Today’s photo features Gayle Hicks Fripp in the front room of her Kirkwood home, where she and her husband have lived for the past fifty-five years. Gayle is a retired assistant director of the Greensboro History Museum. She received a BA and MA in history from UNCG, and when she had the opportunity to work at the History Museum, she felt as if the position were specially designed for her. It "tied my life up with a bow." The requirements were an M.A. in history, experience teaching*, and the ability to work with community volunteers. She went on to have a 25-year career at the museum.
Under Gayle’s leadership, many changes and new programs were implemented at the Greensboro History Museum. For example, Gayle shifted the focus of the exhibits from thematic (e.g., transportation, the military, Dolly Madison) to a chronological arrangement. She also designed exhibits that featured ordinary people of Greensboro; they were more representative of the city as a whole. When featuring a neighborhood, she would establish an advisory committee comprised of members of the neighborhood. There is a permanent exhibit at the museum called “Voices of the City”. She got the idea for the name from an O. Henry short story, “The Voice of the City.” How fitting since O. Henry was born in Greensboro. The 5 by O. Henry performances were Gayle’s idea.
Gayle Hicks Fripp dedicated her career to making the Greensboro History Museum more interesting to visitors and to bringing more people in to visit. As one example, the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition on African-American inventors brought more people to the museum in six weeks than had attended in the previous two years..
Few people know Greensboro as well as Gayle Hicks Fripp. At the end of our interview, we asked her where she would take visitors were she to lead a tour around town. She mentioned the Greensboro History Museum, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Blandwood Mansion, and some of Greensboro’s neighborhoods. Gayle pointed out that after all, “a city is made up of neighborhoods.” Finally, church history is a passion of hers and, she would include a few on the tour. To be sure, that would be a fabulous introduction to Greensboro.
What we learned from Gayle Hicks Fripp yesterday could fill a book. If you want to learn more about her, read this article by Jim Schlosser, yet another great voice of Greensboro.
*She taught history at Grimsley for a year before taking time off to raise her children.
A terrific portrait shot, and a ell accomplished lady.
Posted by: William Kendall | Thursday, July 23, 2020 at 02:15 PM