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McCall Library Oral History Collections: Local History

A comprehensive list of the Oral History Collections found at the McCall Library

Local Politics

Accession # 397-2002                  
Sonny Callahan Congressional Papers
Format: Cassettes
Dates Covered: 1985-2003

 

Two oral interviews conducted with Congressman Sonny Callahan in 2003 by Carol Ellis.

Accession # 398-2003         
Carol Ellis Thesis Oral Interviews
Format: Cassettes
Dates Covered: 2002

 

Oral interviews with Mobile, retired City Archivist Jay Higginbotham, former Mayor of Mobile, Joseph Langan, Birmingham Lawyer James Blacksher, and Father Edward B. Arroyo of New Orleans, Loyola University. These interviews were related to research Ellis was conducting for her Masters Thesis "The Tragedy of the white moderate' : Father Albert Foley and Alabama civil rights, 1963-1967."

Mobile

Accession # 268-1993
Martha Mercer War Bride Tapes
Format: Cassettes [digitized in .mp3 and .wav format]
Dates Covered: 1992

 

Oral history interviews conducted by Martha Jones Mercer for her 1993 masters thesis, “British Brides, American Wives: The Immigration and Acculturation of War Brides in Mobile, Alabama, 1945-1993” (Florida State University). These interviews are all with white women from the UK and Australia who married American GIs and ended up moving to Mobile. Three of the interviews are recorded oral histories ranging from 37 minutes to almost two hours in length; there is a fourth interview that was conducted in a written format. All of the recorded interviews are transcribed.

Accession # 596-2012     
Harry Carolin Oral History     
Format: Cassette
Dates Covered: 1979

 

Interview with Harry Carolin, an employee of Erik Overbey conducted on May 20, 1979.

Accession # 362-2000  
Jeanette K. Maygarden Interviews
Format: VHS and Cassettes  
Dates Covered: 1994-1995

 

Twenty-five interviews with various Mobilians looking at local organizations, schools and how Mobile has changed over the decades.  Some notable interviews include Eugene Walter, a local writer, and Joseph Langan, a local politician.

 


Accession #747-2021
Interview with Alec Thigpen and Karen Burton
Format: Digital Audio
Dates Covered: 1942-2021

 

An interview in which Alec Thigpen discusses his career as a commercial photographer who learned the business from his father Roy Thigpen. Thigpen Sr. founded the successful studio in Mobile in 1947. Thigpen also discusses his father's military career and family life.