Interview of Joyce McCullough

Interview Team: Jamie Bankston, Durell Walden, Chandler Anderson

Faculty Facilitator: Mrs. Angie Jacobson

Date of Interview: 3-09-06

Joyce McCullough was born on June 5, 1928 in Columbus, Georgia, where her parents raised their three daughters to respect all races. During World War II, they resided in a house at 814 Thirty-Fifth Street. Both of the parents helped support the family by working outside of the home. Mrs. McCullough’s mother worked long, tiring hours in the Swift Textile Mill on Second Avenue winding thread on huge spools. Her father was employed as a master mechanic. However, McCullough’s parents were not the only ones who earned wages. As a teenager, she spent her Saturdays working for Mrs. May Farrar on 1111 Broadway at The Eleanor Shop. That job only lasted through twelfth grade since her commercial teacher, Mrs. Mamie Cole, helped her obtain a position as a bookkeeper for V. V. Vick Jewelers after graduating. Mrs. McCullough especially enjoyed her breaks from the jewelry store because she was able to dine at the Woolworth lunch counter on Broadway. This was a special treat for her since the family rarely ate out.

The students of Jordan Vocational High School were supporters of the war effort. Mrs. McCullough remembered taking tin cans to school for the metal drives and participating in the Victory Corps. ROTC taught the Victory Corps how to march. Once a week, members were required to wear a uniform which consisted of a navy skirt, white blouse, and soldier cap. The Corps would march on the football field. As a Jordan Red Jacket, Mrs. McCullough was also a member of the choral group. Her favorite music was the school's fight song, "JVHS Carmen and Grey".

Outside of school, she often went to the movies with her friends and particularly liked watching the characters in “Gone With The Wind”. However, she also enjoyed the family’s mini-vacations to Grant Park in Atlanta which provided a variety of activities. Among the day long events were a picnic, the Atlanta Cyclorama, and Zoo Atlanta. The mini-vacations were an escape from the family’s routine of listening to the radio and attending church. The three sisters often listened to "The Shadow", which was very scary, on the radio before going to sleep. Every Sunday, the family attended Broad Street Church of Christ in Phenix City, Alabama. This was the only time the family crossed the bridge into the crime ridden neighboring city.

Other fond memories included riding the bus, occasionally receiving a piece of Double Bubble Gum, and the family’s first candlestick telephone. Mrs. McCullough was fifteen or sixteen and remembered the number, 5280, because there is 5,280 feet in a mile.

Despite all of the good times, the family was not able to escape the effects of World War II. Families were required to ration certain foods and products that people today take for granted daily. Mrs. McCullough recalled bacon and sugar rationed but she did not feel deprived. Along with the rationing, black out drills were common occurrences during the war. The family would gather in the middle of the house. To pass the time, they talked or played cards.

When President Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945, Mrs. McCullough was in school. She and her family were big fans of the president and were quite saddened by the news. They felt as though he had saved the economy. She recalled listening to his “fireside chats”. In addition, people would line the city streets to see President Roosevelt when he traveled from Warm Springs through Columbus. When the Japanese finally surrendered, the family remained in Columbus but did not celebrate.

Mrs. McCullough had four loved ones proudly serve in the military: her father, an uncle, a boyfriend, and her husband. Her dad was in the navy before he married her mother and had great respect for all members of the armed services so he wanted his daughters to marry one. She dated a paratrooper for a year before he was deployed overseas and sadly lost contact after he went off to war. She did not speak to him again until thirteen years ago. Eventually, she did marry another soldier stationed at Fort Benning.

Mrs. McCullough has lived in Columbus her entire life except for five years when she moved to Oregon with her husband. Her husband’s family consisted of fourteen siblings, seven girls and seven boys, all with the same biological parents. While there, she gave birth to two sons. Mrs. McCullough and her husband soon moved back to Columbus because of the poor job situation in Oregon. She later gave birth to two more sons. She was a stay-at-home mom until her youngest son attended school. She accepted a job with the school food service so she could have the same holidays and vacations as her children. Mrs. McCullough worked in this position for twelve years.