Betty and Lucille
Charlotte Magazine|December 2016

A 70-year friendship started at one of Charlotte’s segregated drugstore lunch counters.

Jodie Valade
Betty and Lucille

THE SMILE IS WHAT Betty McQuay-Tysinger noticed first. When she was just 16 years old and starting her first real job, at an Eckerd drugstore on the Square in Charlotte, Betty needed to see a kind face. That smile welcomed her.

It didn’t matter that the grin came from Lucille Stewart, a 23-year-old black woman. And it didn’t matter that in 1946, Betty, who is white, was hardly encouraged to befriend the woman who prepared food for lunch counter patrons at the store.

They became friends. And they stayed friends after Betty left Eckerd in 1949 to get married and eventually raise three children, while Lucille moved on to work at North Carolina National Bank, first as what she calls a maid and then in the cafeteria.

For years, they heard updates primarily from their go-between, Libby Helderman, who had been their boss at Eckerd. She remained friends with Lucille for the rest of her life, and became Betty’s aunt when she set up the young girl with her nephew.

Since Lucille retired from her job at Bank of America in the late 1980's, Lucille and Betty have talked on the phone more frequently, and have visited each other for momentous birthday celebrations, Thanksgivings, and quiet afternoons of conversation.

“I don’t think I ever saw her angry,” Betty says. “Even now, I haven’t seen her angry. She’s just a good person.”

That’s 70 years of friendship during which Betty has never seen Lucille angry.

Lucille is now 94. Betty is 86. 

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CHARLOTTE MAGAZINEView all
‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'
Charlotte Magazine

‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'

Pediatric neurosurgery is technically and emotionally complex—and traditionally dominated by men. As Novant’s first female pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Erin Kiehna Richardson has had to learn the intricacies of a demanding field and battle sexism along the way

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021
The Dumbledore of CMC
Charlotte Magazine

The Dumbledore of CMC

A surgery resident wrote a series of children’s books and created a special kind of medical magic

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2021
LGBTQ HB2+5
Charlotte Magazine

LGBTQ HB2+5

Five years after the furor of House Bill 2, the LGBTQ community—in Charlotte, in North Carolina, and across much of the nation—fights attacks on new fronts

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2021
Oh, Snap!
Charlotte Magazine

Oh, Snap!

New ‘selfie museum’ in Concord celebrates the 1990s

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2021
ALLISON LATOS
Charlotte Magazine

ALLISON LATOS

The WSOC anchor on her hard trek from one episode of loss and grief to another—and the meaning of resilience

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2021
GOOD HEALTH
Charlotte Magazine

GOOD HEALTH

For years, Charlotte has been one of the largest American cities that lacked a four-year medical school. The health care professionals who finally made it happen overcame a series of setbacks, false starts, and failures, and they plan to use their clean slate to create a new kind of community asset

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021
Summer Partee
Charlotte Magazine

Summer Partee

From woodwork to retail, the kindergarten teacher-turned-designer has learned how to do it herself

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
Uptown or Downtown?
Charlotte Magazine

Uptown or Downtown?

Archives illuminate how long we’ve argued over the perennial question

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN
Charlotte Magazine

NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN

Paul Verica brings a simpler version of the city’s hottest food trend to NoDa

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
TOP DOCTORS 2021
Charlotte Magazine

TOP DOCTORS 2021

The annual list you can't without

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021