University of North Carolina at Asheville
D. Hiden Ramsey Library
Special Collections/University Archives

Oral History Register
for

Marjorie Lockwood, 1906-1996

OH-VOA L65 Ma

Voices of Asheville Oral History Collection
D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNCA

Title

Marjorie Lockwood Oral History

Creator

Dorothy Joynes for Voices of Asheville Oral History Collection

Subject

LCSH:
Lockwood, Marjorie, 1906-1996
Asheville (N.C.) -- History
Unitarian churches in the United States -- North Carolina -- Asheville
League of Women Voters -- North Carolina -- Asheville
American Association of University Women -- North Carolina -- Asheville
Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A. -- North Carolina -- Asheville
Hazardous waste sites -- North Carolina -- Buncombe County
Social integration -- North Carolina -- Asheville

Subject

Keyword: YWCA ; League of Women Voters ; Beaucatcher Cut ; Unitarian Church ; Congress on Racial Equality ; Soil and Water Conservation District ; Integration

Description

Abstract: Lockwood discusses the Unitarian Universalist Church on Edwin Place, which she joined in 1974. She was the first president of the Asheville-Buncombe League of Women Voters. The League was successful in a push to install voting machines in county polling places and in putting a school bond on the ballot. League members began monitoring the meetings of governmental boards, speaking to civic groups, and holding candidate forums. Also discussed are the controversy surrounding the I-240 Beaucatcher Mountain cut, and Carolina Power and Light's unsuccessful bid to build a nuclear power plant in the Leicester area. As supervisor of the Soil and Water Conservation District, her major issues were pollution from farms and erosion. During the integration period, Mrs. Lockwood was chosen as the YWCA's director of public affairs. She discusses the Congress on Racial Equality and their plan to come to Asheville to force the integration of restaurants. She describes her participation in a restaurant "sit-in."

Publisher

D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC, 28804

Contributor

Date

Electronic Record Issued: 2002-05-16

Type

Sound ; Text ; Image

Format

Physical Description: 7-page abstract ; 1 90-minute audiocassette and 1 copy ; 4 color photographs ; newspaper articles and brochures

Identifier

Source

OH-VOA L65 Ma

Language

English

Relation

References: VOA Helen Reed Oral History ; VOA Thelma Caldwell Oral History

Coverage

Acquisition

Donor number: 146 ;  Date of acquisition: 1998

Processed By

Dorothy Joynes, Ruth Beard and staff

Interview Date

Interview Location

Biography

List of names

[1/75] Anderson, Marion
[2/248] Boniske, Kitty
[1/501] Brewer, Jim
[2/564] Caldwell, Thelma
[1/162] [1/501] Campbell, Sara
[1/501] Carter, Evelyn 
[2/366] Dyson, Charles 
[2/564] Eller, Mayor Earl W
[2/366] Farzanegan, Barbara
[2/3] George, Eloise (Mrs. John C.)
[1/440] Hammond, Rev. William
[2/3] Haven, Mary (Mrs. Girard E.)
[2/366] Highsmith, William
[2/3] Iddings, Nanine
[1/162] Keever, John
[1/101] [1/162] Keever, Patsy
[1/501] Killoran, Maureen
[2/248] Laird, Mary
[2/248] Laird, Susan
[1/162] Larson, Bruce
[2/201] Lawrence, Betty T.
[1/8] Lockwood, Dr. Alan
[1/8] Lockwood-Zorowski, Louise
[2/248] [2/366] Lovins, Amory B.
[2/74] Parker, Mary
[1/89] [1/379] Pullman, Rev. Tracy 
[1/89] [1/162] [2/3] Reed, Helen
[2/3] Ryan, Florence
[1/162] Stone, Mel
[2/564] Stradley, Florence
[2/3] Taylor, Elizabeth
[2/3] Thompson, Lois
[2/414] Williams, Ormand
[2/414] Young, Blanche
[2/414] Zarowski, Louise

Side 1:

[8] In August, 1947, she and her dentist husband moved to Asheville with their three-year old daughter. She had been a High School teacher in Louisville before marriage. While on duty in a hospital in Chapel Hill they decided to move to NC. after military service. His office was temporarily set up in the City Hall building in Asheville. [Louise Lockwood-Aorowski, Dr. Alan Lockwood]

[65] She had started a League of Women Voters in Hopkinsville, KY. and was asked to start one here.

