Interview with Richard H. "Dick" King, April 20, 2021

Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project

Interview Summary

Richard "Dick" King served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador, from 1966 to 1969, in the Community Development Program. Dick grew up in a white, upper middle class environment in Rochester NY. Attending Earlham College, and a foreign study program in England, introduced him to a more diverse world. Earlham’s emphasis on community and global affairs, and a desire for a draft deferment, motivated him to apply to Peace Corps. His Peace Corps training began at the University of Oklahoma, and continued in Vera Cruz Mexico. It included Spanish language and culture, and an Outward Bound survival program. Dick was the first volunteer to be assigned to San Alejo, a result of the mayor’s campaign promise to bring a Peace Corps Volunteer. Music and soccer were ice breakers for his acceptance in the community. He played trombone in mariachi bands, played soccer, and formed a youth soccer league. He was assigned to a public health clinic, but largely found projects of his own through interactions with locals. Dick extended for a third year, moving to San Salvador to work with a Salvadoran Community Development Agency, and traveled extensively throughout the country.

Interview Accession

2021oh0254_pcrv0177

Interviewee Name

Richard H. "Dick" King

Interviewer Name

Julius "Jay" Sztuk

Interview Date

2021-04-20

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Restriction

No Restrictions

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s). 


King, Richard H. Interview by Julius Sztuk. 20 Apr. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

King, R.H. (2021, April 20). Interview by J. Sztuk. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

King, Richard H., interview by Julius Sztuk. April 20, 2021, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.

Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt71c4d4vx0p0