Mewborn, Francis Bruce, 2004 July 22

This is a Living History interview with Francis B. “Duke” Mewborn, class of 1956, conducted by Marilyn Somers on July 22, 2004, at his home in Marietta, Georgia. The subject is Mr. Mewborn’s life and experiences at Georgia Tech.

Mr. Mewborn was born in Washington D.C. on March 25, 1934. His father was in the theater business, and as a result the family moved around a lot. They lived in Norfolk, Virginia at the start of World War II, and later moved to Seattle, Cincinnati, and Atlanta. Because his parents were moving to Atlanta, it was an easy choice for Mr. Mewborn to pick Georgia Tech for college. He lived at home and commuted his first semester because there was not enough space on campus. However, he was able to move into Towers Dormitory during his second semester. Mr. Mewborn has many classroom memories, and he pledged Sigma Nu fraternity. Women started attending Tech during Mr. Mewborn’s time there. Most of the boys dated Agnes Scott girls, and it was always a race to get them back to their dorms before curfew. The Interfraternity Council held dances for the students. Mr. Mewborn worked for audio and electrical companies in the summer. As a result, he was able to get a job taking care of the audio equipment in the library. He became good friends with Dorothy Crosland and met his future wife Shirley there. Mr. Mewborn was working for Fulton Brothers Electrical when they first did sound for the Lighting of the Rich’s Christmas Tree. Mr. Mewborn was also around when the first widescreen movies were introduced in Atlanta. When the Beatles played at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, Mr. Mewborn did the sound for the show. They liked what he did so much that they invited him to tour with them. Mr. Mewborn declined the invitation and devoted his time to expanding Baker Audio. He was on campus during the protests over the 1956 Sugar Bowl. Mr. Mewborn married Shirley in 1957. Baker worked on many projects, including the Atlanta Airport. Mr. Mewborn became the voice of the airport in the early nineties. He became very involved at Georgia Tech because of his wife. In 1994, he discussed the idea of an oral history project with John Carter. Mr. Mewborn became the mentor to the Living History program and helped Marilyn Somers get the program started. The program is now ten years old. Mr. Mewborn has two daughters. He retired a few years ago and spends time on his hobbies – fishing and woodworking. He has a home in Marietta and one on Lake Lanier. Mr. Mewborn’s life has been fun and he has enjoyed working with Living History.