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Page 6—Smoke Signals, Wednesday, November 8, 1972
Legend of Brown Lady
Reviewed; Many Versions
ByANNA B. CROUCH
Chowan College has followed
certain exciting traditions since
its opening to eleven young
women from North Carolina and
Virginia on October 11,1848. One
of these events has been that of
“The Brown Lady”, who was last
seen and heard when the leaves
were turning a golden brown In
the faU of 1965.
“The Brown Lady” had been
visiting the freshmen women
every year for almost over a
hundred years. Impressive
ceremonies commemorating her
return proved exciting to the new
students as well as up
perclassmen, faculty members,
and friends.
There have been different tales
told about the unusual ex
periences taking place at Chowan
College because of the Brown
Lady. She has been called a
legend, a myth, a phanton, or a
true story. All of these have been
accepted as a part of the Chowan
tradition.
Two accounts states that one of
the early students wore brown
taffeta and could be recognized
by her friends as her dress
rustled when whe moved or
walked. One story has been told
that she died of tjrphoid fever.
The other story reveals that she
died of a broken heart. Both tales
agree that she makes a yearly
visit to the campus which is
known by the rustling of her
skirts. The appearance has been
around Halloween.
One tradition relates that “The
Brown Lady” returned each year
because her loyalty to Chowan
College during her lifetime
caused her to return from the
dead to challenge the loyalty of
fellow students to make certain
they were holding up the ideals of
her alma mater.
“The Brown Lady” used to lead
the students across the west
ravine, known as College Creek.
They were taken to Wise’s
Graveyard, which is located in
the Forest Acres area. The true
loyalty and devotion were
challenged here.
Mrs. Charles Revelle, Sr.,
wrote an essay about the events
in 1937. Mrs. R. Harry Un
derwood wrote a poem about the
Brown Lady for the first meeting
of the Alumni Association after
the reopening of Chowan College
in 1949, after its being closed for
sue years. “Legends, Myths, and
Folk Tales of the Roanoke-
Chowan” by R. Roy Johnson,
■“ 1962, and“"A History of Chowan
College” by Edgar V. McKnight
and Oscar Creech, 1964, give
interesting thoughts about “The
Brown Lady”.
The romantic poem by Mrs.
Underwood has been used
frequently as a part of the
ceremonies. It is the legend that
has been liked by the students
through the years. Whether the
tale is fact or fiction (we believe
it to be fact), it is a beautiful
legend to be carried on in Chowan
tradition.
Here’s to the Brown Lady, a Chowan tradition
Of whom tales were told in many editions.
Some say whe was tall, gaunt and severe.
Some say she was sweet and her memory revere.
Now like all takes of the dim yesterdays
TTie details are lost, but the memory stays
And the memory that’s sweetest and always remains
Is that she loved Chowan and her name’s still the same—
“Brown Lady.”
Some say that she came here, a girl bright and gay—
Who wore taffeta frocks that would rustle and sway
As she swept through the halls or dashed down the stairs
In her little-girl manner or grown-up-lady airs.
So that memory remains and the name that she gained
Was then, as today—“Brown Lady.”
Now, the story’s confused of this lady’s decease.
Some say she had fever and made her demise
But the tale that I like is one that t>egan
In the year ’62 and here’s how it ran:
She loved a tall lad, handsome and fair;
But alas! tho a Southerner, his heart was not there.
So disowned by his family and scorned by his friends.
Forsaken by all, save his Brown Lady dear.
He mounted his steed and rode sadly away
With a promise to come back and claim her some day.
Now a tryst they had kept ‘neath the soft sighing pines.
And a vow they had made—these were the lines:
“My love it is thine, now, and all the tomorrows
And IswearTU be true thru all joys and sorrows.
Tho death should o’ertake me. I’ll come back some way
To claim you my darling if God says I may. ”
TTiey would meet there again for ‘twas there she would wait
‘Till the bitter war ended on some distant date—
A message came one day, so they say, and told how
the lad died in battle far away—
Poor Brown Lady wept for she knew how her lover
suffered to take arms against friends and brother.
