Marlene Melvin Interview

Marlene Melvin Interview

This is an interview by Morgan Carraway with Ms. Marlene Melvin on April 8, 2008.

Morgan Carraway: Okay. Tell me your full name and when and where you were born.

Marlene Melvin: My name is Marlene Elmore Melvin. I was born on November 17, 1939, in Foley, Alabama.

MC: Okay, and tell me about your family.

MM: My father was a Baptist minister, and I had two brothers, Lamar and Jerome. I was the only girl. Do you want to know more about the family back then?

MC: Sure.

MM: We moved a lot since my father was a minister. Basically, we lived in Alabama and Georgia most of the time; although I did start school in Kissimmee, Florida. One of my brothers, Lamar, graduated from John Hopkins and got his doctorate in German there. He was a Fulbright Scholar and taught at Vassar, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford before leaving teaching for a career in public relations in New York. Lamar died in the early nineties. My other brother, Jerome, went to the University of Virginia and Emory andis a lawyer. I entered teaching because I’ve always loved children.

MC: Tell me about your mother.

MM: My mother wasan incredible person. She genuinely valued education for each of us and encouraged us to do our best.I never heard her say one negative thing about any person in my entire life. She was definitely a positive role model for her children–a sincere Christian woman who instilled us with proper values.

MC: Well, what can you tell me about your early education?

MM: I started school in Kissimmee; and then we moved to Eufaula, Alabama, and from there to Georgetown, Georgia. So, in elementaryschool I lived in those small communities; and it was just incredible. The teachers were absolutely wonderful, extremely inspiring! I can remember sitting in the first grade;we had this big assembly program. I was watching what was going on on the stage,and I decided at that time I would graduate valedictorian in my class. I set my goals in the first grade. (laughs) I remember sitting there thinking that.

MC: (laughs) That’s interesting. So, what were your favorite subjects in school?

MM: History and English. Those were my two very favorites; and it’s interesting because when I went to college, especially at Columbus College, I just fell in love with biology and all the science programs there; and when I left I thought I would probably become a doctor, but I found out that I didn’t like blood. (laughs) Medicine wasn’t for me. So, I wound up majoring in political science, which was theright choice for me, and minored in history and psychology.

MC: What helped you decide to attend ColumbusCollege?

MM: I had scholarships to three colleges when I graduated. I selected a Baptists all-girls’ school, and I was there less than a week when I realized I had made the wrong choice. I decided quickly that I really did not want to go to there; so, I called home, and mother just about freaked out– thought I was going to ruin my life. I called Dad and I said, “I have prayed about this, Dad; and I really feel in my heart that this is not the right place for me.” So, he said, “Okay. Come home.” The president of the college called him and said, “Let her stay in my home, but keep her here.” My dad said, “No, she really feels strongly about this.” So, I came back home; and it was truly ironic– my husband had done the same thing! He had gone away, and he didn’t like it either. So, we both came back; and it was too late to go anywhere else. Columbus was opening, and they hadn’t started classes yet. Thus, we went to ColumbusCollege thinking, “Well, we’ll transfer as soon as we can.” But we fell in love with the college. I especially liked the emphasis they were putting on education. I said, “I love it here! I don't want to transfer!” Honestly, they couldn’t get me out of there. (laughs)

MC: (laughs) So, before you began attending this school, what had you heard about the college?

MM: Basically, only that they were talking about starting a college. Most of the adult community seemedvery excited and enthusiastic about it; but many of the students with whom I had graduatedwere determined to go away to college and did not talk about the proposed new collegeor even consider it for themselves.They were adamant that they were not going to stay home for college.The feeling among most of the adults, however,was one ofexcitement and anticipation. My mother, however, was not happy about my decision to return because she wanted me to have the college experience of living on campus; but I decided I could get that later. I just did not want to stay where I had selected, and I wanted to come back. It definitely was the right decision for me.

MC: So, when you began attending ColumbusCollege, what types of students where there with you?

MM: A lot of our students had been in the military and had recently returned home.Others had gone to ColumbusHigh School or other high schools in the area and for one reason or another had not gone away to college. They were interested in coming and seeing what ColumbusCollege had to offer. Most were good students.Some of the very, very, brightest of our students at Columbus High School went to ColumbusCollege that year. Our time there was an incredible experience; the teachers were phenomenal.

MC: What would you say was the mission of this school when it started? What types of students were they geared towards? What programs had they started that they wanted to focus on?

MM: I think the leaders of the community wanted a junior college which would provide educational opportunities for local students who might not otherwise have had them. They realized that a better educated and trained citizenry would mean a better community for everyone. As for the programs offered, I know that they had the nursing program, the education program, and that there were several professional programs, plus the engineering and science program, the business, accounting, economics program, and the home economics program. Many of the students that attended that first year had not been able to go anywhere else. So, this college opportunity was the optimum chance for an education that some students would never have had otherwise; it was appreciated. You can see that appreciation in the fact that the Grey and Gold staff dedicated our first annual to the community to thank them forgiving us ColumbusCollege.

MC: Tell me about the relationship between the community and the college, both before it opened as well as afterwards.

MM: Well, since I had not intended to go there I didn’t really concentrate on that, but from what I remember,the community was very supportive of the idea of a community college because the citizens realized what it could do for the city itself.Not only in the educational sense, but also the revenue that the school would bring in and the contributionsthe students would later make to the community. So, it was a very positive relationship.

MC: Do you remember the open house that was held?

