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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with Gladys and Glenn Hollar, February 26, 1980. Interview H-0128. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) See Entire Interview >>

A contentious relationship with a supervisor

Glenn Hollar remembers his contentious relationship with his supervisor, a relationship that eventually forced Glenn to quit. The Hollars speculate that the supervisor, who was incompetent, envied Glenn's skill set.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Gladys and Glenn Hollar, February 26, 1980. Interview H-0128. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

JACQUELYN HALL:
When the Shufords sold out to Riegel, did you move over to Riegel?
GLENN HOLLAR:
No, I didn't get over there. I quit then. Me and the superintendent got to where we couldn't get along too good.
JACQUELYN HALL:
Why was that?
GLENN HOLLAR:
He'd rather tell a lie on me than tell the truth. Me and Mr. Shuford talked it over, and he… What had it messed up was, Millard Holland married one of Mr. Brady's daughters. And they put it in the deal that Holland would be superintendent as long as he was able to work, in the glove mill. And one time Mr. Shuford told me, "I can't get rid of him." So I finally heard what it was. But I put up with it for years and years.
JACQUELYN HALL:
What was wrong with him as a supervisor?
GLENN HOLLAR:
If something would go a little wrong, he'd put it off on you or something, even if it was his fault. Sometimes I would have an order made wrong, and I'd always go up and tell Mr. Shuford before the superintendent got up there. So when he'd go to tell him, Mr. Shuford done heard about it. And he told his secretary in the office there, "That's one thing I like about Glenn. If he makes a mistake, he will come tell me." And I said, "Well, I knew I made it. Why beat around the bush?" But I never did make anything where he lost anything off of it. I'd always get an order for the stuff, even if make it wrong, it was still sell it. It might have to sit around there a little while. And back during the War, we had four government contracts, two with the Army and two with the Navy. And it was rough then, because they had all that they had to look after, and it had to be made good. And it had to be packed up good, right up to the government specifications. It was rough.
GLADYS IRENE MOSER HOLLAR:
But he was in that business for years and years and years, and he never did learn anything, did he?
GLENN HOLLAR:
No.
JACQUELYN HALL:
Millard Holland?
GLENN HOLLAR:
Yes.
GLADYS IRENE MOSER HOLLAR:
Yes. He never did learn anything.
GLENN HOLLAR:
Set up nometers for each style. He didn't know any of them. Never did learn.
GLADYS IRENE MOSER HOLLAR:
He would make mistakes, and then he'd run and say that Glenn made them. Well, Glenn would take his own mistakes, but he didn't like to take his, too.
JACQUELYN HALL:
Did Mr. Shuford know what was happening?
GLENN HOLLAR:
Yes, but he'd halfways believe him. Like I say, he had to keep him. If he'd let him go, he'd have had to pay him off(), the way I understand it. He still put up with it.
JACQUELYN HALL:
Did the other hands also have trouble getting along with him?
GLENN HOLLAR:
No. They didn't have close contact like I did. In other words, I was doing the work he was getting paid for, and he was trying to make him think he was doing all that. Looking after all the orders and the numbers and everything. In fact, one time we got into it, and I just laid the order right on the table there. I said, "There they are. You go ahead and get them through." I said I could help mark them up and send them out; I'd a whole lot rather do that than what I was doing. He was down there but about three or four days, and there wasn't nothing going out, and they wanted to know why. I told them Doc could answer. "That's Doc," I said, "that's looking after it." And [chuckle] they got him up in the office, and Adrian, Jr. come down there and said, "Glenn, take them orders and start getting this stuff moving." And I did. And that ended that. And then he even got another boy in there. He hired him and put him out there, was going to work him in over the order business. So I give him that boy. But he didn't stick there long. And that guy told me… That must have been ten or twelve years ago. And he still lives out here on the other side of Conover. He was talking about it. He said he couldn't help it. Said Doc was having him to do it. I said, "I know. I didn't blame you for it. I didn't feel mad at you about it. I know that's what was happening." But he said he didn't have a thing to do with it.()
JACQUELYN HALL:
Were you making more money than you would have made …
GLENN HOLLAR:
No, I wasn't making… In fact, I couldn't get a raise, because the superintendent would hold me down. So I met Mr. Shuford and his son up in the hosiery mill one day, and I was hot anyway. I told them, "I want a raise, or either I'm getting out of here." And he said, "How much do you want to satisfy you?" I should have said ten cents more than what I did. I told him what I wanted. But I was stupid; I told him twenty-five cents on the hour. I got eighteen and a half, I believe it was. They wouldn't give me what I asked. I don't know why I said that when I did.
JACQUELYN HALL:
You should have said thirty-five, and they would have given you twenty-five.
GLENN HOLLAR:
If I'd have said thirty-five, I'd have gotten a quarter, maybe. After I told him that, I thanked myself for talking too fast that time. But I did get it, and then the superintendent had given me a couple of checks before he ever noticed.
JACQUELYN HALL:
He didn't realize you had gotten a raise?
GLENN HOLLAR:
He said to me, "Did you get a raise?" I said, "I've had that. You mean you didn't know it?" I said, "I went to the big man." That's what I told him. Oh, he didn't like that a bit. But he never would …
JACQUELYN HALL:
Had you asked the superintendent for a raise before?
GLENN HOLLAR:
Oh, yes, I had asked him.
JACQUELYN HALL:
Did he have the authority to give people raises or to not give them raises?
GLENN HOLLAR:
He would some of them. But he just… I don't know why. I never did do him nothing that I know of. But he just never would see eye to eye with me.
GLADYS IRENE MOSER HOLLAR:
He just never did like Glenn for some reason or other. I don't know what it was, but…
GLENN HOLLAR:
Now the fellow that had the job before I did, they were paying him real good.
GLADYS IRENE MOSER HOLLAR:
I thought it was because Glenn knew so much more about the job than him, and Glenn let him know it. He shouldn't have let him …
GLENN HOLLAR:
I had to know what I was doing. I knew every style number and everything like that. When I started in with Shuford, I got me a little book, and me and Mr. Shuford's secretary were good friends. She'd keep my book typed up to date, and I'd keep it down there in my desk. And I had everything down there.
JACQUELYN HALL:
How did you learn to do all that?
GLENN HOLLAR:
It just come to me, I guess.
JACQUELYN HALL:
You just taught yourself?
GLENN HOLLAR:
Yes.