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This is molly clark. I'm having an interview with dr Charles B. King. Realign ominous of Howard College. So glad to have you have a chance to talk to you today? So glad to have you here to talk with me. We're just very interested in the kind

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of experiences you had at Howard. Well I went there with $350 in my pocket. And Kurdish had about $300 in his pocket. And we set at around study table in our room that evening. The first evening there and looking oh Curtis. I said Curtis, how in

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the hell are we gonna get through this college with? Just what money we've got in our pockets. You know we can't do it. We've got to get a job. Got to work. I said well we better start tomorrow morning and getting those jobs. Okay. Was Curtis

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your roommate? Did you know him before you came to? Howard? Never heard of him. What was his last name? Do you remember this? Be hasty? Hasty? Okay. Bush cutters. Bush hasty. Yeah. We got busy talking about what we needed and what we intended to do and

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what not. And pretty soon the president of the college, Let's see that 19 champ that was dr martin sent for me. Was his secretary had moved away and he needed a secretary. And so that was the job. You got to be charged me out. And I

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passed the examination sister. And I was secretary President for four years. Very good. What kind of work did you do for him, correspondence and charlie correspondence. Did you do it by hand or did you use the typewriter? Oh used typewriter. I took down took down his

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dictation and show and and typed it. Very good. Oh you went to let's go back after finished high school in Montgomery mama and I were going home and as we passed by the edge of downtown business district mama said son I don't know what you have

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in mind but you're supposed these stairs in the morning to massive business cars. Uh you know shorthand and typewriting class. Yeah become a secretary and get you a job on your way through now that was a real good advice to give wasn't it? It was and

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I said a good word. She had told me it was yes I said yes I'm a big yes so I was there the next morning I enrolled and took the course and when I got through with the course there wasn't anything available except to run the

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elevator in the bell building of my son's school teacher. And did that in here one morning. Mr Elmore Junior associate with. She was real fish. I forgot your names. Now going anyhow. She says yeah I got off the elevator she had to and mr no more

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that they needed a secretary. No. Mr Elmo had told her that they needed a secretary. I got off track and trick Mr Elmore before we got to the office and mr Elmore I'm the fellow you're looking for? Great. Sure said well uh Mhm. Mr what's his

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name? Yeah that was Mr Elmo I was talking to Mr Gunnar won't be there until about 11. Oclock. You coming. Let him test you out and see if you're suitable. So I did and got the job. How long did you work at that job before you

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got to go to college? About four years I believe it was. Yeah. And yeah. And finally finally one of the members of the farmer was together was elected mayor of Montgomery and I became his secretary for the last year. My service. Well you were you were

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well qualified to be the president Secretary then qualified. I thought I ought to put that on my interest bank when I got to college. And sure enough, not long after the President's secretary got married and moved away and he sent for me. Very good. What do

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you remember about dr montague? Well he was a good size man. He was good man. Very forceful in his language. Good manager. Mhm. Use good language, taught me a lot about the english language you learned by doing his correspondence right? And several there were several successions

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during my four years. So the last last one was well wait a minute. I ended up in the mayor's office. This was before college. Yeah. Yeah in the Mayor's office went to college from that. Yeah I got and you roommate kurdish be hasty. And the first

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night we sat down and had time to sit down and talk things over. I never said to them but here we I have $300,350. We can't get through college on that. We have to get some work. You and I now way through. I said yes sir.

