Marianna Gulledge McDonald Papers

NOTE: The numbers cited in parenthesis, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.

INTRODUCTION

The Marianna Gulledge McDonald Papers consist primarily of school newspapers and student publications from J.C. Price School, Lindley Jr. High, and Grimsley High School, all of which McDonald attended during the 1970s. Also included are printed materials relating to Guilford College that were acquired by McDonald’s mother, Mildred Johnson Gulledge, who was a student there in the 1940s. Researchers interested in Lindley Jr. High or Grimsley High School may find this collection useful, as it contains materials that shed light on school life from the student perspective.

Arrangement: This collection is organized into one series and arranged within the series by subject. The series is: Printed Materials, 1940-1978.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Marianna Gulledge McDonald in December 2009 and assigned accession number 2009.40.1.

Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid was prepared by intern Meredith Groce in June 2018.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Marianna Gulledge (1961- ) was born in Greensboro to Edith Mildred Johnson (1926-2005) and William Gordon Gulledge Jr. (1924-1961). As a child, she attended various schools within the Greensboro City Schools system, including J.C. Price School during the 1972-1973 school year. She was a student at Lindley Jr. High from 1973 to 1976, and went on to graduate from Grimsley High School in 1979. She married William James McDonald on March 30, 2000.

Her mother, Edith Mildred Johnson Gulledge, was born in Greensboro to Marianna White (1900-1992) and William Clarence Johnson (1898-1978). She attended Jamestown High School and like her mother before her, Guilford College, where she was a member of the A Cappella Choir in 1943-1944. After marrying, she and her husband lived in Lake City, SC, and had a son, Walter G. Gulledge (1957- ). She returned to Greensboro after being widowed in 1961.

Biographical Sources: The sources used to compile this biographical note include materials in the collection, Ancestry.com, the Guilford County Register of Deeds database, yearbooks in the Lindley Junior High School Collection (GHM Archives, Mss. Coll. #29), and the Greensboro Grimsley High Alumni & Friends Association website. Additional information was obtained from the obituaries of William G. Gulledge Jr. (Greensboro Daily News, March 30, 1961) and Mildred Johnson Gulledge (News & Record, October 26, 2005).

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

This collection contains printed materials from J.C. Price School, Lindley Jr. High, Grimsley High School, and Guilford College. The materials range from academic and artistic bulletins to programs for sporting events and school newspapers. The bulk of the collection consists of the monthly student newspaper of Lindley Jr. High for 1972-1975 and school newspapers from Grimsley for 1976-1978. Researchers interested in Lindley Jr. High and Grimsley High School may find this collection particularly useful, as it highlights events and student affairs at each school, and contains brief histories of the schools.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

1. Printed Materials. 7 folders (37 items).  1940, 1972-1978.

This series contains printed materials such as school newspapers, rosters, and bulletins from public schools in the Greensboro City Schools system, as well as Guilford College. School newspapers from Grimsley High School, titled High Life, cover the academic years of 1976-1978 (1:1). The September 1976 issue features an article on the opening of Grimsley’s new state-of-the-art indoor swimming pool, while the April 1978 issue includes a 2-page color advertisement for Mitchell’s Formalwear highlighting the popular tuxedo fashion of the period. The Grimsley-Page athletic rivalry is mentioned throughout the newspapers. Also contained in the series is a 1976 souvenir program from the first annual High School Holiday Basketball Tournament (1:1), a joint tournament between Dudley, Grimsley, Page, and Smith high schools; the program includes a brief history of each school.

Among the highlights of this collection are the Lindley Jr. High School newspapers from the academic years of 1972-1975 (1:5-7). Generally contained within all issues are updates on school activities and assemblies, student poetry submissions, and word puzzles. Occasionally featured are interviews with staff members or students. Two issues provide a complete schedule of sporting events with other Greensboro City Schools, as well as the academic calendar for the 1974-1975 school year (1:6). The September 1974 issue includes enrollment statistics for 1974-1975, with a grade-level and racial breakdown of the student body. The October 1974 issues feature a history of the school along with Pomona High School, which previously occupied the building. Also of note are an article detailing the various places in Greensboro that teenagers liked to visit for leisure activities and an article about the Greensboro Generals professional ice hockey team (1:7). Other printed materials from Lindley Jr. High include a foreign language special newsletter/activity book compiled by students in foreign language classes, a handout listing and describing required and elective courses for the 9th grade, and a bulletin containing student book reviews in essay and illustration format (1:4).

Also included in this series is a school newspaper from J.C. Price School with notes and updates on classes and school projects, as well as interviews with student leaders (ca. 1973; 1:3). A book of poems by Russell Pope relates to Guilford College, which McDonald’s mother, Mildred Johnson Gulledge, attended in the 1940s. The book not only features poems regarding student life at the college but also school songs and greetings. The Guilford College folder also contains a roster of members of the A Capella Choir from 1935-1975, and a historical booklet about the choral program with pictures and notes about particularly outstanding groups and directors (1:2).

FOLDER LISTING