Benjamin F. Wyant Jr. oral history interview, 1994 November 2

Benjamin F. Wyant, Jr. recounts his memories of growing up in the Charlotte neighborhood of Dilworth and of his forty-three year career at Duke Power Company. In particular, he recalls working as a boy at his father's family business during the challenging economic times of the Great Depression. Mr. Wyant also discusses how Duke Power's workplace environment evolved over his career, explaining that the changes affected not only their customer service philosophy and the mechanics of their operations, but also employee relations as the company became racially integrated during the 1960s. Additionally, he shares his opinion that Charlotte politicians, party platforms, and voters moved to the left as veterans, who were exposed to European values during the Second World War, returned home with more sophisticated political views. Mr. Wyant states that the Democratic party has changed, but not his own political ideologies, specifically explaining that he remained committed to his belief in old Democratic ideals in spite of what he saw as the great influx of liberalism that spread throughout Charlotte.