Carol Quigless to read from father’s autobiography

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August 27, 2010

Anonymous For The Daily Southerner The Daily Southerner Fri Aug 27, 2010, 11:27 AM EDT

TARBORO — The Town of Tarboro, North Carolina and Dr. Milton Quigless are tied to each other in history.

Most of Quigless’ recently published autobiography, "Looking Back: The Way Things Were" (C2 Printing & Design, $25), takes place in Tarboro, which he first moved to in 1936.

His daughter Carol Quigless grew up here and has a unique understanding of the town’s famous resident and of the town itself. Carol will read selections from her father’s work as part of The Sketchy Happening Reading Series on Saturday at 7 p.m. at 104 1/2 Saint James St. in Tarboro.

In 1997, Dr. Quigless died of lung cancer at age 93. Ninety-three years provides plenty of material for an autobiography, especially when combined with the ground-breaking work Quigless performed. In 1946 he opened the Quigless Clinic-Hospital to meet the needs of the underserved black community and went on to become the first black doctor to perform surgeries at Edgecombe Memorial Hospital.

His place in the history of medicine in North Carolina is well-documented and, as East Carolina University historian Todd Savitt has said, Quigless writes about “the physician of color trying to practice as best he could in the segregated and racist South.”

But Quigless brings a certain practical clarity to his interactions with the community. He observes and comments on the inequities he suffered (and moreso on the sufferings inflicted upon the poor and less educated parts of the black community), but he also points out when historical forces within the black community worked against progress.

The joys, perils and humor of life with a driven and demanding father – combined with an adult understanding of her father’s historical importance – helped Carol Quigless follow through on her commitment to get this autobiography published.

In her epilogue she notes, “that there is still such a buzz about my dad 12 years after his death is amazing. I see the impact of his practice and his indomitable spirit everyday of my life here in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina.”

We can all look forward to her stories of her father and the choices she’ll make from his autobiography on Saturday night. Books will be available for purchase at the event.

East Carolina University grad student LaTasha Jones will open the reading with poems based on the history of Tarboro and Dr. Quigless.

As always the Sketchy Happening Reading Series is free and open to the public.

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