Pistole, Mary K., 1924-2001

Isner, Cynthia A.

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections

1993-03-27

1 audio file (1:00:53) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Mary Pistole was a 69-year-old woman at the time of interview. She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1924. She graduated from Central High School, and was employed as an office worker and florist.

Mary Pistole recounts her life and experiences in Charlotte during the Great Depression, World War II, and the postwar era. Mrs. Pistole grew up in the Myers Park neighborhood and was an eighth grader at Alexander Graham Junior High School when the United States entered into World War II. She describes Charlotte having air raid sirens and enforced blackouts at night, and how items like sugar and gas were rationed. Mrs. Pistole recalls that she had been downtown when news of President Roosevelt's death broke, and she describes the turmoil the news caused in the city. She also discusses the resentment directed against young married women who continued to work at the ammunitions plant after their husbands had returned home after the war. Mrs. Pistole describes the housing shortage Charlotte faced immediately after the end of the war, explaining how as newlyweds, she and her husband ended up living for a year in the Morris Field barracks, which had been converted into temporary apartments by the city. Mrs. Pistole had two daughters in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system during the first year of busing for school integration in 1970, and she discusses their experiences after being transferred to Harding High School and Oaklawn Elementary School. She also discusses owning her own business, Dilworth Florist, and changing trends in the floral business. She concludes by stating that she prefers the Charlotte of her childhood to the current day Charlotte because she believes that the city has torn down too much of its history. In her view, Charlotte at the time of interview is no longer the small country town that she remembers; there is too much crime, too much traffic, and the city's demographics have changed too much.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on analog audio cassette and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.

Florists

Pistole, Mary K., 1924-2001

Morris Field (Charlotte, N.C.)

World War (1939-1945)

Cities and towns--Growth
Presidents--Death
Women--Employment--Social aspects
Small business
Racism
School integration
Busing for school integration

North Carolina--Charlotte

Interviews
Oral histories

1930-2000

David Goldfield student project on change in the Charlotte region

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

audio/mpeg

GF-PI0168