Interview with Minor Anderson, September 30, 2020

Partial Transcript: Today is September 30, 2020. This Randolph Adams who served in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1969. And I'm interviewing Minor Anderson who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from February 1964 to February 1966. In the Peace Corps, Minor served in the community development sector.

Segment Synopsis: Anderson was born and raised in a small town in southern Wisconsin. Growing up, Anderson was intrigued by reading National Geographic magazine and by mementos brought back from Central America by one of his junior high school teachers. Anderson attended the University of Wisconsin in engineering and was a fan of President Kennedy. Within 10 days of Kennedy's assassination, Anderson applied to the Peace Corps. To escape the winter of Wisconsin, Anderson stated a preference for serving in Indonesia. In a month, Anderson got an invitation for training in Puerto Rico for a rural development program in the Dominican Republic, which he accepted.

Keywords: Choices; College majors; Deaths; Decisions; Influences; John F. Kennedy; Motivation; Puerto Rico; Rural areas; Undergraduate education; University of Wisconsin; Waiting periods; Weather; Wisconsin

Subjects: Childhood; Indonesia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Teachers; Universities and colleges; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Literally, from my submitting my application to showing up for training was probably a total of 8 or 10 weeks.

Segment Synopsis: Anderson's cohort of 35 to 40 trainees had a week of orientation in Philadelphia. Pre-service training was in Utuado, Puerto Rico. Anderson's cohort was the first to have all their training in Puerto Rico instead of having it partially on the mainland U.S. Anderson describes the training site and Outward Bound training. Pre-service training was from February 1964 to June 1964 and included a week's home leave. Training also included talks on the area's turbulent history.

Keywords: Changes; Civilian Conservation Corps; Cohorts; History; John F. Kennedy; Language training; Orientation; Outward Bound training; Paperwork; Philadelphia (Pa.); Technical training; Transition periods; Utuado (Puerto Rico)

Subjects: Dominican Republic; Emotions; International travel; Panama; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: I think we were almost, uh, you know, universally surprised by what met us in the Dominican Republic. It was significantly, you know, less developed and, and strange than, uh, what we'd experienced in Puerto Rico.

Segment Synopsis: Anderson was struck by the lack of modernization in the Dominican Republic. Anderson's cohort had several more days of orientation in Santo Domingo during which several Volunteers dropped out.

Keywords: Cohorts; Orientation; Puerto Rico; Quitting; Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); Transition periods

Subjects: Acculturation; Culture shock; Dominican Republic; Lifestyles; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And the site that I drew was Jimani, which was about as far from Santo Domingo as you could get.

Segment Synopsis: Anderson was assigned to Jimani, a town on the Haitian border. Anderson was the first Volunteer sent there. Anderson was sent to his work site with only rudimentary Spanish language fluency and little guidance as to his purpose there. Anderson lived in a rooming house and started to make local contacts. Eventually, Anderson moved to a hotel where he was the only guest. One of Anderson's first projects was to get some young people to help him get the swimming pool by the hotel back to operating condition and opened to the public. Anderson also organized an overnight camping trip for the local kids.

Keywords: Activities; Changes; Community involvement; Conversations; Housing; Improvements; Jimani (Dominican Republic); Kids; Language skills; Local people; Locals; Neyba (Dominican Republic); Peace Corps directors; Port-au-Prince (Haiti); Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); Secondary projects; Socializing; Spanish (Language); Young people

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Uh, at the same time, I had been contacted by the Office of Community Development and was starting to get involved with them.

Segment Synopsis: Eventually, Anderson was contacted by the nearest Office of Community Development which was a 4-hour drive away in Neyba. There was a daily bus from Jimani to Neyba which Anderson could take as needed. Anderson helped with surveying of building foundations and canals. Part of Anderson's role was to assess the infrastructure needs of different communities. After a feasibility study, the government would provide funding if the community would provide the labor.

Keywords: Alliance for Progress; Buses; Funding; Jimani (Dominican Republic); Neyba (Dominican Republic); Plans; Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); Supplies; Transportation

Subjects: Finance; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; United States. Agency for International Development; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Um, and about halfway through my, my Peace Corps service, April 25, 1965, uh, the, uh, cataclysmic event that the area specialists had warned us about in training happened. Uh, the ruling triumvirate was overthrown, uh, by a left wing faction the, uh--of the military. And there was a standoff between the left wing military, uh, and the uh, the, uh, the remnants of Trujillo's armed forces.

