Dr. Chris Folk, former associate superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, recounts his childhood growing up in the Charlotte area during World War II and his experiences attending Duke University in the 1940s and 1950s. The son of a textile mill superintendent, Dr. Folk spent his early years in Statesville and describes what it was like during the 1930s. He explains that he became fascinated with newspapers at a very young age, and how his interest increased with the start of World War II. Dr. Folk explains that the war had a major influence on him and how it could be a frightening time for a child. The Folk family moved to Charlotte in 1940 and he recounts what it was like living in wartime Charlotte, including a polio epidemic that struck the city one summer which resulted in neighborhood lockdowns. Following the war, Dr. Folk attended Duke University and he discusses his time as a student there and his continued work as a member of the alumni admissions committee.