Clarke Egerton - on being a music educator and leading a band (clip)

RG: So you graduated North Carolina College in -

CE: '55. '56.

RG: '55. '56. And then you were at John R. Hawkins High School?

CE: Warrenton - it was John R. Hawkins High School, it was called John R. Hawkins, in Warrenton, North Carolina. And that year was my first year doing band. So I had the band, safety patrol, boy scouts, and bus duty. I also taught two classes of music, and three classes of social studies. And at the time when we had lunch, activity period, they called it that's when I would have to do the instrumental repair on instruments. They had a nice repair kit there. But there was no money for instrumental repair, and no money for music. So any music that I got, I either bought it or wrote it out instruments, and myself that we repaired, I did it myself, or worked it into a class situation. My principal, J.Estees Byers said: "That's a music class. Teach your way." So I did that. We did a lot of music, but we also did some instrumental repair, so I could have a band functioning properly.

RG: And then what year did you come to Lincoln?

CE: That was the following year. I was just one year at John R. Hawkins, and then it was five years at Lincoln High School.

RG: Starting 19 -

CE: '56, '57.

RG: To '61?

CE: Yes.

RG: When you were at North Carolina College, now North Carolina Central University, and how many instruments did you learn how to play?

CE: In order to major in music, to finish in instrumental music as I did, you had to learn all of them. And I was very fortunate when I attended North Carolina Central; I was pretty good on the drums, clarinet, oboe, and saxophone. And so when I started at North Carolina College I already had those instruments pretty much mastered. Then I started with the bassoon, and then the string instruments of course being the most problem, but I enjoyed those also. (laughs)

RG: That's incredible. Well, I want to focus on Lincoln.

CE: Surely.

RG: So let me just ask you a broad question. Tell me your memories of Lincoln High School.

CE: Oh, it was a wonderful experience, because I consider that to be my first, best job. My first job was at Hawkins, but the real challenge was at Lincoln High School. I was fortunate to be able to go there after my student teaching. Now when I was at North Carolina College I did student teaching, in Chapel Hill, under J.Y. Bell. He was the band director there. In between the time I went to Warrenton and taught there for a year, the job at Lincoln High School was available. J.Y. Bell called me and asked me if l wanted it and I said yes. You know where Warrenton is, it's off the beaten track, and the principal knew it. He said, "I know you're a suitcase teacher, so you have to have two sets of lesson plans. You may not come back." But anyway, (laughs), I was able to go back to Lincoln High School and actually teach some of the students that remembered me as a student teacher there from a year ago, two years ago. And so I had two classes there that I could relate to. So I got off to a real good start with those students. And they were just fantastic. Anything that I said we should do, they said we can do it. And that's what I enjoyed most about them, and they had so little. We had to repair instruments. You know, $45, I think, was my entire budget. I thought that was something, considering that my other school didn't have anything. [laughs]

RG: Was that a repair budget or -

CE: That was the budget. That included music, repair, and anything else that you were going to do. And so I had to use that wisely. So we had to depend quite a bit on gifts of instruments from the community. Fundraising. All of those things were incorporated.