Collection is open for research
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Blacksburg Oral History Project Records, Ms1985-005, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The collection was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 1985.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Francis Bell Letter was completed in October 2025.
This collection contains interviews with Blacksburg residents Cliff Busby, Georgia Croy, S.H. Kessinger, Lucy Lee Lancaster, George Litton, Howard Price, Carrie T. Sibold, and Ellison A. Smyth. Below is some brief biographical information about these interviewees.
Georgia Croy (1902-2000) was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. She worked as a book keeper at a pharmacy for several years before she became a stenographer for Virginia Tech.
S.H. (Stanley) Kessinger (1899-1993) was born in Newport, Virginia. He moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, some time prior to 1930. He owned the Star Barber Shop on main street, where Kessinger also worked as a barber.
Lucy Lee Lancaster (1905-1989) was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. She graduated was one of the first women to attend Virginia Tech and she was one of only four women who graduated from Virginia Tech in 1925. She later attended Columbia University Library School where she received a Master's degree in library science. She then worked as a librarian in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech.
George Litton (1910-1989) was born in Lee County, Virginia, where he grew up on a livestock farm. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1931 with his bachelor's degree. At some point he also completed graduate work at Oklahoma State University. He later returned to Virginia where he worked for several years as a livestock agent. In 1940, returned to Virginia Tech, where Litton was appointed to the VPI animal husbandry faculty. He was later promoted to the head of the department of animal husbandry in 1952. He continued to live in Blacksburg until his death in 1989.
Howard Price (1909-1996) was born in Montgomery County, Virginia, where he lived nearly his entire life. He was a civil engineer at Virginia Tech for a number of years. Some time between 1940 and 1950, he became the assistant manager of a retail lumber company.
Carrie T. Sibold (1904-1990) was born in Montgomery County, Virginia. She was one of only four women to graduate from Virginia Tech in 1925. She was also one of the first five women to attend the university. After receiving her bachelor's, Sibold went on to become a stenographer for the Alumni Association. She lived in Blacksburg until her death in 1990.
Ellison A. Smyth (1903-1998) was born in Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia, to his father, Ellison Smyth, who was a professor of biology and the dean at Virginia Tech. Smyth himself graduated from Virginia Tech in 1925 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He later went on to work for General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y. Smyth later attended Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and New College, Edinburgh, and later received his M.A. from Washington and Lee University. He then became a minister, which was his profession until he died in 1998.
External Sources:
1930, 1940, 1950, United States Federal Census.
https://aspace.lib.vt.edu/agents/people/1041 (lucy lee)
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Stanley Huston Kessinger, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2238/records/10616600, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Stanley H. "Kitty" Kessinger entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135512046/stanley-h-kessinger, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Joseph P. Fontenot and Gary L. Minish, "George Washington Litton, 1910 to 1989: A brief biography," https://www.asas.org/docs/default-source/midwest/mw2020/publications/litton.pdf, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Joseph P. Fontenot and Gary L. Minish, "George Washington Litton, 1910 to 1989: A brief biography," American Society of Animal Science, https://www.asas.org/docs/default-source/midwest/mw2020/publications/litton.pdf, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Howard Price, United States Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/3693/records/49968906, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Carrie T. Sibold entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42095477/carrie-sibold, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Ellison A. Smyth, United States Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/3693/records/58552059, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Ellison Adger Smyth in the Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/9278/records/5182704, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Rev Ellison Adger Smyth, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131602948/ellison_adger-smyth, accessed on October 28, 2025.
Collection contains taped interviews conducted by the University Libraries of Virginia Tech with the following Blacksburg residents: Cliff Busby, Georgia Croy, S.H. Kessinger, Lucy Lee Lancaster, George Litton, Howard Price, Carrie T. Sibold, and Ellison A. Smyth. Transcripts are currently available for Georgia Croy, Lucy Lee Lancaster, Howard Price, Cliff Busby, and George Litton.
Special Collections also houses the papers of the Croy family of Blacksburg, Virginia, including correspondence addressed to Georgia Croy. Please visit at https://aspace.lib.vt.edu/repositories/2/resources/2152 for the finding aid. Also see family photographs of the Croy family in the digital-only collection online.
The guide to the Blacksburg Oral History Project Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
As of October 2021 transcripts are available for Lucy Lancaster, Cliff Busbee, Georgia Croy, George Litton, and Howard Price.