Betty Jo Benton Oral History

Descriptive

ContributorBurton Barr Central LibraryIntervieweeBetty Jo BentonInterviewerKathleen GarciaSubjectElementary school teachers--Arizona--BiographySchools--Arizona--Maricopa CountyInsurance agents--ArizonaKorean War, 1950-1953--Aerial operations, AmericanCivil rights workers--ArizonaSegregation--ArizonaDescriptionBetty Jo Benton spent her early years in Phoenix before moving to California. She relates her mother’s time as a violinist with the predecessor to the Phoenix Symphony. Mrs. Benton moved back to the city in 1949 with her husband, Robert Benton, and family. Mrs. Benton talks of her husband's job as an insurance agent and how she went to ASU and got her degree in Elementary Education while raising four children. She taught at schools in Tempe and Guadalupe and relates several stories of her teaching. She relates Mr. Benton’s service during the Korean War as a pilot and an accident he was in at Williams Air Field. During the 1980s Mr. and Mrs. Benton visited Japan as part of the Veterans Revisit Korea Program and were able to visited with a former student of hers. The family was very involvement in the United Methodist Church and at times Mrs. Benton worked for her church and for the Arizona Ecumenical Council. She talks for the struggle to get Martin Luther King Day recognized as a holiday. Throughout the interview Mrs. Benson relates the changes to Phoenix and especially focuses on segregation and race relations.Audio Length00:59:57Date Original2011-03-08Date Range1930s (1930-1939)1940s (1940-1949)1950s (1950-1959)1960s (1960-1969)1970s (1970-1979)1980s (1980-1989)TypeSound- NonmusicalOriginal FormatOral historiesLanguageEnglishContributing InstitutionState Archives- Arizona State Library, Archives and Public RecordsCollectionCapturing Arizona's StoriesRights StatementFrom the collection of the History and Archives Division, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. Copyright and/or publication rights for all items in this collection are retained by this institution. For assistance with permission to re-use or other reference questions, please contact the Archives at [email protected]

Geographic

City or TownPhoenixTempeGuadalupeGeographic FeatureArizona State UniversityWilliams Air Force BaseCountyMaricopa CountyStateArizonaCountryUnited States

EventMartin Luther King Jr. HolidayOral HistoryBetty Jo BentonPlacePhoenixTempeGuadalupeArizona State UniversityWilliams Air Force BaseTopicArt and Creative WorksGovernment and PoliticsHolidaysLaborMilitaryRace and EthnicityRecreation

Administrative

IdentifierOH6_SG2_BentonBettyJo03082011.mp3Digital FormatMP3

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Betty Jo Benton Oral History