Interview: Megginson, Ina S.
Item
Identifier
Mss-0279, Cassette 12
Title
Interview: Megginson, Ina S.
Type
Sound
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Source
Town of Calhoun, South Carolina Oral History Collection
Rights
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.
Date
1988-08-22
Description
Ina S. Megginson was born on June 19, 1907. A native of Clemson, she was the daughter of John W. and Louie Smith. She was a graduate of Winthrop University, and worked for Clemson University's Extension Service. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church. She married William James Megginson. Mrs. Megginson died on July 22, 1999.
Side 1
00:07: The interview is taking place in Jackson, Mississippi on August 22, 1988.
00:57: The interviewee's name is Ina S. Megginson. Her age is 81. She was born in Calhoun, SC. She states that early on her family lived "just above the grocery store." She doesn't elaborate, but this may refer to an apartment complex above the store.
1:20: Mrs. Megginson believes that her mother had a doctor and a midwife in attendance during the births of her children.
2:30: Megginson encourages his mother to recall some of the oldest houses in Calhoun. She can remember her Aunt Alice's house, as well as the Hal Boggs house. The Boggs house had two stories and a portico at the top.
4:55: She considered "Calhoun" to encompass the area from the street at her house to the area near the railroad station. She did not consider the houses and shops associated with the college as "Calhoun."
5:50: As a youth she attended the local Wesleyan Methodist Church.
6:35: She also attended the local Baptist Church.
7:09: Mrs. Megginson first attended school in a building down the old Central Road. The building was also used as a church and Sunday school.
7:40: She is unsure of how many grades were taught. She says perhaps 8 or 9. It was a one room schoolhouse. An individual with the last name Earl, as well as Mrs. Hendricks are remembered as teachers there.
8:30: The school was heated with a coal burning stove.
8:53: She cannot recall what years she attended the Clemson-Calhoun high school. She found no social distinction between Calhoun and Clemson College children. The school day lasted from 8:30-3pm. The students got an hour for lunch.
10:00: Mary and Louis Boggs were a couple of her best friends in school. She also knew many black children, though they didn't play together because the black children attended a different school.
11:00: Mrs. Patrick (English teacher), Miss Witherspoon, and Margaret Morrison were a few of her high school teachers.
12:07: Mrs. Megginson actually graduated high school twice. As she was graduating her tenth and final grade in 1923, it was determined that an eleventh grade be added to the curriculum. She graduated from the eleventh grade the next year in 1924.
12:41--She met a lot of the college cadets at the "Training Union." She didn't attend the social dances because she never learned how to dance.
13:14: The Smith store was a general merchandise store which sold shoes, cloths, hardware, and food. The only employee Mrs. Megginson can recall is Mrs. Gaines, who was the bookkeeper.
14:50: The Boggs store was not unlike her father's store, except that they sold cloth for making dresses. She was allowed to shop there.
17:05: The local roads did not run as they do today. The road to Central ran by her Aunt Ella's house. The underpass has been in its same location as long as she can remember.
18:52: She remembers working hard at the hotel for her mother. She made beds, cleaned house, got coal for heat, cleaned and filled up the oil lamps, washed chimneys, helped cook, and got dairy products from the pasture. The pasture was beyond the school house on the Clemson Road.
20:08: Megginson is interested in what types of people stayed at the Smith hotel. Workmen such as linemen, road builders, electricians, barbers, and salesmen were the normal guests. One regular was Mr. Wiggs, a salesman from Greenville who stayed at the hotel every Tuesday.
21:00: Mrs. Megginson can neither recall if Calhoun had a town hall nor who the town officials if any there were.
22:12: The town jail was close to the railway house and behind the Payne house. People were usually incarcerated for either intoxication or fighting.
22:47: The Anderson and Greenville newspapers seemed to be the popular media for news.
23:00: Calhoun did not have a local doctor or dentist when she was young. The doctor (Dr. Shirley) was from Central, and the dentist (Dr. Thompson) was from Seneca.
23:30: Mrs. Megginson usually did her shopping in Anderson, SC.
23:57: She always admired Mrs. Norman and Agnes Boggs as a child.
25:00: The relationship between whites and blacks were "superb and friendly." She had never heard of any trouble between the two communities.
