Oral histories --Florida

Antonio Leon was one of 14,008 Cuban children who were part of
( Operation Pedro Pan (1961-1965). These children immigrated to the United States
unaccompanied by their parents under the sponsorship of the Catholic Welfare Bureau in
conjunction with the United States government. Antonio immigrated to the United States age
fourteen in October of 1961. Antonio's experiences within the Pedro Pan program where unique,
in that after arriving and temporarily settling in Miami, Florida, he was relocated on three
occasions to different regions within the United States- in the West in Reno, Nevada, the
Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in the Mid-West in Superior, Wisconsin.

Edna Pearce Lockett served in the Florida Legislature from 1949 until
1953. She was the third woman to serve. Lockett operated one of the largest
cattle ranches in Florida and served her community until her death.
Junior Miller has been the caretaker at the Pearce Estate since 1975 when
Edna Pearce Lockett was in her sixties.
Audrey Vickers knew Edna Pearce Lockett through her involvement with
local politics and her journalistic endeavors.

John Benjamin Moody was born in 1918 in Tampa, Florida. He worked for over
fifty years for airlines in Miami in the maintenance and mechanical division. He moved
back to homestead area to Lake Placid in 1993. Moody is related to Edna Pearce through
Rev. Levi Pearce's marriage to his great great-grandmother's sister. He attended Pearce
reunions at the Pearce Homestead as a child and much later as a retiree. Moody was
instrumental in the restoration and upkeep of the on-site Pearce cemetery.

The primary topic of this interview concerned the life, teaching, and administrative career
of Kathleen Morris. Kathleen Morris was a teacher at the Davie School House from 1970-1977, a
teacher at Flamingo Eletnentary from 1979 to 1985, and a principal from 1985 to 2005.
Throughout the interview, Kathleen provided an overview of her life that ranged from her
family's move from South Bend, Indiana to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, her time in high school and
college during the 1960s, and finally her career in the education system. Stories in this interview
range from racial integration, urbanization, the trials and tribulations of Elementary Education,
and finally the evolution of the public school system.

The primary topic of this interview was Bob Roth's lifestyle, his family, and the values
important to him. Bob has been a farmer at New River Groves in Davie for over 50 years. He was
able to provide insight into the experiences of the fruit business, which have interested him since
his time as a student at North Miami High School in the 1960s. The discussions in this interview
will cover topics such as early Davie history, Bob's family history, the fruit business, and changes
in South Florida. The interview, which began just before the tape begins, was not interrupted to
begin again. This was done as a means to keep a natural pace and flow to the discussion.

My interview with David Segal was a thorough interview that took almost two hours. I
was a little nervous, but we covered a lot of ground during the interview. Mr. Segal provided a
very sobering picture of the horrors and tragedies of war, so this was an emotional interview at
times for both myself and the interviewee. He recounted an instance of friendly fire with the
Gurkha fighters and was open about many of his hardships such as amoebic dysentery and
malaria. He had many positive things to say about Dr. Norman after the interview and disclosed
to me a great detail about his family life. During the interview, Mr. Segal would often transition
suddenly during mid-sentence and could be difficult to follow at times. Given his age, his life
story frequently merged together during the interview process. His experiences of poor food and
little outside help in the China India Burma war theatre confirmed what historians have called
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Europe First strategy, where all the best food and equipment
went to the European continent to fight the Nazi regime. The subject did most of the talking
during the interview and while I had a complete questionnaire ready, I did not use all of the
questions. Instead, I allowed Mr. Segal to open up about his life and his service, which was a
very insightful and· educational experience. My overall impression of Mr. Segal is that he has
been through an incredible amount of difficulties as a result of his service in India and Burma.
From a medical perspective, it is incredible to note that Mr. Segal is still alive given his exposure
to amoebic dysentery, malaria, and the numerous amounts of surgeries he has had in his lifetime.
The process of interviewing Mr. Segal was an insightful one and I hope will be of use for future
scholars and his family.

The following is a look into the history of Deerfield Beach as told through the eyes of
Arnie Kay Tanner. Ms. Tanner was born November 4, 1947, she has lived within the city her
entire life. Ms. Tanner and her family have been active members within the community since
settling there in the 1920s, offering a unique and extensive point of view on Deerfield Beach's
history. Through her story readers/researchers will be able to see the social, economic, and
political changes that have occurred as the city grew. Major topics of discussion in this oral
history include: the contributions her father (Odas Tanner) has made to Deerfield Beach, Ms.
Tanner's early life, Cracker Day, population growth, the impacts hurricanes have had on the
city's grow;th and development, and President Gerald Ford's visit to the city's pier.

B.D. Thomas was born in 1919 at Prayer Ridge in the Basinger, Florida area to a
cattle family. She became an orphan at the age of thirteen and was married at the age of
sixteen. After she married, she used inherited cattle to buy eighty acres at a tax sale in
order to begin ranching with her husband. The interviews were conducted on that same
ranch where her son, R.E. Thomas, herds approximately two hundred head of cattle
today.

The early life history of Mr. T. Edward Thomsen in Albany, New York. Life in the Depression. School
and church life in youth. Hospital confinement. Going to college. Employment in, and description, of the
hotel industry in New York State. Getting married. Traveling to Florida. Employment at the Boca Raton
Resort and Club. Life in Boca Raton in the 1950s. Working life at the club. Famous people met and
scandals endured. Race relations. Circumstances surrounding the buyout of the club in 1956.

The interview recounts Mr. Alfords early life and his childhood memories. After joining the military he enrolled at the University of Miami to study Business Administration. At the age of twenty-eight, he became the first assistant city manager of Boca Raton and eventually moved up to the official city manager position in 1966 which he held for 6 years. Having gained respect and support from the community, Mr. Alford was elected mayor of Boca Raton in 1972.