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Oral Histories
It was like he is a father, in lieu of a mama and daddy at home. That was the situation with John I. Jones; they loved him ( About John I. Jones)
Dr. Horace Rice
Guidance Counselor
Growing up, we were all poor. You don’t know you are poor because you are loved. We had inferior things. We weren’t concerned. We made do with what we had.
Gail Jones Harris
Class of 1960
It was the first time I went to a dance where there were more parents there than students. The whole families would come. They would dance. There were no social opportunities [in Bedford] for Blacks
Ann Jackson
Home Economics Teacher
Step into the past through the voices of those who lived it. Our oral histories capture the personal stories of alumni, educators, and community members who shaped the legacy of Susie G. Gibson High School. These recorded memories preserve the spirit, struggles, and triumphs of a proud community for generations to come.
Coming Soon
Oral histories will be available soon. We are currently preparing interviews and archival materials to share in the coming weeks.
Verna Bryant
Dr. Horace Rice
Louise Nelms Bonds
Robbie Harris
Roy Bryant
Ann Thompson
Gleanora Alexander
Edna Hayden
James Kyle
Gail Harris
Harriet Hurt
Forrest Frazier
William Crider
Gertrude Jones
Jerald Lowry
Ann Jackson
Interviews courtesy of Richardson, T. B. (2012). Susie G. Gibson High School: A history of the last segregated school in Bedford County, Virginia (Doctoral dissertation). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. January 27, 2012.
“They laid down the rules and very seldom let you get away with anything. There was more structure.”
Bill Crider, Class of 1970
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