William Winter Paper

The childhood and early adult life of William Winter
Joshua Barnett
His 400
Dr. Payne
William Winter wanted to do right for the state of Mississippi. Winters parents owned
over a thousand acres of land when he grew up but he did not let that affect him from wanting to
earn what he wanted to accomplish. He enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1940. Winter
was a junior when the United States entered World War II. After graduation in 1943, Winter
headed to basic training in Florida. Winter served in the Philippines during World War II. After
coming back home to Oxford, Winter entered the Ole Miss Law School and started attend classes
in 1946. William Winter learned from his father about politics and he served in the state
legislature in 1947. Winter served on different levels of the state government for the rest of his
life. William wanted to make a difference in the education of the future. Winter started the
William Winter Institute of Racial Reconciliation at Ole Miss. This institute gives scholarships to
education majors that will promise to teach in Mississippi for the number of years the student
received the scholarship. William Winter endured some difficult challenges throughout his young
life to get to the man that he became.
Born on February 21, 1923 in Grenada, Mississippi to fifty-one year old Aylmer and
thirty-four year old Inez Winter, William Winter was thankful for the care his parents gave him.1
Mr. Aylmer served in the legislature in the state of Mississippi starting in 1915. He did not marry
until the year his mother died in 1920. The couple tried to have children right away, their first
child was stillborn. That did not stop the couple because in 1923 they were blessed with William
Forrest Winter.i Winters dad was away from William and his mother because he was serving in
the House of Representatives in Jackson. Winters mother stopped teaching after she got married
to William H. Winter. Winter would spend some of his childhood listening to his grandfather
1 Charles C. Bolton, William F. Winter and the New Mississippi (Jackson: University Press of
Mississippi, 2013), 18
who was an Old Confederate soldier in the Civil War. Winter recalls listening to the different
stories that his grandfather would tell him about the things that he had to do will in the
Confederate Army. Winters grandfather told him about how he had to lead a raid in Memphis
and how he had to fight before and after the battle at Memphis. Winter fascinated by the stories
that he heard from his grandfather about the times that he fought while in the army.2
Winters parents wanted their son to have a education that will benefit him in the future.
His grandfather educated Winter through stories of the Civil War that he fought in. Aylmer
helped his son to read books because he built a library of fiction and nonfiction books. By the
time William started school he had read several books.3 William learned about his surroundings
the state of Mississippi, and the politics of Mississippi.4 William loved the American Biography
books that his father bought him.5 Williams mother also taught him when he reached five years
old out in the barn that the Winter family owned. Mrs. Winter did not want William to attend the
one room classroom that Grenada County provided the students. With help from her husband,
she turned the barn into a classroom for their son. The small ten by twenty foot room that she
swept out every morning and which she had to move the hay turned into a cheerful classroom.
Mrs. Winter put a table and chairs in the classroom and taught William in 1928.6 Winter recalls
2
http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/vault/projects/OHtranscripts/AU750_104029_1
.pdf1992, pg. 4
3 Charles C. Bolton, William F. Winter and the New Mississippi (Jackson: University
Press of Mississippi, 2013), 22
4 Interview in 1992,4
5 Charles C. Bolton, 22
6 Interview in 1992, pg. 8
that she taught him how to read and to do kindergarten and first grade work in the old barn. Then
in 1929, the Grenada County superintendent offered Williams mother the job of teaching for
grades one through six. William said that the classroom only had ten students to attend class each
day. The school started on the first day of November because the picking season had ended. The
students would go from January until April when it the time for hoeing the crop for the year. The
students only had to go for six months a year. The students had to be on the farm to help the
family make some money and to have food to eat.7 Mrs. Winter taught several different grades
each day.8 William recalled having to bring water and other things to class because they did not
have a well or restrooms in the schoolhouse. The school only had a stove in it to keep the
children warm in the winter. The building had several desk and blackboards for the teacher. Mrs.
Winter taught one grade at a time at different parts of the day.9 William recalled that all of his
classmates were white and worked on the farm as children of tenants or on small farms owned by
their parents. Some had to walk two miles to get to school. His classmates were not rich but they
had enough to be able to go to school. Winter felt fortunate to live in a house where his mother as
a teacher taught him how to read and do class work. This would be the last year that Mrs. Winter
taught her son. The next year Grenada upgraded to a better school and all of the white childrens
tuition was free. Grenada provided a bus to pick up the students and take them to class. William
attended this school from the third grade until he graduated high school.10 While William was in
elementary school, he had all As on his report card. William would struggle in either writing or
7 Interview in 1992, 17
8 . Bolton, William F. Winter and the New Mississippi (Jackson: University Press of
9
http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/vault/projects/OHtranscripts/AU750_1
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 8
music during school but he still passed the subject.11 Before William started his fifth grade he
took a test to see what grade level that he was suppose to be in. The results that his parents
received that William should be in the sixth grade. Williams parents ultimately decided to keep
William in the same class. Winters desire to learn did not stop when he was in elementary
school. He would continue to excel with his grades throughout grammar school.12 During high
school, William did not play any sports while he attended school. Winter said that he did not
weigh enough to play any sports. In addition, William stated that he did not have the opportunity
to be a part of any sports team because he enjoyed learning the different subjects.13 Williams
English teacher had the greatest affect on him because she pushed him to read authors from
Europe. She also challenged William to be a stronger writer while William attended her classes.
