RATIFICATION DAY
A walk into the future
Tri-comered hats met burr haircuts and
mini-skirts mingled with colonial costumes
when Chowan celebrated Ratification Day
by dedicating Ratification Walk (brick
walk from Daniel Hall to Parker Hall) and
burying a time capsule to be unearthed
November 21, 2089.
Williard Scott announced the
proceedings on NBC’s Today Show, and
students, faculty and area dignitaries joined
the festivities in November to com
memorate the 200th Anniversary of the
Ratification of the United States Con
stitution by North Carolina in Novemtier,
1789.
A goodly crowd gathered on a cold day
to observe the burying of the time capsule
to be opened in 2089 and hear “Lemuel
Burkitt” declaim his involvement as a
delegate to the covention that approved the
adoption of the document.
Students, townspeople, and special
guests had supper together in Thomas
Cafeteria, dining on foods that might have
been served in Fayetteville during the
ratification convention 200 years ago.
The event opened on the back campus
with music from the carillon and a
welcome from Dr. Franklin Lowe, dean of
the college. The Chowan College stage
band, directed by Professor Bob Brown,
played a tune characteristic of music en
joyed by colonists 200 years ago. Jonathan
Taylor, president of the Baptist Student
Union/Campus Christian Fellowship,
brought the invocation and the U.S. and
state flags were presented by Robert Mann
Futrell, Jr., and Charles Andrew Paul of
Boy Scout Troop 125, whose scoutmaster
is Gilbert Tripp, professor of science.
Freshman Joel David McMahan sang the
Star Spangled Banner, accompanied by the
stage band. Warren Sexton, chairman of
the Department of Social Science, offered
a discourse on North Carolina and the
ratification. He reviewed events leading to
its adoption and the position the
representatives from northeastern North
Carolina took at the time.
On November 16, 1789,
North Carolina called a second
state convention to consider the
ratification of the United States
Constitution. Over 270 delegates
attended at least one session of
the six-day convention (Novem
ber 16-21, 1789) in Fayetteville.
On November 21, 1789, North
Carolina ratified the United
States Constitution by a vote of
194 to 77.
The time capsule is buried near the Susan Parker Kerr Gazebo not to be
unearthed until 2089.
Page 6 - CHOWAN TODAY, March, 1990
President Emeritus Bruce Whitaker makes an entry into the time capsule.
Ratification Walk was dedicated by
Polly Denise (DeeDee) Babb, secretary of
the Student Government Assocation. Juliet
Sellers Brooks, president of the Rotaract
Club at Chowan, introduced the placing of
items in the time capsule to be buried near
Susan Parker Kerr Gazebo on the Alumni
Green. Students, faculty and staff members
placed items into the capsule to be
unearthed one hundred years later. One of
the items placed in the capsule is a letter
from President Jackson to the president of
Chowan in the year 2089. Duplicate items
are placed in Whitaker Library on campus.
“People in the area seemed fascinated at
the idea of the time capsule, and volun
teered to put something in,” stated
Clayton Lewis, Director of Corporate
Development at Chowan, who chaired the
event. “We were delighted to see so many
of the campus organizations participate in
that part of Ratification Day. ”
After a prayer by Gaston T. Mann,
sophomore, participants and guests en
joyed a dinner which featured seasonal
delights from the time period, including
vegetable/bacon and rice soup, roast pork
and turkey, blackeyed peas with ham,
boiled turnips, and buttermilk biscuits.
Apple fritters with hot honey dip were a
favorite dessert.
Jack HasseU (right), guards the time capsule as Dr^ John Davis (center)
faculty host, makes an announcement while James Hobbs, SGA President
looks on.
Music from the carillon introduced the
third phase of the observance. The crowd
was welcomed by sophomore William
Franklin Mingo and Dr. James W.
Chamblee, chairman of the Department of
Fine Arts, gave a brief history of the
colonial music he sang. He was ac
companied by Carole Nicholson.
Dr. Hargus Taylor, chaplain, dressed in
period costume, gave reflections on the U.
S. Constitution, presented much as the
Reverend Lemuel Burkitt might have
spoken in 1789. Burkitt was the Hertford
County Representative to the Hillsborough
Convention of 1788 and author of religious
and other works. His wife was the first
graduate of Chowan College. John
Virkler, professor in the Department of
Social Science, closed the proceedings
with a prayer of thanks for the rights given
under the constitution.
Student ushers for the event included:
Thomas Thurston Eason, Juan Daryl
Lassiter, Donald Wayne Owen, n, and
James P. Rainey. Sophomore hosts and
hostesses were Wendy Marie Holland,
Lori Denyce Nold, James Russell Johnson,
and Kenneth R. Traino. Faculty host and
hostess were Dr. John Davis, Department
of Languages and Literature, and Mrs.
Sarah W. Davis.
The day was sponsored by the Student
Development Services, and the Student
Government Association, with Elizabeth
Genshaw, advisor and Dr. John Davis,
faculty advisor.
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Colonial garb mingled with modem in the celebration.
Illl
Chaplain Taylor as Lemuel Burkitt
CHOWAN TODAY, March, 1990 - Page 7