Clarene Vickery - July 7, 2014

Born on May 22, 1918, and raised in Collins, Mississippi, Clarene Vickery attended Wentworth College before moving to Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband intended to start their family. After Pearl Harbor, when her husband enlisted in the army, she moved back to Mississippi. Upon the completion of her husband's service, she and their two sons moved to meet him in Vienna, Virginia.

In Vienna, their first home was situated next to the W&OD Railroad tracks and Vienna Elementary School - so close to the latter that their boys could sprint from home to class and still make it on time. One son was enrolled in Fairfax High School, the other, in James Madison High School.

A long-time member of the Ayr Hill Garden Club, Clarene Vickery served as its president from 1988-1990. In 1956, she decided to teach a group of 14 kindergartners in her family home on 201 Park St. Numerous expansions, two relocations, and 58 years later, Parkwood School is still thriving under her jurisdiction.

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Family Home in Collins, Mississippi

Life During WWII; Moving to Vienna, Virginia

First Impressions of Vienna, First Home in Vienna

Vienna Elementary School

Fairfax High School, James Madison High School

Growth of Parkwood Preschool

Developmental Teaching Methods at Parkwood Preschool

Student Transportation for the Commute to Parkwood Preschool

Play Yards at Parkwood Preschool

Reflections on Parkwood Preschool

Reflections on Vienna

The Ayr Hill Garden Club

Tenure as President of the Ayr Hill Garden Club

All interviews by Leigh Kitcher and Sophie Abramowitz

Gloria Runyon - July 11, 2014

Gloria Runyon's family have lived in Vienna, Virginia, as she puts it, since "before it became Vienna." Her roots in the town grow at least as far back as her great-grandfather, a Cherokee Indian, who built the home in which she still lives. Gloria Runyon's family has always been deeply involved in the Vienna community, and her life and work is no exception.

Growing up in Vienna, Gloria Runyon belonged to the First Baptist Church and a local bible study group, and attended Louise Archer Elementary School and Luther P. Jackson High School in Fairfax County, just as Madison High School began to integrate. After graduating as valedictorian of her class, Runyon enrolled in Howard University, where she was active in her sorority and engaged with the school's political climate. She graduated in 1965.

As the former president of the Malcolm-Windover Heights Civic Association in Vienna, Runyon helped to develop the Sarah Walker Mercer Park. In 2014, she retired from a near 40-year tenure at the Georgetown Day School, where she was first acted as a teacher, then a math coordinator, then as lower School principal. She discusses her work at Georgetown Day School in some detail in this interview. Runyon spent her final year before her retirement as the Diversity Coordinator.

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Family Roots in Vienna

Personal and Community Involvement in Vienna

Louise Archer Elementary School, Vienna Landscape

Youth in Vienna

Old Friends, Bible School, Experience of Segregation

Friends Integrating Madison High School

Recreation, Family Time

Family History, Told with Photographs

Taking Students to Protest South African Apartheid

Political Climate at Howard University, Family Diversity

Career Before Teaching at Georgetown Day School

Mixed Race Identities

Initiatives as Diversity Coordinator at Georgetown Day School

Thoughts on Small-Town Vienna

Memories of Attending Louise Archer Elementary School

Early Distaste for Studying History

Revisiting Louise Archer Elementary School

Remembering Various Teachers at Louise Archer Elementary School

Traveling to Various Events During High School

Memories of Luther P. Jackson High School

Memories of Howard University

Concerts at Howard Theater

All interviews by Sophie Abramowitz

ViVa Vienna! - May 25-26, 2014

A cultural festival sponsored by the local Rotary Club whose entire proceeds go to Vienna's local organizations and institutions, ViVa Vienna has blossomed over the years into one of the most anticipated events in Fairfax County.

This year, we asked the crowd what ViVa Vienna means to the Vienna community. Interviewees include the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Vienna, the Sheriff of Fairfax County, the Delegate representing Virginia's 35 District, the Master of Ceremonies for the annual Vienna Halloween Parade, Vienna Rotary Club Members, Council Members, Members of Vienna Parks and Recreation, long-time residents, and local business owners.

Without further ado!:

All interviews by Historic Vienna, Inc. member Bruce Wyman. Video recording and editing by Historic Vienna, Inc. intern Sophie Abramowitz

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

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