Dr. Hylton Kenneth Crotts was born on this day in 1908, in Winston-Salem, to William Oscar and Ella Raye Crotts Sr.
He attended the local schools and graduated from R. J. Reynolds High School and the University of North Carolina. He also graduated from the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Hylton sang in the Glee Club at the University of Pennsylvania, and took part in a Thanksgiving concert in 1928 that was broadcast over the radio. Listeners in Winston-Salem were able to hear the concert. One of the 150 voices in the Glee Club was Hylton’s, as a member of the second tenor group.
Dr. Crotts married Elva Grace Lockard in 1936, in Pennsylvania. He and his wife returned to Winston-Salem after their marriage, and Dr. Crotts began his dental practice. He was the first oral surgeon in Winston-Salem, and practiced here his entire career.
Dr. Crotts was a veteran of World War II.
He was a member of local and state dental societies, and the American Oral Surgeon Society.
Dr. Crotts passed away in 1981.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
