John Harris Hocutt and his grandmother Barbara Winstead talk about her life experiences from her childhood and her job.

00:01 Okay. Hello, my name is John Harris Hocutt. I'm 17, and today I'm interviewing my grandmother, Barbara Winstead, who I call Winstead And it's the day after Thanksgiving, November 24, 2023, and we're recording this interview at my house in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. So first question for you, Winstead where did you grow up?

00:24 I grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

00:27 What was your childhood like?

00:31 Well, I would consider it normal in that I was raised in a home that had a mother and a daddy. I had two sisters. My father worked outside the home, and my mother was a homemaker. And we were just middle class America.

00:55 So when you were a child, do you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?

01:01 As a child? I always played teaching school. So at that time, this was back in the 19. I was born 1950. So as I got older and went to the University of Alabama, really, most females either became nurses or became teachers. There were not that many opportunities or we were not aware of that many opportunities for other careers for females. So I always just wanted to be a teacher.

01:44 So you felt that something you wanted to do or you felt like you kind of have to, or kind of like a mix of both?

01:50 It's probably a mix of both, but I really never considered anything else. I love playing school. We used to play school and I would play with my sisters and I would be the teacher. So maybe a little bit of both. But I mean, I just enjoyed being the teacher. That's what females did. That's the females that I was around.

02:14 So you kind of always knew from. From a young age you wanted to be a teacher. Can you describe that a little bit to me? Just about. I mean, you can talk about anything, really, about being a teacher, being a.

02:25 Teacher, being around children, actually teaching, watching them, the light come on in their head, and they grasp a concept or they understand something. One of the most rewarding things in the world. And I loved teaching. I loved planning the lesson. Even with you, John Harris and Thomas and Vivi, if we would go on trips, I would plan activities and things for y'all that would teach you something, but at the same time be fun.

03:10 I remember that.

03:11 Yeah. So, I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed that part of it. And plus, I'm a lifelong learner, so it allowed me to learn along with y'all. So teaching school is, to me, one of the most rewarding things you can do. I think politics have gotten involved in it now, and too many times you're sidetracked by test scores and other Outside, tangible things that impact what you're doing in a classroom, when in reality, you just want a child to become educated and to learn a lot. I mean, that's it, right?

03:56 Do you have a favorite story from the classroom or maybe favorite memory?

04:04 I don't know if I have a favorite one. I just think while there was a little boy in my room who came to Tuscaloosa from Pickens county, and he was not involved. He was not interested in all anything about reading. And when he came to school, reading was very critical. It was very much a part of the curriculum, and he was all into hunting and fishing and doing all those things. He wasn't interested in being in the classroom and doing his work. He was required to do reading and take tests on the computer, and he was not interested in it at all. Finally, I got him interested in reading the book Old Yeller, the story of a Dog. The morning that he came in and said to me, Ms. Winstead, I want to take a test on the computer. I said, john. John, you finished the book? Yes, ma'am, I did. And he said, Ms. Winstead I cried. He took a test on the computer and made 100 on the test. And I thought I had hooked him. I had him.

05:22 Oh, that's funny.

05:23 It was great. It was great.

05:25 Yes, ma'am. So I know you already talked about, like, some of the stuff you got out of teaching. Do you think there's any, like, really valuable lessons or, like, things you've learned that may have helped you, like, in other aspects of your life that you learned from teaching?

05:42 I think when you are involved in teaching in a building with other professionals, you learn that the other professionals you're working with are just like people out in the community. Some are hard workers, some are not. Some are all there because of the children and the opportunity that they have to impact a life. Others are there strictly because they can draw a paycheck and they do a minimum amount. So to realize that there are people in schools like that, teachers can be very frustrating. But you realize these are the kind of people that you work with in everyday life, wherever you are, whatever job you're in.

06:37 Right? Yeah, that's. That's good.

06:39 I mean, that's the way it is.

06:42 Okay, maybe a little different question now. How have you noticed, like, the economy change throughout your life? I mean, I'm sure, obviously it's changed.

06:51 A ton over 73 years. It has been up and down inflation. I mean, you just never know. I mean, sometimes things are rocking along great. Sometimes the bottom falls Out. I mean, it's just. It's a roller coaster. It never stays consistent, or at least it hasn't in 73 years.

07:17 Right.

07:21 So to realize that it's always changing is probably the biggest lesson I've learned.

07:28 If you could, what economic advice would you give yourself as a teenager?

07:39 Save money. That's probably the best that. I mean, save everything. But to prepare for a rainy day, to realize that there are going to be situations and circumstances that crop up that you're going to need a little nest egg in order to be able to handle a certain problem and to pay off your debt. If you've got any debt at the end of the month, you need to pay it off completely. Otherwise, all you're doing is paying interest and it takes forever to pay it off.

08:19 So I'm. I've been taking personal finance this year, and we've kind of learned like, or, like, you know, there's two different types of people that some might be like, naturally they're good at, like, saving money, and some are, like, naturally wanting to spend money. Do you think you're. You fall into either of those or kind of a mix of both?

08:42 I think I'm a mix of both. I think I never spend more than I can pay off at the end of a month.

