Ringing "Glad Tidings": A History of the University Bell

On October 5, 1892, when the doors of the State Normal and Industrial School officially opened for instruction, the women enrolled were called to classes by the chiming of the University Bell. Originally, the bell stood near the location of the current Alumni House. It was used wake students in the morning, call them to breakfast and other meals, and alert them to the start of the school day. Ezekiel Robinson was typically the person tasked with ringing the bell during the earliest years of the school.

Ezekiel Robinson with the campus bell, 1910

Standing near the site of the current Alumni House, the bell also was used in cases of emergencies or special announcements. In 1897 when the State Normal students learned that the school was receiving increased appropriations from the state legislature (twice the amount received the previous year!), "a hundred or more young ladies started for the Normal bell to ring out the glad tidings." Students kept the bell ringing for nearly half an hour.

When the Brick Dormitory caught fire in the middle of the night in 1904, the bell rang to wake sleeping students and get them to safety. Josephine Scott, a student from Alamance County, ran to ring the bell and hasten the evacuation. After ringing the bell a few times, the rope used broke. According to a classmates' recollection, Scott then climbed the wooden frame of the bell tower to ring the bell with her hands until all of the students had safely left the building.

After the destruction of Brick Dormitory and the construction of Spencer, the bell was moved to a site closer to the new residence hall (across College Avenue from where Jackson Library sits today). When electric bells were installed in the campus buildings, the use of the bell on a daily basis was discontinued. But students still used it as a meeting place for groups and celebrations. On student government election nights, the winning group would meet at the bell to begin their festivities. 

Then, on a Saturday night in January 1938, the bell was taken down and tucked away in a storage room on campus. There it sat until members of the Class of 1923 decided it needed a more prominent location and a more prominent role in ongoing campus life and traditions.

The bell hanging in Students Anniversary Plaza, 1968

When the Class of 1923 held their 30th reunion in 1953, the class president implored that something be done to preserve "a certain bell dear to the memory of the alumnae." Small paper bells were distributed at the class luncheon, and alumnae were encouraged to contribute funds to the "bell fund." Shortly after that reunion, the bell was removed from storage and placed in a more prominent location at the college entrance from Spring Garden Street.  One small change was made to the bell, however. The clapper was removed because administrators "felt that placing the bell intact, so close to Curry School [the teaching school on campus], might be too great a temptation to the Curry children."

In 1967, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the university's opening, the student body of 1967 donated $15,000 to build Students’ Anniversary Plaza at the corner of Spring Garden and College Avenue (the site of founding president Charles Duncan McIver's home). A brick "modernistic arch" was designed by Charles Bell, superintendent of ground at UNCG. The bell was bronzed and mounted under the arch in 1968.

The bell remained in that location until 1987 when it was removed for restoration. It is currently stored in the Alumni House, but the bell is brought out for every commencement. At the end of the ceremony, the bell is rung to honor the new graduates. As it first rang to welcome students to the new State Normal and Industrial School, it now rings to honor our newest alumni.

The Tradition of the Daisy Chain: A Link to the Past

Daisy Chain, 1901

The tradition of the Daisy Chain is not unique to the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG), although it was one of the campus’ earliest customs. Other American women’s colleges, such as Vassar, had decorated their halls with daisy chains for their graduation festivities, and State Normal followed suit. The college created its first Daisy Chain in 1900, when the students fashioned two fifty foot long ropes of daisies procured from fields located outside of town. Several early years saw the shortage of daisies and students were obliged to replace the flowers with ivy and other greenery. Soon the college began to contract local farmers to grow daisies for the purpose of making the chains.

Daisy Chain, 1946

In addition to being a festive accessory to the graduation ceremonies, the Daisy Chain represented a sister class project between the sophomores and the seniors. The sophomore class was responsible for gathering the flowers and crafting the Chain, which was used for the Class Day exercises and again the next morning during the graduation ceremony. The seniors were honored by walking between the floral ropes. The Daisy Chain ceased during the late 1960s after the university became co-educational, along with other traditions such as sister classes, class jackets, the Junior Show, and Rat Day.

Gathering Daisies for the Daisy Chain, 1965

Dorothy "Dot" Casey (class of 1948): Champion for Women's Athletics

For much of her time at the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina, Dudley, NC native Dorothy "Dot" Casey spent her time involved in athletics, both in the classroom and in club sports (she was involved in more than a dozen club sports in her Junior and Senior years). Casey graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education.

