Southern Oral History Program Collection, Series I: Business History, 1989, 1995-2000

Collection Number: 04007I

Collection Title: Southern Oral History Program Collection, Series I: Business History, 1989, 1995-2000

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size	106 interviews
Abstract	The Southern Oral History Program conducts and collects interviews with Southerners who have made significant contributions to various fields of human endeavor. In addition, the Program undertakes special projects with the purpose of rendering historically visible those whose experience is not reflected in traditional written sources. The Southern Oral History Program Collection, Series I: Business History contains interviews focused on the growth and development of traditional and emergent North Carolina industries, including furniture, banking, tobacco products, textiles, poultry, food and food services, tourism, pharmaceuticals, computers, and steel.
Creator	Southern Oral History Program.
Curatorial Unit	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language	English.

Expand/collapse Information For Users

Some interviews are closed as noted.: Access to interviews in series I.1. Business History: Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company requires express permission of the Corporate Secretary of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company.

Restrictions to Use: The Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) welcomes non-commercial use and access that qualifies as fair use as stipulated by U.S. Copyright law to all unrestricted interview materials in the collection. The researcher must cite and give proper credit to the SOHP. The SOHP requests that the researcher informs the SOHP as to how and where they are using the material. Please use the online form available on the SOHP site to request permission and inform the SOHP of your use.

Preferred Citation: Interview with [interviewee name] by [interviewer name], [interview date] [interview number], in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Series I: Business History, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.; Example: Interview with Joanne Floyd Underdown by Anne Radford Phillips, 15 January 1999 (I-0060), in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Series I: Business History, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Provenance: Transferred from the Southern Oral History Program beginning in the 1970s.

Additional Descriptive Resources: Database: A searchable database of all Southern Oral History Program interviews is available at http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/sohp/. Patrons may keyword search the database by: (1) Abstract; (2) Transcript; (3) Interviewee name; (4) Interviewer name; (5) Interview number; or (6) Subject term. Patrons may browse the database by: (1) Interviewee name; (2) Interviewer name; (3) Interviewee occupation; (4) Interviewee ethnicity; or (5) Project.

Sensitive Materials Statement: Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Finding aid for Series I created and encoded by Mary Oliva in May 2017.

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

Expand/collapse Historical Information

In 1973, the History Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill established an oral history program devoted to the study of the southern region of the United States.

The Southern Oral History Program collects interviews with Southerners who have made significant contributions to various fields of human endeavor. In addition, the Program undertakes special projects with the purpose of rendering historically visible those whose experience is not reflected in traditional written sources. Interviews are conducted by Program staff, graduate students, faculty members, and consultants. The Program also serves as a collecting agency, accepting donations of tapes and transcripts of interviews conducted by other researchers.

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Most interviews in this series focus on the growth and development of traditional and emergent North Carolina industries, including furniture, banking, tobacco products, textiles, poultry, food and food services, tourism, pharmaceuticals, computers, and steel. Some interviewees also discuss the impact of businesses on the communities in which they operate and about the regional, national, and global developments that will affect their future prospects.

ONLINE INTERVIEW DATABASE

Click here for the online, sortable list of oral history interviews in this series. Each interview is cataloged in the interview database with descriptive information about the interviewee and the contents of the interview. Transcriptions and audio recordings for many of the unrestricted interviews are available in this online database.

Contents list

Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

I.1: Business History: Hostile Takeover Project, 1989.
I.2. Business History: North Carolina Business History Project, 1995-1999.
I.3. Business History: Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company, 1998-2000.

Expand/collapse I.1: Business History: Hostile Takeover Project, 1989.

The four Hostile Takeover Project interviews are with representatives of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Heublein, Inc.; Microdot, Inc.; and Richardson-Vicks, Inc. Interviewees talk about their experiences during hostile takeover attempts on their companies. Discussions center around takeover attempts as related both to the individual organizations and to the broader effects of this business practice on the country's economic health. The interviews were conducted in 1989 by William A. Crowther, former director of Marketing Communications, International at Richardson-Vicks.

This project was funded by H. Smith Richardson, Jr., of Wilmington, N.C., and was developed in conjunction with the Oral History Collection at Columbia University, New York, N.Y.

ONLINE INTERVIEW DATABASE

I-0001 Interview with Robert E. Mercer, 1989

Robert E. Mercer, white executive, with interviewer William A. Crowther. 10 February 1989

Digital Folder I-0001

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

Image Folder PF-4007I/1

Photograph

Black-and-white print

I-0002 Interview with George Caspar and Hicks Waldron, 1989

George Caspar and Hicks Waldron, executive, with interviewer William A. Crowther. 6 December 1989

Digital Folder I-0002

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0003 Interview with Rudolph Eberstadt, Jr., and Samuel P. Shaw, 1989

Rudolph Eberstadt, Jr., and Samuel P. Shaw, white executives, with interviewer William A. Crowther. 28 August 1989

Digital Folder I-0003

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0004 Interview with H. Smith Richardson, Jr., John Scott, Ivan Husovsky, and Frederick Lamb, 1989

H. Smith Richardson, Jr., John Scott, Ivan Husovsky, and Frederick Lamb, white executives, with interviewer William A. Crowther. 29 November 1989

Digital Folder I-0004

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

Expand/collapse I.2. Business History: North Carolina Business History Project, 1995-1999.

