Oral history interview with Cynthia Sykes Cook, February 19, 1994 [electronic resource] : interview K-0091, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Cynthia Sykes Cook started work at the White Furniture Factory in Mebane, NC, in 1980 and stayed there until the factory closed in 1993. Cook had a college degree and worked in a variety of positions in the factory office, including sales and the creation of manuals for furniture assembly. Cook describes some of the elements of these jobs, but she focuses on the plant's closing, which preceded this interview by only eight months. Cook remains upset about it: the interviewer stops the tape once when she begins crying. Cook believes that the factory was an essential part of town life. Its loss was a devastating shock that as time passed, revealed its importance in providing an environment where workers could cultivate friendships. That kind of a workplace no longer exists, Cook believes.
Electronic resources
Record details
- Physical Description: 1 online resource.
- Edition: Electronic edition
- Publisher: [Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2007.
Content descriptions
- General Note:
- Duration: 00:47:02.Interview participants: Cynthia Sykes Cook, interviewee; Valerie Pawlewicz, interviewer.Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.Title from menu page (viewed on March 12, 2008).
- Type of Computer File or Data Note:
- Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 88.4 kilobytes, 90.3 megabytes.
- Original Version Note:
- Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0091, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Jackie Gorman. Original transcript: 20 p.
- Funding Information Note:
- Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.
- System Details Note:
- Mode of access: World Wide Web.System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Cook, Cynthia Sykes, 1957- > Interviews.
Hickory White Company.
White Furniture Company.
Furniture industry and trade > North Carolina > Mebane.
Furniture industry and trade > North Carolina > Mebane > Employees > Interviews.
Furniture industry and trade > North Carolina > Mebane > Employees > Social life and customs.
Plant shutdowns > North Carolina > Mebane.
Women employees > North Carolina > Mebane > Interviews.
Women > Employment > North Carolina > 20th century. - Genre:
- Oral histories.
Accessibility Features
Summary:
Cynthia Sykes Cook started work at the White Furniture Factory in Mebane, NC, in 1980 and stayed there until the factory closed in 1993. Cook had a college degree and worked in a variety of positions in the factory office, including sales and the creation of manuals for furniture assembly. Cook describes some of the elements of these jobs, but she focuses on the plant's closing, which preceded this interview by only eight months. Cook remains upset about it: the interviewer stops the tape once when she begins crying. Cook believes that the factory was an essential part of town life. Its loss was a devastating shock that as time passed, revealed its importance in providing an environment where workers could cultivate friendships. That kind of a workplace no longer exists, Cook believes.
