Audio

  • Cognizant of Making History

    Reflections on the historical significance of being the first female House Page.
    Interview recorded May 21, 2007 – View transcript | Deed of Gift

    Full Text: Cognizant of Making History

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    I think—yes, I was. I think that initially I was just so excited about being able to go and do this that it wasn’t really until all of the press stuff started to happen that I realized that people were really interested, and when I got to Washington, people were sending me news clips from the newspapers all across the country. And that’s when it hit me how the media makes it so public that everybody was aware of it, and it was a buzz because it was a first. And people did pay attention to it. And it was also, in the time, and this was 35 years ago, where women were making firsts. The whole opportunity for women was different. So, yes, I became more aware of it as it happened, as it unrolled, than before I did it.

  • First Day as a Page

    Recollections of media attention and memories of Speaker of the House Carl Albert of Oklahoma.
    Interview recorded May 21, 2007 – View transcript | Deed of Gift

    Full Text: First Day as a Page

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    LOOPER:
    Oh, well yes, I can remember getting up and putting on my suit and doing my hair and putting on these new shoes and going in and then of course there was all of the press coverage that first day…people asking me all these questions that I wasn’t really sure how to answer. They asked you a question and then they’d leave the microphone in front of your face and nobody told me that this is a tactic to get you to say more. I was so totally clueless.
    JOHNSON:
    What kinds of questions did they ask you, do you remember?
    LOOPER:
    Oh, I’m trying to remember. Off the top of my head I don’t remember, but they were things like, “How do you feel about being here,” and those kinds of things. And I was just hugely excited. Mr. [Carl] Albert was just terrific. He was such a sweetheart and so supportive of me. And just a delightful man. So I spent some time in his office for some photography ops and then we took a tour, and I went down with the Pages to meet them and be with them on the first day, and to get the lay of the land and to see what was expected of me and meet and greet sort of thing.

  • Reaction of Family and Traveling to the Capitol

    Recollections of family life and an eventful trip to catch the plane to Washington, DC.
    Interview recorded May 21, 2007 – View transcript | Deed of Gift

    Full Text: Reaction of Family and Traveling to the Capitol

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    Oh, well they were very excited for me, obviously, and very supportive. Very, very, supportive of me, always. And as a matter of fact, I’ve told you this little tale before. When we were on our way to meet the plane—there was a jet that Mr. [Carl] Albert used that was landing in someplace, I can’t remember where in Oklahoma, but they said basically, “If you can get Felda to the plane, we’ll take her to Washington with us.” So here we were, off to meet the plane, and late, and Dad’s driving like a fiend and we got pulled over. The highway patrolman pulls us over, and my dad explains the story, and the guy had heard about this “to-do,” so he gives us an escort to the plane so we were going even faster than we were before. But we get there, and I got to ride on the plane—the jet—to Washington, which was very exciting.

Video

  • Access to the Capitol during the 1970s

    The open environment in the Capitol Building in the 1970s.
    Interview recorded January 25, 2010 – Deed of Gift

  • Campaign to Become First Female Page

    Felda Looper reflects on her first meeting with, then Majority Whip, Carl Albert of Oklahoma.
    Interview recorded January 25, 2010 – Deed of Gift

  • Memories of Fellow Pages and the Democratic Cloakroom

    Descriptions of Felda Looper’s fellow Pages and the Page school environment.
    Interview recorded January 25, 2010 – Deed of Gift

  • Significance of Being the First Female Page for the House of Representatives

    Reflections on the lifetime impact of the Page experience.
    Interview recorded January 25, 2010 – Deed of Gift

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