Record of the Hampden-Sydney Alumni Association

58 Pages·2000·4.6 MB·English

by  Hampden-Sydney College

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^2^
^>^-
An alumnm's ividoiv honors herhusband'salma mater
A
Measure
ofAppreciation
SOMETIMESANALUMNUS CAN BELIEVE "Billie"Smith, meanwhile, hadbecome apioneerin
sowholeheartedlyin an institution thataspouse afielddeniedtowomen tormanyyears; in 1957Mrs.
becomesconvincedofitsvalueaswell.TheReverend Smithwasonlythesixthwoman tobe ordainedaminis-
WilminaSmith, widowofH.MaxcySmith,Jr. '29, teroftheUnitedPresbyterianChurch,servingasasso-
wassuchaconvert.Atherdeath, Hampden-Sydney ciatepastoroftheIndianHillEpiscopal-Presbyterian
The^ftshechose Collegebecametherecipientofa$76,000 undesignated ChurchinCincinnati,and wasthefirstwomanguest
Hamp-
toleaveto bequestthatwillbeusedtohirtherthemissionofthe chaplaintooffertheconveningprayerataU.S. Senate
den-Sydneywasa Collegeto"educategood men andgoodcitizensinan session,onJuly8, 1971. A Jitagnacumlaiide^izA\xzx.to{
"measureof atmosphereotsound learning.' WilsonCollegeinChambersbutg, Pennsylvania,she
appreciationfor H. Maxc}'SmithandWilmina"Billie" R. Smith receivedaMaster's degreetromYaleUniversit)'anda
firstbecameacquainted inChina,whereMr. Smith Master'sofDivinit}-degreetrom UnionTheological
thepreparation
wenttoworkaftergraduatingin 1929, andwhereshe SeminaryinNewYorkCvy. Shewas, asaniece
Mr. Smithreceived
" hadgonein 1930 toteachschooltomissionary'chil- describedher, "awomanaheadothertime." Herminis-
inhisyearsthere
dren. Mr. Smith,whohadbeenborninChinaand trytookherto47countries, fivecontinents,andthe
spokeChinesefluently(Shanghaidialect),wenttowork WestIndies, inadditiontoherservicein48statesand
there in the30sforAmericancompanies;laterhewould Canada. From 1945 to 1947shewasassociategeneral
help thosesamecompaniesextricateasmuchaspossible secretar)'ofWorldSmdentReliefinGeneva, Swiner-
oftheirassetsandemplo\'eesaftertheCommunisttake- land, and in 1964wasavolunteermemberotthe Delta
over. Mr. Smith leftChina in 1952.Afterthathe MinistPi', an undertakingfortheachievementotcivil
workedabroadtorcompaniesinSingapore, Malaysia, rights in Mississippi. Mrs. Smithwastheauthorot When
Thailand, and BuenosAires,Argentina. Mr. Smidiand WePrayand Tnrmin theRoad, anautobiography.
hisfirstwile relocated toSt. Petersburgin 1966. AfterMaxcySmith'sfirstwitediedin 1972, hegotin
touchwith "Billie" Smith,whohadnevermarried.After
along-distancecourtship between PhiladelphiaandSt.
Petetsburg,theyweremarried in 1973. TheymadeSt.
Petersburgtheirhome. Hediedin 1985.
Mrs. SmithdiedonJune5, 1999. Shechosetoleave
asignificantgiftto Hampden-SydneyCollege,asa
"measureotappreciation torthepreparation
Wilminii "Billie"Smithand
H. MaxcySmith.Jr. '29. Mr. Smith received in hisyears there."
It isalsoa tributetoaHampden-Sydney
gentlemanandto thebeliefintheenduring
valueofastron"liberalartseducation.
I ,
ForinformationabouthelpingHampden-
Sydneythroughplannedgiving, contact
BarbaraHenleyat(800)865-J776.
\ii,-.^KC
™fRecordof
HAMPDEN-
HAMPDEN-SYDNEYCOLLEGE SYDNEY
[phone] KCVCX'.HSC.EDU
WilliamC. Boinest'54, Chairmanofthe
BoardofTrustees
SamuelV. Wilson, President
[phone],[email protected]
C.BeelerBrush, Vice-Presidentfor VOLUME75, NO. 2 WINTER2000
Development
(804) 223-613^,beelerb(£''hsc.cdu
LewisH. Drew'60, DeanofStudents
[phone], [email protected]
RichardP. EppersonII'79, Directorof
Development
[phone],[email protected]
AnitaH.Garland, DeanofAdmissiom
[phone],[email protected]
C.Norman Krueger, Vice-Presidentfor
&
BusinessAffairs Treasurer
[phone],[email protected]
LawrenceH.Manin, DeanoftheFaculty
[phone],[email protected]
ThomasH.Shomo'67, Directorof
PublicRelations
[phone],[email protected]
Hampden-SydneyCollegeoffersequal
opportunityinallareasofeducationand
employment.
