The Historic Vienna Oral History Project: first baptist church

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, June 27, 2013

Maud Robinson 6-20-2013

Maud Robinson has long been a part of the town of Vienna. Her childhood was spent in Connecticut, where her father ran his own athletic gear business. She married Charles "Charlie" Robinson while both were young. Charlie persuaded her to attend the University of Virginia's law school--something Maud was not keen on--while he worked on his Masters degree. They then moved to the "dusty little town" of Vienna around 1950, which was, at the time, extremely rural. Both Maud and Charlie became very involved in the Town Council, fighting zoning battle after zoning battle. Charlie was elected Town Mayor in 1976.

According to Maud, three things drove Vienna's growth: the building of the first storefront library, the creation of the Vienna Community Center, and the increasing responsiveness of the town's government. Maud credits the engagement of Vienna's citizens as the driving force behind why Vienna is what it is today.