Farewell Letter from Charlie Houston, India Peace Corps Director 1962-64

Charlie Houston who was the second Peace Corps Director in India (Joe Wheeler was the first)--1962-64. Houston was a cardiology specialist with a practice in Aspen Colorado and was recruited by Sargent Shriver because he had some knowledge of India and the Himalaya mountains (he had climbed to the top of K-2 in 1938 and 1952). His speciality was high altitude effects on the respiratory and cardiac components of the human body, and during the second world war the US Navy had him sponsoring research about  altitude and low oxygen effects on fighter pilots.

Click here to read his "Goodbye letter" to all Peace Corps volunteers he completed his tour as Country Rep in 1964.

Source, John Chromy India 3 RPCV

The Peace Corps Role in India’s Modern Poultry & Egg Production Industry

INDIA AND PEACE CORPS: A Fortuitous Partnership that launched India’s Modern Poultry & Egg Production Industry

To learn about the Peace Corps role in India’s Modern Poultry & Egg Production Industry, click here.

This history was compiled by John Chromy ( India 3) in collaboration with Brent Cromley, (India 4); with substantive information provided by Tom Carter (India 13), Tondalaya Gillespie (India 16), Ron Gillespie (India 7), Roger Engstrom (India 1), Omar Hendrix (India 6), Marcus Van Hala, David Jollivette and Mike Gannet (India 16).

Contribute to the story of the Poultry Development Programs in India (1961 to 1976)

CALLING ALL POULTRY PROGRAM RPCVS!

The Friends of India Board of Directors is assembling a document on the role of Peace Corps Volunteers in helping launch the Intensive Poultry Industry in India, which went from basically non-existence in 1961 to a modest but widespread practice by the early 1970's and has since become one of India's major agricultural growth components (Egg and poultry meat production is now an annual 2.2 Billion dollar industry and projected to grow by 30% in the next five years).

If you or anyone you know, was a part of the poultry development programs in India from 1961 to 1976 please send a brief narrative describing your experience (include your PC group, location in India and years of service) to: brentcromley@gmail.com with a copy to jchromy42@gmail.com. Please include any photos you may have of poultry projects.   

Many many thanks.

Physical Donations of Peace Corps Related Items

Donations of physical items related to Peace Corps work may be considered for donation at the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience in Oregon City, OR. Details regarding submitting donations may be found here.

India 17, 18 and 19 Reunion (May 19-23, 2022)

by Roger Olson

Our reunion was a wonderful success.  It was sooo good to see my fellow groupies again.  Our 18th reunion was held in Albuquerque, NM on May 19-23, 2022 with 16 volunteers attending and the great pleasure of spices, family, and friends for a grand total of 25 attendees.  Attached are photos of the RPCVs and all of the attendees.  Yours truly is the guy on the far right end with the wind blown hair (it was a "tad" breezy on the photograph day).

Cheers, Roger