Interview with Virginia Koch

In her January 13, 2015 interview with Michelle Dubert-Bellrichard, Virginia Koch shared the memories of her Winthrop experience from 1970-1974. Koch explains why she attended Winthrop, her experiences with Rat Week, and why she struggled to find a job in her major. Included are the details of why she left South Carolina, and the numerous positions she held thereafter. Koch also shares her perspectives on major transitions at Winthrop and in the South. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

Mary E. Frayser Papers - Accession 1

The Mary E. Frayser Papers consists of correspondence, speeches, reports, clippings, minutes, histories, family histories, constitutions and bylaws, membership lists, program notes, photographs, and other papers, relating to her work with the South Carolina Extension Service (1912-1940) Winthrop College, her involvement with the South Carolina Council for the Common Good (1935-1952), the South Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs (1926-1952), the South Carolina Status of Women Conference (1945-1952), the South Carolina Division of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) (1929, 1935-1949), the South Carolina Interracial Institute (1938-1942), the South Carolina Division of the Southern Regional Council (1944-1951), and the South Carolina Conference of Social Work (1936-1967). There are also papers relating to Frayser’s efforts to promote social and economic legislation and participation by women in public affairs and her interest in libraries and work in the movement for the support of public libraries in South Carolina (1925-1968). Correspondents included G.H. Aault, Evan Chesterman, Wil Lou Gray, Sarah Hughes, Christine South Gee, and Maude Massey Rogers. This collection is a good source of women’s club activities in the twentieth century. Important areas of research would include the way club activity affected social and economic legislation in the state and the various forces involved in the movement for state tax supported libraries. While the papers do range from 1841 to 1953, the greater bulk of the papers extend from the early 1930s to about 1947. Since the work of the various women's club organizations were so inter-related, a researcher working with the papers of a particular organization for a particular time span should consider the Frayser papers of all other organizations. The related papers for the “Correspondence and Related Papers” series for particular organizations are generally similar and include: memoranda, outlines, reports, resolutions, minutes, etc. Additional Frayser information can be found by referring to the Winthrop University Archives (official records).

Marion Allan Wright Papers - Accession 48

The Marion Allan Wright Papers consist mainly of speeches relating to civil rights, civil liberties, the role of libraries in society, and capital punishment, but also included are autobiographical writings, articles, correspondence, and biographical data concerning the civil rights movement.

Marion Allan Wright Papers - Accession 197

The Marion Allan Wright Papers consist of correspondence, a journal, autobiographical writings, bibliographies, biographical data, essays, speeches, book reviews, short stories, poems, letters to the editor, oral history transcripts and other papers. Subjects include the death penalty, the civil rights movement, civil liberties, libraries in South Carolina and politics. Correspondents include R. Beverly Herbert, L. Mendel Rivers, J, William Fulbright, Sam Ervin, Jr., Reverend James P. Dees, Preston Wright (Wright's brother) and other relatives. See Acc 48 for an earlier accession of Wright papers and the oral history collection for recorded interviews with Wright.

Fellowship of the Concerned Reports - Accession 40 - M15 (25)

The Fellowship of the Concerned Reports consist of two reports presented before the Fellowship in Atlanta, with one report by Marion Allan Wright describing the civil rights situation in South Carolina and the other by Father Maurice Shean of the Oratory in Rock Hill describing the work of the Rock Hill Council on Human Relations to better race relations in the city. The Fellowship was founded in 1949 and dissolved in 1970. It was an organization of southern women affiliated with the Southern Regional Council and concerned with promoting civil rights.