The Historic Vienna Oral History Project: July 2013

Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Blank Family 7-25-2013

Marjorie Blank was born in 1932. She lived in a stone house that her father built on Maple Avenue, now converted into a jewelry store. It was a "small country town" at the time. There were only a few stores in Vienna proper (including the Vienna Inn, formerly Feezers, and Doc Bradfield's pharmacy.) She remembers riding the W&OD train to her grandparents' farm at Clarks Crossing.
Marjorie attended Strayer University where she learned how to type. This led to a clerk job at the Pentagon. Marjorie's husband, Richard Blank, was a Navy sailor. They met at a dance in Washington, D.C. and were married in 1953. They moved to Vienna soon after. Richard eventually became a Town employee, working as the Town printer as well as in Public Works. They had four children; their only daughter, Jan Clarke, also joined the interview, offering a multi-generational view on Vienna.
Jan also remembers how "sleepy" Vienna was. As teenagers, though, she and her friends made their own fun--chatting at Pizza Fair, swimming in Lake Audubon, and of course shopping at the newly-opened Tyson's Corner Mall. She relates how different daily life was back then compared to now.
The family also shares fond memories of town activities, including the Fire Department Carnival and Vienna's 75th Anniversary in 1965.

Marjorie's Childhood

Vienna During Marjorie's Childhood--Sanitary, Doc Bradford's (Bradfield's), Faulkner's

Learning to Type and Working at the Pentagon

Daily Life in "The Sleepy Little Town"

The Bookmobile

The Fire Department Carnival

Telephone Party Lines

Jan's Childhood in Vienna

Current and Former Vienna Businesses and Restaurants

Vienna's 75th Anniversary and the Bicentennial

Tyson's Corner Mall

Vienna Development: The Beltway, Route 66, Yeonas Building Company

Feelings About Vienna

Interviewers Caroline Gardiner and Virginia Harness

Friday, July 26, 2013

Paul Lyons 7-18-2013

Paul Lyons was born and raised in Washington, DC. He came to Vienna in 1957 with his wife, Bernadette, and their children, and the family moved into a Yeonas house. Paul worked as a film editor in DC, and was also very involved in the local government. He served as the town's first public information officer, was on the council for 9 years, and ran for mayor in 1976. His work in the film industry allowed him to meet several presidents, and in 1984 he traveled the country from coast to coast following the Olympic Torch with a film crew.

Growing up in Washington DC, Moving to Vienna

Vienna in the 1960s, Why Vienna isn't a City

Vienna's First Public Information Officer

First Council Run, Jim Martinelli's Write-in Campaign, 'Hip-Boot Martinelli'

Memories of Town Council, Boy Scout & his Petition, Toad in the Commode

Town of Vienna - 75th Anniversary in 1965

1976 U.S. Bicentennial Celebrations in Vienna

Film Librarian to Film Editor

Filming in Vienna, Funny Filming Stories

Stories from Filming Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK's Funeral, and Lyndon Johnson's Inauguration

1984 Olympic Torch Film Coverage

Community in Vienna

Interviewers: Virginia Harness and Caroline Gardiner

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

James & Gloria Carter, Ted & Lorraine Thomas, Jean Minor, Ronald Honesty, Daniel Bunaugh 7-16-2013

This interview brought together James & Gloria Carter, Ronald Honesty, Jean Minor, Ted & Lorraine Thomas, and Daniel Bunaugh. The group discussed a wide array of subjects, including attending Louise Archer (formerly known as the Vienna Colored School), their early memories of home and family, starting their careers, the community of their churches, and their experiences of segregation.

1940s Vienna Colored School (Gloria Carter, James Carter)

Memories of Mrs. Louise Archer (Gloria Carter)

Carter Farm & Arrival of the Carter Family in Vienna (James Carter)

Shopping at Hecht's in DC, Valedictorian, Donating Property to Louise Archer, Jobs

(Lorraine Thomas, Ted Thomas)

Salsbury Spring Water Supply (Gloria Carter, James Carter, Ted Thomas, Ronald Honesty)

Faulkner's, Businesses in Vienna in the 1940s, Segregation

(Gloria Carter, James Carter, Jean Minor, Ronald Honesty, Ted Thomas)

African American Community in Vienna (James Carter, Ted Thomas, Ronald Honesty)

Accepting Segregation (James Carter, Ted Thomas)

Middle and High School in DC to Avoid Busing to Manassas (Gloria Carter, Jean Minor)

Meeting Spouses (Jean Minor, Gloria Carter)

Segregation in Hospitals & Maternity Wards (Jean Minor, James Carter, Gloria Carter)

Law Enforcement Career: Metropolitan Police, U.S. Marshall, and School Security (Ted Thomas)

Luther Jackson, Integration in Vienna (Ronald Honesty, Jean Minor, Daniel Bunaugh),

Integration in DC (Ted Thomas)

First Baptist Church & New Union Church (Ronald Honesty, Gloria Carter)

Baptismal Site for First Baptist Church (Ted Thomas, James Carter, Gloria Carter)

Interviewers: Virginia Harness, Caroline Gardiner, and Sarah Jane Brady

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Florence Roseborough 6-17-2013

Florence Roseborough was born in Colorado City, Texas. Her father worked as a cotton broker, which supported the small family during the Depression but meant they moved frequently all around the western United States. Florence attended Southern Methodist University, where she worked as a secretary. She then was employed by the Magnolia Petroleum Company, during which time she met her husband William Daniel Roseborough Jr.

William Daniel, a Navy engineer, was eventually stationed in Washington, DC. The family bought two houses for the price of one in Vienna, and spent many years renovating the larger. During her time in the Town, Florence became the president of the Ayr Hill Garden Club, and was very active in Town planning and zoning issues. Both her and her husband often attended Town Council meetings. She recounts the enormous change Vienna has undergone over the years, which admittedly left her feeling "shocked."

Early Life, Mother's Book Club, Father's Occupation as a Cotton Broker

Life During the Depression, Buying her First House at age 20, Tuition and Monthly Pay Rates

Old Vienna Businesses--Pharmacies, Safeway Grocery Store, Worthington's

Old Vienna Restaurants--Rolling Road and Freddy's

Vienna's First Halloween Parade

Momma and Poppa Duck

The Fight Against the Yeonas Company's Neon Sign

The Pig Story: The Roseboroughs' First Experience at a Vienna Town Council Meeting

The Ayr Hill Garden Club

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine's More Beautiful America Contest

Tyson's Corner's Rural Beginnings

Change in Vienna

Interview conducted by Caroline Gardiner, Virginia Harness, and Nancy Moats

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Frank Lancaster 6-28-2013

Frank Lancaster came to the Washington DC area in 1947, and secured a job as a librarian and documents expert for the Central Intelligence Agency right out of high school. Frank and his family moved to Vienna in the late 1950s, to ease Frank's commute to the new CIA headquarters in Langley. Frank helped with the beginning of the Pig-Tail/Pony-Tail softball league, volunteered at the local library, played Santa Claus and gave tours at the Freeman Store. In these twelve clips, Frank recounts some of his favorite memories of life in Vienna.