North Carolina Business History Project interviews are with leaders of traditional and emergent North Carolina industries, including furniture, banking, tobacco products, textiles, poultry, food and food services, tourism, pharmaceuticals, computers, and steel. Interviewees describe the origins and evolution of their companies and the changes and problems they confront. They are also asked about the impact of businesses on the communities in which they operate and about the regional, national, and global developments that will affect their future prospects. Included are interviews with Richard Barentine, International Home Furnishings Marketing Association; Lauch Faircloth, politician and businessman; Roger Gant, textile firm president; Dennis B. Gillings, Quintiles Transnational Corp.; James Goodnight, SAS Institute; James A. Graham, North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture; John Medlin, Wachovia Corporation; Hugh L. McColl, Bank of America; Sherwood H. Smith, CP& Tom E. Smith, Food Lion, Inc.; Robert Sidney Smith, National Association of Hosiery Manufacturers; Jacob Froelich, Froelich Companies; F. Kenneth Iverson, Nucor Corporation; Lonnie Poole, Waste Industries; and S. Davis Phillips (Dave Phillips), Phillips Industries and North Carolina Secretary of Commerce.

The first interviews, I-0005 through I-0012, were conducted by Walter E. Campbell. Peter Coclanis, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill directed the project.

An additional group of interviews, I-0068 through I-0085, conducted by Joe Mosnier, contains interviews with North Carolina business leaders such as James Goodnight of SAS Institute and John Medlin of Wachovia Bank. They explore how North Carolina is faring in the new global economy. Mosnier asked what strategies the state's business leaders adopted as traditional industries floundered and newer pursuits such as computing and agribusiness boomed; how the interviewees attempted to control and respond to these historic trends and changes; and what kind of economic future the interviewees envision for the nation's tenth largest state.

Interviews I-0092 through I-0106, conducted in 1997 by Dorothy Gay Darr, explore four areas of North Carolina business history: tourism, textiles, furniture, and retail. Interviewees include members of the Cecil Family of the Biltmore Estate, owners of hosiery companies, owners of furniture and veneer companies, and a retail executive for the J.C. Penney Company.

ONLINE INTERVIEW DATABASE

I-0005 Interview with Leslie N. Boney, 1995

Leslie N. Boney with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 1 August 1995

Digital Folder I-0005

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0006 Interview with Bruce Barclay Cameron, 1995

Bruce Barclay Cameron with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 22 May 1995

Digital Folder I-0006

Digitized transcript

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I-0007 Interview with Daniel David Cameron, 1995

Daniel David Cameron with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 22 May 1995

Digital Folder I-0007

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0008 Interview with Ann Heafner Gaither, 1995

Ann Heafner Gaither with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 18 July 1995

Digital Folder I-0008

Digitized transcript

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I-0009 Interview with Hugh McRae, II, 1995

Hugh McRae, II, with interviewer Susan Taylor Block. 25 April 1995

Digital Folder I-0009

Digitized transcript

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I-0010 Interview with Douglas Meyer-Cuno, 1995

Douglas Meyer-Cuno with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 27 May 1995

Digital Folder I-0010

Digitized transcript

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I-0011 Interview with Mark Joseph Waligora, 1995

Mark Joseph Waligora with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 1 June 1995

Digital Folder I-0011

Digitized transcript

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I-0012 Interview with Susan Winget, 1995

Susan Winget with interviewer Walter E. Campbell. 19 July 1995

Digital Folder I-0012

Digitized transcript

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I-0068 Interview with Richard Barentine, 1999

Richard Barentine, white executive, with interviewers Joseph Mosnier and Dorothy Darr. 28 January 1999

Digital Folder I-0068

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0069 Interview with Lauch Faircloth, 1999

Lauch Faircloth, white business owner and politician, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 22 March 1999

Digital Folder I-0069

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0070 Interview with Lauch Faircloth, 1999

Lauch Faircloth, white business owner and politician, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 16 July 1999

Digital Folder I-0070

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0071 Interview with Roger Grant, 1999

Roger Grant, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 25 January 1999

Digital Folder I-0071

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

I-0072 Interview with Dennis B. Gillings, 1999

Dennis B. Gillings, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 10 June 1999

Digital Folder I-0072

Digitized transcript

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I-0073 Interview with J. H. Goodnight, 1999

J. H. Goodnight, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 22 July 1999

Digital Folder I-0073

Digitized transcript

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I-0074 Interview with James Graham, 1999

James Graham, white public officer and politician, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 19 March 1999

Digital Folder I-0074

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I-0075 Interview with William Klopman, 1999

William Klopman, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 27 May 1999