William later recalled that the reading of this essay represented the real beginning of his
education. Williams teacher made him read the essay Self-Reliance and this essay helped
begin Winters education.14
10
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 9
11 . Bolton, William F. Winter and the New Mississippi (Jackson: University Press of
13
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 13
Williams education did not only begin in the classroom in Grenada but also at home with
his father. Williams second education started from his father in the world of politics. Williams
grandfather first introduced his grandson to the world of politics. The two went to Kincannon
School so the grandfather could vote. Williams grandfather asked him if he wanted to vote and
the young five year old shouted Yes sir. The poll collectors did not mind letting the young
man vote and he voted for the Democratic candidate. This day helped shape William into the
world of politics. Then when William turned six years old, he went with his parents to see Mike
Connor inauguration as the governor. Young William got the chance to sit in the governors chair
and this made William want to become a politician.15
Williams family had a religious faith in the Presbyterian Church and they went to church
every Sunday. Williams recalls that his mother had instilled in him a strong religious faith ever
since he was a young man. Winter remembers his mother making him going to church every
Sunday morning service and he talks about how he very rarely missed a church service.16 Winter
also talks about how his father was a religious man as well and he participated in the
Presbyterian Church but he was not a faithful member. Winters dad did not agree with how the
church took it upon them to see how the members personal conduct in life. He did not believe
that it was the churchs place to talk about the members personal life. He hated the fact that they
made its members sign an abstinence form to not drink. He did not sign one and he refused to go
to church on the account of that. He did make his son and wife go to church because he believed
16 Interview in 1992, 13-14
that it was important to go to church. The whole family was a member of the First Presbyterian
Church of Grenada.17
Winter grew up on a big farm with tenant farmers, and he worked and played on this farm.
Winters family had nine hundred acres of farmland and the tenant farmers helped them plant the
crops.18 Winter recalled having ten to twelve tenant farmer families on their property. Winter said
that there were a couple of white families and a couple of African American families that worked
on the farm.19 Winter remembers playing with the African American children when he was a
young boy. All of his playmates when he was young were African American because all of white
families were several miles away from his family. Then when Winter was five years old he had
to go to school and the African American children were not able to attend school then. Winter
stayed in touch with his African American playmates until their deaths and he still stays in touch
with them till this day. As Winter got older he and worked on his parents land planting, picking,
or working with the livestock that his father had. Winter recalled that his father planted cotton on
the farm because it was the main moneymaker during the twenty and thirties. Winters father also
planted grain, corn, and oats on the farm so that they could feed the animals on the farm. The
family also cut hay on the farm to keep animals warm and fed during the winter. Williams dad
also was the first in the county to have many livestock and to make money off the animals.
Williams dad also had an orchard that brought in money as well. William Winter recalls doing a
17 Charles C. Bolton, 21-22
18
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 10
19
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 7
lot of the dirty work on the farm. He remembers that he had different duties to do on the farm
when he was a young boy. He, for example, had to feed the cows, pigs, and the sheep on the
property, planted some crops so that they could eat or that he could sell to make some extra
money for his personal use. In charge of the apple trees on the land, he sold some of the apples to
make a little money on the side. Williams father also let his son take a young calf or piglet to
raise. He enjoyed doing these kinds of things because he was in charge and felt a sense of pride
when he would sell the animal because he knew that he put in the work to make the animal fit.20
William felt fortunate not to work like the other children whose parents tenant farmed.
William recalls that he never had to plant cotton or pick cotton, as did the children who were his
playmates and classmates. William felt thankful that he did not have to work like that. William
did grunt work and extra things to make money while his classmates worked to put food on the
table. Winters worked and went to school. William had some chores around the house that his
mother needed him to do. William cut wood and stacked it in the bin by the house. He also put
the wood in the stove in the living room and fireplace and on the stove to cook supper. He fixed
the well that the family had on the farm. He climbed down the well to fix the problem. He also
recalled making sure that there was water to use in the kitchen and to drink. William had to get
water for the baths and to wash clothes. He did not like cooking because he preferred working
outside or with the cattle over cooking. William also had to help with his parents garden. He
recalls that his father had the best garden that he had ever seen. Williams father grew anything in
his garden that the family needed for the winter ahead. Williams fathers garden was his pride
and joy. William said that he put a lot of hard work to make sure that they would have a great
20
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 11
garden. William and his dad also worked in the garden while his mother canned the vegetables so
that they could enjoy them in the winter and spring. William and his father also grew animals so
that they could have meat for the winter. William recalls having all types of livestock on their
farm. They had cows, chickens, sheep, and pigs on their farm and raised the livestock up to send
them to the butcher. William did not participate in butchering the animals. He was just an
observer when they killed an animal to eat. William talked about how when they killed an animal
that there was an excitement in the air to get some meat. Winter talked about how the first frosty
morning would be a day for killing hogs.ii William also remembered the family smokehouse
full of hog and cow meat. William enjoyed working with his father to grow food that he enjoyed
during the cold winter days.
