Genevieve Barnhart, 2014 July 24

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Identifier: OH-UA-MC0109

Staff Only

Genevieve Barnhart oral history interview, 2014 July 24

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Scope and Contents

In this interview, Bonnie Cone's niece Ann McWhirter, her great-niece Genevieve Barnhart, and Ann's husband Bill McWhirter share their memories of Bonnie Cone. They describe her persuasiveness and enabling of others, her motivation and work ethic, her positivity, her vision for Charlotte College and UNC Charlotte, and her sense of fashion. They recall Bonnie's teaching years, her homes in Charlotte, her caring for her mother, and her involvement in Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte. They reflect on how she represented women, on her reaction to not being chosen as Chancellor of UNC Charlotte, and on her and her family's feelings about her being buried on campus. Ms. Barnhart recounts how she came to live with and help care for her Great-Aunt Bonnie and attend UNC Charlotte. Mrs. McWhirter recalls a cross-country road trip with Bonnie and explains how Bonnie was like a mother to her. Other topics include Bonnie Cone's education at Duke, her favorite sayings, what her opinion would be of football at UNC Charlotte, and her friendships with people such as Oliver and Marie Rowe, Woody Kennedy, J. Murrey Atkins, and Chancellors Dean Colvard, E. K. Fretwell, and James Woodward.

Dates

Creation: 2014 July 24

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

The material is in English

Conditions Governing Access

Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Please contact Special Collections to request the creation of use copies for particular items; requests will be accommodated when possible. The remaining materials are open for research.

Biographical Note

Genevieve Barnhart was a 51-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in the UNC Charlotte Foundation Building in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born on Misawa Air Force Base in Japan in 1963. She was educated at UNC Charlotte and was employed as a senior educator with the Army Community Services (ACS) Family Advocacy Program (FAP) from 2009 to 2011 and as a clinician at Presbyterian Hospitality House from 2011 through the time of interview. Ann McWhirter was a 77-year-old woman at the time of interview. She was born in 1936 in Kane, Pennsylvania, and was educated at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Maryland College Park. She was employed as an art history teacher.