William Stewart Scott papers

William Stewart Scott was born on January 22, 1915 in Mill Creek, North Carolina. During his early life, his family moved around North Carolina quite a bit, however, spent most of their time in Mill Creek or in Boone. Stewart's father, W.H. Scott was a carpenter, farmer, and teamster who spent much of the week working, to return home on the weekends to be with his family. Stewart was the 2nd of eight children; he had five brothers and two sisters.

As a child, Stewart spent his summers outdoors with his older brother Charles, doing chores, playing games, or exploring the wilderness around his home. When the family moved to Boone, Stewart developed a love for sports, particularly football and basketball. In his childhood, Stewart became an avid hunter and trainer of beagles, a hobby he retained throughout the remainder of his life.

In 1933, Stewart graduated from Boone High School and entered college in Appalachian State Teacher's College (ASTC). He paid for his college by working on the campus and working during the summers. However, at the end of the first quarter of his freshman year, Stewart decided to leave school and went to work at Smithey's Store in town to help pay off his father's debt. The Depression made work hard and jobs scarce. Stewart soon discovered that he didn't enjoy working at Smithey's, so he returned to school for the Spring Quarter.

Stewart had fond memories of a summer spent working for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt to help stimulate the economy and bring an end to the Depression. For the summer of 1934, Stewart lived in army barracks, wore army clothes, and ate government food while building roads and clearing land in the community of Barnardsville (12 miles north of Asheville).

After working for the CCC for almost a year, Stewart returned to ASTC and earned his BS degree in Elementary Education in 1938. While a student at ASTC, Stewart was involved in sports, but was known for being a member of the wrestling team. Stewart thought very highly of his coach, and like many, agreed the reason for the team's success was Coach Watkin's conditioning. Upon graduation, Stewart took a job teaching at Troutman School, a boy's school east of Statesville. He taught there for three years until he was drafted in May 1941.

Stewart went to boot camp in Ft. Bragg in Georgia. After boot camp, Stewart was promoted to corporal and went on to train solders who had flunked out of basic training. Spurned on by conflict with his company commander, Stewart applied to Officer's Training School was transferred to Fort Benning. Stewart wrote the "day when I was commissioned by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, an officer in the army it was the proudest day of my life" (Memoirs, 35). Stewart was assigned to the 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company F, with whom he spent the early part of World War II. Stewart and his unit fought in Europe at D-Day where he was wounded by artillery fire and sent to recover in England.

Following his recovery, Stewart went back to the front lines, this time to serve with E Company as company commander. A short time later, Stewart was wounded again, this time in the left shoulder and arm. He returned to England for recovery. Stewart was put on restricted duty, meaning he could no longer return to the front, so he spent the remainder of the war primarily on basic training in a small village near Reims, France.

Stewart returned home and was discharged from the army in January 1946, at which time he took a position teaching at West Jefferson Elementary School. He took a break from teaching to start a logging business, but returned within a few months to teaching. While at West Jefferson, he met a young teacher, Sallie Miller, and they began dating and were married November 11, 1946. Stewart's hobby of photography began shortly after his marriage to Sallie. Their first child, Katrina C. Scott, was born on November 18, 1947. They also had two other children, Ann and Danny. The family was a frequent subject for Stewart and he often had Katrina pose for photos.

Stewart spent his career teaching and working as a principal in several different schools in western North Carolina. Stewart received a Masters of Education degree from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. As his children reached their teenage years, Stewart and Sallie both got jobs at Lansing Elementary School. During the move, however, Stewart suffered from a serious heart attack and was unable to work for the remainder of his career.

Throughout his retirement, Stewart maintained his love of photography. He and his wife Sallie took several trips, upon which he took photographs of everything that pleased him. Stewart also continued his search for the perfect beagle, raising and training them for hunting and tracking. Throughout his life he was faithful to the church and at the time of his death served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Friendly Grove Baptist Church in West Jefferson. Stewart passed away at the age of 89 on February 29, 2004.

Written by Katie Gray, 2004