William had several hobbies and interests during his childhood days. Even though
William did not play, any sports when he went to high school did not mean that he did not like
sports. As a youngster, he loved baseball especially the Detroit Tigers. Winter would try to go
and listen to the games that they could hear on the radio. The Winter family did not own a radio
in the early thirties but a local business man in Grenada had a loud speaker so that people could
listen to the game.21 William also fantasizes about being a pitcher for the World Series champion
Tigers. When the Winter family bought their first radio and this purchase changed Williams
social life. William and his family would listen to various politicians to sporting events.
Williams favorite program to listen to is the Detroit Tigers ballgames.22 William also loved to
hunt and fished on his familys farm. Winter stated that, All the time, I stayed in the woods. He
loved to hunt rabbits, squirrels, and ducks so that his family could have some meat to eat. Winter
also said that they did not have any deer or turkey on their property. He said that he never heard
of a deer or a turkey during his childhood. William also spent a lot of time in the river or the
lakes in Grenada catching fish for the family.23 William also enjoyed reading book, newspapers,
magazines, and articles. William remembers that his family subscribed to National Geographic,
Times magazine, Liberty, Commercial Appeal, and the Saturday Evening Post. William loved to
sit down and read the different magazines and newspapers so that he could keep up with what
was happening in the world. William also loved to read the sports section in the newspaper.
William enjoyed keeping up with baseball because it was his favorite sport. During grammar
school, Williams teacher made him the news commentator because he had read the newspaper
every morning and his job consisted of telling the whole class about the world events and sports.
The newspaper helped William keep up with baseball since his family did not own a radio to
listen to the games. The newspaper helped William study the game of baseball and to help him
know the positions on the field.24
William developed his interest and desire to read books from his father. Winter recalled
that his dad was one of the most avid readers that William knew. Aylmer would read any
kind of book and he enjoyed. William remembers that his father loved to read history books so
that he could learn about the past. William loved to listen to his father tell stories about the books
23
04029_1.pdf 1992, pg. 12
that he read because William would learn a lot from his father. William said that his father
was one of the most informed people that he ever knew25
As a young man in high school, William remembers having a very limited social live. William
remembers having a few girlfriends while he attended high school. He said that he did not have
time to do some dating while he was in high school. William did go out on a few dates but they
were not all the time. Winter remembers that he was a shy person while being in high school. He
admitted living out on a farm and being away from civilization made him to be very shy. He said
that he did not have the opportunity to have many different social friends while he lived on the
farm. William recalls that he went to school and then climbed on the bus to go home. That
would be Williams day-to-day routine that he did. William said it was almost unheard of that he
would go to town on a weekday at all. Winter did like to watch a cowboy movie on Saturday but
that was the only time that he would go catch a movie. He said that going to see a movie,
was my principal adventure out into the larger recreational world,. Winter remembers that
most of his time and social life was on his familys farm.26
William and his family did not travel much during his childhood. William remembered going to
New Orleans with his father for a conference in 1935.27 He remembered having to ride on
streamliners that would take you from Jackson, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana. This trip
happened to be the first time that William had been out of the state of Mississippi. William
recalls going to Memphis, Tennessee several times throughout his childhood. The next time that
William went out of the state of Mississippi, he went on a trip with his cousins. Williams cousin
wanted to take her son to the World Fair in New York City.28 William was sixteen years old when
he went on this trip with his thirteen-year-old cousin. William remembers going to New York
City, Niagara Falls, Washington D.C., and Chicago. He recalled that his cousin Mrs. Dawson
Winter let him and her son wander on the streets of New York City. He remembers that they
wandered everywhere in the city and they enjoyed the World Fair together. The group enjoyed
touring Washington D.C. and seeing all of the buildings. He remembered seeing the White House
and the other buildings in the nations capital. William also went and toured Mount Vernon. He
remembered that there was not an airport in Washington D.C. and that the planes had to land in
the highway. The runway and the highway intersected and when a plane would land the highway
would turn on the red lights so that the plane could land safely.29 William also got to see the
United States Senators that he had only seen in magazines and newspapers. He got to see how
the senators worked and what their buildings looked like. He enjoyed getting to see how the
congress worked while he enjoyed his trip. William said that I was impressed that I had the
opportunity to see them in action, the members of the United States Senate.30 William went on
to say that the trip allowed him to see that there was a world outside of Mississippi and he got to
take part in it.31
William also faced some hard times during his childhood and the one that was very hard
on him was in the 1930s. It was in 1938, William had turned fifteen years old, it was going
home from class, and when he stepped off the bus, and walked up the hill he knew that
something was wrong. He remembers it being a dark and windy November day and when he
topped the hill, all he saw was the two chimneys standing up and that was all. Winter
remembered that his mother was out of town and that his dad was at home. He was worried that
his dad was part of the accident of his home that caught on fire and burnt to the ground. Winter
tells that his house had a Cyprus roof on the house. Winters father spent that morning
reading the newspaper and all of a sudden, he heard the crackling of fire. Aylmer quickly went
outside to see where the noise was coming from and he realized that the roof was on fire. Winter
remembers that there was no source of water inside of the house. The only thing that the Winter
household had water was from the well. The fire started from, the house caught fire from the
chimney. That day William remembers it being a very windy day and that there was no way to
stop the fire since it was already out of control. Winters dad remembers the African Americans
that worked on the farm who tried to help Aylmer salvage the Winters family belongings. The
families helped Aylmer salvage some of the furniture, some of the library, and the family desk.
