Oral histories documenting New Haven, Connecticut

Scope and Contents: Fred Acquavita started teaching in the New Haven Public Schools in 1968, part of a crop of young, radical teachers to enter the New Haven schools at that time. He discusses his radicalization as a teacher and member of the teachers' union, the New Haven Federation of Teachers, in which he served in leadership positions. He describes his conflicts with the Board of Education and "conservative" teachers, describes his attempts at progressive teaching in various schools across the city, and offers...

Scope and Contents: Norman Alderman is the third-generation owner of Alderman-Dow Iron and Metal Company, the oldest scrap metal business in New Haven, founded in 1895. Alderman discusses the nature of the scrap metal business, and Jewish and family businesses in general. He offers his views on business development in New Haven in the second half of the twentieth century. Alderman-Dow had to move from its original location on Dow Street in the Oak Street neighborhood because of urban renewal. ...

Scope and Contents: Theresa Argento recalls life before and during urban renewal in Wooster Square. One of seven children born to Italian immigrant Nadio Carrano, Argento offers memories of the neighborhood and family life pre-redevelopment -- comparisons to life in Amalfi, the role of the Sargent Hardware Company in the neighborhood, trips to Lighthouse Point, Lucibello's Pastry Shop, and to New York City to see Frank Sinatra sing. Her family owned Carrano's produce market on Chapel Street, which was demolished...

Scope and Contents: Norma Barbieri, the daughter of Italian immigrants, grew up in the Wooster Square neighborhood. She describes her father's decision to immigrate and his enduring love for the Italian language. Barbieri spoke Italian at home, but recalls being forced to speak English in school. She tells how as a child she played with being bilingual, laughing at her mother as she read the comics aloud in broken English, or how Barbieri gave nicknames to all the neighborhood characters.Theresa Argento, sitting...

Scope and Contents: Marvin Bargar grew up in New Haven's Legion Avenue neighborhood, graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1943, then returned to New Haven in 1950 after serving in the Army and graduating from the University of Connecticut. He discusses growing up in New Haven's Jewish community, the changes to the Legion Avenue neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, and his current efforts to preserve the city's Jewish history. Bargar first recalls his childhood in the Legion Avenue area. Most of the families in...

Scope and Contents: Interviewer: Green, Nicole

Scope and Contents: Betsy Barnston was born in the East Rock neighborhood to a German-Jewish family, descendents of what she describes as the original 1853 Jewish immigrant to New Haven. She describes the balance her family attempted to strike between remaining Jewish and assimilating to Christian culture. She talks about not being able to join the New Haven Lawn Club, and tensions between the Jews from Germany, who came to New Haven in the 19th century, and those from Eastern Europe who came later and tended, in...

Scope and Contents: Interviewer: Ludwig, Maren

Length (min): 33

Scope and Contents: Doug Bethea grew up in the Dixwell neighborhood. After graduating from high school, he decided to give something back the community, and organized the National Drill Team and Drum Squad, a drill team designed to give New Haven young adults an opportunity to see the world and a reason to stay off the streets. Although Bethea guesses that he has helped 2000 local kids over the years, he says that he is "very disappointed with the way the city is now, with the way that the area is now."...

Scope and Contents: Anthony Bialecki was a student at the un-school of New Haven in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Born in 1953, Bialecki grew up in Fair Haven but his family moved to North Haven when he began high school. A self-described member of the counterculture, Bialecki dropped out of high school during his sophomore year and, against his father's wishes, began to attend the un-school of New Haven, a small alternative school with commitments to political activism and community involvement. Bialecki...