Frances Hargraves - On childhood, family, education, and teaching
Interviewed by Bob Gilgor on January 22, 2001
"I remember my mother always told me, 'Whatever job you must do, be sure you give it your best.' She said if it’s sweeping the floor, washing dishes, anything, do it your best. And as I grew, that was her philosophy - always give it your best. And I still carry that philosophy."
- Frances Hargraves
In this interview, Frances Hargraves discusses growing up in Chapel Hill, her family, and her community. Mrs. Hargraves attended and taught at multiple schools, and she comments on Orange County Training School, Chapel Hill High School, Lincoln High School, and North Carolina Central University. She described how she grew up and the experiences she had at her schools and town. She also talks about her life during her marriage and after having kids. At this time, she was taking special education courses and continued talking about teaching and training in special education. The interview ended with a discussion about the integration of schools and Lincoln High School.
This interview is part of an oral history project called Southern Communities: Listening for a Change: Mighty Tigers--Oral Histories of Chapel Hill's Lincoln High School. The interviewes were conducted from 2000-2001, by Bob Gilgor, with former teachers, staff, and students from Chapel Hill, N.C.'s Lincoln High School, the historically black secondary school that closed in 1962 when a school desegregation plan was implemented. Interviewees discuss African American life and race relations in Chapel Hill, as well as education, discipline, extracurricular activities, and high school social life before and after integration.