William remembers that the fire destroyed all of his belongings. One of the items destroyed,
Williams favorite possession a baseball autograph by a New York Giant player.32 The only thing
that William had left happened to be the clothes that he had on and he was very distraught that
his childhood home destroyed. Winter called this, Well that was one of the most traumatic
experiences of an otherwise placed boyhoods. 33
The loss of Williams family home had a lasting impact on William. William called this a
big loss for his family. William said that the only thing left on the hill after the fire was the barn.
The family lost their home, smoker, chicken house, and the cellar. The familys clothing and
possessions destroyed so they had to start over with everything. Winter remembers crying all
night on the day that the fire destroyed his familys home. The fire caused William to be upset
because he had fond memories of growing up in the house. Winter said that the house did not
look fancy but it was the memories that made the house mean more. William said that the next
several days were pretty bleak. After several days passed by William realized that, his
family could buy everything back that they previously owned. William called the process a time
to mature and grow up for him. Winter had to stay with his neighbors the Baker family and they
lived three miles away from the Winters family farm. The Bakers son Bryan and William were
friends from school and they rode the school bus together. William recalled that his parents
stayed at their cousins house three miles west of their land.34 William and his family had to live
in a small one-bedroom house while they built their new house. The family elected to build their
house closer to the road so that they could have an easy access to the road. The house took over a
year to build but the family was excited to get in their new house. The Winters had a saw to be
placed on the land so that they could cut the wood and then put it on the house right then. The
house still stands until this day.35
William Winter graduated from Grenada High School in 1940 and he had two colleges
that he had a tough time choosing. William had started at a one- room school and then graduated
from Grenada in May of 1940. William gave credit to a one of his high school teachers that
pushed him to do better and to learn more by reading. Mrs. Estelle Turner had a tremendous
impact on Williams life. She encouraged him to read and to have better study habits. One day
during class, she pointed out how he had been slacking in his schoolwork and it gave William the
boost that he needed. Mrs. Turner also had some tough expectations for William and she made
sure that he succeeded.36 Of the students that went to the one-room class in Kincannon, William
happened to be the only one that graduated from high school.37
During high school and after William graduated, he had the tough decision of where wanted to
attend college. William narrowed down his two choices of colleges that he wanted to attend.
William valued everyone opinion about the two different schools that he wanted to attend. The
first college that he wanted to go to was Millsap. The second college choice that William
considered to go to was Ole Miss. William said that he wanted to attend Millsap because some of
his friends were going to attend that school.38 Winter also had accepted a scholarship to attend
Millsap after he graduated high school. He even had signed up for a dorm room so that he could
stay on campus. William had some of his close adult friends and a Baptist preacher discouraged
him at first about the University of Mississippi. The Baptist preacher thought the university
would corrupt the mind of William and he advised him not to attend the University of
Mississippi. Then right before classes started William finally made up his mind where he would
be attending college. William admitted that it had been a difficult decision to make about what
school he would attend. William decided to turn down Millsaps scholarship and to attend the
University of Mississippi. William said that he never once regretted going to Ole Miss. Winter
also said that it was difficult to turn down Millsap because of the friends that he went to school
with and because of the new friends, he had made. Williams main connections with the
University of Mississippi happen to be the universitys football team. Winter said that he
identified with Ole Miss emotionally through the football team. 39 Some of Winters political
heros went to the University of Mississippi so that made Ole Miss more appealing to William.
Mike Connor and Hugh White were both Governors of the State of Mississippi and Winter knew
that he wanted to pursue a career in politics. 40
William wanted to be a lawyer when he started at Ole Miss. Winter said that his greatgrandfather was a lawyer and he later worked on the Supreme Court. William also said that his
great-grandfather was the only family member that worked as a lawyer. Winter had always
wanted to be a lawyer and he wanted to go to law school at the University of Mississippi. He also
looked up to some lawyers such as L.Q.C. Lamar and Edward Walthall. These men helped
William in choosing a career that he would enjoy.41 William thought of Edward Walthall as a
hero because he lived in Grenada, fought for in the Civil War, and considered a hero. After the
war ended, Walthall entered the life of politics, became a United States Senator, and helped
restore Mississippi in to national affairs. William thought of L.Q.C. Lamar as one of the greatest
statesmen in the United States of America. Lamar would serve in all three branches of
government in the national level. Lamar also would help ease the racial problems by saying, My
countrymen, know one another, and you will love one another. Winter loved this quote and it
had an impact on Williams life.42 William had a plan in his head of what he wanted to be when
he graduated from law school. William wanted to be a lawyer-farmer-statesman. William
called it this because he wanted to continue to work on a farmer while he continued to be a

lawyer and then he wanted to be a politician all at the same time.43
William started Ole Miss in September of 1940 and his major was Political Science and history.44
William remembers that France had just fallen to the Germans and the week that he got to
Oxford, the Germans were bombing London, England. In the news, the stories were about how
the Germans were constantly bombing London and that it would soon fall to the Germans.