25:23: Individuals from the black community that she can recall are Will Hawthorne, Tom Dupree, Francis Dupree, and lady called Aunt Amelia. She names others as Annie, Cindy, Janie, Irene, and Aunt Sue. Aunt Sue was her nanny--she was a very cherished and loved individual to Mrs. Megginson. She was like one of the family.
27:04: Mrs. Megginson states that her mother was a tremendous woman with a great personality. She was well liked in the community. She was lenient with people who owed her money.
31:28: L.C. Martin's drugstore was the meeting place in town.
31:46: Audio ends.
Side 2
00:07: Mrs. Megginson is speaking mid-sentence. She states that the Sloan store's selection tended to cater toward men.
00:59: Mrs. Megginson states that many Calhoun boys attended Clemson. She names Aubrey, Waymon, and Bob. Waymon and Bob were two of her brothers.
2:25: Megginson wants to know who the Federal Board Men were. After World War I, the government set up a system whereby men could get additional education. Fifteen or so stayed at the Smith hotel.
3:20: Her brother-in-law Jack Elmore worked in the Treasurer's Office at Clemson College.
4:03: Mrs. Megginson remembers that "Shorty" Schilleter and Mr. Harcombe were both Mess Officers.
5:00: Mrs. Megginson recalls some of her neighbors in Calhoun. An individual named Crawford, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Boggs, Mrs. Pike, Mrs. McCollum (Mrs. Pike's daughter), Earl Boggs, the Cochran's, and Eva and Gracia Payne and their mother.
7:00: Mrs. Megginson worked as a secretary in the Extension Office at Clemson College. She had three bosses: Mr. Rawl (Horticulture), Mr. Gooding (Poultry), and Charlie Morgan (Experiment Station). She worked 8:30-5pm during the week with a half day on Saturday.
9:30: Her sister Ethel worked with the bulletin business on campus, and her brother-in-law Charlie Bennett was a Horticulturalist.
10:50: Megginson thanks his mother for the interview.
10:56: Interviewer's Notes--Megginson wishes to clarify some of the names that may have been mentioned but not elaborated on. Ina S. Megginson's siblings were: Waymon Smith, Robert F. Smith, Ethel (married Jack Elmore), Lucille (married Charlie Bennett), Ann (married Cecile Paitt), Edna (married a Plyler), and John Smith. Megginson adds that Mamie Cochran Crawford was the daughter of John Wesley Cochran.
11:50: Audio ends.
Side 1
00:07: The interview is taking place in Jackson, Mississippi on August 22, 1988.
00:57: The interviewee's name is Ina S. Megginson. Her age is 81. She was born in Calhoun, SC. She states that early on her family lived "just above the grocery store." She doesn't elaborate, but this may refer to an apartment complex above the store.
1:20: Mrs. Megginson believes that her mother had a doctor and a midwife in attendance during the births of her children.
2:30: Megginson encourages his mother to recall some of the oldest houses in Calhoun. She can remember her Aunt Alice's house, as well as the Hal Boggs house. The Boggs house had two stories and a portico at the top.
4:55: She considered "Calhoun" to encompass the area from the street at her house to the area near the railroad station. She did not consider the houses and shops associated with the college as "Calhoun."
5:50: As a youth she attended the local Wesleyan Methodist Church.
6:35: She also attended the local Baptist Church.
7:09: Mrs. Megginson first attended school in a building down the old Central Road. The building was also used as a church and Sunday school.
7:40: She is unsure of how many grades were taught. She says perhaps 8 or 9. It was a one room schoolhouse. An individual with the last name Earl, as well as Mrs. Hendricks are remembered as teachers there.
8:30: The school was heated with a coal burning stove.
8:53: She cannot recall what years she attended the Clemson-Calhoun high school. She found no social distinction between Calhoun and Clemson College children. The school day lasted from 8:30-3pm. The students got an hour for lunch.
10:00: Mary and Louis Boggs were a couple of her best friends in school. She also knew many black children, though they didn't play together because the black children attended a different school.
11:00: Mrs. Patrick (English teacher), Miss Witherspoon, and Margaret Morrison were a few of her high school teachers.
12:07: Mrs. Megginson actually graduated high school twice. As she was graduating her tenth and final grade in 1923, it was determined that an eleventh grade be added to the curriculum. She graduated from the eleventh grade the next year in 1924.
