Winthrop University Oral History Program

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  Interview with Bobby Plair - OH 678

  Bobby Plair and Emmett Scott High School

  OH 678

  This interview was conducted by Dr. George Garrison with Bobby Plair for his project on the history of Emmett Scott High School. Emmett Scott was the segregated high school for African Americans in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The school was named for Emmett Scott, a former aide to Booker T. Washington and President Woodrow Wilson. Emmett Scott was opened in 1920 and then closed in 1970 with the full integration of Rock Hill School District. Mr. Plair is an Emmett Scott Alumnus and local musician. He talks about his experiences in Emmett Scott High School during the 1940s. He also discusses his experiences with higher education, including attending Friendship Junior College and working as a teacher and principal in the South Carolina School System. Mr. Plair details his experience with music both at Emmett Scott as well as during his career. He is a talented artist that has worked with many local musicians over the years.

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  Interview with Bobby Plair - OH 684

  Bobby Plair and Emmett Scott High School

  OH 684

  This interview was conducted by Dr. George Garrison with Bobby Plair for the history of Emmett Scott High School project. The school was the segregated school for African Americans in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Emmett Scott High School was named for Emmett Scott a former aide to Booker T. Washington and President Woodrow Wilson. The school was opened in 1920 and then closed in 1970 with the full integration of the Rock Hill School District. Mr. Plair is an alumnus of Emmett Scott High School. In this interview he details his experience as a teacher in the South Carolina public school system. Mr. Plair also discusses his career as a musician. This interview is a continuation of a previous interview with Mr. Plair [OH-678] for some follow-up information.

  *This interview is a follow-up to an earlier interview conducted on May 21, 2003 (OH-678).

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  Interview with Terry C. Plumb - OH 230

  Terry C. Plumb

  OH 230

  This interview was conducted for the as part of the Winthrop History Project spearheaded by Winthrop President Emeritus Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio and Rebecca Masters to “document the 24-year path of the original Winthrop College to becoming Winthrop University.” This effort was to produce a history of the institution and Dr. DiGiorgio’s tenure as president as a supplement to Dr. Ross Webb’s history of Winthrop (The Torch is Passed) that covered Winthrop history up to Dr. DiGiorgio becoming president. A key aspect of the project was a series of audio-taped interviews conducted with various members of the extended Winthrop community who participated in or helped guide the advancement of Winthrop over these years. That way, the Winthrop story will be told in an array of participants’ own words, own voices and from their own perspectives.

  This interview is with Terry C. Plumb. Terry was a former editor of the Rock Hill, SC newspaper, The Herald from 1987 through 2007. He also participated in a number of community organizations which also overlapped from time to time with Winthrop initiatives. In this interview he discusses his and The Herald’s coverage of Winthrop and of Winthrop President, Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio in particular. He also talks about his experiences and impressions working with Dr. DiGiorgio.

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  Interview with Bessie Poag - OH 011

  Bessie Poag

  OH 011

  In her July 31, 1974 interview with Louise Pettus, Bessie Poag details her memories as a student at Winthrop Training School and Winthrop College. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

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  Interview with Velma S. Polk - OH 276

  Velma S. Polk

  OH 276

  In her July 15, 2013 interview with Martha Manning, Velma Polk describes her two years at Winthrop until 1951. Addressed are rules and regulations, the Blue Line, and dorm life. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

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  Interview with Carrie T. Pollitzer - OH 032

  Carrie T. Pollitzer

  OH 032

  IN PROCESSING

  Suffragette, teacher, social worker, and sister of Mabel Pollitzer (1885-1979) who was 92 years old at the time of the interview, Carrie T. Pollitzer (1881-1974) describes the suffrage booths she helped set up in Charleston’s city streets, her work as a kindergarten teacher in the city, and her work to have women admitted to the formerly all-male College of Charleston in 1918. She also discusses her childhood, work with kindergarten Children’s Festival and her position as board member for the Charleston Federation of Women’s Club.

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  Interview with Mabel Pollitzer - OH 031

  Mabel Pollitzer

  OH 031

  IN PROCESSING

  Teacher, civic worker, suffragette from Charleston, and sister of Carrie T. Pollitzer (1881-1974), Mabel Pollitzer (1885-1979) recollects her work as a teacher for fifty years at Memminger High School, her participation on library and museum boards, her and her sister’s involvement and participation in the Women Suffrage Movement and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and memories of Alice Paul and other suffrage leaders. She also discusses her childhood, efforts to pass legislation for construction of a library in Charleston, Sue Frost and the Charleston Split.

