St. Louis

Ilsa Dahl grew up in Geilenkirchen, Germany where her family had lived for generations. They were observant Jews and patriotic Germans, and Ilsa’s father had served in the German army during World War I. Of the town’s 4000 inhabitants, most were Roman Catholics, with whom the family enjoyed friendly relations. Ilsa had hoped to be an archeologist, but the Nazis thwarted her hopes for higher education, so she studied dressmaking, first in Aachen and then in Berlin, where she met her future husband. Ilsa, who already had an American visa, left Germany days after Kristallnacht, but her parents and most of her extended family were killed in camps. 

She discusses joining family in Kansas City, working in the garment industry, her family and social life, and other topics.

Interview with Kansas City Public School District board member Dr. A. Odell Thurman. Thurman discusses his family and early life in Mississippi and St. Louis, his father's work as a minister, attending (and later teaching at) Dunbar School, attending high school in Liberty and St. Joseph, attending Western University and later graduating from Lincoln University, getting a masters degree, and working as an educator in Kansas City, Missouri. He shares his thoughts about segregated schools in Kansas City, earning his PhD, and becoming an assistant superintendent for the school district.

Interview with union leader and Missouri state representative Leo McKamey. McKamey discusses his early life in the St. Louis area, working at a variety of jobs, moving to Kansas City, serving a brief stint in the army, the lack of Black leadership in labor unions, and his work in union leadership. He also discusses Freedom, Inc., his work as a state representative, the importance of job training and the value of unions to the Black community, and shares his plans for his own future and hopes for the future of young people.

Interview with boxing coach Arrington Bubble Klice. Klice discusses his family and background in Arkansas, early childhood in St. Louis, attending school in Kansas City, his involvement in sports including basketball and swimming, his memories of World War I and life during the Depression, working various jobs at St. Regis Hotel, recalls the nightlife and culture in the 18th and Vine neighborhood, and describes his start in boxing in California. He recalls training alongside champion boxers including Jack Johnson, shares his thoughts about other high profile boxers and athletes he coached as well as thoughts about the business and ethics of boxing, and discusses his time in the service during World War II.

Interview with Dr. Eugene E. Fields. Dr. Fields discusses his family background and early life in the St. Louis area, his memories of segregation in his childhood and the Great Depression, graduating from Lincoln University, his work for the National Youth Administration North American Aviation during World War II, his experience with prominent leaders and Black intellectuals in St. Louis and Kansas City, meeting his wife, and becoming a teacher and administrator at numerous Kansas City Public School District schools. He also discusses attending graduate school, including receiving a PhD from the University of Kansas, his experience of school integration, the burgeoning Black political and activist environment in Kansas City, and protests that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his ordination as a minister, and his thoughts about the future of Kansas City schools.

Two-part interview with Jackson County circuit court judge Lewis Clymer. Clymer discusses his early life in Neosho, Missouri, historically Black colleges and universities, including, his attendance at Lincoln and Howard universities and Howard's law school, his work with the war production board during World War II, the Lloyd Gaines and Lucile Bluford legal cases, and his work as a Jackson County prosecutor, Kansas City municipal court judge, and the first Black man nominated to the Jackson County Circuit Court. He also discusses his views on crime in Black communities, as well as his involvement in state politics (including working on Harry Truman's Senate campaign), his memories of Carl Johnson, Kansas City NAACP leader and first local Black municipal court judge, as well as other community leaders.

Interview with educator and community leader Dr. Girard T. Bryant. Bryant discusses his childhood and early education in St. Louis, his career as an educator at Western Baptist College, Kansas City Junior College, several Kansas City high schools, and in Thailand, before becoming the president of Penn Valley Community College. Bryant also discusses his involvement in organizations including the YMCA, the Urban League, the Beau Brummell Club, and various church and hospital boards, as well as his travels and his assessments of contemporary politics and religious issues. Bryant's wife Louise also offers thoughts and recollections.

Interview with Davida Singer Pessen about her life and experience working at Kansas City department stores and other clothing retailers. She discusses her start circa 1960 at Klein's and Rothschild's, continuing in retail through moves to Omaha and St. Louis, and returning to the work in Kansas City as a single mother. She recalls working in a various of department stores and boutiques at Metcalf South and The Landing, and moving in to work at multiple locations of the fine clothing store Woolf Brothers. She also discusses issues including price markup, demand differences from one outlet of a store to another, the decline and ultimate closure of the Woolf Brothers company, and her retirement in 2010.

Interview with Ann Brownfield about her experience as a designer Kansas City and other Midwestern cities. She recalls her start designing shoes in St. Louis, later teaching pattern-making in Grand Island, Nebraska, and working in sportswear, coat, and suit design at Brand and Puritz after moving to Kansas City in 1960. She describes opening her own factory in Kansas City, Kansas, designing and sewing small collections for a variety of clients, including making warm-up suits for the 1972 US Olympic ski team; and her later closure due to the decline of skilled sewing machine operators. She also discusses the decline of the local industry, manufacturing moving overseas, and later working in retail, giving tours of the old garment district, and beginning to collect clothing and other items from local manufacturers.

Interview with Willis Leroy Shumaker about his experiences as a civilian aviation engineer during World War II. After finishing his degree at the University of Missouri, he got married, he worked for Curtiss-Wright and McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, and later came to Standard Oil in Sugar Creek. He discusses his feelings about having been a civilian during the war, various aircraft he worked on, and daily life during wartime.