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I sure have. So it wasn't long before the president said I had on my interest black. I had put down my qualifications. Yeah the president sent for me and I got the job as secretary to the president. There wasn't much much much longer after that Curtis

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got the treasurer of the athletic association job. And we jointly from bookstore. Oh you did. There wasn't one there? The bookstore was downtown where book company. Mm hmm. We decided we ought to have a bookstore out there. So we opened up the bookstore. Well now that

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that's a good idea, responsibilities and the stars and joys and whatnot. Uh huh carry carry that out his arms. It took us to graduate. I got my bachelor's degree. What's the Houston? Giving up all of this? I better stay another year. So make sure getting into

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Hopkins. Yeah and I got through the next year. I had an entrance into johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Mhm. What are the professors? Sweet lady. It was quite good to me, help me with my work. Um I forget her name and I would

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have one of my books in my yeah after the first year I had asthma so badly had put me on a string I think. Mhm bang his car on the car. I said you've got to getting the breath. By the time we got out master I

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had lost all of that can breathe freely, knock my head this way and said thank God for that. And by the time we got to dinner right forget all about asthma and I got work to do out there. Well now was was that after you finished

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your work at johns Hopkins or? Okay well I had a year yet. I had three more years of medicine out was that I had gotten in touch with dr Bridget who was prominent pathologist, physician I'm jennifer and he realized that I needed help. So he gave

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me a job of whatever time I could spare when I went to medical school. Yeah, very long before dr up and died and it was kind of hit and miss job from then on until I graduated from America school. Uh huh. And I was downtown One

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of the 10 story buildings I got two of them and carried on from there as long as right and the practice enjoy. I she went and I finished oh that man after a while in Denver and working pathology and allergy. I was an allergy subject I

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took on the allergy to as one of my specialties. They took me on through there until, Yeah. Right, Okay. Well, that's very interesting. And marriage few more times. And then we're still living. Okay. All of that. Yeah. Um I'd like to talk a little bit about

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what it was like while you were at Howard. Um, you know, you were working as secretary to the president, but you also took classes. How many classes did you take each time going to classes? I arranged my work with the president. I can go to places

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and do his work too. That probably kept you very busy to go to class. Right on the track team. Track team. What what was your specialty on the track? Middle distances. Okay, specialized in the half mile. Okay. one day at the University of Alabama at a

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track meet. Yeah, I thought, well, I better find out something about this thing. I asked some of the boys who was the best middle distance track mind because I was running a middle distance. They all pointed out, popped off and I got about 33 steps behind

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him and stayed that way until time to go ahead of him and win the race. That was clever that you figure out your competition and then go after it. That's that's that's really the way to do it. Right. Um, what kind of courses did you take

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it? Howard? Well, I took direct courses specializing in sciences. Did you have Fringe? What languages did you take? Foreign languages took german the french. Did you take latin? Latin is very helpful with french. Did you have to write papers or anything like that along with yourself?

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Yes, I was one of the contest. Oh, okay. I saw here in, in in one of your list of things that you won? Some medals were some of those oratory medals. I don't remember which ones. Well, I took the list out of the yearbook there that

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I showed you the um new man's metal and the sophomore metal junior medal. You may just put those down as you see them here said that you were a preliminary contestant for a state oratorical contest. Do you remember any of the topics that you debated on?

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No, I do not. It's been a long time, hasn't happened. There was something I was a little bit interested in asking uh, in 1914 was the first time that girls were admitted to. Howard? Were you there then? Yes. Chef fast in 1914. And I thought that

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was a good, good thing. Something that had to be done eventually. So I was right with it. I saw in one of the yearbooks, I was looking at that the first term, the midterm exams that the girls did better than the boys. Do you remember that

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having happened? I don't remember. Well it was, it was written down in the yearbook. I wondered if you remembered whether there were any of the fellas were mad about that? No, I think they're good, good, they wanted the girls to be there. They even willing to

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let them win in the process. Yeah. They kind of had an idea that they were gonna marry. Right? That's always in the back of your mind isn't it Insights that they told you to go into Biology two or something? Because you were his high school? Well

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I don't I don't remember that. That happens quite often though. You know you can can skip the first level science course to go on If you've had a good background in your high school. Did your science classes have any laboratory work where you work in the

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laboratory? They all had laboratory work and I enjoyed doing it. Dr Macon was my biology professor and he had charge of most of that. He's a fellow that I had met streetcar going out to Howard from Union station in Birmingham when you first came to Howard.

