Collene Rogers - On her father's career in the trades
Interviewed by Kathryn Wall on March 11, 2023
“At his (Walter Riggsbee) funeral, Reverend Manley said, “How many people had to call him at 1 o’clock in the morning, 2 o’clock in the morning, and he came?” I think every hand in the church went up.”
- Collene Rigsbee
This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Builders Series. Collene Rogers shared key memories from her family photo album and detailed her family’s contribution to plumbing, electricity, carpentry, woodwork, stonework, and bricklaying. Her father, Walter Rigsbee, is known for his career as a plumber in rural areas, Chatham County, and Orange County. His community remembers him as reliable, and she reminisced on her brother’s friends or her helping her father do plumbing. She highlighted her brother’s (Tommy Rigsbee) dedication to masonry and Bobby Rigsbee’s military service. Rogers reflected on her time in New York as a banker in a medical group detail she created and how her rewarding experience prepared her for entrepreneurship. After she returned to Chapel Hill, she explained the impact of these trades and life skills not being passed down to generations of African-Americans. The interview ends with her sharing her love of sewing.
