Oklahoma's Conservation Heritage Oral History Project
Oklahoma Oral History Research Program - Oklahoma State University Library
Description
The Oklahoma Conservation Heritage Collection is a series of interviews with people involved in the conservation of natural resources in the state. Throughout the states history Oklahomans have struggled with extreme weather from drought and the Dust Bowl to devastating flooding. Conservation efforts to combat soil erosion, protect land and communities from flooding, and improve water quality have been a vital part of our states history.
A long-standing government partnership involving USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (federal), the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (state) and Conservation Districts (local) have been responsible for working with landowners and land users to install conservation practices on the ground. The interviews in this collection focus on individuals whose careers were devoted to the conservation of Oklahoma’s natural resources. The interviews were conducted in partnership and sponsorship with the Oklahoma Conservation Historical Society with funding provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. More archival material from this history can be found at the Oklahoma Historical Society.
| Subjects | |
| Call Number | |
| Dates | 2018 - |
Interviews in Oklahoma's Conservation Heritage Oral History Project
| Oral History Interview | Description |
|---|---|
| Ben Pollard 11/22/2021 | Ben Pollard, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, discusses his long career with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. He talks about various programs he worked it and discusses his involvement with… |
| Bill Wilson 09/24/2021 | Bill Wilson, born in 1946, explains how he became interested in land surveying and in conservation of natural resources. He discusses his involvement with the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts… |
| Bob Imgarten 04/05/2018 | Bob Imgarten, member of Oklahoma’s Red Rock Conservancy Board of Directors for over fifty years, discusses his early life on his family’s farm and making the decision to continue to farm after high school.… |
| Budd Fountain 09/21/2108 | Budd Fountain, a graduate of Fort Hays State University, discusses his long career with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). He talks about his path into conservation, some of his favorite parts of the… |
| Cheryl Cheadle 11/07/2019 | Cheryl Cheadle, a 1981 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU), recalls her youth in Henryetta, Oklahoma, and her early experience exploring a nearby stream. She talks about how that experience turned… |
| Clay Pope 09/27/2021 | Clay Pope, a 1992 graduate of Oklahoma State University, talks about his career in the area of conservation including his time in Oklahoma’s House of Representations, his ten years as executive director… |
| Creede Speake Jr. 04/23/2018 | Creede Speake, Jr., long-serving board member of the Caddo Watershed Association and of the Arbuckle Conservation District in Oklahoma, recalls his youth and his early interest in learning to be a pilot.… |
| Dan Sebert 09/30/2021 | Dan Sebert, a 1985 doctoral graduate of Oklahoma State University, discusses his career within the area of conservation. He shares how he entered the field and how he progressed through various positions… |
| Darrel Dominick 09/07/2018 | Darrel Dominick, a twice graduate of Oklahoma State University, discusses his career in the field of natural resource conservation, including his time as the state conservationist for Oklahoma. He talks… |
| Debi Carnott 06/14/2022 | Debi Carnott discusses her long career in conservation in Oklahoma. She recalls her early days with the North Canadian River Conservation District, some of the programs she worked in and with, and making… |
| Dellas Anderson 11/09/2018 | Dellas Anderson, a 1959 graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in agricultural engineering, discusses his life growing up in Martha, Oklahoma, and his thirty-four-year career with the Soil… |
| Don Bartolina 04/19/2018 | Don Bartolina, a 1959 and 1972 graduate of Oklahoma State University majoring in agronomy, discusses his involvement in conservation work in Oklahoma. He talks about soil surveys and his longtime work… |
| Duane Crider 12/05/2018 | Duane Crider, a 1972 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU), discusses his long career with the Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service) that began in 1972 and ended… |
| Dwain Phillips 09/27/2019 | Dwain Phillips, a 1967 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU), discusses his thirty-some years with the Soil Conservation Service as both a soil conservationist and a public information officer. He… |
| Ed Abernathy 11/08/2019 | Ed Abernathy, born in 1930, is a 1953 graduate of Oklahoma A&M College (OAMC), now Oklahoma State University. He recalls his youth and discusses long career as a soil scientist for the Soil Conservation… |
| Elmer Maddux 03/13/2018 | Elmer Maddux, a member of Oklahoma’s Woodward County Conservation District Board of Directors for over twenty years and former state legislator, recalls his early childhood and how he became interested… |
| Frank D Lucas 03/10/2022 | Frank Lucas, a 1982 graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in agricultural economics, discusses the history of his family in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, and how he became familiar with the… |
| Fredia Rice 12/13/2021 | Fredia Rice, a twenty-three year employee of the Cotton County Conservation District in Walters, Oklahoma, recalls her youth in Walters and discusses her work in conservation. She talks about the local… |
| Gary O'Neill 11/19/2018 | Gary O’Neill, a 1982 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU), discusses his thirty-some year career with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). He talks about his education and background… |
| Gayle Brown 09/20/2019 | Gayle Brown, born in 1937, discusses his life's work as a conservation technician with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). He recalls how he started with the SCS and comments on changes over the course… |
| George Fraley 10/04/2019 | George Fraley, born in 1941, discusses his time working in conservation in Rogers County, Oklahoma. He talks about the RAMP (Rural Abandoned Mines Program) and AML (Abandoned Mine Lands) program, the many… |
| George Stunkard 02/25/2018 | George Stunkard, a 1961 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU) with a degree in Animal Science, recalls his youth on his family’s farm, working with his father and attending high school in Tulsa,… |