Her love of athletics and physical education led her next to UNC Chapel Hill where she worked as a graduate assistant while completing her Master’s degree. Even before she received that degree in 1951, she joined the faculty of the Physical Education Department at Wake Forest University.

Casey participated in many club sports at WCUNC

When Casey arrived at Wake Forest in 1949, women’s athletics were strictly intramural only. Part of her job was to encourage the female students to play sports. In the late 60s, Casey organized and coached a tennis team. In 1970, fellow Physical Education faculty member Marge Crisp asked WFU President James R. Scales for a budget for women’s athletics. He gave her $500. During this pre-Title IX era, female students and coaches often had to provide everything for themselves or make do with what little they had. Female student athletes were responsible for their own transportation, food, and often, uniforms and equipment. Important organizations for female athletes like the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in which Casey served, helped to bring women’s sports up to par with their male counterparts.

Dot Casey with Dr. Jack Sawyer, 1988

While Title IX, passed in 1972, required equal opportunities for both sexes at all institutions receiving any federal funds, it took many years to implement fully. Still, at institutions like Wake Forest University where Casey became Director of Women’s Athletics in 1974, the passage of the law meant that women’s athletics would be rapidly expanding. The change from intramural sports to intercollegiate competition had arrived. Casey was a large part of that transition as she headed the women’s athletics program at WFU for 14 years, ending with her retirement in 1988.

Casey served in various capacities as teacher, coach, and Director of Women’s Athletics over her distinguished career of 39 years at Wake Forest University.  Casey won an Honor Award from the North Carolina Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance in 1984. In 1993, she was one of the first two women inducted into the Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame. Dorothy “Dot” Casey passed away July 16, 2013, having devoted a majority of her 87 years of life to the cause of Women’s Athletics.

Early Campus Entertainments (1892 – 1935)

Actress Sarah Bernhardt

When the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) opened in 1892, the young female students’ lives were very restricted. They were not allowed to travel off campus without special permission and they had limited access to visitors. It was therefore particularly important for the school administrators to provide interesting and informative lectures and entertaining performances for the students to enjoy. A variety of entertainments were scheduled, including a Shakespearean actor, a visiting professor who spoke about foreign travels and the Chicago’s World Fair, and a five year old prodigy who sang and told amusing stories. These types of performances proved so popular that in 1895, State Normal joined with the Greensboro Female Academy (now Greensboro College) and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) to offer a Combination Entertainment Course. For one dollar, attendees could see eight lectures and recitals. These programs continued for decades, with gradually increasing fees – a portion of the receivables going to the guests. Special excursions were planned when someone exceptional was performing in Greensboro. Most notable was the internationally famous actress Sarah Bernhardt, who appeared at the Municipal Theater in 1917.

Botanist and Inventor George Washington Carver

As the years passed, actors, musicians, and lecturers continued to perform on campus. Before Aycock Auditorium was built in 1927, the more popular performances took place in local churches, which provided more space than the college’s lecture halls. An amazing variety of lecturers appeared at the college, during this time, including the famous evangelist Billy Sunday who spoke on education; the first female state Supreme Court Judge, Florence E. Allen; the esteemed attorney Clarence Darrow who discussed crime prevention; and the respected botanist and inventor George Washington Carver. Prominent authors were also represented. Alfred Noyes, Hugh Walpole, and Carl Sandburg were just a few who impressed the students with recitations of their works.  Symphonies, operas, and dance troops also visited the campus, inspiring students to follow their lead. The tradition of bringing talented performers and interesting speakers to the campus continues today.

Lynne Agee: UNCG Women's Basketball Head Coach (1981-2011)

Six Hundred and Two. That’s the number of wins UNCG Women’s Basketball Head Coach Lynne Agee accumulated over her 33 years as a collegiate head coach. As of April 2015, she ranked 54th in all-time wins across all women's basketball coaches (NCAA, AIAW, and NAIA levels).

Agee found success in her very first coaching job at William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Va -- her alma mater. In seven years, her team’s record was 94-16 -- good enough for seven league titles, four district championships, and one regional title.

