William Means Stewart, Jr., oral history interview 2, 2019 September 11

Description

In this second of two interviews, William "Bill" Stewart describes the university area of Charlotte, North Carolina, from the 1960s to 2000s, discusses Charlotte College's and later Walmart's moves to the area, and shares his opinion about the college's presence and his involvement in convincing other landowners in the area to sell to the school. He briefly recalls his interactions with Bonnie Cone and Bruton Smith and describes his relationships with Dr. Herbert Hechenbleikner, Hugh McColl, John Belk, and Tom Belk, the latter of whom owned property adjacent to his own. He traces the trajectory of his accounting career from the time he returned from service in World War II until his retirement as a vice president with Charlotte-based F. N. Thompson Construction Company. Other companies he worked for included Eck and Eck, A. P. White, C. M. Allen Construction Company, the Charlotte public school system, and Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Mr. Stewart also shares brief anecdotes from his army days and concludes by expressing his thoughts on Charlotte's history and offering advice to those in younger generations.