An oral history from Gerald W. Graves, a former mayor of the City of Lansing. He was born in Alpena (Mich.), attended Michigan State University and the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, and at age 24 was the youngest sea captain in U. S. history. He was elected to the Michigan State Legislature in 1950 and served as Lansing's mayor from 1969 to 1981. He was interviewed by Joanne Jager at the Lansing Public Library Local History Room on October 30, with a follow-up interview on November 12, 1990. A transcript for this recording has not been completed.
Date Created:: 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Voices of Lansing Oral Histories

Description:: An oral history from Muriel G. "Peg" Stoffer. She was born in Unadilla. The interview includes memories of her life growing up on a farm in that area, raising her own family, and activities during retirement. She was interviewed by Frances Laird of the Stockbridge Area Genealogical and Historical Society. The interview took place on March 25, 2016, in Gregory, Michigan. Technical assistance and photography was provided by Laura Walsh, then-CADL staff and a member of the Stockbridge Area Genealogical and Historical Society. Audio editing was done by CADL librarian Sean Lyons.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Stockbridge Oral Histories

Description:: An oral history from Walter Neller, a major contributor to real estate and property development in greater Lansing. Mr. Neller was interviewed at his apartment in the Lansing Towers by Robert Baxter, on March 15, 1990. A transcript for this recording has not been completed.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Voices of Lansing Oral Histories

Description:: An oral history from Robert "Bob" Huxtable. He grew up on a family farm in the Delta Mills area of greater Lansing in the early 20th century, attended MSU, and spent most of his career in the paper and printing industry. He had a strong interest in automobiles and was the owner of a Curved Dash Oldsmobile, to which he made some modifications. He also liked inventing things and was working on a soda machine at the time of this interview. Bob Huxtable was interviewed by James Walkinshaw and Helen Jones Earley on August 11, 1988 at the Oldsmobile History Center in the Oldsmobile Education and Development Center, North. The original audio recording of this interview has several instances of distortion and other problems that were not able to be corrected during the digitization process. A transcript for this recording is linked below with the audio file.
Date Created:: 1990-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Voices of Lansing Oral Histories

Description:: An oral history from Ralph Crego, a former mayor of Lansing. The interview was recorded on June 20, 1988, as part of the "Voices of Lansing" oral history project. Ralph Crego was interviewed by Joanne Jager of the Lansing Public Library. Rights release forms for this interview were never completed. A second interview, also with no release form, was made on July 18, 1988 (see 1991-05-001.005). For that interview, a transcript is on file. The oral history recordings and transcript may be accessed within the library only at this time.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Voices of Lansing Oral Histories

Description:: April 2003: Olivia Letts shares her memories of Lansing in the 1950s and 1960s, with special focus on her role as a leader in the Lansing School District and the local African-American community, at the Turner-Dodge House and Heritage Center.
Date Created:: 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Meet Your City Video Series

Description:: One of two interviews of Gladys Beckwith, who helped to found the MSU Women's Studies program and ran the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame for over 25 years. Dr. Beckwith is interviewed by Marilyn Culpepper at an unidentified location, on July 24, 2008, as part of the "Lansing 150" Sesquicentennial project. She was interviewed again on February 6, 2009 (<http://cadl.pastperfectonline.com/archive/2DF11401-ECC0-4EDC-BE26-315264504700">link</a>). For both interviews, no transcript has been produced. A summary appears on pages 7-8 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Lansing 150 Oral Histories

Description:: An interview with Dr. Eva Evans, a long-time leader in the Lansing School District and a member and former national president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha African-American sorority. She was interviewed by Polly Schwendener on April 27, 2009. No transcript has been produced. A summary appears on page 14 of the <a href="http://www.cadl.org/lhonline/Lansing 150 OH Booklet.pdf">Lansing 150 Sesquicentennial Oral Histories Booklet</a> booklet.
Data Provider:: Capital Area District Library (Lansing, MI). Forest Parke Library and Archives
Collection:: Lansing 150 Oral Histories

Oral Histories 1857 items