Gail Mary Killian and Stephen Desroches sound recordings, 1970-2003

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Gail Mary Killian sound recordings, 1971-1984

18 audiocassettes


Box OHAC C9 New tape recorder / Rusty, 1970, 1 audiocassettes

Gail Mary Killian discusses favorite television shows, her dog Rusty, and her favorite books. She also discusses the Beatles at length with a friend.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (1971), 1971, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's birthday celebration. Discussions include Killian receiving a Beatles album as a gift, and Killian teaching older guests the slang term "bread" meaning money.


Box OHAC C9 Tape labeled "Not Clear", circa 1971-1972, 1 audiocassettes

Recording of teaching the baby to talk and a conversation about employment opportunities for people with disabilities in Taunton and Fall River, Massachusetts.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's 19th birthday, 1972, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's nineteenth birthday. Highlights include Killian's baby niece saying new words and adults trying to get the baby to make a peace sign.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (1973), 1973, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's birthday celebration. There is a conversation about work for the United States Postal Service, as Killian's father and neighbor worked for the USPS. Guests sing "Happy Birthday." There is also a conversation about polka music and dancing, both of which were popular in her neighborhood, which was a Polish enclave.


Box OHAC C9 Helen Singing, 1973, 1 audiocassettes

Gail Mary Killian records her mother Helen snoring (the tape's title is a play on the snoring as "singing") while the Boston Red Sox game plays on radio. Recording also includes playing Partridge Family records and singing along with the baby.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (Birthday 21; 1974), 1974, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's twenty-first birthday celebration. Recording is comprised of conversation and singing in Polish.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (Birthday1974; 1974), 1974, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's twenty-first birthday celebration. Recoding includes discussion of "Tonight Show."


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (Birthday 1976), 1976, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's twenty-third birthday celebration.


Box OHAC C9 Various artists / Talkin' and Radio, circa 1977, 1 audiocassettes

Recording of Gail Mary Killian and friend listening to Foreigner and Journey and talking about which rock stars they think are cute.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's 24th birthday (24 years, 1977), 1977, 1 audiocassettes

Recording of Gail Mary Killian's twenty-fourth birthday celebration. The recording includes a discussion of "Charlie's Angels" and Farrah Fawcett. Killian receives tickets to see Andy Williams, Jim Nabors, and Bobby Vinton. The family sings Vinton's song "Melody of Love" and Polish folk songs.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (1980), 1980, 1 audiocassettes


Box OHAC C9 Journey captured, 1981, 1 audiocassettes

Gail Mary Killian speaks with a friend while listening to the new Journey and Van Halen albums. The recording also captures a segment of "Polish Happy Hour," a local news and music program for the Polish community broadcast on a New Bedford, Massachusetts radio station.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's birthday (Gail's birthday, 1982), 1982, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's birthday celebration. Topics discussed include a neighbor's granddaughter being accepted to Yale University, increased Portuguese immigration to Taunton, and talk of a new video arcade in town that has Ms. Pac-Man and Space Invaders.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's 30th birthday (Carol's house, 1983), 1983, 1 audiocassettes

Recording of a surprise party at Carol's house for Gail Mary Killian.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's 30th birthday (Party at home, 1983), 1983, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's thirtieth birthday celebration. Topics discussed include a mean priest, labor issues at the United States Postal Service, changes in tourism patterns on Cape Cod, and a substitute teacher in the town who is blind. Killian receives records by the Go Go's and Toto.


Box OHAC C9 Recording of Gail Mary Killian's 31st birthday (Happy birthday 31st, 1984), 1984, 1 audiocassettes

Recording documents Gail Mary Killian's thirty-first birthday celebration.


Box OHAC C9 New Bedford polka program, undated, 1 audiocassettes

Stephen Desroches oral history interviews, 1991-2003

5 audiocassettes

Box OHAC C9 Oral history interview with Stanley Killian, 1991, 1 audiocassettes

This interview with Stanley Killian (1922-1999) was conducted by his grandson Stephen Desroches. The inteview was taken when Desroches was sixteen for a high school assignment in which students were to ask older family members about World War II. The tape incidentally contains a recording of Desroches narrating the movie Jaws II.


Box OHAC C9 Oral history interview with Stanley Killian, Eugene Killian, and Helen Killian, September 27, September 29, and October 3, 1999, 3 audiocassettes

This interview with Stanley Killian (1922-1999), Eugene Killian (1920-2012), and Helen Killian (1922-2015) was conducted by Stephen Desroches. Stanley and Helen were Desroches' grandparents, and Eugene was his great-uncle. At the time, Stanley had terminal brain cancer, and when Desroches visited he would record conversations of all present. Topics discussed include the Great Depression, World War II, and the experiences of their immigrant parents. The Killians also share their views on contemporary politics, including gun control, healthcare, the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, and the Democratic and Republican Parties. They also discuss social issues such as divorce and couples living together before marriage.


Box OHAC C9 Oral history interview with Schuyler "Ted" Meyer, 2003, 1 audiocassettes

This interview with Schuyler "Ted" Meyer was conducted by Stephen Desroches in 2003. Meyer was Chief of Police in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a small community at the tip of Cape Cod known for its art colony, eccentricity, and large LGBTQ community. The interview covers life in Provincetown, LGBTQ issues, and his previous experience as police chief in Richardson, Texas. Richardson had a large Muslim population, and Meyer discusses issues around keeping the Muslim community safe in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.