He went to Huntington School and in his spare time he played the trumpet and considered a career in music.
He was sent to Liverpool in June 1918 and the band went to France, entertaining the troops with classical concerts on Sundays.
On return his band played at a ceremony where General Pershing awarded Alvin York.
A project to compile a list of the insects of North Carolina was begun by Franklin Sherman and led by C. S. Brimley and Mitchell assisted in this.
He would comment that his “relation to the honey bee is the same as that of a bird watcher to the poultry industry.” In winters he also took classes at Raleigh and completed his master's degree in 1924.
In the departments of zoology and entomology of North Carolina State University, he was an assistant professor from 1925 to 1930.