Cisco College Oral History Collection

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Duane Hale, professor at Cisco College, began requiring his history students to conduct oral history interviews in 1995. This assignment, titled “In Pursuit of the American Dream,” has continued every subsequent semester. Hale teaches US History (and occasionally Texas History) primarily at the Abilene campus of Cisco College.

Size of Collection: 148 boxes; 5,341 interviews

Scope and Contents: The collection consists of over 5,300 interviews conducted between 1995 and 2019. Interviews are rooted in the Big Country region of Texas (Abilene and surrounding counties). Interviewees primarily were born between 1920 and 1950 (but include subjects born between 1898 and 1985). We estimate over two-thirds of the interviewees were born in Texas with many second or third generation Texans, but there are also interviewees discussing growing up in Mexico and across the world. Topics focus on early childhood recollections, family and home life, personal beliefs, marriage and children, technological innovations, changes in urban and rural environments, military service (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam), and remembrances of historical events (Kennedy assassination, moon landing, Nixon resigning, 9/11, and 2016 election). Of special interest are interviews from subjects born during the Dust Bowl, growing up on farms across West Texas, as well as sharecroppers and migrant workers. This collection has an internal database that can be searched by the A/V archivist. To find out more about specific locations, dates, topics, keywords, or subjects, contact the SWC/SCL.

List of Questions provided to students by Dr. Hale:
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