Guide to Women's Oral Histories at the Russell Library: Agriculture and Environment

These three histories are focused on the agricultural and ecological changes in Georgia and the rest of the United States. They include experts in the field of ecology from across the country, as well as those who have witnessed how the changing landscape has affected larger aspects of society. 

Lucinda Berryhil at her interview for the Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection

The Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection is comprised of interviews whose research focus is on the environmental, social, and technological aspects of agricultural change in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. Interviews were conducted with a variety of subjects, including large-scale and small-scale farmers, former agriculture workers, civil rights activists, extension agents, and agro-industrial sector workers, documenting their experience of the agricultural industrialization process during the mid to late twentieth century.

These oral histories are part of a larger collection, which can be found here. 

Mary Anne Mackey

Genether Spurlock

Betty Martina

Lucinda Berryhill 

Dennis Knight, as part of the ESA’s Historical Records Committee, was the principal organizer of this collection, which documents the history of the Ecological Society of America and the work of its members.

These oral histories are part of a larger collection, which can be found here. 

Yaffa Grossman 

Jean Langenheim

Patricia Werner

Margaret Davis

Marjorie Holland 

Katherine McCarter

Frances James

Joy Zedler

The Georgia Environmental Oral History Project was started in 2013 via a partnership between the Russell Library and Betsy Bean. The project documents the forces that have shaped and are currently shaping the Georgia landscape, including such topics as environmental activism (with a focus on grassroots activism), legislation related to environmental issues, the environmental history of the Georgia coast, the interplay between conservation, industry and tourism, the politics of “sustainability,” and the relationship between environmental issues and public safety. Early interviews focus on Brunswick and Glynn County including numerous Superfund sites, the development issues surrounding St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, and the challenges of protecting coastal marshlands.

These oral histories are part of a larger collection, which can be found here.  

Jean Poleszak

Lydia Thompson

Nancy Thomason

Mary Moran 

Virginia Gunn

Dorinda Dallmeyer

Mallory Pierce

Sarah Ross