Oral Histories
Theopolis Dennis
Mr. Theopolis Dennis turned 100 in April 2009. In 1939 he moved from Texas to Southern California and then to Oroville in 1943, where he established a successful farming operation. Amazingly, he still raises and sells hogs today.
Both Mr. Dennis and his son, T. C. Dennis, were interviewed in June of this year. T. C. Dennis has achieved numerous firsts in utility management, and has been a leader in civic organizations.
In raising his family, Mr. Dennis stressed the importance of education, hard work, and self-discipline, and the exemplary lives of both men show how applying these values can help an individual overcome social barriers and achieve much in a lifetime.
M. C. and Isnell McCarter
M. C. McCarter was born in Louisiana in 1919. When M. C. was three, his family moved to Mississippi, where he later met and married his wife, Isnell, in 1938. In 1946 Mr. McCarter moved to Oroville to look for work. Like many other Black men who settled in a segregated community, M. C. relocated first and prepared the way for his family to join him. In spite of having completed only the third grade and not having learned to read, Mr. McCarter began working at the High Sierra Lumber Mill and later worked in construction.
M. C. and Isnell raised eight children. All of the children graduated from high school, two attended college, and their son, Charlie, graduated from California State University, Chico and worked for and retired from Oroville Union High School District. Mr. McCarter is rightfully proud of the fact that he learned to read in his early eighties through an adult literacy program. M. C. always advised his own children and any others who would listen, “It is better to have an education and not need it, than to need an education and not have it.
Many former Southside residents are grateful and better off because for a number of years the McCarter family operated a business called “The Front” that provided both young people and adults with a culturally rich environment where they could socialize. M.C. and Isnell are still engaged in small business today by providing rental housing for single men at the corner of Burlington and Wyandotte.
Mr. Theopolis Dennis turned 100 in April 2009. In 1939 he moved from Texas to Southern California and then to Oroville in 1943, where he established a successful farming operation. Amazingly, he still raises and sells hogs today.
Both Mr. Dennis and his son, T. C. Dennis, were interviewed in June of this year. T. C. Dennis has achieved numerous firsts in utility management, and has been a leader in civic organizations.
In raising his family, Mr. Dennis stressed the importance of education, hard work, and self-discipline, and the exemplary lives of both men show how applying these values can help an individual overcome social barriers and achieve much in a lifetime.
M. C. and Isnell McCarter
M. C. McCarter was born in Louisiana in 1919. When M. C. was three, his family moved to Mississippi, where he later met and married his wife, Isnell, in 1938. In 1946 Mr. McCarter moved to Oroville to look for work. Like many other Black men who settled in a segregated community, M. C. relocated first and prepared the way for his family to join him. In spite of having completed only the third grade and not having learned to read, Mr. McCarter began working at the High Sierra Lumber Mill and later worked in construction.
M. C. and Isnell raised eight children. All of the children graduated from high school, two attended college, and their son, Charlie, graduated from California State University, Chico and worked for and retired from Oroville Union High School District. Mr. McCarter is rightfully proud of the fact that he learned to read in his early eighties through an adult literacy program. M. C. always advised his own children and any others who would listen, “It is better to have an education and not need it, than to need an education and not have it.
Many former Southside residents are grateful and better off because for a number of years the McCarter family operated a business called “The Front” that provided both young people and adults with a culturally rich environment where they could socialize. M.C. and Isnell are still engaged in small business today by providing rental housing for single men at the corner of Burlington and Wyandotte.