Coal Mining | Ann Arbor District Library

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AACHM Oral History: Sandra Harris

Thu, 06/29/2023 - 4:30pm

Sandra Harris was born in 1952 in West Virginia, where her father was a coal miner. Her family moved to Ann Arbor when she was in second grade. Harris remembers being on the homecoming court at Pioneer High School and participating in student-led marches during the late 1960s. She received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from Eastern Michigan University. She was a school administrator in the Ann Arbor Public Schools as well as other districts. In addition to her service as an educator, she was also a longtime caretaker for her nephew and her mother.

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Legacies Project Oral History: Ruth Carey

Thu, 01/16/2020 - 9:19am

Ruth (née Dorsey) Carey was born in 1937 and grew up in West Virginia, Georgia, and Ohio. She attended Greenbelt College in Illinois and nursing school in Cleveland, Ohio. She and her husband had two children and moved to Ann Arbor to pursue graduate education. She graduated from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and went on to teach at the School of Nursing. She is passionate about educating new parents about health and nutrition. During retirement she began visiting inmates at the federal prison in Milan as a volunteer with the Prisoner Visitation & Support program.

Ruth Carey was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2015-16 as part of the Legacies Project.

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AACHM Oral History: Johnny Barfield

Sun, 09/28/2014 - 12:54pm

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Johnny W. Barfield was born February 8, 1927, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As a child he sold soap house to house and, after tenth grade, joined the U.S. Army where he served in France and Germany. After leaving the Army in 1947, Mr. Barfield became a wall washer for the University of Michigan, where hard work, entrepreneurship, and innovation helped him build the largest cleaning business in Ann Arbor. Mr. Barfield is widely recognized for his philanthropic work and support of the African American and business communities.