Winter recalled that it looked like the Germans were going to take over Western Europe very
quickly. The United States started to call up the National Guard and the Selective Service Act
was drafting up men. Winter remembers seeing his classmates that he graduated with going off to
boot camp and not attending college. All of the young men knew that eventually it would be their
time to be in war. They thought that Germany was going to take all of Europe over and that they
needed to be ready at any moment. Winter still wanted to go to college so he headed off to
Oxford. Winter would still have the possibility of him going off to war still hang above his
head.45
William became involved with the social and campus life at the University of Mississippi. Winter
joined a fraternity at Ole Miss and the name of the fraternity was Phi Delta Theta.46 William
joined this fraternity with most of his high school friends from Grenada. Winter also found that
he gained more friends from the rest of the state and that they were like long lost brothers that
knew each other all of their life. These new friends were from Greenville, Clarksdale, and from
the surrounding counties of Grenada. Winter admitted that fraternity life did not really matter to
him. He said, that was not the highest thing on my agenda by any means. Winter enjoyed
having the friendships of his fraternity brothers and that it helped broadened his social skills.
William also did not like the dancing and social parts of the fraternity and he said that he could
have done without those things.47 Winter did not like that the fraternity seemed like a place that
only the fraternity brothers could be together.48 William thought that to be a little too much and
so he said that he enjoyed being around the non-fraternity people. Winter said that he stayed
faithful to his fraternity and their rules. He also joined the Hermean Literary Society. This group
would have literary discussions and debates. He also gave public speeches and he also
joined the YMCA, Committee of 100, and International Relations Clubs. During Williams junior
year at Ole Miss, the members elected him president of the Phi Eta Sigma, International
Relations Clubs, and the Hermean Literary Society.49 William also said that he had became a
typical Ole Miss freshman.50 He started attending Ole Miss Football games and going to
different types of clubs on campus. He attended political parties, campus political parties,
and student political parties 51 Winter enjoyed playing the intramural sports at Ole Miss. He
played softball, track, and football when he could. He also liked being in the debate clubs but his
favorite and where he spent most of his time was at the newspaper on campus. Winter became
49 Charles Bolton, 32
the sports writer for the Mississippian and he would later become the sports editor for the
newspaper. William said that he spent majority of his time interview the coaches and players in
the field house.52 William would spend a lot of time covering the sports and then he would put
away his typewriter to study for his classes.53 He covered mostly the football and basketball
teams.54 Then the students elected William as the editor of the paper his sophomore year of
college. Winter also won the elections the following year because the editor had quit so that he
could study more for his classes.55 William knew that he made a wise decision coming to the
University of Mississippi because he enjoyed the campus lifestyle. William found himself being
a cheerful person while he attended school. William also found himself delighted in being
involved on campus.56
With being a cheerful and delightful person, William also made great grades in his first
semester. His grades made him to be on the Honor Roll at Ole Miss. William gave credit to his
English teacher back at home for helping him create a good study habit. He said that he had to
study more while he attended Ole Miss.57 William said that the classes were harder and more
challenging. He said that the students had to go to class from Monday until Saturday and they
were off on Sunday.58 Winter said that the professors expected more out of their students.
William also recalled that they had to take their midterm exams after Christmas on the first few
days in January. He had to take a midterm and he had to make an A to make the honor roll and to
join the Phi Eta Sigma academic fraternity. William went back home for a couple of days which
the students only had a few days off. When he returned to Oxford and checked his grade he
found out that, he made the only A in his whole class. William made the honor roll and accepted
into the Phi Eta Sigma academic fraternity.59 William would continue to strive during school and
he made great grades during his time at Ole Miss.
While William attend Ole Miss, he would work several jobs during the summer to make
some money and in the future help him form friendships that would help in win some elections.
Williams first job that he worked at during the summer after his first year of college was at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.60 This job required William to drive around to the many farms in
Mississippi and he had to measure the crop acreages of each farmer. William bought a 1930
Chevrolet for seventy-five dollars. He had to drive the vehicle all over northern Grenada County
to check on the acreages for the farms. Williams pay started at forty cents an hour, the new
federal minimum wage. William would visit the farmers and they wanted him to stay and eat
lunch and talk about politics. William sold his 1930 Chevrolet vehicle for $150. The next year,
William found a job driving James Eastland on his U.S. Senate campaign team.61 Winter had to
drive a Chevrolet with speakers so that the people on the side of the roads could hear Jamess
speech.62 William got this job because he told his father that he would like work on a political
campaign and Aylmer got him a job.63 Aylmer and James Eastlands father were friends. Aylmer
also worked for Jamess father and so William at the set up from his father.64 During Winters
first week on the campaign, he travelled all over north Mississippi, with stops in New Albany,
Bruce, Calhoun City, Houston, Vardaman, Duck Hill, Greenwood, and Ruleville. While
Eastland would be making his political speeches, William would find out what the town or city
was looking for. He would also have to see how the Eastland faired in that town. Winter also had
to hang up flyers and posters all over town. After Eastland had finished his speech, Winter had to
be ready to fly to the next destination.65 William also had the problem of time while he drove Mr.
