Schroeder, Arthur John, 1998 July 17

This is a Living History interview with Arthur John Schroeder, class of 1947, conducted by Marilyn Somers on July the 17th 1998. We are at Mr. Schroeder’s home in Alpharetta, Georgia and the subject of the interview is Mr. Schroeder’s life and his days at Georgia Tech.

Mr. Schroeder was born in New York City in 1923. He changed his name at some point in his life because he thought it was too long. His mom was from Lawrenceville, Georgia and her father was a 33rd degree mason who would travel to Atlanta every month to sell cotton. His father sold Victrolas. Mr. Schroeder was in New York for grammar school and Lawrenceville for high school. His mother played the piano and his father could play any kind of instrument. From early on in his life, Mr. Schroeder wanted to get a musical education. He started playing the clarinet when Harvey Taylor visited his school. He wanted to go to the Navy School of Music but was rejected because they already had too many students. Georgia Tech was his second choice. When Mr. Schroeder started at Georgia Tech, he was not as prepared as most of the students there. He played in the football band under the leadership of A.J. Garing. For his second year, he lived in Harrison Dormitory where he had more time to study and play music. He was a lot better at math at this point. Mr. Schroeder was able to play with a lot of big bands in college because the bands would come to campus. Because Mr. Schroeder knew he was going to get drafted, he decided to join the Navy. He trained with the Marine Corps in Jacksonville. Mr. Schroeder was able to play the clarinet while he was in the Navy. He was sent to Atlanta for around nine months, after which he joined the Navy V-12 program and went back to school. He needed three more credits by the time he was sent to his next station. He was sent to the USS Rodman where he acted as the line officer. When Mr. Schroeder was finally able to go back to Tech, completing his last three hours was very easy. His graduation took place in the Fox Theatre. Mr. Schroeder’s mom’s family dates back to the signing of the Magna Carta and is related to Charlemagne. He bought a farm for his mother which he named Green Acres. He was able to meet a lot of people in Garden City that he would not have been able to meet had he stayed in Lawrenceville his whole life. Mr. Schroeder went to law school for two years, but did not complete it because he was offered a job. When he and his family moved to the farm, the town welcomed them in their school newspaper. Mr. Schroeder continued doing engineering work while he lived on his farm. His engineering firm was called Atlanta Engineering. He then got into real estate and created Schroeder Realty. Mr. Schroeder became very involved with the Boy Scouts when his sons were old enough to join. He helped start an instrumental band called the Modernaires, named after Glen Miller’s band. They played for charity organizations. One of Mr. Schroeder’s biggest interests is railroads. The Shriners saved a piece of land that Mr. Schroeder was going to sell for development. Franklin Garrett wrote about Mr. Schroeder’s family. Mr. Schroeder has become involved with churches in his area for the past couple decades. He lives in Seven Oaks neighborhood and calls his home Camelot. He has three children and four grandchildren. He has been able to meet a lot of famous people in his lifetime, including Harry S. Truman, Tyrone Power, and Charles Lindbergh. Mr. Schroeder would not change anything in his life if he could.