| Grant Victor 11/18/2021 | Grant Victor, a 1979 graduate of Oklahoma State University, shares the history of his family’s farm in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, which dates back to his great-grandfather receiving the land as a Cherokee… |
| Hal Clark 02/25/2018 | Hal Clark, a graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in Animal Science and Range Management, recalls his youth in the Panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas, relocating a couple times due to his father’s… |
| Harold Kachel 11/21/2019 | Harold Kachel, born in 1928, discusses his life as a farmer, retired professor, and conservation worker. He talks about his upbringing and his experiences during the Dust Bowl, and how the Dust Bowl has… |
| Iris Imler 05/01/2018 | Iris Imler, Cimarron County Conservation District Programs Coordinator, shares how she began her career in conservation work in 1989. She discusses various activities she has been involved with in the… |
| Jack Hudman 03/09/2018 | Jack Hudman, a member of Oklahoma’s Cotton County Conservation District Board of Directors for over fifty years, recalls his childhood living in a children’s home and life lessons he learned there. He… |
| Jim Males 02/25/2020 | "Jim Males, born in 1940 and a retired endocrinologist, discusses his youth growing up in Cheyenne, Oklahoma, during the 1940s and 1950s. He shares memories of his father ""Red"" Males who was instrumental… |
| Jimmy Emmons 09/13/2021 | Jimmy Emmons, a lifelong resident of Dewey County, Oklahoma, explains how he became interested in soil health and in the conservation of natural resources. He discusses farming practices such as no-till… |
| Joe Taron 01/29/2020 | Joe Taron, born in 1931, is a 1952 graduate of Oklahoma A&M College (OAMC), now Oklahoma State University, and a 1959 graduate of the University of Missouri’s dental school. He recalls his time at OAMC… |
| Kevin Norton 11/25/2019 | Kevin Norton, a 1981 graduate of Oklahoma State University majoring in agronomy, discusses his childhood growing up in Anadarko, Oklahoma and his thirty-eight year career with the National Resources Conservation… |
| Kim Farber 09/13/2021 | Kim Farber, a 1977 graduate of Oklahoma State University, discusses her work as a director of the Garfield County Conservation District and the various issues producers faced in area. She shares some of… |
| Larry Caldwell | Larry Caldwell, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) state engineer for Oklahoma 1984-2009, discusses his forty-plus years of work in watersheds and dam maintenance with the NRCS. He recalls about… |
| Larry Wright 11/15/2019 | Wright, born in 1954, is a 1976 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU) with a degree in agronomy. He recalls experiences as a teenager that set him on the path to a long career with the Soil Conservation… |
| Mason Mungle 02/25/2018 & 03/09/2018 | Mason Mungle, a 1970 and 1972 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU) with degrees in Animal Science, recalls growing up on his family’s dairy farm, working with his parents and grandparents, and learning… |
| Nick Lambeth 11/16/2018 | Nick Lambeth, a 1961 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU) with a degree in forestry, talks about his long career with the Soil Conservation Service. He discusses his college days, working for the… |
| Phil Campbell 09/27/2021 | Phil Campbell, a thirty-year veteran of the United States Air Force, discusses his youth in Spencer, Oklahoma, and deciding to enter the military. He talks briefly about a few of his military experiences… |
| Phil Perryman 12/03/2018 | Phil Perryman, a 1971 and 1975 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU), discusses his career with the Soil Conservation Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He also talks about… |
| Robert Toole 06/09/2022 | Robert Toole, a 1975 graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in wildlife management, discusses his long career in conservation beginning with his first experience as a summer aid for his local… |
| Roland Willis 04/24/2018 | Roland Willis, state conservationist for Oklahoma 1975-1987, recalls his youth in Texas and how he became interested in conservation matters. He discusses his career path which included several moves and… |
| Ron Clark 10/23/2018 | Ron Clark, a 1962 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU) with a degree in agricultural economics, talks about his childhood and his father's death during World War II, how he met his wife, and how… |
| Ron Hilliard 11/30/2018 | Ron Hilliard, a 1971 and 1974 graduate of Texas Technological University, describes his long career with Natural Resources Conservation Service, formally Soil Conservation Service. He explains his many… |
| Sandra Drummond 05/24/2018 | Sandra Drummond, former commissioner on the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and longtime member of the Osage County Conservation District Board of Directors, discusses her path into the ranching business… |
| Scotty Herriman 10/04/2019 | Scotty Herriman, born in 1949, discusses his time in farming and conservation in Nowata County, Oklahoma. He talks about some of his practices such as cover crops and no-till and about some of the issues… |
| Sherry Hunt 12/03/2021 | Sherry Hunt, a 1999 and 2000 graduate of Oklahoma State University, recalls growing up near Sugar Creek in Caddo County, Oklahoma, and her early exposure to soil conservation. She talks about some of her… |
| Stan Rice 11/27/2018 | Stan Rice, a 1970 graduate of Panhandle State University with a degree in agronomy, discusses his thirty-year career with the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), now the Natural Resources Conservation Service… |
| Tom Lucas 09/16/2021 | Tom Lucas, a 1968 graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU), discusses the various positions he has had in his career leading up to and including his time with the USDA. He talks about his time at OSU,… |
| Trey Lam 06/17/2022 | Trey Lam, a 1982 graduate of Yale University, recalls lessons he learned working on the farm with his parents and grandparents in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. He discusses his mid-life career change going from… |
| V. Pauline Hodges 04/19/2018 | Pauline Hodges, retired college professor and high school teacher, recalls her early childhood during the Dust Bowl days in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. She shares memories of one-room schools, relocating… |
| Wayne Sexton 10/03/2018 | Wayne Sexton, a 1955 graduate of Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University) majoring in Animal Science, discusses his involvement in conservation work in Oklahoma through the years. He describes… |