WALTER JAMES MURRAY:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Murray, Walter James, 1930-, creator. | |
| Title: | Walter James Murray Papers. | |
| Dates: | 1920-2002 (bulk 1962-1988). | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, genealogical material, travel reminiscences, audio recordings, journals, photographs, picture postcards, newspaper clippings, a reel of microfilm, and miscellaneous papers of Walter James ("Jim") Murray of St. Paul, mainly relating to his career teaching English as a second language in various foreign countries as a Peace Corps volunteer and as an employee of several companies involved in education. | |
| Quantity: | 0.85 cubic feet (1 box and 1 microfilm reel), 2 master audio files: WAV (779 MB), and 2 user audio files: MP3 (105.3 MB). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Walter James ("Jim") Murray was born July 12, 1930, at Peoria, Illinois. He was the third of four children born to Joseph A. Murray (1881-1936) and his wife Genevieve (McGrath) Murray (1896-1992). He served with the United States Air Force in Okinawa, Japan from January 1948 to May 1949 during the military occupation of that country after World War II, where he was assigned to the 623rd A.C.&W. (Aircraft Control and Warning) Squadron as an information center/radar operator (radar air traffic controller). He later worked as an aircraft dispatcher for Northwest Airlines in the Twin Cities.
Murray left Northwest in 1962 to join the Peace Corps as a teacher of English as a second language. In the course of his career he taught classes at the elementary, high school, and college levels. Participants in his classes included university students, military personnel, employees of American overseas corporations, secretaries, businesspeople, housewives, doctors, lawyers, school teachers, and others. Murray's Peace Corps teaching jobs took him to Bom Jesus da Lapa, Brazil (1962-1964) and to Hoshiarpur, Rewari, and Chandigar, India (1971-1973); he taught history between his two Peace Corps terms. Murray taught at Savannakhet and at Vientiane, Laos (1973-1975) as an employee of International Voluntary Services, Inc.; Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia (1975-1977) as an employee of the Whittaker Corporation; and the Binational Center (Centro Colombo Americano) at Cali, Colombia (1978-1980). Murray next taught at Fukuoka, Japan (1981), Nanjing, China (1981-1982), and at Fukuoka and Tokyo (1982-1984) for Time-Life Educational Systems, Inc.; at Taif, Saudi Arabia (1984-1985); and at Seoul, South Korea (1986-1987) and Istanbul, Turkey (1987-1988) as an employee of ELS International Inc.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The heart of the collection is correspondence between Murray and his mother Genevieve, in which he describes his experiences living, teaching, and traveling in connection with his assignments in South America, Asia, and the Middle East. In her letters Genevieve tells of her activities and those of Murray's siblings and their families.
The collection includes genealogical information, a journal he kept while teaching in India, a small travel journal kept while on a short excursion in India (1973), some snapshot photographs of Murray and his students, reminiscences of trips taken through the Soviet Union (1984) and elsewhere, and two audio recordings made while he was in South Korea (1986) and in Turkey (1988). The earliest papers include a railroad conductors' union roster (1920) and a souvenir booklet (1947) relating to his military service in Okinawa.
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers (1962-1975), Indian journal (1973), and Indian travel journal (1973), were microfilmed in 1976. A copy of this microfilm (one reel) is included as a part of this manuscript collection.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Walter James Murray Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 9889; 11,937; 12,345; 13,441; 13,856; 14,137; 15,613; 15,947
Location of Master Files:
Digital masters of the audiocassettes are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.
The original audiocassettes were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into wav files.
Processing Information:
Processed by: David B. Peterson, October 1990; additions April 2001 and January 2005
Digitization and encoding by: April Rodriguez, September 23, 2024.
Digital audio transferred from the master audiocassettes by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (September 2024).
Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.
Catalog ID number: 990017135180104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Box | |||||||||||
| internet | 1 | Audio recordings, 1986-1988: | |||||||||
| Two audio recordings. These include Murray's narration of a subway ride and a walk along an ancient wall in Istanbul, Turkey. | |||||||||||
| English class, Seoul, Korea, October 1986. 1 master audio file (1 hour, 3 minutes): WAV (320 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (43.6 MB). | |||||||||||
| Container note: English class, Seoul, Korea, Oct. 1986/ Trips in Korea; Subway ride. | |||||||||||
Digital audio
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| A Walk along the Theodosian Walls in Istanbul, May 1988. 1 master audio file (1 hour, 30 minutes): WAV (459 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (61.7 MB). | |||||||||||
| Container note: A Walk along the Theodosian Walls in Istanbul, May 1988/ Misc. | |||||||||||
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Digital audio
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| Correspondence and miscellaneous papers: | |||||||||||
| Mostly letters written by Murray to his mother, Genevieve, in St. Paul. Murray describes his living, teaching, and traveling experiences abroad; sightseeing excursions, and visits to temples, mosques, churches, restaurants, and bazaars; and tells of the life of the ordinary people about him. He comments on the political situations and current events in the various countries, including the tensions between India and Pakistan (1971); anti-American feeling in India, and allegations of Central Intelligence Agency interference in Indian affairs; and the communist takeover in Laos while he was stationed there (1975). | |||||||||||
| In her letters to Jim, Genevieve speaks of her experiences at home in his absence, the activities of his siblings and their families, her health, vacations to Las Vegas and Hawaii, and tenants in the house or apartment building she owned and in which she lived on Portland Avenue in St. Paul. Other correspondents include some of Murray's colleagues, students, and acquaintances; Randy and Kathy Backe, of Ladysmith, Wis.; officials of the Peace Corps, Northwest Airlines, ELS International Inc., and International Voluntary Services; and assorted relatives and friends. There are two or three letters written in Portuguese. | |||||||||||
