Interview with Cecil C. Carpenter, April 4, 1989

Interview Summary

Dr. Cecil Carpenter, a native Kentuckian and alumnus of the University of Kentucky, was born in Mercer County, Kentucky on February 10, 1904. He talks about his hometown and the move to Boyle County when he was five. He describes doing chores around the family farm, and remembers having subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. He recalls stories about the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, and the Great Depression.

Carpenter attended a one room school house in grade school. In high school, he took subjects such as literature, chemistry, and algebra. He describes some of the faculty at his high school. His principal was Henry Haggin, and Carpenter explains that Haggin was so adamant that Carpenter attend college, he accompanied Carpenter to Lexington to help him look for a place to live and work.

Carpenter describes his life at the University of Kentucky and some of the people who had a major impact on him here including President Frank McVey. Carpenter also met his future wife in Lexington while she attended Transylvania. Carpenter began college as a journalism major, but explains that he soon switched to commerce. He graduated in 1926 and attended the University of Illinois for his Master's degree and PhD. Carpenter recounts his subsequent position teaching at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia during the Great Depression. Carpenter eventually moved back to Lexington and returned to the University of Kentucky.

Interview LC Subject

Carpenter, Cecil Clayton, 1904- Carpenter, Cecil Clayton, 1904- --Interviews University of Kentucky University of Kentucky--History

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