Eastland to town-to-town. Winter had to make sure that he drove fast so that they could make it
on time. He did not have to worry about the police because the governor backed Eastland and the
police would have to campaign for him as well. William made it to every engagement on time
even when he would be losing time.66 William recalled hearing at least two to three hundred of
James Eastlands speeches all across the state of Mississippi. William also remembered that
Eastland would make at least five or six speeches a day.67 He enjoyed riding with Eastland
62 Interview 1992, 56
because he would give William advice and tips about the political world.68 William earned fifty
dollars for driving Mr. Eastland around for thirty thousand miles that summer. Not only did
William make money but also he gained some political allies that would help him in the future.
Eastland told Williams father that he enjoyed working with his son and that he would go far in
life because he was a smart young man.69
Then in 1943, Winter and his ROTC class received orders to go to Camp Shelby in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi and they were assign to the Infantry Replacement Center. The whole
ROTC program rank in the army was private and they were on active duty.70 This put a hold on
William graduating from the University of Mississippi. Luck would have it and Winter found out
that he could graduate from the University of Mississippi during the summer.71 William needed
twenty- seven hours of classes to be able to graduate. He asked the school if they would let him
take all twenty-seven hours that he would finish it during the summer session.72 Determined to
graduate from Ole Miss, William took on the challenge as many of his ROTC members did.
William took the classes and participated in ROTC and he even found time to play some sports
for his entertainment. After a grueling summer of classes and physical training, William
graduated from the University of Mississippi. Winter wore his cap and gown over his military
uniform. William graduated but He missed graduating with distinction by .2 of a point,...
Winter blames working to much as a sports editor and editor at the newspaper company for him
missing it by two-one-hundredth of a point. 73
While William attended Ole Miss, two different professors influenced his life in a
positive way. Dr. Howerton taught political science and William described him as a teacher that
demanded the best out of his students. The next professor who helped Winter was Dr. Silver and
he taught history at the University of Mississippi. The two professors were two different teachers
but they had a lasting impact on William. Dr. Howerton taught a more conventional class and he
expected the best of his students.74 Dr. Howerton had a conservative view about everything he
taught. He was strict in his teaching and grading of papers. Dr. Silver on the other hand taught in
a different way. He did not agree with how the old south and the religious views that it presented.
William called him an iconoclast teacher. Dr. Silver did not like the way of life that the
southern people lived. Both of these professors left a mark on William, Howerton left a political
mindset and Silver a social mindset.75
A week after graduating from the University of Mississippi, Williams infantry had orders
to go to Camp Blanding, Florida for basic training. Winter and his comrades went through
several months of basic training in North Florida.76 Williams comrades were from all over the
United States, and his evaluation of them, sorry Yankees77 By the end of boot camp,
William had a deep appreciation of all of the men that he served with. William did not like his
superior officer when he first got to camp. Williams commanding officer had came from
Czechoslovakia and he had a hate for the Nazi because they had killed some of his family
members. He wanted to make sure that his men where read for combat and for their enemy in
Germany. As time went on Winter came to appreciate his commanding officer because he
realized he pushed his men to become great. Winter described how the training happened at basic
training. The first couple of weeks in basic training the men had to learn the basic things about
their gear and listening to their instructors. The men had to learn how to march, shoot, and
salute.78 The men also learned about their weapons.79 The men then had to leave the comforts of
learning to go to the physical part of training. The commanding officer would wake the men up
early in the morning to go on runs. William noted that when they would run for five miles the
men would barely be moving through all of the conditions because they were out of shape. The
men were also smokers and drinkers. William did not struggle with the conditioning parts
because he did not smoke or drink. He also had to run when he trained with the ROTC program
at Ole Miss. William excelled at shooting and bayonet training at basic and the commanding
officer praise William for being one of the best in the whole platoon.80 After William and his
comrades at complete six weeks of training, Winter got a promotion to corporal. He took this as
if his superior officers were taking notice of the hard work and dedication that he put forth every
day for six weeks.81 Although Winter received all of the praises from his superior officers, he
heard some troubling new about his future. During this time in January of 1944, the invasion
known as D-Day had been in preparation. The army already had a surplus of men in the Officer
Candidate School. This discouraged Winter because that was his dream to become an officer in
the army and to see battle. With the Officer Candidate School being full, the army sent William
and his comrades back to Oxford, Mississippi. William and his platoon came back to Oxford in
February of 1944. The army stationed the soldiers in Oxford and they allowed them to take any
classes that they wanted to take. 82 William went to school for two months at the University of
Mississippi and then they were order to go to Fort Benning for the Officer Candidate School.