This side of the tape has to do with the Unitarian-Universalist Church

[75] She was sympathetic to liberal philosophy and in Chapel Hill belonged to a liberal Presbyterian Church where the minister was dismissed because of his support of the blacks. [Marion Anderson]

[89] Because of her parents' church affiliation she did not want to join the Unitarian Church while they were alive; however, she visited the group on Vermont Ave. [Rev. Tracy Pullman, Helen Reed]

[101] In 1974 she joined the church which was then on Edwin Place. Patsy Keever was president of the board. [Patsy Keever]

[145] When her daughter was in college she resumed High School teaching (1964-1972).

[162] Church members came from outside the south. Sara, who was later ordained, also taught at Reynolds High School. For many, having a church here was a key factor in their coming to Asheville. [Bruce Larson, Mel Stone, Patsy and John Keever, Helen Reed, Sara Campbell]

[229] The Social Concerns committee and the board decide on stands taken by the group.

[276] The church is open to the public for meetings. If the group cause is compatible with philosophy there is no charge.

[330] She has taken part in marches. There is no discrimination in the church and Gay and Lesbian groups are welcome.

[379] Her parents were Baptists. While in the University of Wisconsin she read This Believing World by Lewis Brown, which started her religious inquiry.

[440] The sermons of Hammond were highly intellectual but derogatory towards other belief systems. [Tracy Pullman, William Hammond]

[501] The congregation is very supportive of women ministers. Young people have been attracted to the church, however she finds the extreme informality hard to accept. Our present programs are vital and exciting. (see enclosure - Evelyn Carter - daughter) [Sara Campbell, Evelyn Carter, Jim Brewer, Maureen Killoran]

Side 2:

[2/3] She was asked to start a League of Women Voters here. She gathered a group of women and a voters handbook was published. [Elizabeth Taylor, Helen Reed, Florence Ryan, Nanine Iddings, Eloise George (Mrs. John C.), Mary Haven (Mrs. Girard E.), Lois Thompson]

[2/74] Voting machines were their first issue. The county commissioners said that a straw ballot was needed to justify the expenditure. The members held demonstrations and went door to door to get a list of the people in favor of this. [Mary Parker]

[2/116] There had not been a school bond in years. The members held unit meetings and distributed information and their efforts were successful.

[2/131] The public officials objected to observers wearing LWV buttons but "board watching" became an established procedure. The results appeared in the newspaper and in the new GreenLine.  Members were well informed and spoke to civic groups.

[2/184] The League held meetings for candidates and controlled the discussion. The newspaper reported but was "very careful."

[2/201] The controversy concerning Beaucatcher cut was a big issue (but not with the League). Many meetings were held and an auction of NC artists was held to raise money for the fight. The State and the Highway Department wanted the cut. [Betty Tenn Lawrence]

[2/248] Carolina Power and Light bought land in Sandy Mush in order to build a nuclear power plant. A group called "Carolinians for Safe Energy" formed in order to stop this and suggest other ways of creating energy. Hearings were held in the city auditorium. [Amory Lovins, Kitty Boniske, Mary and Susan Laird]

[2/366] Outside speakers were brought in, flyers were handed out and the move defeated. She was president of AAUW. [Amory Lovins, William Highsmith, Barbara Farzanegan, Charles Dyson]

[2/414] She was asked to run for the position of Supervisor of Water and Conservation, filed as non-partisan candidate and with the backing of AAUW, LWV and YMCA won the election. [Ormand C. Williams, Blanche Young, Louise Zarowski]

[2/480] Pollution from farms was her major concern. She worked under the 1972 Water Act with the EPA. Erosion was her principal concern. She was not involved with big manufacturers (e.g. Enka and Champion). The state was supposed to enforce the Water Pollution Act, however it is one thing to have a good law and another to enforce it. As soon as "Earth Day" came the industrialists lobbied to modify the law.

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