MM: I don’t, and I was thinking about that on the way here this morning. I think I had gone away and had just returned. I got in in time to register and start classes. (laughs)

MC: Just in time. (laughs)

MM: Yes.

MC: Well, what can you tell me about the environment of the Shannon Hosiery Mill when it first opened?

MM: It was so wonderful. You cannot believe the feeling that we had. We were starting something that had never existed before; we were starting a school– a college. There were no activities. There was nothing. So, we created everything. We started the student government; we started the basketball programs; we started the soccer programs; we began it all. It was so exciting to have been a part of something like that, and the interesting thing was that the faculty felt the same way that we did. We were all young; and someone would say, “Okay, let’s try this;” and someone else would say, “Okay, let’s do it!” And we did it with the faculty's blessings. It was such a wonderful experience!

MC: Well, can you tell me about some of the extracurricular activities that you were involved in?

MM: The one that really meant so much to me was the Student Government Association. Almost anything that we proposed,we were permitted to do. The big project that we had was writing a constitution for the college, and we really took that very seriously. We had so many meetings and a lot of them were night meetings because I was president, and I thought my future husband, who was on the student government, was cute. So, I would call these night meetings and he would have to go. (laughs) One of my friends had this little thing where we would often have meetings at her house, and she would make sure that all the rest of student government wound up in the other room while he and I sat and wrote together. (laughs) So, she helped that little romance along, but writing the constitution was the biggie.And I remember that Dr. Whitley was really putting a lot of pressure on us saying, “We’ve got to get this thing written! We’ve got to get this thing written!” So, we worked very hard to finish that document.

MC: What do you remember being important about the constitution? What were things that were important for the students to put into the constitution, and what were things that the faculty and administration were saying, “You need to focus on this.”

MM: One of the things that they wanted was for us to write a constitution that wouldn’t be so easy to change– a document that would last. I think we created one so airtight that they really had problems when they honestly needed to make changes; they may have scrapped our document by now! (laughs) You would think that I could remember what the other issueswe labored over were, but I can't.

MC: Were there other events and activities that you were involved in other than student government president?

MM: One of the fun things that we did that first year wasbuilding the Christmas float which the college entered in the city's Christmas parade. We wanted something that would really make a statement and say to the community, “Hey guys we’re finally here! Wake up. Notice us! Be proud!” So, we decided that we were going to have a snowman that could actually revolve. We had a young man who proved to be a great engineer, and he helped us create this. I remember everybody took pride in building that float,and, you know, it sort of pulled everybody together and was a binding influence on all of us.That was really special! We also had a Harvest Hop dance. It was one of our first dances. We had people coming from everywhereeven other colleges; it was very well attended. The dance was a very positive experience, and everybody seemed to enjoy it. There were so many other thingsI was a part of that first year. We had to come up with the motto for the school, and everybody thought up a motto and turned it in. We had a vote, and the person who had proposed the winning entry won a painting of himself. My motto won. It was Primus Inter Pares, first among our equals. So, they gave me a portrait; and they said, “Any suggestions?” I said, “Yes, I’d like for you to fix the hair, remove the freckles” and something else. They wrote back, “Okay, do you want us to touch it upor do you want a miracle?” I said, “Give me a miracle here!” (laughs). We had to sit there and think about, “Okay, what’s going to be our mascot? What will be our school colors?” We had to decide on all of those important things. There were a lot of meetings and discussions. We had to come up with everything!

MC: Well, let me go back and ask about the Harvest Hop, the spring dance, and the different activities like that. What were– What was the dress code for things like that? Were students allowed to invite dates from outside of the school to come? Just tell me about the events involved around the dance.

MM: We didn’t have a dress code. We didn’t really need one because everybody knew to dress appropriately. It was a different culture back then. We didn’t have to worry if the punch was going to be spiked or if someone would dress inappropriately. We didn’t worry about those kinds of things. Now, once I started teaching, I saw some students dressing inappropriately, and I did begin to think about those things.But I don’t remember that the faculty had to worry about any of that back then, and, yes, you could invite people from outside, your boyfriends or girlfriends. We worked for days decorating. Oh, my goodness.That was fun! We brought in straw, pumpkins, scarecrows, and everything relating to the harvest season with which to decorate. Practically the whole school turned out to help. Then, when clean-up time came; we couldn’t find anyone! (laughs) There wereonly a handful of us there to clean up. We had straw coming out our ears when we finished! That Harvest Hop may well have been one of the most successful social events I have ever been a part of because it involved everybody– not just a select few. Everyone was encouraged to help the Student Council– and most did!

MC: Was it ticket sales that raised the money for the decorations?

MM: Yes.

MC: Okay. You mentioned that y’all had to decide the mascot and the school colors. What can you tell me about that decision making process and why you went towards the rebel and the gold and grey?

MM: I have thought about that so many times since we selected what we did. I remember that this was about nineteen or twenty years after Gone with the Wind premiered. Hollywoodhad idealized and glorified that period of history, and we all loved that Civil War legacy. It was our past– tradition. I think that’s why we went with the Civil War theme so readily. I do not remember from all the conversations which we had at the time that the racial issue had anything to do with our decision.Even though, I knowit was during this same time period that Little Rockoccurredand all the civil rights strife took place,but for most us,I think what we did was based solely on history and tradition. I'm sure there may have been some prejudice involved among some of the students, but for most of us, it was like one politician said, “We didn’t invent segregation; we grew up in it.”So, as products of our time, we lacked the empathy that we should have had….

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