Oral history interview with Wilbur Hobby, March 13, 1975 [electronic resource] : interview E-0006, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Wilbur Hobby was born in Durham, North Carolina, in 1925. In the early 1930s, Hobby's father, a bricklayer, deserted his mother, leaving her to raise five sons on her own. Hobby describes growing up impoverished in the Edgemont section of Durham, where most of his friends had parents who worked in the tobacco or textile mills. Hobby remained in school through the ninth grade only, dropping out after spending a summer in Ohio working as a bat boy for the Durham Bulls. Shortly after leaving school, Hobby's mother signed a waiver for him to join the Navy at the age of seventeen, and he served in the South Pacific during World War II. He returned to Durham following the war and worked briefly with his father as a bricklayer before becoming employed by the American Tobacco Company. During these years, Hobby married. Although he argues that he had little awareness of the labor movement, with only foggy memories of the 1934 general strike as it occurred in Durham, Hobby explains how he became increasingly involved in labor politics during the late 1940s. Joining the union at the American Tobacco Company in 1946, he soon became actively involved and was eventually elected president of the night shift workers. From there, Hobby became an active participant in the Voters for Better Government in Durham, a coalition of laborers, African Americans, and liberal intellectuals from Duke University. Hobby describes how they became a formidable force in local politics during the late 1940s and 1950s. In addition, Hobby discusses his involvement with other labor organizations, such as Labor's League for Political Education (LLPE) and the Committee for Public Education (COPE). In 1958/1959, Hobby worked briefly for the textile unions in Florida and Georgia after he was fired from the American Tobacco Company. Because of his work with both tobacco and textile unions and the Voters for Better Government, Hobby had become well known enough in the movement to become elected as director of COPE in 1959--a position he held until 1969.
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: 01:28:53.Interview participants: Wilbur Hobby, interviewee; Bill Finger, 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 june 6, 2008).
- Type of Computer File or Data Note:
- Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 138 kilobytes, 162 megabytes.
- Original Version Note:
- Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series E, Labor, interview E-0006, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Joe Jaros. Original transcript: 55 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:
- Hobby, Wilbur, 1925-1992 > Interviews.
AFL-CIO. Committee on Political Education.
Voters for Better Government (Durham, N.C.)
Labor unions > Political activity > Southern States.
Labor unions > Southern States > Officials and employees > Interviews.
Political action committees > North Carolina > Durham.
Durham (N.C.) > Politics and government. - Genre:
- Oral histories.
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| 245 | 1 | 0. | ‡aOral history interview with Wilbur Hobby, March 13, 1975 ‡h[electronic resource] : ‡binterview E-0006, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007). |
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| 246 | 3 | 0. | ‡aInterview with Wilbur Hobby, March 13, 1975 |
| 250 | . | ‡aElectronic edition | |
| 264 | 1. | ‡a[Chapel Hill, N.C.] : ‡bUniversity Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, ‡c2007. | |
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| 500 | . | ‡aDuration: 01:28:53. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aInterview participants: Wilbur Hobby, interviewee; Bill Finger, interviewer. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aText encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aThis 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. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aTitle from menu page (viewed june 6, 2008). | |
| 516 | . | ‡aText (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 138 kilobytes, 162 megabytes. | |
| 520 | . | ‡aWilbur Hobby was born in Durham, North Carolina, in 1925. In the early 1930s, Hobby's father, a bricklayer, deserted his mother, leaving her to raise five sons on her own. Hobby describes growing up impoverished in the Edgemont section of Durham, where most of his friends had parents who worked in the tobacco or textile mills. Hobby remained in school through the ninth grade only, dropping out after spending a summer in Ohio working as a bat boy for the Durham Bulls. Shortly after leaving school, Hobby's mother signed a waiver for him to join the Navy at the age of seventeen, and he served in the South Pacific during World War II. He returned to Durham following the war and worked briefly with his father as a bricklayer before becoming employed by the American Tobacco Company. During these years, Hobby married. Although he argues that he had little awareness of the labor movement, with only foggy memories of the 1934 general strike as it occurred in Durham, Hobby explains how he became increasingly involved in labor politics during the late 1940s. Joining the union at the American Tobacco Company in 1946, he soon became actively involved and was eventually elected president of the night shift workers. From there, Hobby became an active participant in the Voters for Better Government in Durham, a coalition of laborers, African Americans, and liberal intellectuals from Duke University. Hobby describes how they became a formidable force in local politics during the late 1940s and 1950s. In addition, Hobby discusses his involvement with other labor organizations, such as Labor's League for Political Education (LLPE) and the Committee for Public Education (COPE). In 1958/1959, Hobby worked briefly for the textile unions in Florida and Georgia after he was fired from the American Tobacco Company. Because of his work with both tobacco and textile unions and the Voters for Better Government, Hobby had become well known enough in the movement to become elected as director of COPE in 1959--a position he held until 1969. | |
| 534 | . | ‡pOriginal version: ‡tSouthern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series E, Labor, interview E-0006, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡nTranscribed by Joe Jaros. ‡nOriginal transcript: 55 p. | |
| 536 | . | ‡aFunding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview. | |
| 538 | . | ‡aMode of access: World Wide Web. | |
| 538 | . | ‡aSystem requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player. | |
| 600 | 1 | 0. | ‡aHobby, Wilbur, ‡d1925-1992 ‡vInterviews. |
| 610 | 2 | 0. | ‡aAFL-CIO. ‡bCommittee on Political Education. |
| 610 | 2 | 0. | ‡aVoters for Better Government (Durham, N.C.) |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aLabor unions ‡xPolitical activity ‡zSouthern States. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aLabor unions ‡zSouthern States ‡xOfficials and employees ‡vInterviews. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aPolitical action committees ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zDurham. | |
| 651 | 0. | ‡aDurham (N.C.) ‡xPolitics and government. | |
| 655 | 7. | ‡aOral histories. ‡2lcgft ‡0(CARDINAL)349551 | |
| 700 | 1 | . | ‡aFinger, William R. ‡einterviewer ‡0(CARDINAL)159174 |
| 710 | 2 | . | ‡aSouthern Oral History Program. ‡0(CARDINAL)315877 |
| 710 | 2 | . | ‡aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡bDocumenting the American South (Project) ‡0(CARDINAL)530366 |
| 710 | 2 | . | ‡aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡bLibrary. ‡0(CARDINAL)155444 |
| 740 | 0 | . | ‡aOral histories of the American South. |
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