UNCG Centenary Project Oral History Collection
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Oral history interview with Getrude Sprague Carraway
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Gertrude Sprague Carraway (1896-1993) graduated in 1915 from the State Normal and Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She was an author, editor, historian, and journalist. In 1961, Carraway received an honorary degree from her college. Carraway discusses her time at the college, her decision to attend the school, the various classes she took, and the first coeducational class held at the college. She provides details of the assignments to the literary societies and their activities; the social rules of the campus and the role of the lady principal in enforcing the rules; and the establishment of student government, which began in the form of the Student Self Government Association in 1915. Carraway recalls meals in the dining hall, religious activities engaged in by the students, and concerts and theatrical performances held on the campus. She describes several faculty members including Dean Harriet Wiseman Elliott, President Julius Isaac Foust, and Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson.
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Oral history interview with Edith C. Haight
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Edith C. Haight (1895-1991) was a member of the Class of 1915 of the State Normal & Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She held a certificate from Wellesley College, a master's from Columbia University, and a PhD from New York University. Haigh taught at the University of Wyoming, Converse College, Pratt Institute, and Ginling College in Nan King, China. Haight recalls student life, campus in the 1910s, daily walking periods, and the literary societies. She mentions Campus Physician Anna Gove, Lady Principal Sue May Kirkland, and YWCA Secretary Jane Taylor Miller.
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Oral history interview with May Williams Hicks
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May Williams Hicks (1885-1989) was a member of the Class of 1905 of the State Normal & Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Hicks recalls student life and buildings on campus, specifically The Administration Building, Brick Dormitory, Spencer Residence Hall, and Students' Building. She talks about her experience during the fire that destroyed the Brick Dormitory in 1904; the college's subsequent three-week suspension; and temporary housing of students for the remainder of the term in the Students' Building, which was not yet fully completed. Hicks mentions Dr. Charles Duncan McIver, the founding president of the institution; Miss Annie Petty, the college's first librarian; Miss Mary Petty, a science professor; and Miss Sue May Kirkland, the 'lady principal.'
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Oral history interview with Ethel Harris Kirby
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Ethel Harris Kirby (1886-1985) graduated in 1905 from the State Norma land Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Kirby discusses her college preparatory education at the Henderson Female College, the decision to attend State Normal and Industrial College, and her teaching jobs on campus following graduation. She describes dorm life and the rules and restrictions of the college, trips to downtown Greensboro, the importance of attending chapel services, and the designation of students to the literary societies. Kirby recalls the required afternoon walking periods, conducting music for pageants directed by Mary Settle Sharpe, meal times on campus, and faculty members Viola Boddie and Gertrude Mendenhall.
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Oral history interview with Ione Mebane Mann
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Ione Mebane Mann (1898-1988) graduated in 1919 from the State Normal and Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Mann recalls her decision to attend college, her student days, courses she took, and her professors. She explains the students' respect for the professors, the teaching styles of Walter Clinton Jackson and Harriet Elliott, and the summers she spent taking preparatory classes. Mann talks about being 'classed' in her junior year after earning enough credits, her involvement in the Cornelian Literary Society and Shakespearean May Day pageant, and the walking period during the weekdays. She describes students' church attendance, her bout with homesickness, the activities for physical education, and the uniforms they were required to wear.
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Notes on oral history interview with Mabel Coltrane Merritt
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Dr. Richard Bardolph, history professor emeritus at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro interviewed Mrs. Mabel Merritt in 1981. Below are Bardolph's notes regarding the interview. The audio and transcript for the oral history interview and page one of the notes were not transferred to University Archives in 1991. The narrative begins with page two of his notes. Mabel Coltrane Merritt (1885 - 1984) received a diploma in 1903 from the Greensboro Female College, now Greensboro College, in Greensboro, North Carolina. She was the wife of Robert A. Merritt, Sr. who taught education at the State Normal and Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, from 1906 until his retirement due to poor health in 1916. After her husband's death, she served as principal for thirty-two years at the Pomona Mills School, later Hunter School, until she retired in 1950. For twelve summer sessions, Merritt attended the college working on her master's degree. Merritt recalls growing up in an education-centered family, being the daughter of a Methodist minister, attending Greensboro Female College, and the trolley line that ran along Spring Garden Street where she lived. She describes being a faculty wife and living on Spring Garden Street next to Edward Jacob Forney who was head of the commercial department on campus. Merritt mentions college administrators and faculty members Edward Jacob Forney, Julius Isaac Foust, Sue May Kirkland, Charles Duncan McIver, and Lula Martin McIver.
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Oral history interview with Ruth Whittemore Sherrill
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Ruth Whittemore Sherrill (1893-1986) was a member of the Class of 1912 of the State Normal and Industrial College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Sherrill recalls her experiences while attending college, specifically her experience living in Greensboro with her family rather than in a dorm on campus, and her commute to campus by streetcar or by foot. She mentions President Julius Isaac Foust, mathematics professor Gertrude Mendenhall, and various classes she attended. Her two daughters, Sarah Sherrill Rainey and Martha Lee Sherrill Matthews, were present for the interview and contributed some of their experiences while attending the college, then known as Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now UNCG.
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Oral history interview with Jane Summerell
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R. Matthew Mauney (1964- ) graduated from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro [UNCG] in 1989, majoring in speech communication. Mauney discusses being a male student at UNCG in the 1980s and choosing the school because of its smaller size and lack of Division I athletics. He disliked dorm life and moved off campus after a semester. Mauney talks about Residential College, the effects of raising the drinking age, the new Physical Activities Complex, and his experience with poor academic advising.
