Interview with Sally Rhoden, July 12, 2013

Sally Brown Rhoden recalls growing up in Monroe, Georgia. She discusses seeing plays at the Fox Theater, her family, and social life. She recalls participating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Monroe Drum and Bugle Corps. She reflects on her involvement in the Shelter Occupancy Research Project through the University of Georgia in 1963, a project that simulated bomb shelter conditions by keeping about 30 participants underground for two weeks. Rhoden explains the application process and the tests administered before going underground. She remembers eating K-rations, sleeping on a concrete floor, and drinking chlorinated water. Rhoden recalls the researchers sending food smells into the chamber and obsessing about what she would eat once she got out. Rhoden recalls being elected "social chair" by the group and occupying the time by planning social discussions, experimenting with hypnosis, and celebrating every single holiday during the two-week span. She discusses keeping a daily journal in the bomb shelter, buying a typewriter and stereo system with her compensation ($500) for participating in the project. Rhoden recalls the events of the Civil Rights Movement in Monroe, including fights breaking out on Main Street, colored water fountains in public places, and the Moore’s Ford lynching in Walton County.


This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.

2013-07-12

RBRL324FPP-0016

47 minutes