In 1978, Agee began her collegiate career at Roanoke College, accepting the head coaching position for the women’s basketball program. In three years at Roanoke, the team achieved a 46-23 record that included an outstanding effort in the 1980-81 season. The Lady Maroons went 21-6, won the Virginia Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Division III state title and qualified for the AIAW national playoffs.

In 1981, Agee arrived at UNCG and had an amazing first season. The team finished with a 25-3 record and a trip to the inaugural NCAA Division III tournament, finishing as runners-up to Elizabethtown in a close 67-66 overtime loss.

The 1986-87 season brought a 27-3 record, which included a historic 24 game winning streak. A 27-6 record in the following season ended with UNCG finishing third in the national tournament.

UNCG next moved up to Division II for three years. Under Agee’s leadership, UNCG achieved a 55-24 record and was ranked nationally each year.

Agee found success at every level. In her first year at Division I (1991-92), UNCG’s record was 21-6. She was named Big South Conference Co-Coach of the Year for the 1992-93 season. Under Agee’s coaching, the Spartans were dominant in the Big South Conference for 5 years, boasting an impressive 70-12 conference record.

In 1997-98, UNCG earned its first appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament after achieving a 21-9 record and winning the Southern Conference tournament championship.

Agee’s accomplishments are many. She was the first women’s basketball coach to lead a team to the NCAA tournament in all three divisions. She led UNCG to nine NCAA berths and one WNIT appearance. UNCG won 13 regular season conference titles, seven league tournament titles, and won 20 games or more in 16 of Agee’s 30 seasons. She won Southern Conference Coach of the year two times, in 1998-99 and 2001-02. She coached six All-Americans while at UNCG. She was the first active coach to be enshrined in UNCG’s Athletics Hall of Fame (2004) and was inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Agee retired in 2011. Her 602 collegiate wins made her, at that time, just the 21st NCAA Division I coach to reach the 600-win plateau. UNCG also named the court in Fleming Gymnasium in Agee's honor in 2011.

In announcing her retirement, Agee stated, "I never intended to stay 30 years. I honestly thought that I would try to move on up the ladder and applied at several places and interviewed at several places. But then we hit the point where the university decided to elevate our program. When it started, I was presented with incredible opportunities and challenges as a basketball coach to take my program from Division III immediately into Division II and that scholarship structure, and then within three years, we took our program into a Division I level. So that challenge to do that and to try and be successful in that scenario in a five-year period was just a challenge I couldn't refuse. I decided to stay and commit to it because I could create my own personal Division I program, with my name on it. I was not going somewhere else and taking over someone else's program. That was really special to me. To be able to do that successfully was just incredible."

Constance Han-Jun Lam (Class of 1933): Humanitarian and Heroine

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, our Spartan Stories this month feature alumni from the Woman's College, North Carolina College for Women, or State Normal eras. 

Constance Lam

Against the increasingly violent backdrop of war-torn China, Constance Lam became a humanitarian and a heroine.

A native of Canton, China, Lam’s goal was to gain the education and practical experience in social work to successfully return to her homeland and improve conditions for her people. After attending high school in New York, Lam entered the Woman's College of North Carolina, now UNCG, and majored in sociology. She was a member of the Young Voter's Club, the Physics Club, and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Lam was an excellent student and was described by her professors as intelligent, poised, and determined, with a great deal of personality and energy.

In 1933, as a senior at Woman's College, Lam was awarded the prestigious Elizabeth Lowe Gamble scholarship from The New York School of Social Work. While she studied in New York, she also worked with the local Chinese population. In 1936, she returned to China and planned to pursue medical studies in Peking. The war with Japan broke out in 1937 and interrupted these plans. She instead traveled to Hong Kong where she began her work with the hundreds of thousands of refugees flooding into the already overpopulated city.

It was at this time that she began working closely with Dr. Percy Selwyn-Clarke, the Director of the Division of Medical Services in Hong Kong. She greatly admired his humanitarian work and it is evident that he thought highly of her, even encouraging her to pursue creative writing. Lam quickly became the director of a refugee camp housing over 2000 Chinese girls. She also served in various capacities in the Foreign Auxiliary of the Chinese Red Cross, the Chinese Defense League, and the Eugenics League.