Her laughter grew stilled and her heart quietly broke—
‘Til she died one night at twelve on the stroke.
So if you hear rustlings on the stairs, thru the haU
Or see her go tripping thru the pines in the fall
Or, if by chance, you should see her one night
Stroll ‘neath the pines in the melting moonlight
She’ll be keeping her “tryst” with her lover, they say.
For she knows he’ll come back as he promised that day.
ByEthleenG. Vick
Cafeteria Committee
Holds Regular Meet
m
“Ohhh, Jane-was that to
night w«- were going out with
the Trimbles?”
MINUTESOF THE
CAFETERIA COMMITTEE
MEETING
October 13,1972
The Cafeteria Committee met at
10:00 a.m. Friday, October 13,
1972, with Mr. Ben Sutton as
Chairman.
The meeting opened with the
election of a Secretary for the
Committee. Mary Ballance was
elected.
Different ones commented on the
cafeteria situation and what
improvements could be made.
The recent editorial was
discussed concerning the
degrading of the cafeteria staff.
We understand that there should
be freedom of the press but not to
the extent of embarrassing or
hurting those people who serve as
employees in the cafeteria. It was
felt that the recent editorial was
an embarrassment to these
employees. The Dress Code,
according to cafeteria provisions,
was also discussed.
Special events planned by the
Committee began with a choice of
ice cream for everyone during
dinner on October 18, 1972. A
steak cook-out was also
scheduled for the last week in
October. (A specific date will be
posted.)
The members of the Cafeteria
Committee decided to meet the
second Friday of each month. A
representative from Smoke
Signals has been invited to attend
previous meetings but none have
attended.
Mr. Sutton noted that all dor
mitories were represented and
asked that each member post on
his respective dormitory bulletin
board the announcement that he
serves in this capacity so that
suggestions may come through
dormitory representatives.
The meeting was adjourned at
10:35.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ballance
Secretary
Perfect Roast
Duck Method
HONG KONG (AP) — Chefs
in China have perfected a
quick-freeze process for one of
their greatest delicacies — Pe
king Duck, a Hong Kong Com
munist newspaper reported
today.
Ta Kung Pao in a dispatch
from Canton said the new prod
uct was served to newsmen and
Hong Kong businessmen at the
current Canton Trade Fair and
“all reported they were the
equal in every respect to fresh-
roasted ducks.”
An official of the fair said
China is ready to ship the fro
zen ducks to foreign customers.
Education Would Prepare
Students for Life As It Is
NEW YORK (AP) — Most
adults smugly feel that the edu
cation they got is better than
the one their children are get
ting.
Since most of them have for
gotten three-fourths of what
they learned in school, that
would be hard to prove.
But if the purpose of educa
tion is to prepare the student
for life as it is, then all present
educational systems should be
scrapped and a new start
made.
Here are suggested changes
for such a program from a
man somewhat disillusioned to
find that the formal learning he
received hardly qualified him
to cope with the problems in
living he ran up against later:
Except for students intending
to specialize in certain fields,
all advanced courses in sci
ence, mathematics, art, music,
rug weaving and square danc
ing would be dropped.
So would all ancient or mod
ern foreign languages. The only
language studied would be the
English language or, rather,
the American version of it.
This would be divided into
two branches: (A), the writing
and understanding of useful
English, and (B), the writing
and understanding of Govern
ment English. A special course
in how to solve crossword puz
zles and acrostics would be pre
sented. The writing of poetry
would be allowed but not en
couraged, and no prizes given
for it.
After mastering his ABC’s,
the student would have no fur
ther dealings with arithmetic
except in these general
courses: how to figure out gro
cery store prices, how to make
a bank account balance, how to
balance an unbalanced family
budget, and how to fill out in
come tax returns—local, state
and national.
After a basic course in psy
chology, each male student
would spend eight years study
ing how to get along with a wo
man, each female student
would spend eight years study
ing how to get along with a
man.
Since everything in modern
life breaks down, every student
would spend up to half his time
in school learning how to fix
things—from toilets to
television sets, froni zippers to
governments.
