Interviews conducted May 16 and 19, 1997
Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library - University of the Virgin Islands
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
The Interview
Neighborhoods
Education
Social Changes
Religion
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
In the early part of 1997, The University of the Virgin Islands received a small grant from NAFEO/NEH (National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education/National Endowment for the Humanities) as part of their Archival Preservation and Access Project for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The pilot project they funded was for the recording, transcription and transfer to CD-ROM of Virgin Islands oral history.
For this pilot project, we were fortunate to get Mr. Rufus W. Vanderpool to share his time and wealth of knowledge. Mr. Vanderpool was born in the Downstreet area of Charlotte Amalie on August 21, 1912. One of eight children born to John and Ophelia Margret Vanterpool, he learned to read by the time he was four and attended classes, as was the custom, with some of the private tutors who provided early education in the days preceding and immediately after the Transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States. He continued his education in St. Thomas at the Moravian, George Washington, and Lincoln Schools. After finishing junior high school here, he attended and graduated from Harlem Evening High School for Men in New York. From there, he went on to St. John's University, Brooklyn, New York, three years active duty in the Army during World War II, and graduated from the New School for Social Research in 1948.
Note: By the time he had entered the Army, he had accumulated a number of documents which spelled his name Vanderpool rather than Vanterpool. Finally, in the Army, with a preponderance of documents spelling his name with a "d" rather than a "t", his name was officially changed to Vanderpool.
After graduation, Mr. Vanderpool worked for the New York State Department of Labor and served in the U.S. Army Reserve. During his work in the New York State Government, he was appointed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller to the New York State Youth Commission. At the same time, Mr. Vanderpool worked as an independent Public Relations Counselor.
After almost thirty years working for New York, Mr. Vanderpool returned to St. Thomas and
served as Assistant Director of the Unemployment Insurance Division and as the VIESA (Virgin
Islands Employment Security Agency) State information officer. Mr. Vanderpool is a
multi-faceted individual. During this period he also:
Directed West Indian Night at the Century of Negro Progress in New York
Directed the Annual V.I. Holiday Hour, a radio program, also in New York
Designed the V.I. Governor's Chain of Office
Designed the V.I. Medal of Honor
Wrote "Barnaba Well," a V.I. folk opera
Wrote The Big Yard Revue, a musical revue of the Virgin Islands of yesteryear
Wrote Transfer Day Play: "A Flag for Miss Julia"
Wrote the Downstreet People, a historical account of his old neighborhood
Mr. Vanderpool was also active in V.I. social and cultural activities, serving as chairman of the St. Thomas/St. John Church History Society as well as other civic organizations. He married Mrs. Olga A Vanderpool (nee Miller) in St. Thomas on February 29, 1956.
The interviews that make up this oral history took place on May 16 and 19, 1997 at the University of the Virgin Islands Library, St. Thomas campus. Mr. Vanderpool's interview revolved around the transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States of America.
"From your perspective, how did the transfer of the Virgin Islands from the Danes to the Americans affect the lives of the people of St. Thomas?"
The above question, of course, requires a complex answer. To start, it requires recreating a world that has ceased to exist. Not only are the physical characteristics of St. Thomas different, but accepted social norms have changed dramatically in the last eighty years.
Mr. Vanderpool is a keen observer with a good memory who is also capable of putting his recollections into context that help make sense of St. Thomas in the early 20th century. Working with Mr. Vanderpool was both a pleasure and an education. He graciously gave his time not only for the interviews but for the much larger and tedious part of this project, compiling and proofreading the transcriptions of the interviews. Mr. Vanderpool was a rarity in any place and age and was truly an educated gentleman.
As the interview progressed, answers led to other questions. His answers formed four major subject areas: 1. neighborhoods, 2. education, 3. social changes and 4. religion. These four subject areas have become the major divisions of this document.
Recognition must also be given to several others who made this project possible. First, Miss
Maria Scotland, whose transcriptions and typing skills enabled us to keep the project on schedule.
Thanks also to Dr. Arnold Highfield for advice on the oral history process, to Dr. Gwen-Marie
Moolenaar for general advice and also to her mother, Mrs. Ruth Moolenaar for suggestions, to
Mr. Robert Moron for his invaluable assistance in acquiring many of the images used in this
document, to Mrs. Riisa Rymer for research assistance, to Ms. Sara Barnett who did final proof
reading and who, along with Mrs. Judith Rogers of the St. Croix campus library, attended a
NAFEO conference that introduced us to this organization and eventually led to this grant.
Thanks to all of the helpful NAFEO staff (particularly Dr. Brenda Banks and Ms. Lezli
Baskerville) for helping us get the funding that enabled us to hire Ms. Scotland to transcribe the
interviews and take the text through the many processes that lead to this finished document.
--David Oettinger, August, 1997