12:41--She met a lot of the college cadets at the "Training Union." She didn't attend the social dances because she never learned how to dance.
13:14: The Smith store was a general merchandise store which sold shoes, cloths, hardware, and food. The only employee Mrs. Megginson can recall is Mrs. Gaines, who was the bookkeeper.
14:50: The Boggs store was not unlike her father's store, except that they sold cloth for making dresses. She was allowed to shop there.
17:05: The local roads did not run as they do today. The road to Central ran by her Aunt Ella's house. The underpass has been in its same location as long as she can remember.
18:52: She remembers working hard at the hotel for her mother. She made beds, cleaned house, got coal for heat, cleaned and filled up the oil lamps, washed chimneys, helped cook, and got dairy products from the pasture. The pasture was beyond the school house on the Clemson Road.
20:08: Megginson is interested in what types of people stayed at the Smith hotel. Workmen such as linemen, road builders, electricians, barbers, and salesmen were the normal guests. One regular was Mr. Wiggs, a salesman from Greenville who stayed at the hotel every Tuesday.
21:00: Mrs. Megginson can neither recall if Calhoun had a town hall nor who the town officials if any there were.
22:12: The town jail was close to the railway house and behind the Payne house. People were usually incarcerated for either intoxication or fighting.
22:47: The Anderson and Greenville newspapers seemed to be the popular media for news.
23:00: Calhoun did not have a local doctor or dentist when she was young. The doctor (Dr. Shirley) was from Central, and the dentist (Dr. Thompson) was from Seneca.
23:30: Mrs. Megginson usually did her shopping in Anderson, SC.
23:57: She always admired Mrs. Norman and Agnes Boggs as a child.
25:00: The relationship between whites and blacks were "superb and friendly." She had never heard of any trouble between the two communities.
25:23: Individuals from the black community that she can recall are Will Hawthorne, Tom Dupree, Francis Dupree, and lady called Aunt Amelia. She names others as Annie, Cindy, Janie, Irene, and Aunt Sue. Aunt Sue was her nanny--she was a very cherished and loved individual to Mrs. Megginson. She was like one of the family.
27:04: Mrs. Megginson states that her mother was a tremendous woman with a great personality. She was well liked in the community. She was lenient with people who owed her money.
31:28: L.C. Martin's drugstore was the meeting place in town.
31:46: Audio ends.
Side 2
00:07: Mrs. Megginson is speaking mid-sentence. She states that the Sloan store's selection tended to cater toward men.
00:59: Mrs. Megginson states that many Calhoun boys attended Clemson. She names Aubrey, Waymon, and Bob. Waymon and Bob were two of her brothers.
2:25: Megginson wants to know who the Federal Board Men were. After World War I, the government set up a system whereby men could get additional education. Fifteen or so stayed at the Smith hotel.
3:20: Her brother-in-law Jack Elmore worked in the Treasurer's Office at Clemson College.
4:03: Mrs. Megginson remembers that "Shorty" Schilleter and Mr. Harcombe were both Mess Officers.
5:00: Mrs. Megginson recalls some of her neighbors in Calhoun. An individual named Crawford, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Boggs, Mrs. Pike, Mrs. McCollum (Mrs. Pike's daughter), Earl Boggs, the Cochran's, and Eva and Gracia Payne and their mother.
7:00: Mrs. Megginson worked as a secretary in the Extension Office at Clemson College. She had three bosses: Mr. Rawl (Horticulture), Mr. Gooding (Poultry), and Charlie Morgan (Experiment Station). She worked 8:30-5pm during the week with a half day on Saturday.
9:30: Her sister Ethel worked with the bulletin business on campus, and her brother-in-law Charlie Bennett was a Horticulturalist.
10:50: Megginson thanks his mother for the interview.
10:56: Interviewer's Notes--Megginson wishes to clarify some of the names that may have been mentioned but not elaborated on. Ina S. Megginson's siblings were: Waymon Smith, Robert F. Smith, Ethel (married Jack Elmore), Lucille (married Charlie Bennett), Ann (married Cecile Paitt), Edna (married a Plyler), and John Smith. Megginson adds that Mamie Cochran Crawford was the daughter of John Wesley Cochran.
11:50: Audio ends.
Subject
South Carolina -- Pickens County
Interviewer
Megginson, W. J.
Interviewee
Megginson, Ina S.
Publisher
Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository