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Well that's interesting. Had a little bag one of these. We don't have one of them but it's kind of a cross thing, has a top on it. I had all my stuff in that. You ought to see them coming to college now. Dr Kingery. They have

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a car full of stuff and some of them have a trailer hooked on the back. I got on the streetcar to go out eastward to the college gentleman sat down beside me and introduced himself as you are making a professor and he says, what are you

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gonna do son told me something. I said I'm gonna be a doctor said well you wanna come see me first thing in the morning and get started those courses because I was the one that has charge of them and he did all the way through, helped

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me get things just right and properly. Mhm. As I look back, God was with me all the way through. Just put that down very different. If it hadn't been for God and jesus christ, I just wouldn't have been here. Well he he I can see several

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places. He's directed your path just in the little bit of time. I've talked to when you say doctor making sat down by me on the street car going out to college. That was the beginning of quite an era there. I noticed in the yearbook you had

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a nickname. People like to call you senator. How did you get that nickname? Do you know, I just don't know. I thought that was a good name. I thought I was a little bit above the average and I thought I would be successful. So the name

00:23:02.740 - 00:23:27.960

is well you were very successful but it was in the medical field rather than in politics. It's probably a better field to be in the politics. Whatever you write, I want to send a copy of it to various places. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I can do that.

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What what I'll do is it'll take a while to do it. But I'll transcribe what we've said today and then I'll send you a copy. Thank you. And I say that your newspapers in general and uh places where I have been. Yes sure. Prize advertising. Right.

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Well tell me about your book that you've written. I don't know how I dig it all up but uh it is you have to read it. I remember. I don't know. But one of the things is that I kept a diary. Do you still have your

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diary? Yes. Started about I would say 20 years ago. At least 20 years ago. Maybe 25. So your diary is is a diary of things. You remember. Can we have we got something We were unless it's in the car, it's a Daily Daily. I read a

00:25:12.210 - 00:25:40.390

book, you know, read a book. Okay. Yeah. Right. Right now that's that's very valuable. That's to have all your thoughts written down like that. And that's the printing. Come on books. Do you you've mentioned Dr Macon. Do you remember other of your professors at Howard that

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you liked? A lot? Yes dr Megan. And dr morning Dr Schellman Dawson and Dr Dawson became President. But he was also a professor. There wasn't that's what I thought. And the doctor was Dr Eagles there when you were there. Okay. All right. Dr

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montague dr Sheldon Dr Dawson. That's all. No egos. Do you remember what dr Eagles taught. No I do not. I know that he was a professor. He was he was just temporary. Mhm. When Dr Shelburne came um I read something about his having been a minister

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before he came to be president. Do you remember anything about that? He he was he came that last year you were there? I think right after dr martin He was there from 40 to 53. Dr. Shelburne was 1912 - 1917. Yes. Yeah, he was present when

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I graduated. Did you work for him also? Yes. Yes. Tell me a little bit about your your fraternity side. Delta. What kind of things did you all do as a fraternity? Well we did practically nothing. We had we met and had partners, stuff like that. Who

00:28:27.960 - 00:29:06.810

that who? That we're still talking. Yeah. Alright. We had parties. That was a principal social social. Young boys. Where did the girls come from before? They had girls on campus. Were there some girls schools in Birmingham at the same time. Do you remember any? Yes. I

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don't remember the names of where was she? Yeah, she went to judson went to most of the girls that I had anything to do with judson students and graduates, judson schools. Mhm. Mhm. I never never didn't go there judson's in Marion Alabama. I'm not sure how

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far away it is. It would probably take a couple of hours to get up here from judson? I would so mainly your your fraternity was for for parties and things like that. What what kind of things did you do at your parties? Only past drinks and

00:30:08.800 - 00:30:33.370

snatch and danced. Cut up. Had some fun. Huh? I saw a picture. It was not your fraternity but it was another fraternity about the same time where they had, it was some sort of a masquerade party because they all had costumes on. Yes, we did stuff