| Included in the correspondence are several picture postcards, with scenes from Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Turkey, the Philippines, and elsewhere. Newspaper clippings interfiled with the correspondence include stories alleging Central Intelligence Agency meddling in India's internal affairs, and Murray's letters to newspapers on a variety of subjects. | |||||||||||
| Brazil, 1962-1965. | |||||||||||
| In these letters to his mother Murray describes the Peace Corps Training Project, his duties in Bom Jesus da Lapa and the many problems he faced in performing them, Brazilian customs and festivals, sanitation, social conditions, and similar matters. There are also accounts of his travel to other parts of Brazil and descriptions of the climate. | |||||||||||
| India, 1971-1973. | |||||||||||
| In these letters Murray describes the tensions between India and Pakistan which eventually resulted in war. Later letters discuss local customs, particularly religious rites and festivals, and describe Indian political unrest, anti-American feelings, and diet and climate. Clippings from Indian newspapers report on alleged Central Intelligence Agency involvement in Indian politics, as do a few of the letters. | |||||||||||
| Laos, 1973-1975. | |||||||||||
| These letters describe village life, customs and religious services, Murray's travels around the countryside and to Thailand, the life of Americans in Savannakhet, the Laotian economy, and the political influence of the resident French, Japanese, Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese groups. | |||||||||||
| Reel | |||||||||||
| M613 | 2 | Microfilm copy of correspondence and miscellaneous papers (above), 1962-1975. 1 microfilm roll. | |||||||||
| This is a microfilm copy of "Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers, 1962-1975" (Brazil, India, and Laos), above. An inventory and roll list for this reel of microfilm, which also includes Indian journal (1973) and Indian travel journal (1973), is found in the "Miscellany" file at the end of the collection. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 147.D.10.7B | 1 | Saudi Arabia, 1975-1977. | |||||||||
| Colombia, 1978-1980. | |||||||||||
| Japan, 1981. | |||||||||||
| China, 1981-1982. | |||||||||||
| Japan, 1982-1984. | |||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia, 1984-1985. | |||||||||||
| South Korea, 1986-1987. | |||||||||||
| Turkey, 1987-1988. 2 folders. | |||||||||||
| Genealogical information: | |||||||||||
| Family tree diagrams, etc., undated and 1995. | |||||||||||
| Includes information on Murray, McLean, Jones, McGrath, Kersey, O'Neil, Glancy, and Fahey ancestors and descendants. There is a brief reminiscence of Catherine Murray Ham (1913-1998) relating to her days (1929-1930) in Peoria, Illinois. | |||||||||||
| Glancy/O'Neil/Donahue families, 1999. | |||||||||||
| A 22-page narrative evidently written by Walter James Murray. Includes birth and death data on certain individuals. | |||||||||||
| Indian journal, 1973. | |||||||||||
| Murray describes his experiences living and teaching in India, and includes observations about the country's caste system. | |||||||||||
| Indian travel journal, January-February 1973. | |||||||||||
| Includes jottings made while on a side trip to another part of the country. | |||||||||||
| Reel | |||||||||||
| M613 | 2 | Microfilm copy of Indian journal (1973) and Indian travel journal (January-February 1973), 1973. 1 microfilm reel. | |||||||||
| This is a microfilm copy of the Indian journal (1973) and Indian travel journal (January-February 1973), above. An inventory and roll list for this reel of microfilm, which also includes Correspondence and miscellaneous papers (1962-1975), is found in the "Miscellany" file at the end of the collection. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 147.D.10.7B | 1 | Murray family letters, 1912-1961. | |||||||||
| Photographs, undated and 1948-1950, 1964-1986. | |||||||||||
| Snapshot photographs, including images of Murray and his students, colleagues, and others, typically in social settings and on sightseeing trips. There is also a photograph of Murray taken at Okinawa (1948), and a snapshot of him in front of the White House (1950). | |||||||||||
| Reminiscences: | |||||||||||
| East Africa (1976), undated [circa 1999?]. | |||||||||||
| The narrative deals with that part of Murray's trip that took him through Saudi Arabia and Yemen. | |||||||||||
| Egypt (1985), 1999. | |||||||||||
| Okinawa, Japan (1948-1949), 1997-1999. | |||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia (1977), 1998. | |||||||||||
| Soviet Union (1984), 1999. | |||||||||||
| Resume, [circa 1985]. | |||||||||||
| Stories from China (1981-1982), 2002. | |||||||||||
| Miscellany, 1920-1976. | |||||||||||
| Includes a roster for the Order of Railway Conductors, St. Paul Division No. 40 (1920); a First Air Division souvenir booklet about Okinawa and its postwar military occupation by the United States; and a copy of the roll list and inventory for the microfilmed portion of the collection. | |||||||||||
RELATED MATERIALS
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers.
- Irish Americans -- Minnesota.
- Language teachers -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Teachers -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Volunteers -- Minnesota.
- Places:
- Asia -- Description and travel.
- Brazil -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
- China -- Social life and customs -- 1976-.
- Communist countries.
- India -- Social life and customs.
- Japan -- Social life and customs -- 1945-.
- Korea (South) -- Social life and customs.
- Laos -- Social life and customs.
- Middle East -- Description and travel.
- Saudi Arabia -- Social life and customs.
- South America -- Description and travel.
- Soviet Union -- Description and travel.
- Turkey -- Social life and customs.
- Persons:
- Murray, Genevieve, 1896-.
- Murray family.
- Organizations:
- ELS International Inc. (Culver City, Calif.).
- International Voluntary Services (Washington, D.C.).
- Order of Railway Conductors of America. St. Paul Division No. 40.
- Peace Corps (U.S.).
- United States. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Types of Documents:
- Journals.
- Microforms.
- Picture postcards.
- Photographs.
- Sound recordings.
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