Cranford Family papers

H. C. Cranford Jr. (1920-2004) and Lois Cranford (1924-2017) were prominent members of the Durham community. Both attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and were active in producing the Carolina Magazine. H. C. Cranford wrote feature articles for many local newspapers and reported for the Durham Sun and the Durham Morning Herald. After his service in the second World War, Cranford became one of the first public relations officers in North Carolina. He worked on the Good Health Campaign in the mid 1940s, then was public relations director and later vice-president for public relations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina for 36 years. As a volunteer, he was active in starting the Durham City of Medicine program, which focused on promoting Durham’s status as a center of health and medicine. Lois Cranford wrote feature articles for local newspapers in her hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina, as well as in Durham, and became the first public relations director for Watts Hospital in Durham. Later, she also was the marketing and promotion head for Durham’s Northgate Mall. The collection illuminates the lives of H. C. and Lois Cranford throughout their years of activity in the Durham community.