They received these orders the day after the D-Day invasion in France.83 William and his platoon
went to Holly Springs, Mississippi to go to Fort Benning, Georgia.84 When William arrived at
Fort Benning, he realized that the men there were very diversity. William remembered that there
were many Puerto Ricans at the officers school. William noted that he did not like them at first
but he did call a few of them his friends. He also said that many of the Puerto Ricans did not
make it long in the program.85 Winter also remembered there were two African American
candidates that studied to be an officer in the program. This for Winter and the other White
soldiers had to be a learning experience because this would never happen anywhere in the state
of Mississippi.86 In addition, Winter went into Fort Benning with the attitude that the training
would be a hard task to complete. He knew that the program would test and challenge his
leadership skills and qualities.87 Winter recalled the training being difficult because the
commanding officers were looking for the candidates leadership qualities. The program also
gave rigorous test to the candidates on what they had been teaching. William recalled that they
took at least one or more test each week to see if the candidates were paying attention. On the
first test, that Winter took at the officers training program he made a perfect score and the test
had over two hundred questions on it. William would succeed on every test that he took at the
program. Each test would cover, map reading, compass operation, communication, and the
details of various weapons and tatics.88 He did have trouble with one section on the advanced
machine guns test. The army gave each candidate an I.Q. test and Winter made an 149 on it,
which put him in the highest percent in the army at that time. After a month of instruction and
taking test, William remembered that the rest of the training at the program dealt with situations
that would come up during war.89 William also had the goal of becoming a second lieutenant,
which he thought as the highest position that somebody attained. Winter said, I set my goal
to finish officer candidate school and become an officer.90 As William sought to finish his goal
in the summer of 1944, he recalled that the Georgia heat had been unbearable that year. Winter
remembered it being a difficult program to get through both mentally and physically. William
admitted that he did not enjoy being in the military but he did it so that he could defend his
country. He said that he loved that the military challenged him to become a better citizen and
leader. William also wrote for the newspaper while he trained to become an officer at Fort
Benning. He wrote for the Fort Benning OCS newspaper which name the Shavetail. During the
training, William also made a friend in Troy Middleton. Middletons father fought in Italy as a
general. The two would spend all of the free time that they could off of the base. They would go
and see their superior officers daughters, they would forget to find a place to sleep, and they
would have to sleep outside in the woods. They also would go to Middletons aunt residence and
they would spend the night with her. The pair would go see some of Middletons fathers friends
at Benning and they would sit and talk with them. William graduated from the officer school first
in his class and as the top candidate; he ranked as a second lieutenant. Williams parents were not
able to attend his graduation because his mother had to teach and his father had to reap his crops.
Williams friend Middleton had graduated with him. As soon as graduation was over, William
went home for ten-day leave. When he arrived home, he realized how the war had affected the
small town of Grenada. Many of the tenant farmers in Grenada had left to go to war or they
searched for industry jobs.91 The tenant farmers who stayed and help Aylmer Winter farm had
made a significantly more money than they had ever made. Aylmer said that with a good crop
they made more money because the prices of the crops were up. Williams father and mother
enjoyed their time with their son even though it was very short. Aylmer wrote to William, I have
missed you very much since you returned to camp. It is very lonesome here without you92
After graduating officer school, Winter got the news that he would be stationed at Fort
McClellan, Alabama. William did not like that he had to go to Alabama, he thought that he would
be stationed somewhere overseas or at a nice place.93 When William arrived in Fort McClellan,
Alabama, his orders had taken him to be the officer of an African American regiment. William
was in charge of one of the two all black regiments in the United States Army. William recalled,
These regiments that were totally segregated. He also remembered that the officers were white
and the infantrymen were African American. The army gave the officers instruction of not being
discriminatory toward the African Americans. The officers were to see if there would any trouble
if there were interracial groups in the army. William recalled that the northern officers had
trouble with their instructions. The northerners did not have much contact with African
Americans and so they did not know how to treat them or lead them. William on the other hand
did not have trouble because he remembered as a child that he played baseball and childhood
games with African Americans children. William recalled that he wanted to lead the troops and to
befriend each man that he had to lead. William said that he earned respect with the troops and
they would follow him. He also earned the troops respect because he did not rule with an iron
fist. William told his parents that he did not want his rank to make him feel like he was better
than the rest of the men.94 Williams main goal at Fort McClellan was to make the best soldiers
that he could. He wanted to show his superior officers that he trained the best and that he wanted
to go and fight in the war. The superior officers did take notice of how Winter got the job done.
The officers made Winter the drill instructor and the physical training officer of the battalion.
Then in 1945, William became the scouting and the patrolling instructor. This new job entitled
Winter to have to sleep and train outside in the woods for at least five days a week. When
William arrived to work at his new job, he quickly found out that he had to participate in another
experiment to see if the whites and blacks could coexist on the battlefield.95 At this time, William
realized that the army had desegregated his unit and the whites and blacks were eating, living,
and working to do everything together. This made William realize what he had been missing all
of his life. He had been accustomed to the segregated lifestyle that continued to plague the south.
William said living in a desegregated place had become a great learning experience for me.
