Browse Interviews

Bishop Anthony M. Pilla served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland for twenty-five years. Appointed in 1980, his first official act was to receive the bodies of Sister Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan from El Salvador. In this interview, Bishop Pilla reflects on his time as Bishop of Cleveland and on the martyrdom of "The Four Church Women." He discusses the political side of sending a team of missionaries to a foreign country and on dealing with politicians in both the United States and El…

Father Bob Begin is a native Clevelander from a large Catholic family. In this interview, he discusses growing up in Cleveland and the forces that impacted his decision to become a priest. Father Begin discusses the changes that occurred in the Catholic Church as a result of Vatican 2 and how those changes influenced his own ministry. He also discusses his involvement in anti-Vietnam activism. His activism included taking over a midnight mass at St. John's Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio and…

Father Rob Reidy is the pastor at La Sagrada Familia in Cleveland, Ohio. In this interview, he reflects on his time in El Salvador as part of the Cleveland Latin American Mission team. He served in El Salvador on two separate occasions, first in the 1980s during the El Salvador Civil War and later in the late 1990s-early 2000s. Father Reidy discusses the conditions and nature of his work while in El Salvador, including the attitude of the military junta towards Catholic church workers and the…

Father Doug Koesel is a Catholic Priest serving at Blessed Trinity Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He was part of the Cleveland Latin American Mission team in El Salvador from 1981 to 1986. In this interview, he discusses his experience in El Salvador, working with the people, and trying to educate Americans on the situation in El Salvador. He also discusses the two trials connected to the murder of Sisters Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, and Jean Donovan. Fr. Koesel reflects on how the…

Daniel Brustein is a physician and industrial hygienist and has lived in Cleveland Heights, Ohio since 1976. In this interview, Mr. Brustein discusses his experiences as part of the anti-war movement during the 1960s. Specifically, he covers the topic of draft resistance and his involvement with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Boston-based resistance groups The Resistance and the Boston Draft Resistance Group. He was also a part of the Pentagon Protest in 1967. Mr. Brustein…

This is a follow-up interview to Dr. Goldberg’s initial interview. He discusses in detail his experience in prison as a result of refusing his draft induction physical. He relates the prison conditions, various jobs, and means of keeping busy. While at Danbury prison he helped organize a black history course and a series of guest speakers from local universities, including Columbia. He spent time in three different federal prisons over the course of his 19 month prison sentence. Dr. Goldberg…

Dr. David Goldberg, professor of history at Cleveland State University, discusses his involvement in anti-Vietnam war protest activities. He talks about the activism on campus during his time at the University of Wisconsin - Madison from 1962-1966, including CIA Truth Teams, Socialist Club, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and other activist groups. He also relates his story of turning in his draft card, sending a letter to the government outlining his reasons for resisting the draft,…

Sister Sheila Marie Tobbe is an Ursuline Sister and served as a member of the Cleveland Latin American Mission team during the 1990s. In this interview, she shares her experiences in El Salvador, working and living with the Salvadoran people during the civil war and the nature of the work performed there. She discusses an earlier visit to El Salvador during Christmas 1979 and New Year's 1980 when she stayed with Sister Dorothy Kazel and the impact that trip had on her desire to serve as part of…

Sister Martha Owen is an Ursuline Sister. She served as mission partner to Sr. Dorothy Kazel in El Salvador from 1976 to 1979. In this interview, Sr. Martha discusses her childhood and her decision to enter the convent as well as her mission work in El Salvador. She worked in several villages including La Union, Zaragoza, and La Libertad. She goes into detail regarding the living conditions of the people of El Salvador as well as the conditions she, and the rest of the mission team had to adapt…

Dr. David Goldberg continues his story in this third interview. He discusses his time as part of collectives that produced Midnight Special and the New York City Star newspapers in the early 1970s. Midnight Special was a newspaper committed to covering prison life throughout the United States. Content was written by inmates and published by the collective. The New York City Star was a left-oriented newspaper for New York City. He discusses the nature of his work at and his eventual leaving of…

Christine Rody is a sister in the Vincentian Sisters of Charity order in Cincinnati, Ohio. She served on the Cleveland Latin American Mission team to El Salvador with Sr. Martha Owen and Sr. Dorothy Kazel. In this interview, she discusses her decision to enter the convent and her time in El Salvador. Sr. Christine reflects on the work she helped perform and the impact that work has had on the Salvadoran people. She also describes the situation in El Salvador both before and after the escalation…

Sister Diane Therese Pinchot is an Ursuline Sister and Head of the Art Department at Ursuline College. A Cleveland native, Sister Diane decided to join the Ursuline community prior to going to high school. She designed and built the altar dedicated to the four churchwomen murdered in El Salvador on 2 December 1980. In this interview, she discusses her decision to enter the religious community, the love and support she found within the Ursuline Sisterhood, and the power of art as a tool to…