Thank you for NOT smoking: A history of smoking on the campus of UNCG

The history of tobacco in the United States is synonymous with the history of North Carolina. North Carolina’s tobacco ventures date to the early 16th century, with the arrival of the first English settlers and the crop has long played a key role in the development of the state’s business and agriculture heritage. Major tobacco manufactures, such as R.J. Reynolds and James Duke, had presence in the state directly following the Civil War. Despite these strong ties, when the State Normal and Industrial College (now UNCG) for women opened in 1892, its founder Charles McIver, expressly forbade smoking by the students on campus.

While smoking was formally prohibited, this did not stop the students from occasionally risking punishment for the chance to smoke a cigarette. In 1897, a “smoking indecent” occurred during which over 30 students were caught smoking by administrators. As a consequence of their actions, they were required to write individual confession letters admitting their guilt and identifying if they knew other students who had smoked. It is unclear what, if any, formal reprimand was given for such a breach of college rules.



A letter Chancellor Foust sent home to parents
announcing the new smoking policies 

The prohibition of smoking on campus would continue until the fall of 1931, when Chancellor Julius Foust was presented a signed petition from 1032 students requesting that the policy be amended. At that time, over 1/3 of judicial “student conduct write-ups” were for violating smoking regulations.

Recognizing the futility of continuing to ban smoking, Foust, under the authorization given to him by the Board of Directors, reached a compromise for the girls to smoke the rest of the academic year (January to May 1932); however, they were only allowed to smoke in their dorm rooms following specific regulations. Foust was reluctant to condone such behavior, believing it to be unhealthy and that “any student who becomes addicted to the habit of smoking to excess will, in after years, regret it.”

Over the next decades, campus policies on smoking periodically shifted, reflecting the current social climate. During the 1950s and 1960s, smoking was permitted in designated areas in various buildings, and for a trial period, in large seminar classrooms at the professor’s discretion.  By the 1970s, there was some student push back on the policies. They wanted a ban on smoking in classrooms, noting its bothersome nature and negative health effects. However, it would not be until the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the launch of a public national campaign highlighting the harmful effects of tobacco, that a serious movement would occur to curb smoking at UNCG.

In June 1990, following the recommendations put forth by the Health Promotion Committee, a new smoking policy was implemented across the campus.  It established a Smoking Regulation Committee, which was charged with reviewing and recommending which buildings would prohibit smoking. Some faculty members were disappointed that Chancellor William Moran did not issue a smoking ban across the entire campus and questioned if UNCG’s heavy financial ties to local tobacco companies, such Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds, had a factor in his reluctant stance

In March 1991, nine campus buildings were designated as “smoke-free,” including the Bryan, Curry, and McIver buildings, and by December, this number would grow to a total of sixteen. The University would eventually forbid smoking in all buildings, including residence halls. Finally, in August 2008, a new outdoor smoking policy was adopted that prohibited smoking within twenty-five feet of any campus building. Today, UNCG remains committed to helping curb tobacco use by students and faculty though their support of cession programs and services.

The History of the College’s Yearbook Part II: 1930s to 1950s

As the college moved into the 1930s, it underwent transformations that reflected the unsettled economic trials of the country. The stock market crash of 1929 threw the nation into a financial crisis, resulting in a drop in enrollment and faculty pay for the North Carolina women’s college. Faculty took an additional hit when Greensboro banks failed in 1933. In the midst of these calamities, and under the watchful eye of President Julius Foust, the school officially consolidated with the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Engineering, and was renamed the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina.

Students representing "Sportsmanship," 1931 Pine Needles

Yet during these tumultuous times, the Pine Needles yearbook maintained its high quality with a combination of photographs and interesting graphics. Most of the yearbooks from the 1930s had themes which gave the publications a visual focus. The 1932 edition featured the “melting pot” of American culture with chapter illustrations that represented various groups of North Carolina settlers. The theme of the 1933 yearbook was mysteries and superstitions, incorporating drawings of stylishly dressed young “detectives” who resembled the recently created heroine, Nancy Drew. This edition also reflected an unusual part of the college’s history when men were briefly admitted as day students during the Great Depression. It was during this time that Pine Needles began to consistently include photographs of the faculty and students; campus buildings; “superlatives;” class mascots; and societies, organizations, and clubs. Dedication and In Memoriam pages saw older faculty members and students remembered by the campus community.

Image from the 1933 Pine Needles

The 1941 Pine Needles ushered color into the annual publication and featured the 50th anniversary of the founding of the college. This yearbook, as well as the 1942 – 1946 volumes, covered the years when World War II was a major part of the daily life of the school and the country. Through the War Service League, the students and faculty, led by Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson, contributed a great deal to the war effort. Yet, beyond the war, 1940s yearbooks also reflected the growth of the college, with events such as the Arts Forum and Social Science Forum and the founding of the Weatherspoon Art Gallery. At the end of the decade, the school was the largest women’s college in the United States and Pine Needles attempted to modernize its design by replacing quaint themes with a look to the future.



Chancellor Jackson with Woman's College Students, 1941 Pine Needles

 The 1950s brought a great deal of change to the campus. Chancellor Jackson retired in 1950 and many older campus buildings were replaced by more functional structures. The decade also saw the desegregation of the campus in 1956 with the admittance of JoAnne Smart and Bettye Ann Davis Tillman. Although JoAnne and Bettye were included in individual and dormitory group photographs, it would take years before African American students were truly represented in Pine Needles. As the college moved into the 1960s, enrollment was at an all-time high, but Woman’s College was facing many challenges which reflected larger national issues, such as Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. Part III of the History of the College’s Yearbook will cover the school’s move to co-education, campus activism, and the demise of Pine Needles.



JoAnne Smart in a Shaw Dormitory Group Photograph, 1957 Pine Needles

“Beauty, Service, and Grace” - The History of the Alumnae House

Not long after the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) opened its doors in October 1892, graduates began to discuss the possibility of an alumnae building. As they often returned to the college to participate in official events and social occasions, they wanted a comfortable place to hold meetings and to stay during overnight visits. Although the alumnae had limited access to accommodations in dormitories and on the third floor of Students’ Building, they dreamed of a spot at their alma mater to call their own.

Drawing of the Alumnae House, 1937

 Serious discussions began in 1916 and after the end of World War I in 1918, the plan was revisited by the new Alumnae Association Secretary Ethel Bollinger (Class of 1913). Miss Bollinger hoped to use the prospective building for an office and a residence for unmarried faculty. Yet it wasn’t until Clara Booth Byrd (Class of 1913) assumed the position of Alumnae Association Secretary in 1922, did the plan for an alumnae house truly begin to take form. Miss Byrd convinced Julius Foust, the college’s second president, to choose the site and to begin raising money for the project. Foust was committed to the project and threw his formidable efforts behind fundraising. Miss Byrd felt that the most practical location for the building was on the site of the old wooden residence hall alternatively called Guilford or Midway Dormitory. One of the original campus buildings, it occupied a prime location on College Avenue and was in poor condition, requiring either complete renovation or demolition.

Clara Booth Byrd

A committee was formed to explore the financial feasibility of an alumnae building and to revisit its purpose on campus. Originally conceived as a residence for faculty and for overnight alumnae visits, this vision was expanded and the plan altered to create a building that would be “the very center of college life outside the academic realm.” The committee set a fundraising goal of $250,000, which was to be procured by alumnae, faculty, and students.  Yet by the early 1930s, only $53,000 had been collected. As the country slipped into an economic depression, hopes for the building looked dim. Finally, with financial assistance from the Public Works Administration, construction could begin. By all accounts, Miss Byrd chose the architectural design for the Alumnae House. She selected Homewood, a Maryland estate built by Charles Carol in 1800, as a model for the new building. Homewood's exterior, considered an excellent example of Georgian architecture, was practically duplicated on the Woman’s College campus by Penrose V. Stout of Bronxville, NY.
 

Alumnae House Dedication, January, 1937

But even before the building was formally dedicated in June of 1937, there was controversy, as alumnae and students began to question the close involvement of Miss Byrd in every aspect of the Alumnae House’s design and use. Her possessiveness of the building and her fear of damage to the new furniture that she had been so instrumental in selecting, led alumnae to see her as a “dominating and inflexible” force.


In an Alumnae House Bulletin dated January of 1937, Miss Byrd set out guidelines on how best “to preserve the beauty and dignity” of the new space. She specifically asked that students “establish a tradition of order and spotless cleanliness” to be preserved at all times. The situation became so contentious that there were plans afoot to have Miss Byrd dismissed.  But she weathered the storm and continued in her role as Alumnae Association Secretary until her retirement in 1947. She must have been pleased that the Alumnae House, which had occupied so much of her life, ultimately became a hub for student and alumnae activity.

The Byrd Parlor

Fittingly, when she passed away, her funeral was held in the building that she had fought so hard to bring to fruition. In November 1972, almost a decade after the university had become co-educational, the building’s name was officially changed to Alumni House. It is said by some that Miss Byrd never let go of her strong attachment to the house and still ensures doors are closed at the end of the day.

The First Reunion of the Class of 1585

In 1926, the alumnae of the North Carolina College for Women (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) were making plans for their class reunions. As these preparations were being made, it occurred to some of the alumnae that the celebration should include those students who had attended the woman’s college but had never graduated, or were never officially associated with a reunion class. This honorary group was christened the “Class of 1585.” This unusual name was a reference to the state’s early history, when Sir Richard Grenville’s English ships landed on the coast of what is now North Carolina.

The first “reunion” of the Class of 1585 was held on June 5, 1926, during the celebration of Alumnae Day. To mark the occasion, there was a luncheon given in the Spencer Residence Hall dining room. In keeping with the 1585 theme, large centerpieces were fashioned in the image of Elizabethan ships. The tables were decorated with vases of daises (the school flower), with individual blossoms spelling out 1585 – 1926. For a special remembrance of the day, guests were presented with a small booklet created by students in the college’s art department. On the cover was a hand-drawn representation of a ship being greeted by a young Native American woman, while the interior contained the day’s program and a photograph of the guests of honor. Those being honored were administrators, professors, and staff members associated with the college’s early history. They included Miss Viola Boddie, Miss Laura Coit, Mr. Edward Forney, Dr. Julius Foust, Dr. Anna Gove, Miss Minnie Lou Jamison, Mrs. Lula McIver, and Miss Mary Petty.

Over ninety guests were entertained with a program which paid tribute to the eight guests of honor. Continuing the theme of settling a new land, these educators were represented as champions of learning and “rescuers of the maidens” held captive by ignorance. In thanks, their former students presented them with “love, loyalty, reverence, and gratitude.” The luncheon’s entertainment also included a song by Miss Molly Matheson Boren and a commemorative verse by Miss Eleanor Watson Andrews, as well as Miss Vaughn White Holoman’s “series of word pictures sketched with the delicacy and precision of a cameo, [of] the eight ‘founders’ of the ‘settlement.’”


The moving program ended with each attendee drawing the name of one of the eight honorees and completing the phrase, “What we really want to tell you…” on a small sheet of paper. These kind thoughts were later collected and incorporated into a commemorative book. The event concluded with the guests toasting the Class of 1585 with best wishes and the hope that the tradition would persist.  For the next several years, the Class of 1585 continued to hold alumnae luncheons with the other college classes, but by the 1930s, this seems to have come to an end. Only one of the hand-drawn booklets survives as a testament of the class’s first reunion held on that June day in 1926.

“A Noble Idea” The History of Peabody Park (Part Two)

Have you ever wondered how UNCG acquired such a beautiful green space on the northern edge of its campus?  Well, the founding and development of Peabody Park is a fascinating story that reflects UNCG’s overall growth as a center of higher learning and a Greensboro neighbor.  Given the complexity of the story, the Park’s history is being told in three Spartan Story installments.  The first installment was told in November 2016, “A Noble Idea:” The History of Peabody Park (Part One), and focused on the Park’s founding through a generous donation of monies.  The second installment, May 2017, will pick up the Park’s story in 1902 and how it evolved from a place of strolling and reflection to one of recreational activities, open-air theatrical performances, and finally, institutional encroachment. 

 

Shortly after the land for Peabody Park was purchased in 1901, landscape designers established a series of walking trails.  Wooden benches were strategically placed along the paths.  Female students used this new green space for their required daily “walking periods.”  President Charles Duncan McIver described the designed space as an education park where student learning and physical education were brought together in one place.  McIver envisioned that stone markers and plaques would be installed to highlight human advancement and inspire the passing walker. However, plans for the installation of stone educational markers were shelved with McIver’s sudden death in 1906.  Despite his untimely death, the Park was quickly being incorporated into campus life.

 

Peabody Park became a popular venue for school festivals and performances.  Starting in 1904, students staged elaborate May Day Festivals.  Over the years, the festivals became more and more elaborate.  The Festival’s activities included: the crowning of a May Day queen, dramatic performances, parades, and folk dances.   With the American entry into World War One in 1917, the May Day festivals were stopped and did not resume until the 1920s.  Instead, students used Peabody Park to hold patriotic rallies and pageants to boost morale and to encourage the purchase of Liberty Bonds.  With May Day festivals starting up again in the 1920s and continuing into the 1950s, Peabody Park was again being used for student events and performances.  Indeed, there was even the establishment of “Park Night” that honored students who embodied the school’s ideals of scholarship and service. 

 

As enrollment grew in the 1920s, the school was challenged to meet the needs of its growing student population.  Under the leadership of President Foust, the school experienced a building boom and sought to incorporate parts of Peabody Park into its educational programs.  Tennis courts and an archery range were constructed to support physical education classes.  In 1934, during the height of the Depression, the federal government’s Civil Works Administration built a nine-hole golf course in the Park.  With the establishment of a Golf Club, the school administration hoped that faculty and students would be active members and that their membership dues would help support the maintenance of the grounds.  Unfortunately, Club membership remained low and the maintenance of the grounds proved to be costly. 

On the eve of America’s entry into World War Two in 1941, the golf course had fallen into disrepair.  It was decided to transform the space by damming one of the branches of the Buffalo Creek.  The dam helped to form a small lake for boating.  Peabody Park suddenly had a lake!  In addition, an outdoor amphitheater was constructed on the lake’s shore to be used for concerts and pageants.  All traces of the 1934 golf course disappeared.

Interestingly enough, the idea of a school golf course for recreation and learning was resurrected in the postwar period.  In 1954, the lake was drained and the lake bed was leveled.  State funds for a new nine-hole golf course were obtained.  To generate interest for this instructional course, the school held a “gala” in 1957 that featured local golf pros playing the course.  To sustain the project, the course was designed to keep maintenance costs down and to bring golf into the curriculum.  Unlike the fate of the Depression-era course, the 1954 golf course functioned as a nine-hole course until the 1990s.  In 1999, the old golf course was transformed into a short-game practice facility (150 yard fairway, 2 holes and a bunker) to be used by the school’s golf teams as well as for physical education classes.

With the projected growth of the school in the 1960s, there was a strong need to expand residential housing on the campus.  Portions of Peabody Park was identified as a space for development.  Plans were drawn up.  In 1960, the Moore-Strong Residence Hall was built.  In 1963, the Reynolds Residence Hall and the Grogan Residence Hall were opened.  Upon learning of the construction of residences halls in Peabody Park, a number of former students wrote to Chancellor Otis Singletary in 1965 objecting to the University's building plans.  They insisted that this unique green space be preserved.  Despite these written protests, the University moved forward with its building plans and opened both the Cone Residence Hall and the Phillips-Hawkins Residence Hall in 1967.

The third and final installment of the story of Peabody Park will examine how the Park continued to evolve along with the University’s own growth.  The blog post will consider issues such as the 1990s student protests over planned campus expansion as well as the 2016 announcement for the construction of two wetlands sites within Peabody Park.  Stay Tuned! 

German Instruction at State Normal during World War I, part two

In last week's blog post, we looked at the history of German language instruction at State Normal (now UNCG) as well as the growing anti-German sentiment in Greensboro and across the United States after the U.S. officially entered World War I in April 1917. This week, we will look more closely at how the war impacted a German-born member of the State Normal faculty.

As mentioned last week, Christine Reincken was hired in Fall 1913 to head the German department at State Normal. Reincken was born in Germany but had spent most of her adult life in the United States as a student and instructor. On February 13, 1918, she wrote State Normal President Julius Foust after a German-born faculty member was fired from his teaching position at Greensboro College, asking if she should resign her position. After a face-to-face discussion, Foust persuaded Reincken to stay on campus.

State Normal President Julius Foust
Sadly, no photos of Reincken could be located.

When the Spring semester concluded, Reincken wrote Foust again -- this time with a request. In a letter dated June 1, 1918, she asked that Foust "write a few lines for me, just stating how long I am at the College. I thought it might simplify matters if I had it to show since I as a foreign born will have to register soon." Foust quickly responded and provided her with a statement, which read:

To whom it may interest: I write to say that Miss Christine R. A. Reincken has been teaching German in this College for the past four years. We have found Miss Reincken a most satisfactory member of our faculty in every way, and she has gained and maintained the highest respect and admiration both of our faculty and students. This has been due to the thoroughness of her work, and also to her fine character and wholesome influence.

Reincken also formally offered her resignation for Foust's consideration. Foust presented her resignation to the college's Board of Directors, who, "after a thorough discussion," chose not to accept it. Foust did note, however, in a letter dated June 22, that "it is impossible for us at this time to know what may happen. So far as I am able to judge, there has been no criticism of you or the Board on account of your connection to the College, but ... we can never know what may happen."

Reincken reported back to Foust in a letter dated July 4, 1918, that she had indeed registered in Milwaukee, where she was visiting at the time. She thanked him for his letter of support, adding that, while the information he provided was helpful, she doubted that it would prevent him from having to answer more questions about her employment. Reincken also stated that his "reassuring words" helped her decide to return to the college in the Fall semester. She once again mentions, though, that she "fully understand(s) that conditions may change and demand different decisions at any time."

Eleven days later, on July 15, German troops launched their final offensive of the war with the Second Battle of the Marne. And on July 25, Foust wrote Reincken to let her know that the conditions changed and that he feels it would be best for her not to return to the college in the Fall. Foust stated:

I am not writing this letter to you as an official of the College, but wish it to be considered simply a personal one. I have endeavored to think about this whole matter not simply from the standpoint of the College, but also from the standpoint of what is best for you. I have come to the conclusion that it is doubtless best, if you can make satisfactory arrangements, not to hold any public position during the war ... The suggestion that I have to make, as indicated above not as an official of the College but as one who feels a very cordial friendship for you, is that you withdraw from the College from the present at least ... Your service to the College has always been manifestly satisfactory, and I regret to think of losing it even for a short time, but I believe the suggestion I have made is the best from every standpoint.

Caroline Schoch

At the same time, Foust was in conversation with Caroline Schoch to join the German Department in Reincken's place. Born in northeastern Iowa, Schoch was the granddaughter of self-exiled liberals who had fled the German state during the revolutions of 1848. Unlike Reincken, she was not subject to the registration requirements and other public critiques that came with being German-born.

Understandably, Reincken was upset by this outcome. In a three-page response to Foust dated August 5, she described her feelings of hurt and fear -- but she also noted that she "must accept it at present as an outgrowth of the conditions that develop daily now." But she continued:

I have been over 30 years in this country, have 5 nephews now in the service - one in France, one in Italy, one as officer on a U.S. steamer, 2 soon going over. Yes, I am a German born, stamped an Alien Enemy, and must take the consequences. One cannot forget and lose the deep affection for ones old home, but one would not help them do wrong - on the contrary, help to destroy it ... I have quietly done what I thought right with all the sympathy and feeling and compassion for those who go and for those who sent their loved ones over for the cause. Gladly would I do and give anything to help humanity, where I can and I probably shall find the place. ... I, as an Alien Enemy, must be utterly silent and express no opinion ... But I have felt and acted loyal in every respect for and towards this country, thinking it only right to do so, and I thought you and others there knew. 

Reincken never did return to State Normal. Schoch accepted the position of department head and served as the lone professor in the department until her retirement in 1948. When Schoch passed away in 1961, the memorial statement issued by Woman's College began, "In the fall of 1918, when American patriotism expressed itself oddly but decisively by banning the study of German from high schools, Dr. Foust, president of this college, had sufficient faith in the eventual wisdom and sanity of the College and the people of North Carolina to bring to its faculty Miss Carolina P. B. Schoch, a dynamic teacher of German."

“Ready for Teddy:” Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 Campus Visit

While campaigning for the 1912 presidential election, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a 22-town whistle-stop tour of North Carolina, arriving in Greensboro on April 22nd. Roosevelt’s exuberant and charismatic personality made him a natural campaigner, and he toured the country widely.

The Greensboro stop came only two months after he decided to "throw his hat into the ring" for the 1912 election. Roosevelt served as the 26th President of the United States, from 1901 to 1909, but opted not to run for another term. Instead, he groomed his close friend William Howard Taft to follow him in 1908. Yet after Taft won the presidency, Roosevelt became increasing frustrated by his conservative policies. He decided to challenge the incumbent for the Republican nomination during the 1912 presidential election cycle. Loosing the nomination to Taft, Roosevelt ultimately ran on the Progressive, or “Bull Moose,” Party ticket. His third-party candidacy split the Republican Party, allowing the Democrats to win both the presidency and Congress.

Theodore Roosevelt in Front of the Students' Building with State Normal President Julius Foust

But on this rainy April morning, Roosevelt was still a hopeful presidential candidate. Although his train was not scheduled to reach Greensboro until 2 o’clock, a crowd had begun to gather. As if on cue, when the train arrived at the station the rain stopped and by the time he began to speak, the sun was out. Addressing an audience of over 5,000 men and women, Roosevelt made a brief speech before traveling by car to the State Normal and Industrial College (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro). In anticipation of his visit, 700 students donned their best white dresses and waited patiently in the auditorium of the Students’ Building. On his arrival, “Colonel Roosevelt” was introduced by his campaign manager, John Dixon. Perhaps a bit overwhelmed by his female audience, Roosevelt immediately stated, “I always had very great difficulty in speaking to young ladies.”

Theodore Roosevelt on a Later Whistle-Stop Tour to Greensboro, 1912*

Not surprisingly, he chose to talk about women’s education. Roosevelt praised the college for not only offering a teaching curriculum, but also business classes. Predicting that education would undergo significant changes during the next fifty years, he stressed the value of practical as well as cultural coursework for both young men and women. Typical of his pragmatic nature, Roosevelt believed that the goal was to be more efficient and “more fit to do the actual work of life.” Yet he also emphasized the importance of scholarship. An ardent naturalist, he specifically used the dogwood tree to make his point. Recounting his trip through North Carolina, he described the mountains as being “aflame with dogwood blossoms.” He counseled the students to appreciate nature and when possible, to put this appreciation “vividly and truthfully on paper, in books, and in magazines.” Before he departed, Roosevelt encouraged the young women to take advantage of their great educational opportunities, reminding them, “To you much has been given, and from you much will be expected.”

Students' Building at the State Normal and Industrial College

Roosevelt's choice to visit the State Normal was an interesting one, since his audience was not comprised of voters. It would not be until the 1920 election, following the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1919, that women could actually cast a ballot for a United States president. But on the afternoon of April 22, 1912, Roosevelt captivated his audience with talk of women’s education, the importance of scholarship, and dogwood blossoms.

*Image courtesy of Greensboro Historical Museum

Dr. Albert Keister and the Debate over Evolution

Dr. Albert S. Keister arrived at the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG) in 1924, halfway through completing his PhD in economics at the University of Chicago (a degree he completed in 1927). Upon his hiring, he taught courses in sociology and political science, as the school had no formal economics department. He also taught a number of extension classes around the state of North Carolina. It was in one of those extension classes in 1925 that Keister became embroiled in the debate over evolution that was sweeping the country.

Keister, from the 1945 Pine Needles yearbook

On January 25, 1925 in Charlotte, Keister taught an extension class in sociology. At one point during the class, according to a letter written by Keister in 1963 after being asked about the incident, a student asked Keister "what a belief in evolution did to one who believed in the Bible?" Keister responded that accepting evolution "forced the person to hold that account of creation in the Book of Genesis was not literally true but only the attempt of a people to explain a mystery of life in a pre-scientific age, hence a form of mythology." He also expressed that he "admired a teacher who was brave enough to speak plainly on both sides of the question."

In a January 19, 1925, NCCW vice president Walter Clinton Jackson wrote a report on his understanding of the "incident" for president Julius Foust. In it, he highlights another point of controversy related to Keister's class. In addition to being asked about evolution, Keister was asked his opinion on "the Negro." He elicited further disdain from members of his class by stating that 'he would have considered it an honor to have had Booker Washington dine with his family in his home." This statement is rarely mentioned in contemporary newspaper accounts about Keister.

But there were many editorials and articles written about Keister and his statements on evolution. President Foust received letters from citizens throughout North Carolina, some supporting Keister and others demanding for his immediate dismissal. On February 6, 1925, the Parent-Teachers' Association of Laurinburg (NC) issued a formal petition calling for Keister's firing. They also called for the immediate halt to "teaching that evolutionary hypothesis or any other unproven theory is a settled fact, and especially using such unproven theories as a criterion to establish the correctness or falsity of the truths of the Scripture and thus undermine the faith of our girls, yet too immature to properly think through these matters themselves." The Presbyterian Ministers' Association of Charlotte followed suit on February 16, charging Keister with "having made attack upon foundation principles of the security of our social and moral welfare and highly repugnant to the Anglo-Saxon people that compose this Commonwealth."

The beginning of one of the editorials calling for Keister's firing. This is from
the January 14, 1925, issue of the Charlotte Observer. This editorial was
written by Al Fairbrother of Greensboro. 

The uproar continued and on March 10, Keister broke his silence with an official statement sent to Foust. Keister wrote, "it has come to my attention that various person throughout the state charge me with being an atheist, an infidel, and an unbeliever in the Bible." He asked Foust to "interview any of my students regarding the spirit of my instruction," stating that he leads his students (as well as his own children) "to think what Jesus' way of life points to." He concluded, "if I were an atheist and a destroyer of the faith, is it likely that I would be serving as a teacher for the Men's Bible Class of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant?"

Ultimately, Foust worked behind the scenes to convince the College's Board of Directors that, in spite of the challenges, Keister should remain. In an April 1 letter to Judge J.D. Murphy of Asheville, Foust wrote that he considered Keister "one of the best men fundamentally whom I have ever met." He added, "I know the phrase 'academic freedom' has been much overworked, but the board of directors might discharge almost every member of the faculty and attempt to reorganize the college to meet what some people in the state are demanding ... The only solution to this whole matter from the standpoint of some people is to abolish all colleges and schools in North Carolina and have an educated clergy who would do all the thinking for the people. We can not build at this place a great college based on fear, nor can we grow a great democracy in North Carolina based on timidity." Ultimately, the Board chose simply not to act on the calls for Keister's removal.

For his part, Keister later went on to serve on the Greensboro City Council from 1932 to 1938. During World War II, he served on the National Labor Relations Board. He also was a director of the Gate City Savings and Loan Association and the North Carolina National Band. he served as president of the Southern Economics Association. And, throughout his life, he remained an active member of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, where he headed their Campus Christian Life Committee following his retirement from the Woman's College in 1956. This Committee was responsible for building the Presbyterian Student Center on the WC campus. Keister died in 1974 at the age of 86 after a battle with Parkinson's Disease.

Eduard Lindeman, Julius Foust, and the Ku Klux Klan

On February 16, 1922, President Julius Foust was sent a letter from unidentified members of "Gate City Klan #19" in which they "respectfully refer to your worthy attention on Professor E.C. Lindeman, who is a member of your faculty." Specifically, the Ku Klux Klan members were reporting to Foust that "this party recently gave a social function in his home to negroes in spite of the requests not to do so." The letter continued that "such actions as he has displayed in your institution are not in keeping with our local and southern customs, to say nothing of the fact that a man of such influences is not entirely appropriate in a Christian institution." They asked that Foust immediately fire Lindeman.

Lindeman in 1938,
photo courtesy University of Kentucky Special Collections

Eduard C. Lindeman had been hired by Foust in 1919 as head of the sociology and economics department at the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG). Lindeman was a native of St. Clair, Michigan, a graduate of Michigan State University, and a highly regarded scholar of urban sociology and social research methods. Under his direction, the department supplemented its existing courses on rural social problems with courses on social institutions, social and community organization, and social psychology. He was also very active in national and regional professional organizations, serving as secretary and newsletter editor of the American Country Life Association. He was also considered (although not selected) for the position of state commissioner of public welfare in 1920.

But, Lindeman soon faced issues that would impact his position at NCCW. On May 16, 1921, President Foust was sent an anonymous letter from someone who had attended a talk by Lindeman at West Market Street Methodist Church. The letter writer expressed concern that Lindeman "put his interest in the rising generation almost above everything, even his love for Jesus Christ." The writer argued that "the church as we know it is of little consequence to him [Lindeman]." The letter concludes with an assessment that Lindeman's "teaching may work hard instead of good." Foust forwarded the letter to Lindeman to ask for explanation, and Lindeman responded that the letter was "such an unfair estimate of what I said that I do not care to discuss it without knowing the writer."

Less than a year later, Foust received the letter from the local Klan about his "social function." Lindeman wrote a formal statement of the events of the party to clarify the situation for Foust. His wife learned that their cook was planning a birthday party for 19 people in her one-room quarters in the basement, an area ill-equipped for a party of that size. Mrs. Lindeman suggested that she use one of the back rooms in the main portion of the house for the party. The cook then discussed the party with a friend, a cook in another Greensboro home, on the telephone. Lindeman reported that he did not know "what was said in this telephone conversation, but evidently the cook who received the information seemed to regard it as most unusual that Mrs. Lindeman would allow colored people in the up-stairs portion of the house, and she evidently conveyed this information to other white persons." Before Mr. Lindeman arrived home at 5pm that day, Mrs. Lindeman had already received "several telephone calls, a call in person by two men who claimed to be representatives of a daily paper, et cetera."

Letter to Foust from "Gate City Klan #19," February 16, 1922

The cook actually had fewer guests than expected at her party, and they remained in her quarters in the basement. But the rumors persisted and spread across campus and through Greensboro. A reporter called the Lindeman home. Foust called Lindeman into a meeting. And then the letter was received from the local Klan. By this point, Lindeman noted, the rumor "had reached such proportions that it was being said that Mrs. Lindeman had invited the persons who attended the party, that she had provided the refreshments, that the attendants came to the main portion of the house, that she had been warned not to hold the party, and even that she herself had played bridge with the colored persons present."

The rumors didn't stop, and Lindeman felt that Foust and the college were not publicly supporting him in the matter. On April 4, 1922, Lindeman wrote to Foust that "during the past several weeks, I have been definitely considering the problem of severing my connection with the College." He asked that Foust accept his resignation, effective at the end of the academic year.

Foust forwarded Lindeman's resignation to the Board of Directors for consideration at their next meeting. In an April 21, 1922, letter to Judge J.D. Murphy of Asheville, Foust wrote that "Lindeman is an exceedingly brilliant man, but it lacking in good judgement. He could have been a wonderful asset to the college if he had only exercised a reasonable amount of good common sense." He also noted that he had "heard nothing from the KKK and assume that these parties have dropped the matter. I have of course said nothing except when I was forced to do so."

Yet, Lindeman's resignation sparked local media to question whether or not the Klan was influencing administrative decisions at NCCW. Foust blanched at reporters' suggestions that he was allowing "the Ku Klux Klan to dictate the policy of this college." He did, however, place the blame for the incident solely at the feet of Lindeman. In a letter to C.H. Mebane on May 10, 1922, Foust wrote that, after receiving the letter from the KKK, his "position at the time was to treat the whole incident with silent indifference, because any publicity given it is really advertising the Klan." He noted, "I thought everything would pass off quietly, but Lindeman simply cannot refrain from talking."

On May 31, 1922, the Board of Directors issued a statement noting that Lindeman's resignation "was done voluntarily." They also stated "emphatically" that the Ku Klux Klan "had absolutely nothing to do with Professor Lindeman's resignation or its acceptance." The Board reiterated its support of "the position of President Foust, who has repeatedly stated publicly and privately that the authorities of the college had not been and will not be influenced in any manner by the Klan or any such organization."

After leaving NCCW, Lindeman continued his work, first serving as a freelance reporter and then, in 1924, becoming professor of social philosophy at the New York School of Social Work. Lindeman continued his work in areas of adult education, community organization, group work, and labor management problems. He even earned the attention of the McCarthy committee for his "Democratic Christian Socialist social philosophy." He remained at the New York School of Social Work until his retirement in 1950. He died three years later, on April 13, 1953. Reportedly, on his last day alive, he said, "This is a beautiful country. Don’t let McCarthy spoil it."