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Town of Calhoun, South Carolina Oral History Collection

AndersonB Cassette 1, Side 2

Media

Part of Interview: Anderson, Beth

Title

AndersonB Cassette 1, Side 2

Source

Beth Anderson Interview

Date

1988-08-31

Description

Cassette 1

Side 2

00:05: Megginson enquires about how long Frank was present at the bank. Miss Anderson cannot recall. Another question that she cannot recall is if the Bank and the Savings & Loan were under the same management.

1:09: Megginson is interested to know how most buildings looked in Calhoun in the early days and what kinds of shopping she did. Miss Anderson states that most buildings were wooden. The Sloan store was brick. She can remember Mr. Evans community store, which would be next to the present (1988) bank. Clothes had to be purchased in either Greenville or Anderson. The goods and services in town were very male oriented because of the college.

3:55: Conversation moves briefly back to the local bank. Megginson wants to know if any long-term employees of the bank can be recalled, and about how many staff were there in the old days. Miss Anderson remembers that Norma Madden was there for many years, and that when it was first established the bank had perhaps only two employees.

4:46: Frank Anderson bought an insurance company from Ben Robertson sometime before 1930 which dealt with fire, theft, and liability.

6:50: Miss Anderson's impressions of the town of Calhoun upon her first arrival in the 1930's were very positive. She was a country girl so the town actually seemed large to her. There were no paved roads.

8:06: Megginson is interested in the number of automobiles that might be seen on any given day in the town around the early 1930's. Miss Anderson cannot recall that there were very many.

9:00: Miss Anderson had no trouble finding a job despite the fact that the Depression was in full swing when she was first looking for work. Wages were cut back, however.

10:40: Local churches--Miss Anderson attended Wesleyan Methodist, and knew Maggie Morrison because she also attended that church. She can remember ministers J.L. Smith and Mr. Chambers. She recalls the fact that many cadets attended services and that local churches were always sponsoring social events for them.

15:41: She knew young Ben Robertson vaguely; he had no real reputation as a writer before his published works.

16:25: Megginson enquires about any social, literary, or dramatic activities that might have been available to residents. The "Little Theater" had not been established in those days. Films could be seen at the YMCA. There were musical performances at the college, and many events were held at the amphitheater which was open to the public.

18:10: Employment at the College--Miss Anderson's secretarial responsibilities were for the entire Agricultural Economics department at Clemson, but she had a staff of sorts that offered help. She did things such as typing dictation, filing, writing tests, etc. There were telephones in the 1930's, but they were not available in every office. All the departments at the college employed secretaries. They were allowed a 15 minute break in the mornings and 1 hour for lunch.

21:55: Miss Anderson retired in 1985. She states that the town of Calhoun and Clemson College was a wonderful place to live and work.

24:57: Audio ends.

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.