Jeffares, George Milton, 1997 August 19

This is a Living History interview with George M. Jeffares, class of 1947, conducted by Marilyn Somers on August 19, 1997 at Mr. Jeffares’ home in Atlanta, Georgia. The subject of the interview is the interviewee’s life and experiences at Georgia Tech.

Mr. Jeffares was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi. He attended Meridian Junior College for a year before going to Mississippi State University. Mr. Jeffares has to transfer to Tech for his senior year because Mississippi State did not offer the senior chemical engineering courses that Mr. Jeffares needed. Because of World War II, most of Tech was military and many organizations were shut down temporarily. Mr. Jeffares was considered a transfer student at Tech, but still have to stay in a freshmen dorm, Knowles dorm. Mr. Jeffares was one of the only civilian students in his classes. While at Tech, Mr. Jeffares worked part-time in the Engineering Experiment Station. Although Mr. Jeffares would have liked to get a degree from Tech, he would have had to take an extra year of math courses. Mr. Jeffares was drafted into the military after WWII was over, because they needed people to process paperwork. While Mr. Jeffares was in the military, he was able to get his Tech credits transferred back to Mississippi State and received a degree in Chemical Engineering. After being discharged from the military in 1946, Mr. Jeffares began looking for a job. He found a position at Plantation Pipeline in Atlanta and worked there for forty four years. Mr. Jeffares married Carolyn Gentry in 1948 and they have three children together. Mr. Jeffares also has four grandchildren that he is very proud of. Mr. Jeffares believes that WWII and Tech really shaped his life. He is still a Tech fan today.