Full Text of the Excerpt

Dr. Rass says in his chapter in our book, Is it any wonder that Marguerite chose South Carolina as the scene of her activities in the line of education. I taught in the South Carolina public schools for twenty years. I taught at Winthrop College. I taught at Clemson summer school, Newberry summer school. I became a member of the state department of education, where I served as Supervisor or Assistant Supervisor of adult education. Later I became assistant director of the South Carolina Opportunity School, famous not only from coast to coast but around the world. Dr. Wil Lou Gray was the founder. I became assistant director there. They did ask me to be director but I was sixty-five and I said, No, I don't want to assume more and more heavy duties toward the end of my career. So I decided that I would be assistant director for a few years and retire. I served seven years.

CONSTANCE MYERS:

Under whose directorship?

MARGUERITE TOLBERT:

First, Mr. Jessie Agnew; next, Mr. William T. Lander; then, I retired, full retirement in '65 and moved into this apartment across the hall from Wil Lou Gray. We have continued our interest in continuing education because we believe that education begins at the cradle and continues until the grave. You never get too old to learn. That has been our philosophy and we've pursued it and so we're remaining in the main stream of life. I'm eighty-one; Wil Lou will be ninety-one soon. We go, go, go morning, noon and night. I was taking my annual physical yesterday and landed over in the hospital for a morning. Anyhow, Wil Lou and I were both invited yesterday for the big vocational state conference as honored guests. They put us at the head table. I can't enumerate the many, many things that happen to us continually in the field of education. We attended Clemson University last month, the last week of May, as senior citizens. The University puts on a wonderful week for senior citizens. We go back to school, we elect courses and we listen to wonderful lectures. We go on tours. If you're interested in arts and crafts, good, anything you want. So, we try to stay in the mainstream of life and pursue our education, as we said, from the cradle to the grave. And it's focused on education for all but particularly on adult education.

CONSTANCE MYERS:

Very democratic implications.