Kent State Shootings: Oral Histories

Jim Myers Oral History

Kent State Shootings: Oral Histories

Jim Myers Oral History

Transcription Show Transcript
Narrator Myers, Jim
Narrator's Role Resident of Kent, Ohio, in 1970
Date of Interview 2012-10-30
Description A long-time resident of Kent, Ohio, Jim Myers was the vice president and manager of Thompson's Drug Store, located at the corner of Main and Water Streets in downtown Kent, and also served as the president of the Kent City School District's Board of Education during the time of the Kent State Shootings. He recounts his memories from the days surrounding the shootings, including events that took place in the downtown area as well as in his residential neighborhood on the west side of Kent. He also discusses his concern at the time, as the president of the local school board, about whether either community backlash or low voter turnout on May 5 (the day after the shootings and while the city was still under martial law) would negatively impact the school tax levy that was on the ballot that day.
Length of Interview 29:11 minutes
Places Discussed Kent (Ohio)
Time Period discussed 1970
Subject(s) Community and college--Ohio--Kent
Community members--Ohio--Kent--Interviews
Dix, Robert C.
Kent City School District. Board of Education
Kent State Shootings, Kent, Ohio, 1970
Martial law--Ohio--Kent
Ohio. Army National Guard
School taxes--Ohio--Kent
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements
Voting--Ohio--Kent
Repository Special Collections and Archives
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Institution Kent State University
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Disclaimer The content of oral history interviews, written narratives and commentaries is personal and interpretive in nature, relying on memories, experiences, perceptions, and opinions of individuals. They do not represent the policy, views or official history of Kent State University and the University makes no assertions about the veracity of statements made by individuals participating in the project. Users are urged to independently corroborate and further research the factual elements of these narratives especially in works of scholarship and journalism based in whole or in part upon the narratives shared in the May 4 Collection and the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project.
Provenance/Collection May 4 Collection