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like that. Thank you. Did you have a fraternity house or did you? We had a fraternity room. It was in one of the main buildings. Mhm rumors trust the size of this perhaps maybe retire. Yeah. Mm hmm. Mhm. 2, 2 chances share downstairs here in one

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of the buildings. Money money. Put that down. Okay. Fresh floor. I'm gonna go. I bet you don't remember what they wrote in the yearbook about you, your senior year. What your motto was? Do you says that much study is a weariness to the flesh. I think

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I think most of the modern college students would agree with that. I thought that was real clever. That was where I found out what your nickname was and had your picture in there and then it had senator and then underneath it said that much study is

00:32:05.080 - 00:32:27.840

a weariness to the flesh. Okay, I'll send you, it's in the yearbook. I'll show you where it is. It's in this, this yearbook right here. He was editor of the yearbook and you told me that that time I talked to you on the telephone, you told

00:32:27.840 - 00:32:51.570

me that you had been editor of the yearbook. I was the only one who was willing to take the job. It also said that you were the senior class profit. Did that mean that you made made that prediction about what everybody was gonna be doing? There's

00:32:51.570 - 00:33:16.090

your picture right there and then there's a snapshot that has your, your nickname and then underneath is the motto. But they did that for each one of the boys that was graduating. They had a motto for, I think you had the best one. I saw in

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here that you were on the scrub football team too. I didn't play very much. So it must be considered junior varsity. I don't know what if they, if they ran out of players entirely, why they might call on me. Okay, well did you all have separate

00:33:45.080 - 00:34:12.170

games from the varsity football team? It was a separate business practice. Just practice. We didn't have any schedule or anything like that. We just held ourselves and ready to get in there and take the place of some guy who was not tired. Couldn't yeah, I bet

00:34:12.170 - 00:34:27.620

they used you in practice to play against the other team to give them practice to. Yes. When my son was in the seventh grade, he came home from football practice one day and he says, I'll be so glad when I'm an eighth grader. And I can

00:34:27.620 - 00:34:54.640

beat up on seventh graders instead of them doing the opposite. So you were kind of the workhorses for the football team. What what do you think about this thing? Yeah. Where we had started with? She hasn't seen you mean your talk tonight? Yeah. Yeah. Get it

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out. Are you gonna be a part of the program at the Wright Center tonight? Oh that's that's gonna be good. Okay could I just read this onto the tape? So I'll have I am Charles Bowden Kingery born july 3rd 18 92. And Gordon? Alabama. God blessed

00:35:28.710 - 00:35:42.200

me rightly by letting me be born. To whom and where I was. My father a businessman and Gordon? Died when I was a year and a half old. And your mama took in solo went to elementary school in Gordon? When I was ready for high school.

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There were no secondary schools in Gordon? So my mother who was still a widow moved to Montgomery where I completed high school. Where did you go to high school in Montgomery? Just high school. Just the one high school. There was just one there. No let's see

00:35:57.000 - 00:36:40.300

there were three, there were two private high schools, public high schools. He was called sitting in there sitting in there. And yeah stood well when we went to college and this tells about your going to massive business college. Uh huh. Oh this is this is interesting

00:36:40.300 - 00:37:11.420

Dr King that you were one of 92 students from out of 700 applicants to Johns Hopkins that speaks very well for the education you got at Howard, doesn't it? I was well prepared. You read that into your notes? This this is very interesting. Just read that

00:37:11.420 - 00:37:27.270

in here. You go ahead and read it now. Okay I'll finish where I left off after high school the day after high school graduation. I enrolled in Massey Business College in Montgomery for secretarial training so that I could use those skills to earn my way through

00:37:27.270 - 00:37:48.740

college to become a medical doctor. After massive business college I rolled, enrolled in Howard College later to become Sanford University where I completed work for a bachelor of science and master of arts degrees by 1914. I then applied and was accepted. I should stress there that

