Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2017-012
Glenn Blumhorst served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1988 to 1991 on a crop diversification project. He and his wife (a nurse) were first stationed in Morales Izabal on the coast. Later they transferred to San Miguel Chicaj in the central highlands region, where a guerilla war had been going on for 30 years. There were many indigenous widows and orphans in the town, and the women were more willing to work with outsiders than the men. There were several attempted coups while they were in country. Blumhorst extended his service for a third year and worked to bring electricity to the town of Salama. He stayed in Guatemala for several more years, developing a model farm and piloting a medical shuttle plane for a hospital complex. Blumhorst was elected President of the National Peace Corps Association in 2013. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, November 30, 2016. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).