There wouiid be no essajrs
Country Music Comer
Two professors observed Founder’s Day by dressmg in
attire that was typical of faculty members at Chowan’s
opening. Left is Dr. Ella J. Pierce with Mrs. Undine
Barnhill, both professors of English, as they stand on the
front steps of Hertford Academy building, the site of the
college’s founding.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
A rusty 38-caliber pistol and a
trombone . . . and Boots Ran
dolph was on his way to star
dom.
The year was 1941. Boots,
then 14, was relaxing on the
porch of his Kentucky farm
“when I heard this weird noise
comin’ down the road.”
The noise turned out to be a
trombone played—not too ex
pertly—by one of Boots’
friends. But the instrument in
trigued him so much that Boots
persuaded his friend to swap
the trombone for that old pistol.
“My mother didn’t like that
pistol hangin’ around the house
anyway,” said Boots, now 45.
The trombone has long been
dispensed with. But it helped
launch Boots on a career that
has made him one of the
world’s finest saxophonists.
His country-jazz-pop style has
sold about eight million
records—61^ million of them al
bums. He has appeared on a
host of big-time television
shows and performed in the
swankest of clubs throughout
the world.
Through it all, however, he
has been tabbed basically as a
country musician or a “self-
I
I
James Delke Contributed
Much to Higher Education
written on subjects such as
“The View from My Window,”
or “The Most Exciting Thing
Tliat Happened to Me Ditfing
My Vacation.” Instead, the stu
dents would concentrate on fill
ing out forms of all kinds, and
answering the silly questions on
them. A prize would be given to
the member of e-'h class who
managed to cro' ( the longest
explanation int' the shortest
possible space.
In the last year at college,
every student would also be re
quired to take the following
subjects—“How to Butter Up
Anybody in Order to Get More
Bread,” “How to Drag Your
Feet Successfully in Any Situ
ation,” and “How to Write a
Job Career Resume before
You’ve Had Any Career to
Speak Of.”
Just for laughs, a course
would be offered on “How to
Be a Human Being in a Time
When Most People Act More
Like Antic Animals.”
The graduate of such an
educational system might not
know very much, but he sure
would be equipped for today’s
living. And isn’t that what it’s
,all about?
By James Elliott Moore
Of the three ministers present
at the Mulberry Grove meeting in
1848 one of the most gifted was
the Rev. James Delke, who with
his son, also named James, gave
many years of loyal service to
Chowan Female Institute.
Nothing is known of the senior
Delke prior to 1824 when he
moved to Murfreesboro from
Surry County, Va. except he was
married to a widow Susan Bats
Kerr. After his arrival in the
Chowan Association, he began
preaching the gospel “with great
power and success” One of the
finest speakers of his day, Delke
is credited with having baptized
150 people following a revival
meeting at Meherrin Baptist
Church in 1830.
However, he left the area after
eight years to accept a pastorate
at Warrenton, N. C. He remained
there until his wife died leaving
two children: a son James A. and
a daughter Susan. At this time he
involved himself in Assocational
affairs serving as moderator of
the Bertie Union Meeting. James
Delke was a loyal supporter of
Chowan and his interest in higher
education is evidenced by the fact
he sent his son to Wake Forest
College and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Rev. Delke remarried in
December, 1846 to a Hertford
County widow Elizabeth Jones
Ward. It is an interesting coin
cidence that one of his step
children by this marriage Ann
James Ward became the first
graduate of Chowan in 1853.
Delke’s new wife was a woman
of great wealth owning con
siderable property in
southeastern Hertford County.
The couple moved from Mur
freesboro to one of her plan
tations where they built a new
home Maple Lawn in 1851. This
house still stands and is now in
the possession of Ann Ward’s
desen dants.
Legend has it that following
this fortunate marriage Delke
was able to ride around the
countryside in a chauffered
carriage, with blooded horses
and attended by a driver and a
footman dressed in livery.
Fortunately for the Baptist faith
this grandeur “did not abate his
piety or impair his usefulness”
because he served as pastor at
Bethlehem Church near his home
prior to his death on December 4,
1862.