00:37:49.350 - 00:38:08.490

I hadn't been in Howard very long before I got the job as secretary to the president. That's yeah, you probably want to say that. I think that's very important. I then applied and was accepted as a medical student at John Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland where

00:38:08.490 - 00:38:26.220

I was one of 92 students accepted out of 700 applicants. This says a lot for the education I received from this Great University Sanford. I completed one year of doctoral studies at johns Hopkins when I was diagnosed with severe respiratory problems namely asthma and was sent

00:38:26.220 - 00:38:53.000

to Denver colorado for the drier climate. I went on to receive an M. D. Degree from the University of colorado and a specialty in pathology with dr ward. What's this broderick verdict, verdict I practiced medicine 50 years in Colorado In 1973 after becoming a widower for

00:38:53.000 - 00:39:19.070

the second time, I moved out to Florida and married my childhood sweetheart, Denver Kingery Peacock who had lost her husband many years earlier and had lived there since. Let's see, I cannot I can't read this other part. We my grandmother covered the wall gradually covered the

00:39:19.070 - 00:39:36.660

walls with pictures of relatives, friends and dear places. I consider myself blessed beyond words and imagination by God God for allowing me to live at a time in this great country where and when so much history has been made and also for having had the privilege

00:39:36.660 - 00:40:11.480

of beginning my higher education at this great institution. Samford University. Thank you for recognizing me as the oldest living alumnus of this great university. That's very good. Well that's good. We're real fortunate that you were able to come up here. You're living in Florida. Now Florida.

00:40:11.490 - 00:40:45.140

It's about 10 miles south of. Okay. Which is one of the good towns. Right. Isn't that in the part of florida that we like to call south Alabama. Right. Right, right. Right. Where is this? You can keep that, put it in there with that other thing

00:40:52.150 - 00:41:16.070

Elizabeth thinks I'm crazy to have a briefcase I don't think you're crazy. I think that's great, there's nothing in there honey when you lost your other ones and you just put some paper in there. Look here look here, there's nothing in there. Oh. Oh it's got

00:41:16.070 - 00:41:54.410

your name on it. It's real fun. Uh huh. Oh, mm hmm. What time do we meet tonight? So nice to have dr right to escort you around. Very nice. He's had all this trouble with his heart that he has. He's getting along better now though, isn't

00:41:54.410 - 00:42:31.470

he? But it has aged him. I would say 10 years. We have at least one little girl an hour from our county school in school. Okay. Okay. And see where we're having our dinner this evening. It's I think I think they're having a special meal in

00:42:31.470 - 00:42:55.340

the cafeteria. I'm pretty sure. Who's coming by for us? Have you have you been to the campus since you got here? Have you seen what it looks like right over there? But you know if you don't know your way around. Yes. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. I'm

00:42:55.340 - 00:43:32.120

glad you're going over this afternoon during the daylight to see it. It's beautiful. I would think you'd have time. Yeah. I think the it's gonna the weather's gonna clear and this afternoon it'll be pretty are you going to the football game tomorrow? Yeah. Okay. I think

00:43:32.120 - 00:44:14.070

it's Troy State. Right. Oh dear. There'll probably be a few people there with the little television says look over somebody's shoulder. Didn't think florida's got a good chance of beating this year last year, but they're really good at home. But we don't.

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I want you to give me your writer. I will so that I can pass it out to various peoples in our area. Okay. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about before we cut this machine off? The main thing I want to talk about is

00:44:34.500 - 00:44:57.570

that I feel greatly blessed by God and jesus christ and all that has come to me and all that I've been able to accomplish. Well, I can see that in your life. Just this short time I've talked with you. Yes. It's it's not not the usual

00:44:57.570 - 00:45:28.450

thing for a guy that started out with nothing to end up with all the things that I have, you've probably served him very well over the years. My trust fund is sufficient to take care of me as long as I live and I have these sweets

00:45:30.180 - 00:45:57.400

to leave it to. Are these your only Children right here, do you have others, but not in the same category? Get $1,000 each. Oh dear. Well, I think I'm about to the end of this