Archive Record
Metadata
Object ID number |
2013.46.04 |
Title |
Fourth Oral History Interview of Doris Pelton Burgdorf |
Date |
2007 Aug 07 |
Scope & Content |
Fourth oral history of Doris Pelton Burgdorf, completed by Maureen Bourn, August 7, 2007. In this fourth interview of five, Doris speaks about her childhood years on Main Street in South Windsor: activities she participated in, schools she attended, teachers she remembers. This interview begins with Doris's father who worked primarily with cattle. She describes his cattle "walks" and cattle drives, buying and selling cattle, and his early involvement in the slaughter business. He eventually moved into buying and selling cattle and hay. Doris then discusses the construction of Route 5, parallel to Main Street, and the impact of the decision to bypass Main Street as a central north-south route. She talks about the tobacco business and its decline due to foreign competition, and the general demise of farming in general as more children of farmers became college educated and opted for other careers. Other changes Doris notes include: the construction of the Bissell Bridge (through a recognized flood plain) resulted in isolating--and thereby protecting--King Street from further development; the gradual relocation of the town center (the town hall, community center, and library) from Main Street to its current location; the formation of the South Windsor Historic Society in 1970 and, subsequently, the South Windsor Historic District Commission. |
Orgnaizational or Biographical History |
Doris Burgdorf is a life-long resident of South Windsor. She is a member of the South Windsor Historical Society. Doris is the designer of our town seal, the illustrator of Long Hill; The Mary Jeannette Elmore Story, and the author of A Country Mile, a book about the houses in the historic district on Main Street. Doris is currently working on the committee to restore Union School and she is doing the deed searches and research necessary for a new book about the houses on the rest of Main Street. |
Creator |
Burgdorf, Doris Pelton |
Other Creators |
Bourn, Maureen |
Collection |
Oral History Collection |
Interviewer |
Bourne, Maureen |
Interview date |
2007-07-31 |
People |
Allen, Ethan Allen, Samuel Bordua, Franny Bourn, Maureen Burgdorf, Doris (Pelton) Deveran, Howard Dolner, Mrs. Doocy, Fred Driscoll, Donald Fitch, John Fitch, John Fitch, Joseph Fraize, Tom Hansen, Mr. Hosley, William King, Alexander Lasbury, Celia Levack, Rusty Martin, Gina Mulnite, Emile Nicholson, Richard Pelton, Enoch Porter, Pat Raymond, Catherine Hildred (Sperry), 1907-1992 Rennie, Kevin Shepard, Charles Beach "Tim" 1942- Shepard, Jean Edweard III "Kip", Thrall, Ben Waldron, Sherwood C., 1921-2002 Wesson, Gabe Zagorski, Jimmy |
Subjects |
Barracks Floods Infrastructure United States. Army. Corps of Engineers Wetlands World War II |
Search Terms |
African American soldier barracks (World War II) Bissell Bridge Buckland Road, South Windsor, CT Burnham Brook Connecticut Historical Commission Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation Dart Hill Road, South Windsor, CT Ellsworth Memorial High School Filene's Department Store Fleet Bank Foster Farm Foster Street, South Windsor, CT Governors Highway Grant Family Kasheta Farms King Street Nevers Road, South Windsor, CT New Street Newberry Road, South Windsor, CT Pleasant Valley School Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Quonset Huts Route 5 Rye Street, South Windsor, CT Segregation Shepard Family Shepard Tobacco Company South Windsor Historic District South Windsor Historical Society South Windsor Town Hall Stoughton Brook Timothy Edwards School Union District School Wadsworth Atheneum Watson House Windshield inventory Windsor Tobacco Museum Windsorville Road Wood Memorial Library |