His son James A. Delke had an
equally distinguished career as
he devoted his life to the field of
Christian higher education. After
attending Wake Forest and
Carolina, he became principal at
Reynoldson Male Academy in
Gates County, N. C. Organized in
1851 by the Chowan Association
this school was designed to
prepare young men for Wake
Forest. Unfortunately,
Reynoldson never enjoyed the
support given to Chowan and
Delke left for Murfreesboro,
Tenn. where he taught for several
years. In 1865 he returned to
Murfreesboro, N. C. and ac
cepted a position as instructor at
Chowan Baptist Female In
stitute. James A. Delke served
the school well as professor in
mathematics, science and
“belles lettres” until 1880 and
wrote a history of the Chowan
Association.
After his death, a historian
wrote “He was a ripe scholar and
a most excellent man.” These
words are applicable to James
Delke, senior and junior and what
better epitaph could one desire?
Professor Brown With
College for 10 Years
By COURTNEY BOGGS
Professor Robert Brown, of the
music department, has been a
part of Chowan for ten years.
Born in Rich Square, he attended
Atlantic Christian College and
Wake Forest.
After college, he went into the
Navy School of Music, playing
the saxophone in a jazz band. The
band entertained the troops
stationed on the islands. He went
to Catholic University in
Washington, D. C. after the war.
Professor Brown played in the
Bob Aster traveling jazz band for
eighteen months. “They didn’t
have television then, and
traveling bands were real
popular. Sometimes we’d go for a
few weeks, or even months at a
time.” Because of illness in the
family, he later had to return
home.
He worked in Ahoskie.
directing the high school band,
and married a piano teacher.
Then, he went to graduate school
at Florida State, where he got his
masters. Back to Ahoskie again,
he directed the band for ten
yeafs. Professor Brown has also
taken a summer course at Boston
University.
In 1963, he came to Chowan,
teaching music theory and sight
singing. He gives individual
lessons, and also has a wood
winds class. Professor Brown is
an enthusiastic band director and
drill team instructor.
Now living in Ahoskie, he has
two children. He enjoys dancing
and wood carving, and directs the
church choir at Ahoske Methodist
Church. In the summer, Mr. and
Mrs. Brown teach music at a
styled hillbilly,” both of which
he said he’s not.
“That’s a misconception,"
said Boots, maintaining his
heart lies with jazz and pop.
“I go with the trend of the
times,” he said. “But basically
I like jazz. This is where I
started back in the Forties,
when jazz was quite the thing
of the time.”
Back then, he began playing
for $60 a week in run-of-the-mill
clubs. Today, it’s only the fin
est.
But there’s one famous enter
tainment hall where Boots has
never played—the Grand Ole
Opry House. “The simple fact
is, they don’t use any horns
there. It’s a no-no. It’s only
been in recent years that elec
tric instruments have been
allowed on the Opry stage.”
When he’s not on stage, Boots
spends much of his time riding
a tractor and tilling land at his
farm just outside Nashville.
“Having a farm has always
been kind of a dream for me. I
was raised on a farm.”
Music has always been in
Boots’ life. “My whole family
played some kind of in
strument, usually string in
struments,” he said.
“It was kind of a music ap
preciation with the family. As
long as you played—it didn't
matter if you were good or
bad—that was the thing.”
Reflecting on his early
trombone days, Boots said, “It
sounded worse than my friend
coming down the road.”
Three years later, though, his
father unexpectedly brought
home a sax. And it wasn’t long
before the trombone was dis
carded and the sax became
Boots’ thing.
He learned to play the in
strument entirely by himself
and says he’s fulfilled most of
his goals as a performer.
“Music meant a lot, to me,”
he said, “It still does, not just
for the money but knowii^^'iat
you made somebody hapjH
“I don’t think there’s any
thing as good as a swinging
group when it’s swinging.”
As for the name “Boots?”
“Maybe I had a big pair of
boots when I was a kid and
they called me ‘Boots.’ But I
don't really know how I got it. I
do know it’s better than my
real name—Homer.”
Besides, what’s in a name
when you can play a sax like
Boots Randolph.
