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Interview with Rosa Elmore Bootle - OH 007

Rosa Elmore Bootle

This interview was conducted by Ann Yarborough Evans with Rosa Elmore Bootle (1910-2015) for the Winthrop Oral History Collection. In the interview, Mrs. Bootle reflects on her years as a student at Winthrop College (Class of 1934), where she enrolled to prepare for a career in teaching. She discusses campus life during the 1930s, including residence hall regulations, study hours, dating restrictions, class attendance policies, examinations, and the required student uniform. Mrs. Bootle recalls her coursework as a Business Education major and describes several influential faculty members, including Mrs. Auld, Mr. Bratcher, Johnny Walker McCain, Mrs. Snellings, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Malchus, and Alice Anne Grant. She also discusses student organizations, her library scholarship, religious life on campus, and recreational activities.

Mrs. Bootle describes a number of Winthrop traditions, including the Blue Line procession to church, Rat Week, Daisy Chain, Founders Day ceremonies at President David Bancroft Johnson’s gravesite, and senior celebrations at the college farm. She also reflects on her work in the Carnegie Library under librarian Ida Jane Dacus and shares memories of campus landmarks, the college farm, dining hall customs, and the lasting impact of her Winthrop education.
Interview with Emma Cooper Cockfield - OH 010

Emma Cooper Lovett Cockfield

This interview was conducted by Ann Yarborough Evans with Emma Cooper Lovett Cockfield (1891-1977) for the Winthrop College Oral History Project on July 31, 1974. Cockfield (Winthrop College Class of 1914) recalls her experiences as a Winthrop student, discussing the Training School, academic courses, athletics, clubs, and student activities. She describes the Training School’s emphasis on practical teaching experience and preparation for a career in education, as well as her experiences with tennis, basketball, the Glee Club, sewing, and literary and religious organizations. She also recalls the rules and customs governing student life, including dress codes, study hours, dormitory regulations, church attendance, and campus activities. Cockfield reflects on campus buildings and the physical changes to Winthrop over the years, comparing the campus of her student days with her later visits. She also discusses dining and daily life in the dormitories, transportation, social activities, and her experiences after graduation.

Emma C. Cockfield reflects fondly on her Winthrop education and the preparation it provided for her career in teaching and home demonstration work.
Interview with Nancy Hinson Cox - OH 006

Nancy Hinson Cox

In her July 16, 1974 interview with Ann Yarborough Evans, Nancy Cox recalls Winthrop customs from 1930-1934. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Anna Heriot Dixon - OH 008

Anna Dell Heriot Dixon

This interview was conducted by Ann Yarborough Evans with Mrs. Anna Dell Heriot Dixon (1894–1989) for the Winthrop Oral History Program. A member of the Winthrop College Class of 1917, Mrs. Dixon reflects on her experiences as a student and on campus life during the early twentieth century. She discusses the college’s reputation, strict rules and regulations, dormitory life, uniforms, student government, and dating restrictions. She describes traveling to and from campus by train, academic coursework, examinations, and faculty members who influenced her education. Mrs. Dixon also recalls campus traditions and activities, including the Blue Line, YWCA programs, literary societies, Glee Club, chapel services, and social events. In addition, she shares her memories of the Winthrop Training School, student teaching experiences, the college farm, physical education requirements, and the role Winthrop played in preparing students for careers in teaching.
Interview with Leslye Fleniken - OH 013

Leslye Lightsey Fleniken

This interview features Leslye Lightsey Fleniken (1920–2019), a native of Fairfax, South Carolina, who attended Winthrop College from 1936 to 1940, graduating in 1940. Following her graduation, Fleniken taught for 35 years in the public schools of Williston-Elko, Bamberg, and Lake City, South Carolina, before later serving as a guidance counselor. In this interview, she reflects on her experiences as a student at Winthrop, discussing dormitory life, academics, the infirmary, student organizations, campus activities, dining services, college regulations, and long-standing traditions. The interview provides a vivid snapshot of the Winthrop College student experience during the late 1930s.
Interview with Gray Taylor Grady - OH 012

Margaret Gray Taylor Grady

In her August 22, 1974 with Freida Todd, Margaret Gray Taylor Grady (1918-1981) recalls her time at Winthrop from 1935-1939. In this interview Gray Grady discusses her experiences while attending Winthrop College including dorm life, student clubs, student organizations, rules and regulations, and physical education.
Interview with Bessie Poag - OH 011

Bessie Poag

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.
Interview with Sarah Willette Padgett Satterwhite - OH 004

Sarah Willette Padgett Satterwhite

IN PROCESSING

Ms. Satterwhite received a B. A. degree in 1945 and discusses student life during the 1940s. Subjects discussed include dorm life, World War II, the AFROTC (Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp), rules and regulations, uniforms, fire drills, food, clubs, classes, cheating, recreation, the Blue Line, dating, President Phelps, Henry Sims, and the teacher training school.
Interview with Marguerite Tolbert - OH 003

Emmie Marguerite Tolbert

Marguerite Tolbert (1893-1982) was a Winthrop alumna (class of 1914), club woman, and administrator with the Opportunity School in Columbia, South Carolina. In this interview, Miss Tolbert discusses her experience as a student at Winthrop College. She discusses dining hall conversation and interactions with faculty members, her parents, and her home life with her parents. She also discusses riding the train to Winthrop, dorm life, holidays and weekends at Winthrop, Benjamin Tillman and his close supervision of Winthrop students, rules for Winthrop students, and the blue line. She also talks about her pride surrounding graduation, the training school, her internship, the Greatest Educators in America reception at the Waldorf in New York City, the controversy surrounding Billy Mitchell, summer school at Winthrop, notable male professors, Winthrop’s status as the best teaching college in the state, and Dr. D.B. Johnson. She also discusses dating at Winthrop, clubs, free time activities, and a pageant. Miss Tolbert also discusses the shift in her teaching philosophy as well as specific units taught at Winthrop. This interview also includes comments from Wil Lou Gray, (1883-1984) regarding the summer teaching training institute at Winthrop.
Interview with Clara Hammond Buchanan - OH 005

Clara Hammond Buchanan

IN PROCESSING

She received a B.A. degree in 1921 from Winthrop College and was a suffragette and daughter of Columbia suffrage leader, Lottie Hammond. This interview includes information about her life, education at Winthrop, and involvement in the suffragist movement, including the Junior Suffragist Club.