Briiiii Grogan 73, whotookpicturesfortheyi'iirhooh,i>,i ^tiuh-iii. i> now,i
professionalphotographerspecializinginrecordinghistoricplaces. Overthelastseveralyears
hehasmadeaseriesofstunningprintsoftheHampden-Sydneycampus.
RichardMcClintock, Editor.
TerrieConrad, Writer.
DanMcCormick'95, SportsWriter
ProducedbvtheHampden-SydneyCollege "It's Time for Healing" 3
PublicationsOffice, (8041223-63')4. A symposium on civilrightsandeducation in Prince
PublishedbyHampden-SydneyCollege, Edward County binds wounds insteadofopeningthem
Hampden-Sydney,Virginia23943,
asaservicetoitsalumniand Iriends. GettingThem and KeepingThem 9
Copyright©2000byHampden-Sydney A review ofcurrentefforts in enrollmentandretention
College.
ThirdClassPostagepaidatFarmville, On the Hill 13
Virginia23901,andatadditional
Opimnaiiolnisngexopfrfiecsesse.din TheRecordare A New Master Plan for the Campus .... center insert
thoseofindividualauthorsanddonot Architectsandplanners chartthe College needs
's
necessarilyreflecttheofficialpositionof
Hampden-SydneyCollege. forthe nextthreedecades or more
Onthefontcover:LookingdownCollege Faculty Notes 20
Roadtowardthefootballfield. Detailfrom
aphotographbyBrianGrogan '73. Sports 23
Thefiillimage,shownaboveright, isone
oftheseveralhundredprintsofthecampus Class Notes 27
hehasmadeoverthelastseveralyears.
Alumni Association Activities 45
THETiECORDOF
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY
COLLEGE
Winter2000
TheRichmondBoys Choir
surroundedJamesEarlJones
aftertheirperformance(right).
Marcie Wall-Wolfe(atlectern
below)apologizedforher
family'spartintheschool
closings. Herfellowpanelists
EdChappell '67andScott
Harwood '65recalledthe
trialsofwhitechiUi
deniedpublicschools.
HenryHowell(farright) read
fomhisnewbiographyofthe
ReverendVernonJohns.
Theseminarclassmeeting
inconjunction withthe
symposiumentertaineda
distinguishedvisitor.
AroundthemisadispLty
ofartworkonthesubject
"Friendship,"bystudents
fromthePrinceEdward
Countypublicschoolsand
fromFuquaSchool.
Inset: TheformerR. R. Moton
highschoolinEarmville,
from whichblackstudents
embarkedonaproteststrike.
Itisbeingpreservedasa
nationalmuseumofcivil
rightsineducation.
Daringto look closelyatasubject which has been THE%ECORDOF
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY
off-limits in thispanofVirginiaforfourdecades, COLLEGE
thePrinceEdwardStonessymposium binds up wounds
Winter2000
Time
Past for Closure;
'It's
Time Be^n Heal"
to to
It's
AdaptedfromartidesbyJ. Kendrick Woodley111 '79(TheFarmvilleHerald)and
Kiitlny)! Oith (Ridmiond Ti»ies-Dispatch)
^—
• / -I^I I1 HoEfNtheRhOisXtoAr)N'dNepPaRnAmZeNnItAaKt,HaCmHpA-IR siinggnitfoircuanst—prboegcraeusssetwheathhaavsebceoenmemaadleo,ngonwawyh.a"tTihseworriskk- "Wearelooking
\^}Cy den-Sydney, realizedthat 1999was arisesbecause,despitetheprogress, thetopicremains atthehistoryin
thefoniethanniversaryoftheclosingof sensitiveformanypeopleofbothraces,evenafterfour ordertoupdate
the PrinceEdwardCount}'publicschools, herfirst decades. "Wearehopingtorresults thataretherapeutic
thediabgue
thoughtwasthatthesituationdemandedaretrospective andnotharmful,"the Presidenttold KenWoodley,
in\-estigation. Shesuggestedasymposium,andthe editorof TheFanmnlleHerald. "Heatedexchangeisthe andtoprovidea
Coll"eItgeisacplpeoarilnytaednihaeirortoanonrig\aenriszaeryit.. . . anditisclearly wlahsattthhianpgptehnaetdw.eWweoumladrkhoipteanfdor.thWeensdtoopnoatndcetlheibnrakte referencepointfor"
adifficultpassage,"shetold Kathrv'nOrthofthe Rich- aboutit. It isnotsomethingtocelebrate." movingforward
mondTimes-Dispatchasthesymposiumdateneared. But,saidWilson, "Thestatuteoflimitationshas
ROXANNPRAZNIAK
"Wearelookingathistorv'inordertoupdatethe expiredon recriminations. Hampden-Sydneyistr\'ing Symposiumorganizer
dialogue, toprovideareferencepointlormoving toshowsocietalresponsibilit\'in facingthis issue, maybe
forward." Hampden-S\dne\Collesepresents evenin puttingittorest.Wetake
^Tiiletutoringadultsin thelocal prideindoingthissymposium,
literac)'program. Dr. Prazniakhadrun tMiflJ^ eventhough theremaybesome
acrosspeoplewhohadlostthreeyears risk."