Hope Plantation
Formally Opened
RALEIGH (AP) — Hope
Plantation, the restored home
of Gov. David Stone, formally
opens to the public this week.
Located on NC 308, four miles
west of Windsor in Bertie Coun
ty, Hope Plantation has been
described as “one of the most
impressive structures built in
North Carolina and one of the
finest examples of Georgian ar
chitecture anywhere.”
Activities Tuesday and today
climax six years of restoration
carried out by the Historic
Hope Foundation which pur
chased the property in 1966. A
subscription dinner and dance
at the National Guard Armory
in Windsor Tuesday night fol
lowed a special preview of the
mansion for “Friends of Hope,”
an organization instrumental in
the property’s restoration.
Today marks the official pub
lic opening with a band concert
at 10:30 and ceremonies at
11:00. Ray S. Wilkinson, chair
man of the Historic Halifax
Restoration Association, was
the featured speaker. The man
sion was opened for public
viewing at noon.
The land on which Hope
Plantation stands was deeded
in 1793 to David Stone by his
father, a wealthy planter. The
property thn consisted of 1,051
acres. Stone married Hannah
Turner a month later, and con
struction of the mansion was
begun almost immediately, it
was completed in 1803, and by
1810 the plantation contained
more than 5,000 acres and em
ployed more than 50 slaves.
David Stone was educated at
Princeton and became active in
politics at an early age. He rep
resented Bertie County at the
convention in Fayetteville in
1789 that ratified the Con
stitution of the United States,
and he served in the North
Carolina House of Commons
from 1790 to 1794.
In 1798 he was elected to the
U. S. House of Representatives
and in 1800 to the U. S. Senate.
He served two one-year terms
as governor in 1808 and 1809
and later returned to both the
North Carolina House of Com
mons and the U. S. Senate. He
died on Oct. 7, 1818, in Wake
County.
Restoration of Hope Plan
tation has been spearheaded by
John E. Tyler who has served
from the beginning of the proj
ect as restoration chairman
and is president of the North
Carolina Society for the Pre
servation of Antiquities.
Prior to the beginning of its
restoration, the mansion was
once described by W. M. Kemp,
a master craftsman who has
done much of the work, as “the
most hopeless thing I have ever
seen.”
An earlier report of the foun
dation states that the house had
at times stood vacant and teen
agers had used the walls as a
place on which to write their
names. At othe times it had
been occupied by tenant fami
lies, and hot coals had burned
through the floor in front of one
of the fireplaces.
The house was spared from
destruction and today it has
been rescued from the years of
abuse and restored to its origi
nal beauty.
The road on which Hope
Plantation is located has been
designated as “The Governor’s
Highway.” In addition to the
house of Gov. Stone, it passes
the home of Gov. Locke Craig,
and the home of Lt. Gov.
Francis D. Winston is not far
away in Windsor.
girl’s camp in Vermont. “Ver
mont is beautiful—cool and
green. We’ve been working there
for six years.”
Man Hired
To Disrupt
Campaigns
NEW YORK (AP) — Time
magazine says that Dwight
Chapin, a deputy assistant to
President Nixon, has admitted
to the FBI that he hired Los
Angeles lawyer Donald H. Segr-
etti to disrupt the campaigns of
Democratic presidential candi
dates.
Time said Sunday that its in
formation came from Justice
Department officials. It said
that it had also learned that
Chapin told the FBI that Segr-
etti’s payment was set by Cali
fornia lawyer Herbert W. Kal-
mbach, Nixon’s personal attor
ney.
The magazine said it had
learned that Kalmbach told the
FBI that the money he paid
Segretti came from cash kept
in the office of Maurice H.
Stans, finance chairman of the
Committee for the Re-election
of the President.
The White House refused
comment on the story, which
appears in Time’s Nov. 6 issue.
There are 5'/4 million in
dependent businesses in the
United States today.
Jimmy Moore, a student at Chowan College and the
great-great-great grandson of Dr. Godwin Cotton
Moore, founder of Chowan Collegiate Female Institute,
views the portrait of Anne Ward, who was the first
graduate of this institution. Young Moore is dressed in a
suit which was typical costume when Chowan opened in
1848.