Digital Folder I-0075

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I-0076 Interview with John Medlin, 1999

John Medlin, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 24 May 1999

Digital Folder I-0076

Digitized transcript

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I-0077 Interview with Hugh McColl, 1999

Hugh McColl, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 14 June 1999

Digital Folder I-0077

Digitized transcript

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I-0078 Interview with Hugh McColl, 1999

Hugh McColl, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 23 July 1999

Digital Folder I-0078

Digitized transcript

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I-0079 Interview with Sherwood H. Smith, 1999

Sherwood H. Smith, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 23 March 1999

Digital Folder I-0079

Digitized transcript

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I-0080 Interview with Tom Smith, 1999

Tom Smith, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 22 January 1999

Digital Folder I-0080

Digitized transcript

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I-0081 Interview with Sid Smith, 1999

Sid Smith, white executive and manufacturer, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 25 January 1999

Digital Folder I-0081

Digitized transcript

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I-0082 Interview with Jacob Froelich, 1999

Jacob Froelich, white business owner, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 20 January 1999

Digital Folder I-0082

Digitized transcript

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I-0083 Interview with Ken Iverson, 1999

Ken Iverson, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 11 June 1999

Digital Folder I-0083

Digitized transcript

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I-0084 Interview with Dave Phillips, 1999

Dave Phillips, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 27 January 1999

Digital Folder I-0084

Digitized transcript

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I-0085 Interview with Lonnie Poole, 1999

Lonnie Poole, white executive, with interviewer Joseph Mosnier. 22 March 1999

Digital Folder I-0085

Digitized transcript

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I-0092 Interview with Steve Abrams, 1997

Steve Abrams, white salesperson, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 17 October 1997

Digital Folder I-0092

Digitized transcript

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I-0093 Interview with Mary Ryan Cecil, 1997

Mary Ryan Cecil, white secretary, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 9 June 1997

Digital Folder I-0093

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I-0094 Interview with William A. V. Cecil, Jr., 1997

William A. V. Cecil, Jr., white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 10 June 1997

Digital Folder I-0094

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I-0095 Interview with William A. V. Cecil, 1997

William A. V. Cecil, white business owner, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 7 June 1997

Digital Folder I-0095

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I-0096 Interview with Lois Hedgecock Gay, 1997

Lois Hedgecock Gay, white homemaker and volunteer, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 26 January 1997

Digital Folder I-0096

Digitized transcript

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I-0097 Interview with Rufus Frank Gay, 1997

Rufus Frank Gay, white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 28 January 1997

Digital Folder I-0097

Digitized transcript

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I-0098 Interview with David R. Hayworth, 1997

David R. Hayworth, white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 4 February 1997

Digital Folder I-0098

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I-0099 Interview with David R. Hayworth, 1997

David R. Hayworth, white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 6 February 1997

Digital Folder I-0099

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I-0100 Interview with David R. Hayworth, 1997

David R. Hayworth, white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 26 February 1997

Digital Folder I-0100

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I-0101 Interview with David R. Hayworth, 1997

David R. Hayworth, white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 28 February 1997

Digital Folder I-0101

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I-0102 Interview with Joseph A. Hayworth, 1997

Joseph A. Hayworth, white member of armed services and executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 30 January 1997

Digital Folder I-0102

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I-0103 Interview with Marianne Browne Hayworth, 1997

Marianne Browne Hayworth, white public relations personnel, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 29 January 1997

Digital Folder I-0103

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I-0104 Interview with Amos Ragan Kearns, Jr., 1997

Amos Ragan Kearns, Jr., white consultant and manufacturer, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 3 March 1997

Digital Folder I-0104

Digitized transcript

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I-0105 Interview with James Henry Millis, 1997

James Henry Millis, white executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 25 March 1997

Digital Folder I-0105

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I-0106 Interview with Diana Cecil Pickering, 1997

Diana Cecil Pickering, African American and Native American executive, with interviewer Dorothy Darr. 10 June 1997

Digital Folder I-0106

Digitized transcript

Digitized audio

Expand/collapse I.3. Business History: Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company, 1998-2000.

Access to interviews in this series requires express permission of the Corporate Secretary of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company.

These 61 interviews with 51 individuals selected by the Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company were designed to unearth and preserve knowledge about the company, the families in positions of leadership, the industry, and the region. Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company, founded in 1944 in Hickory, N.C., produces a wide range of bedding and upholstered furniture products, including metal and foam parts and various types of hardware. In 1998, it consisted of 56 plants in 14 states and had a workforce of 3,600 employees. The company was distinguished by an unusually low employee turnover rate.

Three of the company's top executives--Bobby Bush, Jr., vice-president of the Foam Products Division; Rob Simmons, director of the International Department; and Jack Finegan, corporate director of communications--conceived the idea of conducting an oral history project. In 1997, they began working with the Southern Oral History Program to design the project. The Program supervised an independent researcher, Anne Radford Phillips, as she conducted interviews with individuals selected by Hickory Springs.

ONLINE INTERVIEW DATABASE