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PG: Could you just decide that you wanted to go to West Charlotte at that time and go? SD: No. I always wanted to go to West Charlotte. I have loved West Charlotte all my life. As a matter of fact, I had two aunts, Bernice Craine. She was Bernice Terry when she went to West Charlotte. I think she was in the first graduating class from West Charlotte. I had another aunt, Irene Terry. She went to West Charlotte, and an uncle, William Samuel Terry who went to West Charlotte. But the years they graduated, I can’t even tell you. I have forgotten that stuff. PG: What was it about West Charlotte that made you want to go there? SD: I was born in the Biddleville area, and that’s not too far from West Charlotte. All the people on this side of town really went to West Charlotte. I have just always loved West Charlotte. When we were kids and we moved to BrookHill, I went to Isabella Wyche’s for a while, like three months, and Second Ward that one year. I just didn’t feel comfortable. I just liked West Charlotte. I was reared on this side most of my life, and that’s just West Charlotte. PG: Did you know more of the students at West Charlotte, was that part of it? SD: Oh, yes. I knew more people on this side of town, and I always have. I don’t know too many people on the other side. PG: When you were growing up and younger, did you go to the high school for different events like sports events, and things like that? SD: Not really. No. Me being afraid, because we rode the bus a lot then. And our parents didn’t allow us on that side of town. We had to stay over here. PG: But to West Charlotte had you gone, or you just stayed in your neighborhood? SD: West Charlotte? I’ve always gone to events at West Charlotte. PG: That’s what I was asking. SD: Okay. Oh, yes. To ball games, oh yes. Ball games or football, basketball, different things. Yes. Always West Charlotte. PG: When you went to these games and things, would you know all the people that were there more or less? SD: Most people, yes. PG: Tell me what that was like, going to these events. SD: It was fun. You looked forward to going to these things. Back then you didn’t have but so many things to go to, and you always looked forward to that. It was exciting. [DOOR BELL RINGS IN THE BACKGROUND. TAPE IS TURNED OFF AND THEN BACK ON.] PG: I’ll let you catch your breath a minute. When you were at West Charlotte, what are some of the things that you remember best about being there? SD: The best school in Charlotte, I thought. West Charlotte was number one. If you go back and look at the history you will find out that we have always been number one. People don’t want to admit it, but we have. PG: When you say number one, number one in what? SD: Everything. Most sports, academics. I thought we had the best teachers. The best of everything, really. Mr. Blake, he was the principal there, Clinton L. Blake, he was the best. Anything that he thought West Charlotte needed that would put us at a high level, we got it. He went downtown and saw to it that we got it. Everybody downtown was very fond of Mr. Blake.