Clarke Egerton - on the work environment and working at Lincoln High (clip)
Interviewed by Bob Gilgor on April 10, 2001
RG: Can you tell me about the teachers, your impression about the teachers at Lincoln High School? And - I' II just leave it at that.
CE: Oh, I think they had a good set of quality teachers. I was impressed with the teaching staff that was there. I don't want to call any names, but I know you've probably heard. You've already heard me speak about Bradshaw, and of course R.D. Smith. And Miss Pope, I think, was quite influential. She was the Home Economics teacher. Very particular about everything. She really helped those students, I know. And helped me also, because she was the one that told me about Metropolitan Life Insurance. And I think about that time, blacks couldn't get the kind of insurance that I got. And she said yes Metropolitan, and probably opening the door, because you probably have heard of the fact that the insurance company had two sets of books, that they would sell insurance to blacks on one book and insurance to whites on another book, because blacks didn't live as long because of the kind of work that they had to do and so forth, they weren't expected to live as long. So they had different sets of books, and some insurance policies you just weren't able to get. But she told me about some things and I followed through on them, some about savings bonds and I followed through on that. And when I got married it really paid off. Of course now, you know, I'm pretty comfortable, and it came from the insurance. The insurance policy pays dividends, you see. That meant a lot, because back then blacks weren't able to get that kind of insurance. They were paying a little, 15 or 20 cents a week or whatever it cost. And whatever it came up to, just about, this'll be a hundred-dollar policy, and that was all you got.
RG: Did the principal have an influence on the school?
CE: McDougle - he was ... ok guy. He was great. Mr. McDougle was ... very strict, wanted discipline in that school. And he got that. He got a lot of respect. As a matter of fact, he has a school named for him over in Chapel Hill, so he paid his dues there, did a good job. I was able to work with him without any problems. The only problem I had was when I told him that I was going to leave. He just told me in no uncertain words that I knew that I was going to leave. I told him, "No, I didn't [plan to leave]." The job came available and I said, "Well I'm going to take it." (laughter) But that was only one of the things that I remember about Mr. McDougle. The other one was when I went to Chapel Hill for the first time. We had to do lesson plans, and I had a home room, you had to do the register and all this type of thing. But I had learned at my first job, because we were called suitcase teachers, to make out two sets of lesson plans. So on Friday afternoon, I would have a set of lesson plans for the next week on my desk, in detail. And I'd carry another set of lesson plans to Mr. McDougle for him to keep.
RG: Is that what every teacher did?
CE: Haven't gotten to that yet.
RG: Oh. Excuse me.
CE: So when I gave that to him, he said "Well, yeah!" And I said, "well I have a copy on my desk.” That's what I was used to. Then he made all the teachers do that, and they said "Why did you do that!" (laughter)
RG: You were the bad guy, huh?
CE: I was the bad guy. They were on my case because I had them doing extra work. But that was one of the things that I got from J. Estees Byers, and I passed it along to Mr. McDougle, and he followed through. And it's good, in a way, because sometimes getting subs is much more difficult now than it was back then, but even then, sometimes a sub would be come in late, a person might be out of place or something like that. The lesson plan's right there on the desk, so when you walk in you're ready to go.
RG: So did they continue that for the five years that you were there?
CE: Oh yes. (laughs)
RG: Lesson plans every Friday to the principal? Right on the desk.
CE: Yep. On the desk.
RG: That's pretty disciplined.
CE: And when I detailed my lesson plans, being' a band director and so forth, I would always have a little note there that whoever was in my place could call on this particular student to help you and this student knows how to check the roll for you. Nobody would be called, and say they were there and they weren't there, because this student could be trusted.
