THE SKIRL
A STUDENT PUBLICATION-OF FLORA MACDONALD COLLEGE
VOLUME 1
RED SPRINGS, N. C., DECEMBER, 1952
NUMBER 1
Highland Players
Present “Ladies
In Retirement”
By Linda McNett
The second production of the
Highland Players of Flora Mac
donald College under the co-di-
reciion of Professors Neil Watson
and William Reagan was the
three-act comedy and tragedy
drama, “Ladies in Retirement.”
The play was written by Ed
ward Percy and Reginald Denham
and was centered around the late
Victorian era.
Although quite different from
the imaginative production of
“Everyman” given by the Play
ers last year, all who saw the
play presented Friday night, De
cember 5 compared it favorably
with that success of last spring
and considered it a credit to the
cast and directors.
Among the cast were: Jean
Sandifer, President of the Student
Body, who carried the role of
“Knowledge” in last year’s pro
duction; Dot Anderson, who por
trayed “Good Deeds” in last
year’s play; Linda McNett, Betty
McGuire, and Harriet Duff,
members of the Freshman Class;
Pat McNeill, a member of the
Senior Class and Professor Wil-1
Ham F. Reagan. I feel that spec
ial mention should be bestowed
upon Pat McNeill and Jean San
difer for their excellent charac
terizations and congratulations to
the entire cast and Highland
Players for a job well done.
FMC BECOMES WINTER WONDERLAND
White Gift Service
Begins FMC
Christmas Season
Six FMC Girls
Selected For Who’s
Who In Colleges
One of the biggest honors to
be bestowed upon a college stu
dent is for that student to be se
lected for . WHO’S WHO IN
AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND
COLLEGES. Students all over
America are eligible to compete
for this honor which is based on
scholarship, character, leadership,
service, and many other things.
The six girls from Flora Mac
donald this year are Jean San
difer, Ginnie Buhler, Peggy El
liott, Evelyn Boyd, Margaret Jean
Underwood, and Elsie May. All
six girls have been outstanding
throughout their four years in
college.
Jean Sandifer, who hails from
Charlotte, is now President of
the Student Body; Ginnie Buhler,
from Graham, is President of the
Athletic Association for the sec
ond consecutive year. Peggy El
liott is serving her second con
secutive year as Editor of ehe
Pine and Thisele, and Evelyn
Boyd is doing a fine job as Pres
ident of the Christian Associa
tion. Margaret Jean Underwood
is a member of the Student Coun
cil as President of her class, and
Elsie May has an almost endless
job as Editor of the White Heath
er.
Congrats to you six. We’re
mighty proud of you!
0
WANTED: STUDENTS’
VOICE IN PRESS
It seems fitting that our col
lege Christian Association should
have a large part in planning
events during the season that
celebrates our Lord’s birthday.
Having a joyous Christmas party
for the servants, packing stockings
for the servants’ children, making
over old toys and dressing dolls
for children who would not see
Santa Claus otherwise, and sing
ing Christmas carols all over Red
Springs are highlights among our
activities. In addition there afe
several special programs that en
rich our spiritual appreciation of
the holiday.
For many years it has been tra
ditional to give from the hearts
of the students and faculty of
Flora Macdonald a love gift to the
Interdenominational leper colony
in South Korea. The name “White
Gift” has come to be the designa
tion of this present, that title be
ing inspired by a beautiful legend
that is repeated at our annual
White Gift Service the Sunday
evening before Christmas holi
days. At this service the offering
is dedicated to the ministry of
body and spirit carried on in a
little Korean village that bears
the name of our college. The other
most important traditional serv
ice sponsored by the Christian
Association at this season is the
Dome Service which comes this
year on Wednesday night. This
takes the form of a lovely page
ant in drama and song in the ro
tunda, accompanied by a choir
in the dome singing the famaliar
Christmas . hymns. Catherine
Campbell is the student chosen
this year to direct the dome choir.
Dance Committee
Behind The Scenes
Epsilon Chi And Zetesian
Present Christmas Dance
FMC Represented
At SV Conference
Christmas Trees
Glow On Campus
The William Bartrum Scientific
Society has again completed its
traditional Christmas project as
evidenced in the blazing lights on
the Christmas tree on front cam
pus. The Society has worked
hard this year to replace any de
corations which might have been
misplaced or broken, and as a
result of this work, all of us can
enjoy the lights out front.
Somehow, Christmas isn’t com
plete without a bit ■ of cheer on
the outside as well as in, so hats
off to “Billy Bartrum” girls.
This is your newspaper and we
want it to stay that way, so all
of you contribute to the paper in
any way possible. News is always
appreciated and your opinions
and suggestions on how the pa
per m.ay be improved. We’re still
in infancy!
Choral Club Makes
First Appearance
The Floral Macdonald College
Choral Club presented its first
two public appearances of the
season Sunday, December 7.
The Winter Park Presbyterian
Church in Wilmington, was host
to the group for the morning ser
vice at 11:00. The members of the
congregation had arranged dinner
for the group in individual homes.
The same program was presented
in Wilmington and in Chadbourn
at 5:00 at the beautiful Chad
bourn Presbyterian Church. Af
terward, the Choral Club enjoyed
a delicious supper in the Fellow
ship Hall.
The girls returned to Flora
Macdonald around 8:00, feeling
that the day had been well spent
for Flora Macdonald and for the
advancement of the Kingdom of
God.
I The Student Volunteers are
I continuing to move forward this
I year under the leadership of
I Mary Lisle Tucker. Arousing the
j interest of the entire Student
Body in the Stndent
Movement was a three-day visit
to our campus by Mr. Paul E.
