Charlotte Regional Oral History

Sarah Land Alexander Sr. and her daughter, Sarah Land Alexander Jr., talk about their lives and the history of the Alexander family farm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mrs[...]

In this last of three interviews, Charlotte native William T. Alexander describes his early career in the 1920s-1930s working in several places across the United States a[...]

In this second of three interviews, William T. Alexander describes his education and schooling in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina during th[...]

In this first of three interviews, William T. Alexander describes growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina in the Mallard Creek Church region during the early twentieth ce[...]

John Archibald recounts growing up in the Leakesville-Spray area of Rockingham Country, North Carolina, his time as a soldier during World War II, and his life and career[...]

In this interview, librarian and historic preservationist Margaret "Belle" Banks describes her early life in Pennsylvania and Delaware, her move to Charlotte, North Carol[...]

Jeanne DeArmon Bates discusses life in Charlotte, North Carolina and her husband's family's role in the development of Charlotte. She talks about her early life moving fr[...]

Bill Birchfield talks about moving from around Rochester, New York to Southern Pines, North Carolina in 1968 mainly for a change in weather. Mr. Birchfield worked as a to[...]

Edwin Black discusses his time on the USS Rich during the invasion of Normandy and his life after World War II. Mr. Black joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 when he was eightee[...]

Author and former Charlotte Observer reporter LeGette Blythe shares his eyewitness account of the 1929 Loray Mill strike approximately forty-five years after the event to[...]

Stanford "Stan" Brookshire, the former four-term mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina from 1961-1969, talks about his early life and his time as mayor. He describes his hom[...]

In this second interview with Ed Perzel, Stanford Brookshire discusses his experiences as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina from 1961-1969. He begins by talking about th[...]

Joseph E. Broughton shares what it was like to grow up in Massachusetts during the Great Depression and why he joined World War II. Mr. Broughton was ten years old when t[...]

Susan Cernyak, a UNC Charlotte professor and Holocaust survivor, recounts her experience during World War II. Born in Austria, Ms. Cernyak describes the treatment of Aust[...]

Evelyn Brown Choate, a retired teacher, recounts her experiences during the Great Depression as an orphan in North Carolina. Ms. Choate talks about her family's farm, att[...]

Jack Claiborne, former editor at the Charlotte Observer and former director of public relations at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte), reflects[...]

Charles Collie describes his boyhood memories of accompanying his father, supervisor Alexander G. Collie, on his job with the Charlotte streetcars during the 1920s and 19[...]

Janie Mayfield "Mae" Cook describes her life in Concord, North Carolina during the early 1900s and her experiences during the Great Depression. Ms. Cook shares that her f[...]

Mattie Creighton, a lifelong Charlottean, recalls growing up during the Great Depression in Charlotte, North Carolina and working as a young woman during the 1930s and 19[...]

Steve Crump recounts his life as a television reporter and documentary filmmaker from the 1980s into the 2010s. He describes his second career as a director of television[...]

Mary Culp describes her life during the Great Depression in rural Newberry County, South Carolina, discusses economic programs that President Franklin D. Roosevelt create[...]

Dr. Eugene Lewis Daniel discusses his experiences in Stalag Luft III, a German prisoner of war camp, during World War II. He was a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and on F[...]

Charles T. "Charlie" Davidson, former president of J.A. Jones Construction Co., discusses his life, his family, the history of J.A. Jones and affiliated companies, and th[...]

Town planner and landscape designer Earle S. Draper recounts his work on the Myers Park development during the early twentieth century in Charlotte, North Carolina. Initi[...]

Bobbie Nell Earnhardt was born on Graham St. in Charlotte, North Carolina; she discusses growing up in Charlotte in the 1930s and shares her family's stories. She tells a[...]