Media Type: Oral Histories / Subject (Geographic): Charleston (S.C.) - Lowcountry Digital Library Catalog Search Search Results

Date:: 2/3/1971
Description:: Rebecca Bryan discusses memories of her life in Charleston. She mentions a contest between the fire departments, the Womens Exchange on King Street, Dixie Antique Shop, transportation as a young girl, several significant earthquakes and hurricanes, the history of her house at 110 Broad Street, the Battery as a child, her childhood schooling, the Charleston Exposition of 1901, and a story about the Charleston Light Dragoons. Audio with transcript and tape log.

Date:: 3/24/1971
Description:: Harold Stone Reeves, a native Charlestonian and lifelong performer, discusses the many aspects of his life since his birth in 1892, including his longtime interest in Gullah, attending the University of South Carolina, his commission with the Charleston Light Dragoons during World War I, his involvement with the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals, and his role as the first manager of the of the Charleston Social Security Office. Audio with transcript and tape log.

Date:: 10/13/1972
Description:: John Laurens graduated from the Citadel in 1910. During World War I Laurens was stationed with the Charleston Light Dragoons in El Paso, Texas and later in France. In the interview, Laurens enumerates his siblings and discusses various occurrences in his life and in Charleston including family vacations on the Southern Railroad, a bath house that was once located at the end of Tradd Street, the Charleston Exposition of 1901, a tornado that took off the steeple of St. Philips Church and a fire at the Anderson Lumber Company once located on Broad Street. Audio with transcript.

Date:: 1983-05
Description:: Mrs. Sparkman talks about several different ghost stories that are told about her house at 15 Legare Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Audio with transcript.

Date:: 1983-05
Description:: Longtime Charleston preservationist, Elizabeth Jenkins “Liz” Young, was born April 7, 1919 on Edisto Island. In this interview she conveys her love for Charleston and emphasizes the importance of its preservation, gives a brief lesson on the Gullah dialect, and discusses St. Michaels Church. Young also talks about Federal Memorial Day versus Confederate Memorial Day, a holiday designated to memorialize the soldiers lost in the Civil War, which she calls the “War Of Northern Aggression.” Audio with transcript and tape log.

Date:: 2000-2009
Description:: Oral history interview of Millicent Brown regarding her efforts in desegregating Rivers High School in Charleston, SC. The interview is what Dr. Brown labeled as the prototype for the Somebody Had To Do It project, which is designed as a multi-disciplinary study to identify, locate, interview and acknowledge the African American “first children" who desegregated America's schools.

Date:: 07/04/2005
Description:: Interview with Richard (Dick) Jenrette. Mr. Jenrette discusses how he discovered Charleston; his purchases of the Roper House, the Blacklock House, and others; his involvement with the rebuilding of the Mills House Hotel; and his collecting of classical homes and antiques and his foundation Classic American Homes. He also speaks at length about his tenure as an HCF Trustee; about Frances Edmunds's impact on the success of Charleston; and about how Charleston has improved over the years. Other subjects include the Charleston Place project; HCF's success in Ansonborough; his thoughts on the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Mayor Riley; and the scourge of power lines.

Date:: 4/3/2009
Description:: Rhonda Jones (1970) is a sanitation worker for the City of Charleston, South Carolina. Having grown up in Brooklyn, New York; Rhonda moved south as a teenager to care for her ailing grandparents. A self-described outspoken and aggressive "Northerner," Jones had trouble assimilating into the slowness of life in the Lowcountry. In this interview, she recalls her life as a teenager displaced in Charleston and her efforts to provide for her children. In 2000 Jones applied for employment with the City of Charleston and became one of the first women that worked in sanitation as collector. In a traditionally male dominated environment she faced multiple challenges that included sexual harassment due both being a women and being a lesbian. Furthermore, Jones articulate the struggles that all sanitation workers, regardless their gender, face in their battle for better working conditions and the right to organize a union. At the time of the interview Jones was very involved with Local 1199, an organizing body fighting for the formation of a sanitation workers' union.

Date:: 2009-06-24
Description:: Timothy Grant was born in 1954 at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and grew up on Jackson Street on the East Side of Charleston. He recalls memories of the women that raised him: his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and their ties to the city. Grant talks about his affiliation with the Jackson Street Panthers, a street gang that in 1969 protected Mary Moultrie, a leader of the Hospital Strike, when she was forced to leave her residence and hide at the union hall. He shares his memories of the strike and its aftermath and remembers other older young organizers such as Robert Ford and John Reynolds. In the second part, the interview focuses on Grant’s experiences as a Black worker at the Street and Sidewalks Department of the City of Charleston and reflects about the importance of keeping the lessons of the past and to fight for workers’ rights.

Date:: 9/5/2009
Description:: Adrian Williams (1970) was born and raised in Charleston, SC. She was among the first female sanitation workers with the City of Charleston. In this interview, Williams recalls her early days growing up in Charleston and Johns Island and asserts that being a sexual abuse survivor made her a strong person who fights for her rights and who understands the sufferings of others. When asked about her source of strength, she affirms that becoming a mother when she was a teenager made her resolute about building a better life for herself and her child. She is particularly grateful for three women that provided support and inspired her: her aunt, her psychotherapist, and an English teacher. After a life crisis, Williams started working as a bus driver with the City of Charleston and later she moved to the sanitation department. She liked it at first. However, soon she discovered the problems that plagued her job which included abusive managers, sexism and sexual harassment, as well as, safety hazards related to the lack of appropriate training and equipment. Williams talks about her experiences as a union organizer, the barriers to engage more workers in the process, and the development of more effective strategies to negotiate with the authorities. This interview brings light to the efforts of the Local 1199C to be recognized by the City of Charleston in 2009.

Search