EDWAR
ofschool; theirstoriesgavehertheidea
forthesymposium. Wilson keynote,
Itwasnotanideawithoutrisk. STORIE Governorsgiretings
Someasked,"Whyopenoldwounds?" KickingofftheSymposium, Pres-
Otherssaidthatitwasabouttime identWilsonaddressedthesubject
someonetalkedopenlyaboutwhathad ofthesilentmajority, thesegment
happened. Dr. Prazniakassuredeverv'- ofsocietywhichthroughouthistory
onethatthesvmposiumwasnottobe hasstoodbywatchingasevents
about"whodidwhattowhom"; flowedaround them,sometimes CLiudeAllen,Virginiai
insteaditwastobeanopportunit)-to withhorrificresults. "Thesilent secretaryofhealthand
hearfrombothsidesatthesametime. A40th-AnniversaryRetrospective majorit)-hastraditionallyavoided human resources.
"Onefundamental reason for on CivilRightsinEducation theunpleasantnessofcontroversy
confrontingthe past is to render bystandingaside,byremaining
what might bea silent burden on thepresentinto a aloofeventhoughapreferredcourseofactionmaybe
resourceforthefuture,"shesaid. "Ratherthan quiteapparentto them."
rehash pastgrievances orbeatdeadhorses,wehoped Oneofthosetimeswas 1959,when in Prince
thatadialogueon the past, acrossboundariesofrace EdwardCounty"therewastheseemingfailureofthe
andclass, would release theenergies needed to silentmajoritytotakeastand."Thecastofcharacters,
resolvecurrentproblemsconstructively." accordingtoWilson,weretheblackactivists,thewhite
PresidentWilsonechoedherhopesforanamicable, activists,thewhitesilentmajority,theblackpacifists,
evenreconciling,event. "Weintendtoconfrontthepast andthenon-involved.
inPrinceEdward, toanalwewhathappenedandwhat Tothesilentmajorit)',agroupthatstillexists, JeanFairfax, ofthe
thedynamicswere,andtotrytotakeareadingonthe Wilsondirectedasternwarning: "Ourconstitutionis AmericanFriendsCommittee.
"
'
THETigCORDOF notonautomaticpilot. Wemustworktomakeit Edwardstorywasvinuallyignoredbythemedia. "No
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY
COLLEGE work."Thatmeans"caringenoughaboutourcountry storyhasbeenasunder-reportedasthisstory," hesaid.
tobecomeandremainknowledgeableon themajor Itwas,forexample, twodaysbeforeanydailynews-
Whiter2000 issuesweface,domesticallyandinternationally. Itisalso paperreportedanythingaboutthewalkoutbythe
thewillingnessandthecourageto takeastandon these studentswhowereprotestinginequalityineducation
issuesandnotsitidlyandsilentlybyuntil thetrainof andfacilities. Interestquicklywanedthereafter, Smith
"NoStoryhasbeen
issuesandeventsrunsoverus." said,because,beforethestudentstrikewastwoweeks
asunder-reportedas PresidentWilson thenset thecontextforthesympo- old, thestudentshadgonebackto theirschools, inferior
thePrinceEdward sium'shistoricinvestigation: "Howcouldacommunity thoug—h theywere.Theyhadsettheirhopeonahigher
ofgoodpeoplegetintoandsustainasituationwhere cause PrinceEdward'sbatdehadbeenaddedtothe
story. Iftherewas theyclosed theirpublicschools, denyingsomechildren casewhichbecame Brown vsBoardofEducation.
