Today’s Project 100 entry is the first of two on Harold Wilson, the third chairperson of the Department of Social Studies, and one of the most important faculty members to ever serve in the entire hundred years of the University.  He served as chair for 29 of his 33 years on campus, from his arrival on campus in the Fall of 1935 until the time that he retired in 1968.  While his nearly three decades as chair alone would be a great legacy, this is but one of his many accomplishments.  In this first entry, we learn about Harold Wilson from the perspective of his daughter, Barbara Wilson Woolman, 87, who I interviewed on June 26, 2023.  The following entry will include more biographical information and compile comments about Dr. Wilson from his former students.

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Barbara Wilson was born to Harold F. and Beatrice Wilson in 1936 in Woodbury Hospital, Woodbury, New Jersey.  She was raised in Pitman, New Jersey, and she attended the Demonstration School on the campus of Glassboro State Teacher’s College from first to sixth grade.  She then attended the schools in Pitman and graduated from Pitman High School in 1953.  From there, she left New Jersey for Middlebury College in her family’s ancestral home of Vermont.  There she majored in American history and graduated in 1957.  She got married that same year to Joseph Cooper Woolman, recently graduated from the Naval Academy.  He was from Woodbury, and she had met him years earlier on a blind date.  Joseph travelled all over the world as a result of his life as a naval officer.  In his early years, they were fortunate to be located mostly on the East Coast.  They had two children together.  They moved to California in the 1960s where Joseph studied at the United States Postgraduate Naval School.  He died of natural causes in 1973 at the age of 38.  Barbara remained in California and taught American history and economics at the Pacific Grove High School for 26 years.

I remember my father’s great sense of humor.  His wit was very droll.  It snuck up on you.  For example, my father always said that he was a Vermonter in his heart, and New Jersey was just where he worked.  We lived in New Jersey during the academic year, and we spent every July and August in Barnard, Vermont.  Both of my parents were from Vermont, and we owned a small cottage there.  Much of my extended family lived there as well.  As a family, we went on many picnics.  I remember that my parents liked to swim.

I grew up with stories about my parents’ time in the Canal Zone.  The Great Depression had begun shortly after my parents had gotten married in 1929 and while my father was in the middle of his doctoral program.  When he finished in 1932, there were no jobs.  The only one that could be found was in the Canal Zone.  They thought that sounded like an adventure and, regardless, it was at least a job, so off they went to the Canal Zone.  They spent two years there, and they had a great experience there, though I can’t recall their specific stories now.  I do remember that my mother owned a white fancy Panamanian dress with layers of ruffles. She would wear that from time to time, when she was giving presentations on life in Panama for women’s groups or at the College.  We lost that dress and much other memorabilia when our attic caught fire one year.  We had to move into one of the dormitories at Glassboro State for six months while our house was rebuilt.

My mother was very organized.  She was brilliant and had been the valedictorian of her class at the University of Vermont.  My mother was also the more serious of my two parents.  She was very involved in local charitable activities, such as organizing girl scout activities for the entire region, being a leader in the Pitman Parent-Teacher Association, and being active in the Church of the Good Shepherd, the Episcopal Church in town.

My father was always around the house.  I remember him sitting in his chair marking papers with a red pencil.  We also had a sun porch where he had a desk and did most of his writing.  Most folks don’t know how much my mother did to help him with his writing.  She did a great amount of editing for him.  My father always complained that she ruthlessly cut out his most beautiful prose and placed it “on the cutting room floor.”  She didn’t help him with any of the research, just the writing.  One interesting thing about his great work on the Jersey Shore was that we actually didn’t go to the Shore that often.  We did like Ocean City and did go on day trips there, but there were many other families who spent far more time than we did at the Shore.  Most of my father’s research on the Jersey Shore was based on books and archival materials.  When his study finally came out, I was in high school.  It was so dense and long that I couldn’t see anyone reading all of it!

One of the bones of contention between my parents and my brother and me was that they refused to buy a television for our house.  My brother and I campaigned for one for years. We were the last family in the neighborhood to get one in 1953.  We were still very excited when it finally happened.  My brother and I loved Texaco Star Theater and the Ed Sullivan Show.

I don’t remember my father talking very much about his life inside the classroom at Glassboro State, but he loved his students, and I think he was well-loved by his students.  The most important colleague for my father was Sam Witchell.  The Witchells were my parents’ best friends.  They played bridge together for at least thirty years.  I do remember President Thomas Robinson, as I dated his son, Tim Robinson, in high school.  I remember that we went ice skating one time.  I hit my head, and I had to go to the hospital for stitches. 

My father had high blood pressure for many years, but he ended up suffering from dementia in his last two or three years.  My mother took care of him.  He died at age 66, which seemed young to me then (and now).

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100,” the collection and sharing of one hundred memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff.  One memory will be released per day in the 100 days leading up to October 20, 2023, the date of a reunion celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University.  The reunion will take place at 7pm at the Summit City Farm and Winery in Glassboro, New Jersey.  Registration for the reunion will be open from July 11^th and will remain open until the venue reaches its 100-person capacity (or October 13^th if capacity never reached).  We do anticipate that the reunion will sell out, so please register as soon as possible by visiting the Alumni Office’s registration page here:  alumni.rowan.edu/historyreunion2023.

You can also find the up-to-date set of Project 100 memories on the Department of History’s webpage or by clicking this link:  go.rowan.edu/project100.  

William Carrigan arranged, interviewed, transcribed and/or edited these memories.  Laurie Lahey proofread and helped edit the final versions.  If you wish to share your own memories, please email Dr. Carrigan at carrigan@rowan.edu.  Alumni with Facebook accounts are encouraged to join the RU/GSC History Alumni group here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/251485937221524.