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  Interview with Marjorie Pontius - OH 447

  Marjorie Pontius

  OH 447

  IN PROCESSING

  Interviews with extension members and agents throughout the country documenting the history and development of the extension movement in the U.S. The interviews describe homemaking, child bearing and family management in the small towns and rural areas where they live. They also discuss the role of extension homemakers groups in their lives.

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  Interview with Ann Hunter "Annie" Popkin - OH 243

  Ann Hunter Popkin

  OH 243

  Ann Hunter “Annie” Popkin (1945-) is a women’s rights activist, professor of women’s studies, and accomplished author who was active during the Radical 1960s. She is also a white woman, so this interview shows both sexism and racial tensions within the movement. In this interview, Popkin discussing her early life as an activist, including her childhood interest in disparities between neighborhoods, being a Beatnik, attending the March on Washington, and handling her progressive ideals and the conformist ideals taught during the 1950s. Popkin also discusses Women’s Liberation, the Religious Right, religious people aligned with the progressives, Black Power, the New and Old Left, homophobia, homosexuality, Marxism, the Civil Rights movement, Beatniks, and sexism. She also covered feminism, Gloria Steinem, McCarthyism, the Southern Organizing Committee, male chauvinism, and Betty Friedan.

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  Interview with Dudley Posey - OH 334

  Dudley Thayer Posey, Murphy Village, and Irish Traveler

  OH 334

  This interview was conducted by Winthrop Archivist Ron Chepesiuk with Dudley Thayer Posey (1917–2004), owner of Posey's Funeral Home in North Augusta, South Carolina, as part of the Village of Murphy's Travelers oral history project. The interview was one of a series conducted by Chepesiuk during his research on the Irish Travelers. The Irish Travelers (often referred to historically as "Gypsies") are descendants of an itinerant Irish subculture whose members emigrated from Ireland to the northeastern United States following the Great Famine of the 1840s and later migrated to the southeastern United States. During the 1960s, many members of the community settled in Aiken County, South Carolina, in an area that became known as Murphy Village.

  Having served the Irish Traveler community since 1957, Mr. Posey discusses his decades of experience arranging funerals and burials for members of the Murphy Village community. He describes the evolution of their burial practices, explaining how earlier funerals often required transporting the deceased to Atlanta or Nashville before the community became more permanently established in the North Augusta area. Mr. Posey explains that the Irish Travelers he served were Roman Catholic and that their funerals generally followed traditional Catholic burial rites. He discusses embalming practices, the timing of funerals, and the large gatherings that brought together family and community members from across the Southeast. He also describes the community's distinctive use of elaborate floral arrangements depicting the deceased's occupations, hobbies, or personal interests. Throughout the interview, Mr. Posey reflects on the close-knit nature of the Irish Traveler community, emphasizing their strong family ties, their commitment to caring for elderly family members, and the importance they placed on supporting one another during times of loss.

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  Interview with Rich Posipanko - OH 186

  Rich Posipanko

  OH 186

  In his March 23, 2015 interview with Jenna Kasmarik, Rich Posipanko talks about how Winthrop built up its athletic department and the challenges it’s faced in the subsequent years. Specifically, Posipanko shares his opinions on how Title IX has affected athletics at Winthrop. Posipanko concludes his interview reminiscing of the changes he’s seen in the athletic department. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

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  Interview with Julia Harriett Post - OH 038

  Julia Harriett Post

  OH 038

  Ms. Julia Harriett Post (1897-1988) was Chairman of the Physical Education Department at Winthrop College from 1932 to 1962, Ms. Post discusses her early childhood, interest and work with various crafts and arts, including needlework, sewing, and flower arrangement, cooking favorites, creativity and her retirement.