08:49 Right.

08:51 I think if I ever have a big investment, that I make sure that I can pay it off in a reasonable amount of time. But to pay anybody interest, I mean, like a house, Most people, when they buy a house, have a mortgage. And if you have a mortgage, you're paying a great deal of interest every month on your house, but it's the only way you typically can buy a house. So even now, you always try to pay more than what's required of the payment so that your interest is going down significantly, much faster. I mean, there are people that have credit cards that charge and charge and charge and pay a minimum amount each month, and they're just digging themselves in a hole. I would never buy something that I couldn't pay off.

09:49 Do you remember, like, when you were a child, do you remember kind of the financial habits of your family? Maybe your parents or.

09:56 I really don't. My mother and daddy, they never talked about it. We knew there were limits as to what we could do, and we never asked for things that were. We thought were not reasonable. In other words, I may have had friends who were given a car when they reached 60. I know that my parents could not afford to buy me a car. They never came out and said that. But I Never expected them to give me a car instead. I didn't have a car until I got my first job teaching school. And then I bought a car, put it on a 90 day note after I got my first paycheck, went and paid off the 90 day note and converted the car to a consumer loan.

10:45 So did you buy the car by yourself?

10:46 I did.

10:47 So how do you think, do you think that, you know, that's probably a good example or a good lesson, you know, to have later in life having to work for something like that?

10:55 Well, I mean, it just shows you the value of something, right? I mean, you know, there are people who were given lots of things, but do they understand the value of those things?

11:06 Right.

11:07 And do they appreciate what they've got?

11:11 That's a good point. Okay, I already asked you about like, or this question for the economy. Is there like any other advice that it does have to relate to economics that you would give yourself as a teenager?

11:29 Have as many first hand experiences as you can in the world. Don't depend only on a book because seeing it firsthand is more significant than reading about it. If you have that opportunity. If you don't, certainly read about it and learn about it, but otherwise go and do it just like y'all have done as a family. Going to these places that most people just read about.

11:58 Right? Yeah, I can speak to that. And I know obviously you like to travel too, so I think, I mean, I love to travel. I think it makes a big difference. You're right. When you can see, when you can see it in person and you've got, you know, that memory. Yeah, it's just more relatable than, you know, reading something online.

12:18 Absolutely. And it's more relatable maybe reading it.

12:20 In a book, but.

12:22 And the other thing is cultivate your friendships. Make sure you appreciate those friends you have and let them know what they mean to you because they will be there in the long haul. They will be the ones supporting you along with your family. But friends are invaluable in my opinion.

12:51 Then last question I have here. This can be one person or multiple people. If you just wherever you want to go with this, just looking back on it, you know, who do you think are some of the most important people in your life?

13:09 My parents, my minister at First Presbyterian Church.

13:20 How long did you know him?

13:21 Oh my God. Well, if at the Presbyterian church, a minister will stay usually like 25 years. So Dr. Bryant was the first one. But I mean, in my life at First Presbyterian Church, I think I've only had four ministers my whole life and I'm 73 years old. So Dr. McCain was like 25 years.

13:40 Right.

13:41 So he was very significant. But the reality is, who else is significant in my life who has impacted my life? Probably Scotty. Scotty was. His personality was. He's very humble, very kind, very methodical, very patient.

14:12 Definitely.

14:13 And so those traits as a grown, as a elderly person that we are, made me stop and realize how significant they were and how they impacted his life. Therefore, it impacted my life because we were together for 11 years. And I think he was good for me in that regard. Easy going. He was. He was smart. Not book smart, so just life smart.

14:56 Right.

14:57 If that makes sense.

14:58 Yeah. I mean, I can really speak to all those traits. You know, you could really see all that stuff.

15:03 I mean, he was just a kind, good man. And when you have a funeral for that good, kind man and you have that many people show up and reach out to you, you know that they noticed it too.

15:18 Right? Yes, ma'am. Yeah.

15:22 But you know what, John Harris? I also think your daddy has impacted me, if that makes sense. Even though I'm the mother and he's the child. Your daddy is also really an easygoing, kind, methodical type person. Now, he gets upset, granted.

15:43 Right.

15:44 He does. But he's got great traits. He's got great character traits.

15:54 And this, you know, I can't really speak to this because I've got two siblings, which obviously I'm very thankful for. But I feel like, you know, probably him being an only child, that's got to be like a big, huge impact on Y'all's relationship. Plus, when he's your only. When he's your only child know for.

16:10 A long time it was just man him against the world, right?

16:15 Yes, sir. That's true.

16:17 So, I mean, yeah. But he. Fortunately, the good Lord sent him here with. He was. He was not. He was not what we call high maintenance.

16:29 That's true.

16:30 He was. He did. He was always mature beyond his years. He made good choices.

16:38 Right.

16:39 Does that make sense?

16:40 Yes, ma'am.

16:41 So I think he impacted me too. Being a parent will impact you.

16:46 Okay. Any good advice?

16:49 Oh, it does.

16:52 Okay. Well, thank. Thank you for this time. You had some great answers. It was good getting to talk to you.

16:58 You too, darling.