Converse of New York, Educa
tional Secretary of the National
Student Volunteer Movement. He
led chapel services and held
special meetings with the Stud
ent Volunteers during his visit,
and it seemed that he belonged
on our campus.
Last year during the Christmas
holidays, three FMC girls plodded
through rain, snow, and sleet to
the Quadrennial Student Volun
teer Conference which was held
at the University of Kansas in
Lawrence. The girls are still talk
ing about their experiences with
students representing the entire
United States plus several for
eign countries.
This year, three regional con^
ferences will be held for this
country—one in the east, one in
the midwest and one on the Paci
fic Coast. Charlotte Calhoun and
Mary Sue Coleman will repre
sent the Flora Macdonald Stud
ent Volunteers at the eastern re
gional conference which will be
held in Baltimore, Maryland, De
cember 27-January 3, and there
they will engage in actual study
of the work of this grea^ move
ment.
Incidentally, Flora Macdonald
has one of the four Student Vol
unteer organizations in the State
of North Carolina. Let’s keep up
the good work!
0
PRAYER FOR
THE NEW YEAR
“O Thou, who are ever the
same, grant us so to pass through
the coming year with faithful
hearts, that we may be able in
aU things to please Thy loving
eyes. Amen.”
—Mozarabic, A, D. 700
O
“Willie found some dynamite,
Couldn’t understand it quite.
Curiosity never pays—
It rained Willie seven days.”
Santa Establishes
FMC Workshop
The toys with which girls re
turned to FMC after the Thanks
giving holidays were contribu
tions to jolly ol’ Santa for bis
workshop. Watkins Hall was the
loratin-ri nf the '^^orksVlOp.
since Santa had other things to
do and other places to go, he left
Mary Hale, Hilda Phillips and
Alice Brantley in charge. He
couldn’t have found three better
ones, because in no time, they
had girls sewing dolls’ dresses,
painting wagons, re-stuffing ani
mals, and even analyzing broken
mechanisms of electric trains.
Now, don’t get the idea that
this was all work and no play!
Girls caught up on the latest hap
penings on Vardell while they
crunched hard candy. Occasion
ally, someone wished a change
for the hands, so the piano was
the next best thing. They sang
carols, and really got the Christ
mas spirit. There was peculiar
joy in knowing that a little child
would be made happy by our ef
forts, for there are those to whom
Christmas is simply the 25th of
December—another day in whiph
to strive for livelihood.
One girl picked up a large blue
and white rabbit which was dirty
and worn and as she showed it to
the others, before cleaning it,
commented, “Now, someone really
loved this rabbit. Look how dirty
and worn it is.” Well, if at the
next Christmas season that bun
ny is dirty and worn again,
someone will love him and our
Christmas will not have been in
vain.
Spiritual Enrichment
Week Highlights
Fall C.A. Program
Highlighting the Christian As
sociation program on our campus
this fall were the messages of Dr.
Harry Moffett of Gastonia during
the Spiritual Enrichment Week,
October 14-16. Bringing to us the
benefit of his broad experience
with young people, Dr. Moffett
emphasized the fundamentals of
Christian faith as he spoke on our
theme for the year, “Called to
Serve.”
The freshman discussion group,
(Continued oo Page S)
On Saturday evening, Decem
ber 13, FMC began her transfor
mation into a “Winter Wonder
land”; and by 8:15 P. M. Saturday
the Wonderland became a reality.
Dates began to flock through
the open doors of the college and
the telephone girls sounded like
broken records over the P.A. with
“You have company downstairs.”
The dorms buzzed with excite
ment as the books were stashed
away for one‘entire night.
The rotunda presented a very
homey and cozy atmosphere with
an open-fireplace through which
Santa Claus had come and the
gayly decorated table from which
guests were served. Yes, there
was food, too, and plenty of it.
In fact, every phase of that “Good
old Southern Hospitality” was em
phasized. Before anyone had a
chance to get dreamy and sleepy
in the rotunda, they were shov
ed, not literally, into the cold out-
of-doors (not the out-of-doors
from whence they came). This
out-of-doors was an original cre
ation by the dance committee,
and the power of suggestion low
ered the mercury some 20 de
grees. Out in the “yard” were
evergreens topped with snow,
and in the center was the “Senior”
Christmas tree.
The Christmas dance, w1r\icVi i?
sponsored each year by Epsilon
Chi and Zetesian Societies, is us
ually considered one of the year’s
best dances. One thing to which
this might be attributed is the
fact that everyone is anticipating
the holidays which are only a few
days away. This year was no ex
ception. Spirits were light, girls
were beautiful; boys were hand
some; and the dance was a huge
success.
The dining room didn’t just
suddenly become an out-door
wonderland; someone had to be
behind the scenes, and in this
case there were many “some-
ones.” Tink McKenzie and Ann
Stephenson headed the dance as
co-chairmen. Responsible for de
corations were Lynn Lewis and
Betty Lou Lamb and the invita
tion and programs were arranged
and sent out by Frances Dudley
and Jean Johnson. All of the food
about which we spoke didn’t just
appear, either, and you probably
saw Peggy Callahan and Lucile
Wilds checking on the refresh
ments to be sure that there was
enough for everyone—and there
was.
(Well, girls, another Christmas
dance can now be entered into
the annals of Flora Macdonald;
our fairy godmother’s magic wand
has taken away our Winter Won
derland, but no magic wand will
ever take away that spirit which
remains from Christmas to Christ
mas.
0
FRANCES DUDLEY
SURVIVES OPERATION
Frances Dudley returned to
F.M.C. last Thursday after a week
and a half at home recuperating
from appendectomy. She doesn’t
look like she’s been sick a day,
but she’s got adequate proof that
she underwent the operation.
Glad to have you back, Dudley!
o
He who gets his palms greased
is likely to lose his grip.