Winter also said that the segregated way of life in the south started to bother him because he had
to live, eat, and share everything at the base. When he and his fellow soldiers wanted to go out to
the town or go to a movie, they could not do that because the white owners would not allow that
to happen.96
William would stay at Fort McClellan, Alabama until the war had ended. Winter wanted
to go to the battlefront and he started to become restless about going. He saw all of his friends
and classmates going off to war while he stayed at the same place. Then in May of 1945, the
European front of the war had ended. William remained hopeful that he could go to Japan and
fight there. After a few months had gone by, William receives the orders that he had been waiting
for. The same day that the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, William was
heading to the battlefield he thought. Williams platoon had to fly to California to get ready to go
to the Philippines. The war had ended but the orders were still in effect. In September, William
and his platoon got on a ship to head to Manila, Philippines. William recalled that the trip took
over 28 days to get from Los Angeles, California to Manila, Philippines.97 When William arrived
in the Philippines, his orders were to invade Japan but since Japan, surrender after the atomic
bombs Winter did not have to invade. William says that the atomic bombs saved him from
possibly dying in Japan.98 Winters orders were to serve under Major General Uhl. Winter hated
working for Uhl and he requested a reassignment after working with him for a week. The Major
General Uhl let William be reassigned but not after, he gave Winter a piece of his mind. Winters
new assignment was to join the eighty-six division. The eighty-six division responsibility was to
find the Japanese soldiers that were hiding in the Philippines.99 William and the eighty-six
division also had to see that the Filipino guerilla forces would stop fighting. They also had to
make sure that they kept the island of Luzon under the military protection. Then Williams new
assignment was to the G3 section and he had to make the plans and operations of the forces on
the island of Luzon. William travelled a lot at his new job. They would take airplane and
helicopter rides to find any Japanese solider that thought they were still fighting in the war.
William recalled having to pick up soldiers and then dropping them off to the POW camps.100
On Williams spare time, he and Peter Reed would go and see the island of Luzon or other
things. One day, William told Peter that they should go see General Emilio Aguinaldo the famous
general that led forces against the United States. The two men drove for two hours to Manila to
see the general. The two went to Aguinaldos house and the servant greeted them at the door.
William and Reed asked to see the general and the servant took them to his room. The three men
talked for over an hour about various things.101 William remembers that Emilio did not have good
English so they had to decipher what he talked to them. Winter also remembered that he talked
101 Interview I 1992, 48
about when and how he fought the revolution against the United States.102 They let Aguinaldo
talk about when he led troops against the United States and about how he led his men. Before
Winter and Reed left Aguinaldo they took a picture together.103 Another thing that William got to
be a part of was when the new President of the Philippines and General MacArthur landing in
Manila. William was a part of the honor guard that lined the exit for General MacArthur and the
new president. William also met with the new president and the chatted for several minutes and
he got his picture taken with him.104
In August of 1946, William, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, discharged from the United
States Army. William would have a tough time to get to Fort Sam Houston, Texas because they
had a scare while they were returning home. The ship had to stop because they had to cases of
polio on the ship. The ship stopped in Tokyo Bay and waited for an iron lung. When the iron
lung came upon the ship, the crew started on back to the United States. Even though William
discharged from the army, he did not get off active duty until October of 1946. William applied
to the law school at the University of Mississippi when he got back.105 William then ran for a
legislator seat from Grenada County in 1947. Winter won the election while he continued to be
in law school. In law school, William said that the classes were difficult and over a third of his
class dropped out of the law school program. Winter still succeeded in the law school and his
grades were still in the top of his class. Like before when he first started school, Winter started
joining different clubs and fraternities. The students in the law school had chosen William as
their class president. He had also been selected to be the chairman of the Claireborne Society.
Also Winter enjoyed the social life when he returned back from the army. He went on a few dates
here and there but he found the love of his life when he seen his former roommates sister. They
were friends at first but it turned into romance.106 While Winter had been in law school he
decided that he wanted to run for the House of Representatives. William defeated the incumbent
in 1948 was elect into the House of Representatives in state of Mississippi congress.107 William
had to balance being a law student and working in the state congress. Winter did not do this
alone; he had over thirteen others who had to do both. This group called themselves the Ole Miss
Caucus.108 Then in May of 1949, William Winter graduated from the University of Mississippi
Law School. Then in 1949, William opened up his own private practice but he did not have many
people that wanted him to defend them. In 1950, William would close his practice to pursue his
career in politics.109
William Forest Winter made a lasting impression in the state of Mississippi, Ole Miss,
and Grenada County. He was born in February 21, 1923 to Aylmer and Inez Winter in Grenada,
Mississippi. Winter had a great childhood and he enjoyed the outdoors living. He helped his dad
plant a garden and he enjoyed hunting and fishing. Williams parents educated him on their farm
and sent him to school. Winter graduated from high school in 1940 and he enrolled into the
University of Mississippi. Political science and history fascinated Williams so he made that his
major. Then in 1943, William reported to basic training and active duty in the army. William
would go on to be an officer in the army and lead one of the two all black regiments in the
United States Army. William would never see the battlefield during World War II. In 1945, he
had orders to go to the Philippines and to chase out all of the Japanese soldiers in the
countryside. After staying in the Philippines for several months, William discharged from the
army and went to Oxford, Mississippi. There he enrolled into the law school at Ole Miss. He
graduated at the top of his class. William then led a life in the political world for the rest of his
life.
i
ii
Bibliography
Primary sources
http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/vault/projects/OHtranscripts/AU750_104029_1.pdf
Interview in 1992
Secondary Source
Bolton, Charles, C., William F. Winter and the New Mississippi. Jackson: University Press of
Mississippi, 2013

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The childhood and early adult life of William Winter

called it this because he wanted to continue to work on a farmer while he continued to be a

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