Title
Grace Rumsey Smith
Subject
Member of the University of Buffalo Council, 1948-1963
president of the Guidance Center of Buffalo
Guidance Center of Buffalo
Joint Charities
World War II Bond Drive
Description
Tape of an interview with Smith conducted by Brenda K. Shelton, November 3, 1978. Concerns her background, the War Bond drive of the 1940s, and activities of the Joint Charities and the Guidance Center of Buffalo.
Overview: Grace Rumsey Smith was a member of the University of Buffalo Council from 1948-1963. For many years she was also active in several community agencies in Buffalo and served for a time as president of the Guidance of Buffalo.
In this brief interview, Miss Smith discusses her family background, her childhood and education, and her longtime involvement with Buffalo community agencies and projects. She mentions specifically the War Bond Drive of the 1940's and later activities with Joint Charities and the Guidance Center of Buffalo. Due to a tape malfunction, the last half of this interview was not recorded and as a result no discussion of the University of Buffalo Council is included.
In this brief interview, Miss Smith discusses her family background, her childhood and education, and her longtime involvement with Buffalo community agencies and projects. She mentions specifically the War Bond Drive of the 1940's and later activities with Joint Charities and the Guidance Center of Buffalo. Due to a tape malfunction, the last half of this interview was not recorded and as a result no discussion of the University of Buffalo Council is included.
Interviewer's Observations:
Miss Smith lives in an apartment with her unmarried sister. Before we began the interview, she showed me the family portraits hanging on the walls in most of the rooms. They cover many generations of the Rumsey, Cary, and Smith families, and Miss Smith can trace in detail the relationships between them all.
Miss Smith, both when I called to make an appointment and prior to the interview, expressed concern that she would be unable to contribute much. She seemed to relax a little as she talked about her family and her community activities, but she became very nervous after I changed the tape and asked about her experiences as a member of the UB Council. Maybe I was nervous, too, but whatever the reason, the second side did not record. In the fiftean missing minutes, she responded very briefly to questions about her role an the Council, her memories of the people she served with and of those members of the administration and faculty whom she met, and her views on the merger. She could remember few individuals on the Council, and mentioned only Dr. Perry, Dr. Silverman and Dr. Thorn from the University. She opposed the merger, and felt the University was forced into it by the State, but she had nothing to say about the views or the actions of the Council on the matter. She said that she really did not ever understand why she was asked to serve on the Council in the first place. But she also made clear that she, like members of her family before her, regarded UB as her university, that she had always been proud of it and felt a sense of obligation toward it. She made the comment as I was leaving that somehow, since the move to Amherst (which she opposed), she no longer felt that it was Buffalo's university.
Miss Smith lives in an apartment with her unmarried sister. Before we began the interview, she showed me the family portraits hanging on the walls in most of the rooms. They cover many generations of the Rumsey, Cary, and Smith families, and Miss Smith can trace in detail the relationships between them all.
Miss Smith, both when I called to make an appointment and prior to the interview, expressed concern that she would be unable to contribute much. She seemed to relax a little as she talked about her family and her community activities, but she became very nervous after I changed the tape and asked about her experiences as a member of the UB Council. Maybe I was nervous, too, but whatever the reason, the second side did not record. In the fiftean missing minutes, she responded very briefly to questions about her role an the Council, her memories of the people she served with and of those members of the administration and faculty whom she met, and her views on the merger. She could remember few individuals on the Council, and mentioned only Dr. Perry, Dr. Silverman and Dr. Thorn from the University. She opposed the merger, and felt the University was forced into it by the State, but she had nothing to say about the views or the actions of the Council on the matter. She said that she really did not ever understand why she was asked to serve on the Council in the first place. But she also made clear that she, like members of her family before her, regarded UB as her university, that she had always been proud of it and felt a sense of obligation toward it. She made the comment as I was leaving that somehow, since the move to Amherst (which she opposed), she no longer felt that it was Buffalo's university.
Date
1978-11-03
Rights
Type
Sound recording
Interviews
Sound
Identifier
OH-33
Date Created
3/18/2013
Is Part Of
LIB-UA014
Video Filename
UA014-smith-grace.mp3
Original Format
1 sound cassette
Duration
ca. 30 min.
Interviewer
Shelton, Brenda K.
Interviewee
Smith, Grace Rumsey
Collection
Citation
“Grace Rumsey Smith,” Digital Collections - University at Buffalo Libraries, accessed February 5, 2025, https://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/index.php/items/show/4317.