Louise Smith Brennan oral history interview, circa 1990-1999

Louise Brennan recounts her early life growing up in Concord, North Carolina. She discusses the important role of education in her upbringing and the prevalence of textile mills in the Concord area. She describes living near a mill village in Concord, specifically recalling the organization and allocation of mill village housing and her experience attending county schools with mill village children. Mrs. Brennan also explains the influential role of the Democratic Party in Southern politics. She describes how the Democratic Party became the dominant party in the South, noting specifically that Republicans were virtually non-existent on area election ballots until their re-emergence around 1966. As an elected state legislator, Mrs. Brennan was very involved in state politics and she became familiar with several state and national politicians, including former North Carolina governors Terry Sanford and James B. Hunt. She discusses influences and trends in party politics, especially the effect that wealthy donors had on state party leadership and how political ideologies shifted among state and national leaders.