Oral History @ VT: Oral History Collections (N-Z)

Newport and Clover Hollow, Giles County History Collection (Ms2013-086)
This collection documents the history and people of Giles County as well as the community's efforts to have Newport designated as a rural agricultural historic district. Included among the materials in this collection are oral history recordings, transcripts, and notes.
Currently, restrictions allow only on-site use of the oral histories in this collection.
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Oral History of the Principalship Records (Ms1989-040)
This project, directed by Professor Patrick W. Carlton of the College of Education at Virginia Tech, features interviews with retired elementary, middle, and high school principals interviewed between 1987 and 1995. Most of the interviewees are from the Southeast (mainly Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, District of Columbia, and West Virginia), with representative materials from Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Materials consist of cassette tapes and transcripts of over 230 interviews.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
Finding Aid | Visit the collection in the Virginia Tech Faculty Archives

Patrick County, Virginia Oral History Project Records, 1980-1984 (Ms1983-007)
Jointly built by the Blue Ridge Regional Library and Virginia Tech, this collection explores the theme of "Continuity and Change in a Rural Community" and consists of an assortment of oral history recordings, transcripts, photographs, publicity clippings, program posters, and more.
This collection is owned by the Virginia Tech Foundation and is on deposit at Special Collections and University Archives.
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Pulaski Theater Oral History Project, 2003-2004 (Ms2004-007)
This collection focuses on personal recollections of the Pulaski Theater, which operated from 1937 to 1991. Built in 1911, the structure initially hosted concerts and vaudevillian-style entertainment; however, the theater was closed in 1922 and remained a dry goods store until its reopening as a movie theater in 1937 under its new name, "The Pulaski Concerts." The collection consists of recordings and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted in 2003 by April Allen, a then-PhD candidate in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, with residents and former residents of Pulaski, Virginia who experienced the theater in at least one of its several forms.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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Robert E. Marshak Papers (Ms1988-060)
This collection consists of Marshak's files related to the Shelter Island Conferences (1947-49) and the Rochester Conferences on High-Energy Physics (1950-57), which he founded. The papers also include correspondence, notes, reports, files, speech texts, news clippings, autographs, photographs, and other assorted materials. Included among the collection’s materials is a photocopy of an oral history interview done by Charles Weiner (1970). Transcript only.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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Robert R. Gilruth Papers, 1936-1989 (Ms1990-053)
This collection contains correspondence, notes, memoranda, and other materials related to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Included are transcripts of oral history interviews with Gilruth about the Apollo, Gemini, and Skylab programs as well as general NASA history. Transcripts only.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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Streeter Blair Oral History Transcript (Ms1975-008)
This transcript from a 23-hour oral history interview of American primitive artist Streeter Blair, conducted by Elizabeth I. Dixon and Donald J. Schippers (under the auspices of the Oral History Program of the University of California Los Angeles), focuses on Blair's youth and education in Kansas as well as his careers in education, advertising, and art. Containing more than 800 pages and several illustrations, the transcript is divided into two volumes and is fully indexed. A small collection of Blair-related printed materials accompanies the transcript and includes a brochure for a 1967 Blair retrospective exhibition. Transcript only.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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Talking About Work Oral History Interview Project, 2008-2011 (Ms2012-005)
This collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by the students of a series of Introduction to American Studies classes led by Professor Emily Satterwhite between 2008 and 2011. Students asked interviewees, who typically work(ed) on or near the Virginia Tech campus, about the particular needs and challenges inherent to their relative occupations. Collected materials include recordings, photographs, and student papers produced in association with the project.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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United Daughters of the Confederacy, Dr. Harvy Black Chapter Records (Ms1990-050)
This collection contains the records of the Dr. Harvy Black Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Included among these materials is a single cassette tape containing an oral history interview with Bernice Willard.
Currently, restrictions allow only on-site use of this oral history interview.
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Virginia Tech Black History Oral History Collection (Ms2003-011)
This collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by University Archivist Tamara Kennelly with several African-American individuals whose personal experiences at Virginia Tech helped shape the history of the University and of the New River Valley.
Currently, restrictions allow only on-site use of some oral histories in this collection.
Finding Aid | Visit the digital collection at SCUA Online

Virginia Tech LGBTQ Oral History Collection (Ms2015-007)
Beginning in the fall of 2014, faculty and students in the Virginia Tech History Department, along with colleagues in the University Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives, and campus partners including HokiePRIDE, the LGBT Faculty/Staff Caucus, and the Ex Lapide Society (the LGBTQ alumni network at VT) began collecting oral histories to document the history of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer life in the 20th century American South and specifically at Virginia Tech.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
Finding Aid | Visit the digital collection at SCUA Online

VT Stories Oral History Collection (Ms2016-015)
The VT Stories Oral History Project is an on-going effort to collect and examine stories, memories, tall tales, tragedies, and triumphs of all members of the Hokie community to help us know our shared history and to make sense of it. At the heart of the project is Hokies interviewing Hokies—largely student-staffed and trained by oral historians, interviewers engage with VT Alumni to learn their histories and to make mentoring connections that go beyond the student experience.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
Finding Aid | Visit the digital collection at SCUA Online

W. Dale Parker Papers (Ms1989-093)
This collection contains correspondence, memorabilia, printed materials, photographs, scrapbooks, and other materials from the life of W. Dale Parker, management specialist on NASA’s Project Gemini, General Motors plant engineer, General Dynamics management specialist, writer, businessman, self-described political consultant, expert on human relations, and genius. Included in the collection is a self-directed oral history. Transcript only.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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Warren Strother Collection (Ms2004-005)
This collection consists of official university correspondence, over 300 oral history recordings, and nearly 50 transcripts. The oral history interviews were conducted between 1988 and 1992 and primarily concern the T. Marshall Hahn presidency (1962-1975) at Virginia Tech. These materials were used by Strother and Professor Peter Wallenstein of the History Department at Virginia Tech in writing From VPI to State University: President T. Marshall Hahn, Jr. and the Transformation of Virginia Tech, 1962-1974.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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Washington County Oral History Transcripts (Ms2015-023)
Compiled by four Abingdon High School students, these transcripts detail interviews with Washington County residents Evelyn Campbell, Emma Josephine Poland Surber, and Nancy Johnson. Among the topics discussed are childhood activities and fashion, schooling, desegregation, inflation, and the proliferation of automobiles. Transcripts only.
Currently, restrictions allow only on-site use of the oral histories in this collection.
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Women's Biography Project Records (Ms1995-028)
This collection contains interviews conducted by the students of Professor Kathleen W. Jones of the Department of History at Virginia Tech with women from the local community. Materials consist of recordings, transcripts, and student papers produced in association with the interviews.
This collection is open for research, with the exception of some restricted materials not available to the public.
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