Segment Synopsis: Halfway through Anderson's service, there was a left wing military coup. There was a bloody standoff between the left wing rebels who had more enthusiasm and popular support versus the former supporters of Trujillo who had more fire power. Most of the confrontation occurred in Santo Domingo. The military had considered the Volunteers to be Communists. With the revolution, university students returned to the countryside. They considered the Volunteers to be agents for the Central Intelligence Agency. The U.S. government intervened with 10,000 Marines which halted the shooting but didn't resolve the political issues. President Johnson's rationale was that the rebels were Communists. Some Volunteers were temporarily evacuated to Puerto Rico. Evacuation of all the Volunteers was considered. The Volunteers wrote a letter to the New York Times in support of the rebels arguing that the rebels were not Communists. In Santo Domingo, Volunteers were the only people who could move freely between the zones controlled by the rebels, the counter revolutionaries, or the American Marines.

Keywords: Attitudes; Conflicts; Criticism; Dangerous; Dangers; Emergency action plans; History; Lack of communication; Letters; Lyndon B. Johnson; Marriage; News; Politics and government; Problems; Puerto Rico; Radio stations; Rafael Trujillo; Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); Support; Transition periods; Uncertainty

Subjects: Evacuation; Oppression; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers; World politics

Partial Transcript: But, back to Neyba.

Segment Synopsis: After 2 or 3 weeks, people were able to resume work on the community development projects. Anderson initiated a project to irrigate a piece of land by a mostly Haitian community of 600 to 700 people. Another community development Volunteer with access to well drilling equipment assisted with the project. After months of work, the wells and irrigation canals were completed and the land is still being successfully farmed to this day.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Cohorts; Community involvement; Cooperation; Impact; Improvements; Land; Supplies; Support; Sustainability; Technology; Transportation

Subjects: Minorities; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And so, they asked if I could stay on. And, you know. I knew that, uh, my father had been apoplectic when I dropped out of college to join the Peace Corps. And so, there was a lot of pressure to, uh, return to, to my, uh, less than illustrious college career. Uh, but I really--I love the Dominican Republic. I loved what I was doing. I was excited about the, the projects.

Segment Synopsis: Anderson resisted family pressure to return home and stayed in the Dominican Republic as a contract worker with the U.S. Agency for International Development for 18 months. Anderson's work involved ensuring that USAID funds were being used properly. This involved working with some Peace Corps Volunteers who were working on these projects.

Keywords: Accountability; Close of Service; Cooperation; Counterparts; Decisions; Family; Friends; Jobs; Stress (Psychology); Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Dominican Republic; Emotions; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; United States. Agency for International Development; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: When I finally decided, okay it's time to return to the United States, finish my college degree, and, you know, try to make something of myself.

Segment Synopsis: Anderson states that his Peace Corps service was a life-changing event. Anderson established lifelong friendships and has returned to the Dominican Republic many times. Anderson has been part of a group which started a foundation to fund education in the Dominican Republic.

Keywords: Changes; Coming home; Education; Funding; Leaving; Returning; Traveling

Subjects: Charities; Dominican Republic; Friendship; International travel; Non-governmental organizations; Nonprofit organizations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did you have any interaction with Peace Corps staff while you were out in Jimani or Neyba? Did they come and visit or? What was your communication like with the, with the office in Santo Domingo?

Segment Synopsis: During his service, several Peace Corps staff members visited Anderson's work site and offered support. The Peace Corps staff was able to resolve problems with the Volunteers' living allowances caused by the revolution. Following the revolution, the U.S. military set up a base at Neyba where Anderson went to try and get news.

Keywords: Accountability; Jimani (Dominican Republic); Media; News; Neyba (Dominican Republic); Peace Corps directors; Peace Corps staff; Press; Problems; Safety; Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); Stipends; Support; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Finance; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What, what did you feel was your main accomplishment while you were in service?

Segment Synopsis: Anderson feels that the irrigation project was very worthwhile. Anderson states that his Peace Corps service made him much more aware of the broader world. Anderson developed a lifelong interest in Latin America. After Anderson completed his college degree, he eventually became a Peace Corps staff member in several Latin American countries and had other jobs related to the area. Anderson was in the 11th cohort to be sent to the Dominican Republic. Some of his closest friends were fellow trainees.

Keywords: Career paths; Cohorts; First Goal; Friendship; Interests; Peace Corps staff; Personal growth; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; Third Goal

Subjects: Dominican Republic; Latin America; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteers