From Falderal to Homecoming: Celebrating UNCG During Autumn

Today's post was written by senior Rachel Sanders, a student employee in Special Collections and University Archives who has previously written posts about the freshman experience and Pearl Eugenia Wyche (class of 1903). 

1979 Pine Needles

Over the course of UNCG’s history, there have been numerous changes to campus traditions and activities. One of the best examples of traditions that survived these changes is Homecoming. In the late 1960s, a tradition called “Falderal” -- sometimes called “the Fall Charlies” -- was started on campus. These events were much like Homecoming today; special guests, sporting events, and free food were plentiful.

The earliest materials that were saved from Falderal celebrations are from 1972, but the best-recorded Falderal celebration was in 1979. The first (and seemingly the only) Falderal mention in the Pine Needles yearbooks is in the 1979 volume – the same year that Chancellor William Ferguson resigned. During that year, the Student Government raised money so that students could have beer to drink at Falderal because there was a specific mention in North Carolina state law saying that student fees could not be used for the purchase of alcohol – a law which is still in effect today (Section II Class 1). In 1979, the celebrations included Tom Chapin, the Bee Gees, the Fat Jack Band, the Doobie Brothers, and several movies for public viewing. In that year, the students who were part of the special events committee baked a 500-pound cake to share with everyone else.

1979 Pine Needles

The transition from Falderal to what we now know as Homecoming seems to have taken place around 1982, though there were alumnae “homecomings” in 1942 and 1978 (some documents claim that the first homecoming was in 1951, but we know that this isn’t true based on mailing records). The 1982 celebration included many of the same elements as Falderal, but the events were on a larger scale with some added elements – concerts (including Rick James!), movies, lectures, presentations, a parade, a soccer game versus Erskine College, fireworks, an art show, and a Founder’s Day dinner. In 1982, the first homecoming queen was crowned – Elizabeth Ford ’83, escorted by Joey Katzenstein. The next year, the first African-American queen was crowned – Cynthia Moore. Since 1982, Homecoming has been held on UNCG’s campus each year at approximately the same time – October. In 1990, a 5K race was added to the celebrations, attracting even more people, not only from UNCG’s campus, but others from the Greensboro community.

Learn more about this year's Homecoming festivities at: http://homecoming.uncg.edu. Enjoy Homecoming, and keep the Spartan Spirit alive!

The Sad Story of the Bailey Sisters

Sarah Bailey

In the fall of 1899, a typhoid epidemic swept the campus.  One of the most tragic stories to emerge from the epidemic was that of Sarah and Evelyn Bailey. The girls were the only children of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bailey of Mocksville, North Carolina. Thomas Bailey, an attorney, banker, and philanthropist sent his daughters to the State Normal and Industrial College (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) for their education. The sisters were very close and were constantly together. Both girls were exemplary students and were members of campus literary societies and religious groups. Sarah was the eldest and was described as a fine girl, one of the brightest in her class. Classmates found younger sister Evelyn quieter and dependent on her older sister. In her application letter to the school, Evelyn requested only that she room with Sarah.






Evelyn Bailey

In early November of 1899, over one hundred students living in the two campus dormitories fell ill; Sarah and Evelyn were among them. Soon after, the school mourned the death of Linda Toms, a student from Shelby. Campus physician, Dr. Anna Gove, reported the cause of death as typhoid. At least forty-eight cases of typhoid would eventually be diagnosed at the school. Sarah’s condition quickly deteriorated and she died on November 29. Thomas Bailey took Sarah back to Mocksville for burial on Thanksgiving Day. The Baileys were careful not to tell Evelyn of her sister’s death as they feared it would impede her recovery. Sadly, five days before Christmas, Evelyn also succumbed to the disease. In the end, thirteen students and one dormitory matron were dead. It was eventually discovered that the epidemic was the result of drinking well water contaminated by a defective sewer line that ran under the Brick Dormitory, the location of the college’s early dining hall.


Mr. Bailey remained loyal to the school after the death of his daughters, even agreeing to be on the Board of Directors. He created a scholarship in their names and when the Students’ Building an was constructed on campus in 1902, he was one of the major contributors. Bailey donated the funds for a beautiful memorial room which had large stained glass windows that faced College Avenue. He also commissioned portraits of his daughters to hang in the memorial room. It is generally believed that William George Randall, a North Carolina artist who had created portraits of the school founders, painted the oval portraits of Sarah and Evelyn, probably from photographs. These portraits are now part of the University Archives collection.
 

Bailey Memorial Room

Spartan Pets: Faculty and their Dogs in UNCG History

Mary Channing Coleman and Bonnie

In an oral history interview conducted in 2006, Celeste Ulrich (Woman's College class of 1946 and professor in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation from 1956-1979) discussed her life-long love of dogs and her extensive time spent training animals. She noted that, when she arrived at Woman's College as a student in the Fall of 1942, she felt at home because so many of the faculty members had dogs.

For Ulrich and many other students at WC, these faculty pets served as a conversation starter or a way for students to move past shyness or intimidation. As Ulrich stated, "students that were frightened of teachers and so on would come in and pet the dogs, and pretty soon they'd be talking to the teachers about what their real problems were."

Katherine Taylor and Suki

Faculty dogs appear quite frequently in stories of campus history. Mary Channing Coleman, who led the physical education program from 1921 until her death in 1947, was well known among the student body for being a challenging and intimidating instructor. But she was equally well known for her fox terrier, Bonnie. Bonnie traveled with Coleman around campus and even to class. In Ulrich's word, Bonnie "was just as equally ferocious as Miss Coleman."

Katherine Taylor, a 1928 graduate and Dean of Students from 1948 until her retirement in 1972, was also known around campus for her dogs. One of Taylor's pets, a one-eyed basset hound named Suki, made an unexpected appearance in the 1967 Pine Needles (the campus yearbook). According to John Robinson, who served as the photography editor that year, he needed a photograph of Taylor for the yearbook, but he was on a tight deadline. He managed to catch her on campus as she was taking Suki for a walk. Robinson felt bad about taking a photo of Taylor when she was unprepared and "she didn't even have a chance to brush out her hair." But, after the yearbook was published, Taylor thanked him for the picture, saying it was one of her favorites because it captured Suki's "good side."

Faculty dog show (Bardolph, Taylor, and Griffin)

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a faculty dog show was held as part of the Purse Drive, a campus-wide fundraising activity led by the WC's Service League. In 1958, the dog show, held in the Elliott Hall ballroom, concluded the week-long charity effort. In 1962, the Pine Needles featured a photograph of Taylor along with professors Richard Bardolph (History and Political Science department) and Ellen Griffin (Physical Education department) at the dog show. Suki can be seen hiding in the background.

A short history of the Printing Press at Jackson Library

If you have ever ventured to the second floor of Jackson Library’s main building, you might have noticed an antique printing press sitting in the corner near the stairs.  The press is a A.B. Taylor Company Printing Press No. 2 and was built between 1854-1855. This history of how the library acquired such a unique historical artifact began in March 1960 when Mrs. Martha Hodges, wife of NC Governor Luther H. Hodges and head of the Friends of the Library at Woman’s College (now known as UNCG) received a letter from E.A. Resech, editor of The Chatham News. Resech, who is the executor and trustee of the late Miss Beatrice Cobb, wanted to offer the printing press as a gift to the Woman’s College.  Mrs. Hodges forwarded the letter to library director, Mr. Charles Adams, who eagerly accepted the printing press on behalf of the library.

Prior to arriving at the library, the printing press resided in Lenoir, North Carolina, where it was used to publish the Lenoir Tropic newspaper in the 1880s.  According to legend, the press was purchased from Greeneville, Tennessee where it was believed former 17^th president Andrew Johnson used it as part of a printing business. In 1890, the press was purchased by Mr. W.C. Ervin, the father of Miss Cobb and the founder of the Morganton Herald, and moved to West Virginia. 

Unfortunately, when the press arrived at Jackson Library, it was not in working condition and was missing several important pieces, including a toggle joint, a tympan, and a friket. In a desperate desire to have a working printing press, Adams and assistant library director Stan Hicks began a decade-long search for the missing pieces.  After numerous letters and years of unsuccessful searching, Hicks finally had a breakthrough in 1975 when he discovered another No. 2 Taylor press in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.  After photographing and making sketches of the press, machinists in Greensboro were able to reproduce the missing toggle joint and craft the other missing pieces.  In May 1975, the printing press was once again in full working order.

It was also discovered in 1974 in correspondence with Hugh Lawing, a historian at the Andrew Johnson National Historical Site, that the press did not belong to Andrew Johnson.  Instead, the press more likely belong to Andrew Johnson, Jr. the son of President Andrew Johnson.  It was well known that he and Thomas Maloney, grandson-in-law of President Johnson, published the Greeneville Intelligencer, a weekly newspaper in the mid-1870s. The press is currently still in use today at Jackson Library and has been used most recently to create special printings for various library events.

The Freshman Experience

Today's post was written by Rachel Sanders, a senior history major who works in the Special Collections and University Archives.  Rachel is also chair of the Student Libraries' Advisory Council and works with the Libraries' Digital Projects on the grant "Preserving Local History: A Field-Based Digitization Pilot Project."
 
Being a freshman in college is not an easy thing – and it never has been! Here in the UNCG University Archives, we have information about how freshmen were welcomed and oriented to campus dating back as early as 1896. Back then, things were quite different from today in a lot of ways – including how freshmen were treated.

Student life in the 1890s

In 1896, the welcome program was spread out over three consecutive days at the beginning of October. The “Organization Exercises,” as they were then called, were used to test students’ abilities in English, Arithmetic, Languages, and Drawing. Other subjects tested included Botany, Geography, and Physiology. The same was true for the 1897 program. It’s clear from reading documents from this era that the girls who attended the college were not given much independence or choice at all with regard to their education and orientation. The events all appear to be quite structured and uniform - everyone was together at all times during these sessions.

1918 College Night Reception program

Around 1918, things started to change. During that year’s orientation, there was a college night reception in which the student body president and the campus Y.W.C.A. president spoke and the girls sang the college song. There were also presentations by each class (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior) and presentations by each literary society on campus (Dikean, Cornelian, and Adelphian). Groups like the Athletic Association, the Dramatic Club, and the Farmerettes came to the reception to promote their groups and to demonstrate the skills that girls could hope to improve if they joined those groups. On this night there was also a presentation by the College Magazine and the local Red Cross chapter.

By 1929, things were more personal and the girls were trusted with more responsibilities – supervision and structure were relaxed a little, and the 1929 freshman program had stretched out to a weeklong event. As the campus grew, girls in orientation sessions were split into many different groups and given tours of the library, the infirmary, and other campus buildings. They also had group pictures taken – many of which can be seen in the photograph collections here at University Archives. Throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, this format for welcoming students was retained, and eventually these orientations began to include auditions for ensembles and groups around campus.

Student reception, ca. 1950s

Since the mid-twentieth century, things have gone through even more radical changes. In 1989, the Office of Academic Advising and Support Services published a “Freshman Survival Guide” to help new students find all of the new resources that were available on campus – this guide also gave students information about what those offices could do for the students (now men and women were on campus). Today things are similar, but with a modern twist. As the student population at UNCG has increased, so have initiatives to welcome and acquaint students with the massive amounts of programs and resources available to them. Now we have an entire program in the summer called SOAR (Spartan Orientation, Advising, and Registration), and a program known as “Your First Year,” which welcomes new students to campus with tours, parties, exhibitions, and other special events. You can find more information about this program here: http://yourfirstyear.uncg.edu/.

Food Service Workers' Strike of 1969

Cafeteria food service on campus was first introduced in the 1950s, but dissatisfaction soon mounted as growing enrollments brought longer lines and complaints about the choices and quality of the food offered. In 1964, the Carolinian student newspaper ran a comparative analysis of the food services offered at UNCG, Chapel Hill, and N.C. State, finding the other two institutions’ services superior to those on the Greensboro campus. In response to this criticism, the university gave up its own food service that summer and, for the first time, contracted with a national campus food service, ARA-Slater (now Aramark).

This relationship between UNCG and ARA-Slater would last for forty-five years (until 2009), but not without controversy. The first strike against ARA-Slater occurred in December 1964, when black full-time employees objected to a proposed pay cut, even though they were already being paid only ten cents an hour more than primarily white part-time student employees.

Scene from the picket lines of the ARA Strike, 1969

By 1969, tensions had increased. Following strikes at UNC-Chapel Hill and at North Carolina A&T, ARA-Slater employees at UNCG - including some who were students at A&T - went out on strike on March 26. The issues included the hourly wage, lack of overtime pay, sick and holiday pay, performance reviews, and dismissal procedures. A flyer noted that the "demands must be met as soon as possible but no later than immediately." While not overtly related to race, the workers' grievances underscored the differences in opportunities and expectation afforded to the university's primarily white students and the primarily black staff that served them. As Chancellor Ferguson would later recall, "Initially, the strike was not a black and white issue, but in time an element of race conflict was involved because most of the workers were black."

Following the walkout, the SGA voted to support the striking workers and to call for a boycott of the cafeteria. In a controversial move, SGA also voted to use student funds to hire an attorney to represent the striking workers. On the night of March 31, a crowd of approximately 1200 students, including activists from A&T, demanded that Chancellor Ferguson answer their demands. Ferguson agreed to address the campus the next day, at which time he stated that he must remain neutral. Behind the scenes, however, Ferguson was involved in the negotiations between ARA-Slater and well-respected black attorney Henry Frye. In the end, ARA-Slater offered the striking workers even more than they had requested, and the strike ended April 2. Despite calls for competitive bidding, ARA-Slater's contract was renewed for the following year.

School Spirit at UNCG: Banners and Pennants

Class of 1951

Banners and pennants have been a part of college life since the early twentieth century, but they have a long and remarkable history. The word “banner” originates with the Latin word “bandum,” meaning a cloth used to make flags.  Throughout history, banners accompanied official proclamations or edicts. They were decorated with heraldry and were commonly used in battle as rallying points and as a way to identify units of soldiers. Early square or rectangular banners led formal processions and could also be seen as decorative additions to churches or castles.

On the UNCG campus, banners were created by each class, displaying the graduating year or the class motto. The early mottos were in Latin. Each banner reflected the class color, alternating between red, green, blue, and lavender. Often, the banners had embellishments such as gold roping, tassels, and trim.  During reunion weekends, class banners were used as gathering points and for the alumnae parades. 

Pennants had a nautical beginning. They began as long, tapering, triangular flags, used on ships for identification or to signal other vessels. The triangular pennant shape was used in recent years to recognize sports teams, especially professional baseball teams. The pennants’ association with college sports made it a common sight in college dormitory rooms and soon college’s themselves were represented, usually incorporating school colors.

UNCG has a long and rich history of class pennants. Students used large pennants, sporting their class graduation year and decorated with their class colors, to represent themselves at gatherings and sporting events. Smaller versions, using school colors and the current school name, decorated dormitories and can still be purchased in the campus bookstore. The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives has a large collection of banners and pennants, the earliest created during the turn of the 19th century. Please browse the banners and pennants in the University Archive’s textile collection.