Oral history interview with Marguerite Tolbert, June 14, 1974

Marguerite Tolbert worked in South Carolina schools and universities to improve educational options for adults, especially women and illiterate individuals. This interview starts with a description of her education and graduation from a high school in South Carolina in 1910. She retells a few stories about her life from a book she co-wrote titled South Carolina's Distinguished Women from Laurens County. She recounts how she earned a scholarship to Winthrop College and discusses the greatest achievements of her teaching career. Tolbert also describes her colleagues in the teaching profession, including Wil Lou Gray and Dr. D.B. Johnson, the president of Winthrop. She recounts two speeches she made before the South Carolina State House. She explains her views on the suffrage movement and the views of the Winthrop College president. Tolbert also recalls President Hoover's visit to King's Mountain State Park in 1931 and Jane Addams's visit to Winthrop. Tolbert taught in a variety of schools and describes her course content and methodology. She describes directing a training school for boys and how she dealt with a sexist salary clash between teachers in the 1940s.