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  Interview with Isabel Potter - OH 089

  Carrie Isabel Potter

  OH 089

  This interview features Carrie Isabel Potter (1900–1997), a biology instructor at Winthrop College from 1928 to 1966, who was interviewed by Winthrop student Jeff Clark for an oral history project on the college during the Great Depression. Potter reflects on her experiences as a faculty member during the early 1930s, discussing declining enrollment, reductions in state funding, faculty salary cuts and layoffs, and the effects of budget constraints on academic departments and campus programs. She describes how the Biology Department adapted by improvising and constructing equipment rather than purchasing commercially manufactured materials. Potter also recalls the close relationships among faculty members and between faculty and students, inexpensive forms of entertainment, and the generally positive morale and sense of community on campus despite the financial difficulties of the Depression. She discusses student life and the restrictions placed on students' activities, as well as changes in the campus atmosphere and enrollment as economic conditions improved. Her recollections provide insight into how the Great Depression affected Winthrop College's finances, academic programs, faculty, students, and campus life.

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  Interview with Amelia Potts, Janie Crocker, and Myrtle Starnes - OH 370

  Amelia Knight Potts, Janie Phillips Crocker, Myrtle Chapman Starnes, Fort Mill Manufacturing Company, Springs Industries, and Nancy Biggs Thomas Wofford

  OH 370

  This interview with Amelia Knight Potts, Janie Philips Crocker, and Myrtle Chapman Starnes was conducted by Nancy Thomas Wofford for her 1984 Winthrop thesis titled, Fort Mill: Transition From A Farming To A Textile Community, 1880-1920. Subjects include Fort Mill Manufacturing Co., Ivey’s Mill in Fort Mill, Springs Industries, Catawba Power Company. The Evolution of the Early Cotton Textile Mills in York County, SC.

  Amelia Knight Potts (1890-1984) worked for one of the original mills in Lancaster, SC beginning in 1902 at 12 years old. Her family were mostly famers from the Lancaster area. She talks about her early childhood days in Lancaster, cotton farming, memories of Mr. Leroy Springs, and Life in the Mill Village.

  Janie Phillips Crocker (1910-1996) worked with Myrtle Starnes in the weave room at the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company. She discusses her experiences in the weave room, living in the Mill village, and s blow pipe incident that killed an employee in 1929.

  Myrtle Chapman Starnes (1904-1999) worked with Janie Crocker in the weave room at the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company. She talks about Fort Mills’ population, Mr. Leroy Springs, migration of northern workers, the 1916 flood that devastated the area, the old mill that washed away, camp meetings at Oak Grove Arbor, and her mother who also worked at the mill.

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  Interview with Opal Price - OH 461

  Opal Price

  OH 461

  IN PROCESSING

  Interviews with extension members and agents throughout the country documenting the history and development of the extension movement in the U.S. The interviews describe homemaking, child bearing and family management in the small towns and rural areas where they live. They also discuss the role of extension homemakers groups in their lives.

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  Interview with Lona Fulmer Proctor - OH 284

  Lona Mae Fulmer Proctor

  OH 284

  This interview was conducted with 1963 Winthrop graduate, Lona Mae Fulmer Proctor. She attended because she knew it was a good college and had several friends attend. She was originally from Ridge Springs, South Carolina. She lived on campus, and thinks the rules for dorm life were lenient enough. She discusses majoring in physical education and some of the classes she took. While at Winthrop, she was taught how to play golf and later after she married her military husband, they lived in Japan and Germany where she won several gold tournaments. She also talks about the fine arts performances that put on shows. She discusses how Winthrop has changed, including how campus had changed, buildings being altered, and the changes to the dress code.

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  Interview with Frank B. Pullano - OH 795

  Frank B. Pullano

  OH 795

  This interview was conducted as part of the Emeriti College Oral History Project. Dr. Frank Pullano, Professor of Mathematics, was interviewed by Dr. Joseph Prus, Emeritus Professor of Psychology. Dr. Pullano has been a member of the Winthrop University faculty since 1998 and retired in 2025. According to his Winthrop biography, “His primary role in the Department of Mathematics has been to prepare undergraduate mathematics majors to become teachers of mathematics at the secondary level.” In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Pullano served as director of the LEAP Program, Winthrop’s provisional admission program.

  In the interview, Dr. Pullano discusses his decision to join the faculty at Winthrop, his various roles at the university, and his experiences as a mathematics professor.

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  Interview with Martha F. Pursley - OH 266

  Martha Faulconer Pursley

  OH 266

  IN PROCESSING

  Martha F. Pursley discusses her relationship with the presidents of Winthrop that she worked with and gives a brief sketch of each one.