During this time, Lam kept up with several friends and faculty members that she had known at Woman's College, especially French professor Jessie Laird who sent her money as well as reading material, which was expensive and hard to obtain. She particularly requested Lin Yutang's Moment in Peking and Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. She realized that she was living in very historically significant times and prayed for the defeat of Hitler. Lam wrote in a letter to Laird, "I somehow feel that I shall not live long, so I must return to society some of her gifts."

In 1939, Lam became seriously ill due to poor working conditions and exhaustion. Although her health improved, she never regained her full strength. She attributed her recovery to Selwyn-Clarke and was forever grateful to him. When a relapse occurred several years later, she moved in with the doctor and his wife, Hilda. In 1943, Selwyn-Clarke was arrested by the Japanese who believed that he was a British spy. He was imprisoned in horrible conditions and at one point sentenced to death. Lam smuggled food, soap, notes, and other items to her friend. She was even detained and questioned about her association with Selwyn-Clarke.

She cabled friends in September of 1945 with news regarding the mass exodus from the city. Lam reported that she was safe, but that her sister Rose had been killed in an air raid and that her father had died. She was concerned that she would not survive the war and her premonition was almost realized -- she died in Queen Mary's Hospital in Hong Kong on November 30, 1945. It was apparent that Lam was held in very high regard amongst the people of Hong Kong, as her health status was reported in the daily newspaper and her funeral was attended by both Chinese and British officials.

At her death, Professor Jessie Laird donated funds to the Woman's College library to acquire beautifully illustrated books on China, in memory of her friend.

Physician, Professor, and Medical Missionary Annie V. Scott (class of 1914)

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, our Spartan Stories this month feature alumni from the Woman's College, North Carolina College for Women, or State Normal eras. 
 
Greensboro native Annie Vellna Scott arrived at State Normal and Industrial College in Fall 1910 at the age of 21. She was an active student at the State Normal and Industrial College as well as an early entrepreneur. She served on the board of directors of State Normal Magazine as a representative from the Adelphian Literary Society. She also held a leadership position with the campus YWCA group and was a member of the Student Volunteer Board. And, in a display of her ingenuity, she paid her expenses at the State Normal and Industrial College by selling subscriptions to Current Opinion magazine.

Annie V. Scott, 1914 Pine Needles yearbook

In addition to her service and work on campus, Scott was known for her keen intellect and interest in current events. Her entry in the 1914 Pine Needles yearbook described her as“a ready authority upon scientific investigation and present day topics, for she is a thorough student of all the sciences our curriculum affords.”

After graduating with a bachelor of science degree from State Normal in 1914, she attended the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (now part of Drexel University College of Medicine). She received her medical degree in 1918 and was one of only two women to receive licenses that year from the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners.

Scott served for two years as an intern at Lying-in Hospital and at Bellevue Hospital before she sailed for China in 1920. She worked mostly in North China, principally at Shantung Christian University's Cheeloo Hospital as a professor and chief of pediatrics. Her work included everything from teaching medical school students to operating a private clinic to serving as school physician for three primary schools. She also published a book on pediatric medicine in China as well as numerous journal articles. 

Her service in China was not continuous, however. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, going to war against the United States, Dr. Scott and other Americans in the area were repatriated. She was an instructor in pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Medical School until 1946, when she returned to China. Dr. Scott left China for the last time in 1951, when Chinese Communists forces intervened against the United States in Korea. For four years, she returned to Columbia University, serving as a visiting professor of pediatrics.

In 1954, she became clinical professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina. In this role, her research primarily focused on the detection and prevention of tuberculosis in children. She retired in 1964, and moved to High Point.

Scott receiving her honorary doctorate from UNCG in 1967

Scott received numerous awards for her medical work and service. In 1959, she earned the Alumnae Achievement Award from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. The North Carolina Public Health Association awarded her a merit citation in 1965 for "her long years of dedicated and unselfish service as pediatrician, clinician, teacher, educator and her many achievements with broad public health application" In 1967 at its annual Founders Day ceremony, UNCG presented Scott with an honorary doctor of science degree. Her "outstanding Christian medical service" in China earned her a special citation from the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, USA.

On February 1, 1975, Scott passed away and was buried at Alamance Presbyterian Church cemetery in Greensboro. Her tombstone includes a special inscription: "served 30 years in China in medical missions."