suchathingasa theopportunityloreducationanddiminishingthequal- Smithagreedwith PresidentWilson thatthereal
ityofeducationforothers?" achievementofthecommunityduringthosedifficult
cradleofthecivil Hefollowedthatquestionwithanother, toguidethe timeswasthatviolencewasavoidedbecausebothsides
—
rightsmovement, morespiritualaspectofthesymposium andhopefully agreedthatviolencewas intolerable. Ironically, itwas
thecourseofthefiiture: "Canweriseabovefeelingsof probablythelackofviolence. Smithsaid,whichmade
itfirstrockedhere. angerandrecrimination—orfeelingsofguilt—and theCounty'stroublesso unattractivetothemedia.
learn tobecomebettetpeople.'" Assomeonewho hadstudied thecausesand results
ROBERTC.SMITH
AuthorofTheyClosed Evenattheworst, however, thereremainedin oftheschoolclosingsindepth. Smithsaidheremained
TheirSchooL. Prince Edward"anattitudeolcivilityand thoughtful "amazed"at theprogresstheareahad madein theyears
restraint"whichsetthisstruggleapartfrom,ilmostevery followingthere-openingoftheschoolsystem.
otherpowerstrugglehehadeverseenaround the 'Trankly,"hesaid, "I foundthestorieshardtobelieve"
world,"wherewrenchingsocialandeconomicchange abouttotalintegration (60%blackand40%white) in
wasoccurringcontinuously,"andusuallyviolendy. By thepublicschools,wheretherewerenoreportedracial
contrast,changein PrinceEdwardwas"painfuland incidentsandgradeswereaboveaverage. Infact, he
unsettling,butitwaspeacefiil." quotedanarticleaboutwhathadhappenedinthefive
Hiswishforthesymposiumwasthatitshould countiesinvolvedin Brown vsBoardofEducation, which
continuein that noblevein. citedPrince Edwardasthe"successstorvofthefiveand
amodel forthenation."
BringinggreetingsfromVirginia'sGovernorJim Formuchofthissuccess. SmithcreditedJames
Gilmore, ClaudeAlien, SecretaryofHealth and Anderson,whowasnamedsuperintendentafterthe
Human Resources,saidthesymposium'stopichad schoolsreopenedandwhoturned theschools"into
—
remindedhimofhisownhistory hisgrandmother somethingthateverybodyinPrinceEdwardcouldbe
hadbeen thefirstmemberofhisfamilynotborn into proudof"
slavery,andhisgrandfatherhadoftendiscussedwith Jean Fairfax, whohadbeendirectoroftheSouthern
himtheaftermathofslavery. GovernorGilmoresent Civil Rights Program fortheAmerican Friends
aletterinwhichheexpressedhisconfidencethatthe Committeeduringtheclosings,spokenext. Shecalled
symposiumwould"providegreaterunderstandingand theclosingoftheschoolstheclosingoftheminds. Prais-
insight intocomplexevents. . . and reveal theirfar- ingtheblackfamilieswhowere"determinedthat their
reachingimpactnotonlyonthelocalpeopleoftheday childrenshouldnotbeenslavedbyforcedignorance,"
butalso upon theentirenation." shealsocalledupon the Hampden-Svdnevcommunity
toexaminecloselyand honestlywhatcontributionsit
Cradle ofthe civilrights movement madeduringtheconflict. "DidHampden-Sydney,a
"Iftherewassuchathingasacradleofthecivil rights communit)'ofscholars, providetheintellectualunder-
movement,"opined RobertC. Smith, "itfirstrocked pinningorgivecredibilityto massiveresistance?
hereinPrinceEdwardCounty." Dr. PaulGaston, professoremeritusofhistoryatthe
Heshouldknow. Heistheauthotof TheyClosed UniversityofVirginia, placedthePrinceEdwardcrisis
TheirSchools, anexhaustivestudyoftheeventsin Prince in thecontinuumofthecivil rightsstruggle.
Edwardsurroundingthe 1959-1964schoo—lclosings. VeraAllen, aformerteacherandschool board
ThestudentstrikeatMoton HighSchool "justthe member, nowpresidentoftheMarthaE. Forrester
—
rightschool forstudentstostrike,"as hesaid along CouncilofWomen (theorganiz;ttion primarilyrespon-
RobertC. Smith, authorof with theMontgomerybusboycottandtheGreensboro sibleforthe movementtopreseive Mt)tonSchoolasa
ThevClosedTheirSchools.
sit-ins,weretheproximatecausesofthefallofsegrega- museum), praised theCollege fordatingtobringupa
tionand ma.ssive resistance. topic that fewpeoplehad even mentioned fortort}'
Theironyisthat, importantasitwas, the Prince years. Shesaiditspokewelloftheeffort theCollegehad