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  Interview with Ralph King - OH 743

  Ralph King, Winthrop University, and COVID-19 Pandemic

  OH 743

  This interview was conducted by William Calandro with Ralph King as part of Project 2020: A Collaborative Oral History. King discusses in detail his experiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the critical year 2020. He sheds light on personal and educational hurdles he had to overcome while fighting brain cancer at a young age in high school. King also details his transition to Winthrop University in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and the difficulty of losing a family member from COVID-19 complications. Notable topics of conversation include online learning, higher education, health protocols (vaccine, masks, social distancing, quarantine, etc.), professional life, and mental health. King concludes by touching on social justice efforts, the 2020 political climate, and the slow return to normalcy following more than two years of the pandemic.

  Ralph King (b. 1999) is a native of Columbia, SC who studies Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at Winthrop University. He previously studied at Midlands Technical College in Richland County, SC.

  Spearheaded by Dr. O. Jennifer Dixon-McKnight, an Assistant Professor of History & African American Studies, Project 2020 is best summarized in her words: “The goal was to conduct interviews that explored the various ways in which Americans were experiencing and being impacted by the various watershed moments that emerged during 2020 (the global pandemic, social unrest, financial challenges, issues with healthcare, etc.)."

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  Interview with Edna Hall Ramseur - OH 701

  Edna Hall Ramseur and Emmett Scott High School

  OH 701

  This interview was conducted by Dr. George Garrison with Edna Hall Ramseur for his Emmett Scott High School history project. Emmett Scott High School was the segregated high school for African Americans in the Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was named for Emmett Scott, a former aide for Booker T. Washington and President Woodrow Wilson. The school was opened in 1920 and closed in 1970 with the integration of the Rock Hill School District. Mrs. Ramseur was a teacher at Emmett Scott High School, Rock Hill High School, and Northwestern High School. She discusses her experience in both the segregated school system as well as the integrated school system. Mrs. Ramseur details the differences in treatment between both systems for black students and teachers as well as the community reaction to integration.

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  Interview with John Ramseur - OH 699

  John Ramseur and Emmett Scott High School

  OH 699

  This interview was conducted by Dr. George Garrison with John Ramseur for the Emmett Scott High School history project. Emmett Scott High School was the segregated school for African Americans in the Rock Hill South Carolina School District. It was named for Emmett Scott, a former aid to Booker T. Washington and President Woodrow Wilson. The school was opened in 1920 and closed in 1970. Mr. Ramseur attended Emmett Scott during the 1940s. He discusses his experience as a child attending Emmett Scott from first grade through twelfth grade. He details the teachers and other faculty of Emmett Scott. Mr. Ramseur also discusses his familial connection with Emmet Scott and the surrounding area, including his uncle, one of the Founding Fathers of Emmett Scott, Tim Broomfield.

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  Interview with Corria Ratliff - OH 472

  Corria Ratliff

  OH 472

  IN PROCESSING

  Interviews with extension members and agents throughout the country documenting the history and development of the extension movement in the U.S. The interviews describe homemaking, child bearing and family management in the small towns and rural areas where they live. They also discuss the role of extension homemakers groups in their lives.

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  Interview with Dorothy Rauch - OH 036

  Dorothy Rauch

  OH 036

  In her April 30, 1980 interview with Jeff Clark, Dorothy Rauch recalls growing up on campus and attending Winthrop during the Great Depression. In particular, Rauch shares what it was like as a Day Student and the changes she witnessed on campus. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

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  Interview with Charles "Pug" Ravenel - OH 064

  Charles Dufort Ravenel

  OH 064

  This speech was given by Charles “Pug” Ravenel (1938-2017) while campaigning against Senator Strom Thurmond – R (1902-2003) in the 1978 senatorial race. Ravenel discusses Thurmond’s contradictory statement about the necessity of taxes and inflation. Ravenel argues that inflation needs to be dealt with before tax cuts can be made. He also discusses differences between his approach to tax cuts and inflation reduction and Senator Thurmond’s approach. Ravenel also calls attention to several prominent social issues and states his stance on them. Ravenel also answers several questions from reporters after making his statements. Ravenel became the Democratic nominee, but he lost to Thurmond in the election.

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  Interview with Jane Rawls - OH 301

  Jane Rawls

  OH 301

  In her August 1, 2013 interview, Jane Rawls shares stories of her life as a student at Winthrop Training School in the 1960s and as “day student” in 1974. In particular, Rawls discusses life as a child and student in the 1960s. Rawls shares her perspective of the counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s and how Winthrop and the community were affected. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.