CSutlforitan
Volume LXVIII, No. 9
True Guilfordian Dies
Algie Newlin, professor of
history and political science at
Guilford College from 1924 to
1966, was born on a farm in
Alamance County North
Carolina, the ninth in a family of
eleven children. As a child, he ac
quired a love of the lore of the
past from listening to stories his
grandmother told about life in
nineteenth-century North
Carolina. Newlin entered
Guilford College in 1916 where he
found electricity and running
water luxuries he had not known
at home. At Guilford his interest
in the past was translated into the
broader prospects of historical
study offered by the college.
When he graduated in 1921 he was
awarded the Haverford Scholar
ship, one of the two most
prestigious awards in the college
of that day. Newlin's athletic
achievements led him to be nam
ed one of the three greatest
athletes in Guilford's history to
date. He completed a master's
degree at Haverford in 1922 and
returned to Guilford in 1924 to re
main for the rest of his life, with
time out to complete a doctorate
at the University of Geneva and
for service with Quaker organiza
tions. Until 1939 he was the
history department, the chair
man of himself, as he put it. In
reflecting on those years he said
he and colleagues must have
been "gluttons for punish
ment "--seekers after the impossi
ble. But in his total commitment
to his work and to Guilford's
ideals, traditions and students,
what might have seemed im
possible was made possible. In
the 1920's Newlin created the
courses he knew were needed for
a solid history major and taught
them all. He was one of the last of
Commemoration: Gone
But Not Forgotten
By Kerry McKay
A commemoration of the birth
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was held on campus three weeks
ago, January 13-16. The tribute
began on Sunday, Jan. 13, with a
benediction by Rev. Walter M.
Richmond, and a speech by Rev.
M. Anthony Lang. The audience
was entertained afterwards by
the New Hope Baptist Senior and
Gospel Choir. About one hundred
and fifty people attended this
event in Sternberger Auditorium.
On Monday night, Jan. 14,
students, faculty, and professors
packed Sternberger to view the
films "Amazing Grace," "I Have
A Dream," and "Dr. King's
Life." Tuesday evening, Jan. 15,
in Founders Gallery, one hundred
people gathered to hear speaker
by Alex Stoesen, Sarah Malino, William Burris
that faculty which went unpaid
for months during the depths of
the Great Depression and later
gave part of their salaries to
create a student loan fund. In a
very real sense the college owes
its continued existence to Newlin
and his colleagues of that era.
Known to several generations
of Guilford students for his hard
examinations, attention to detail
and strict grading, no one ever
signed up for Algie Newlin's
courses expecting an easy time.
They did, however, find a man of
deep understanding, knowledge
of a wide range of historical
fields, and a sense of humor they
would recall with fondness long
after they had graduated. Some
of his students thought of him as a
role model, the person they would
most like to emulate in their
lives.
Newlin served on virtually
every faculty committee in
cluding at least a dozen impor
tant special committees. One of
these, the Campus Committee,
which he chaired in 1930'5, led the
effort to spruce up the campus for
the celebration of the college's
centennial in 1937. By the time
this work was finished, over 1,100
trees and shrubs had been
planted and 12,000 square feet of
flagstone walk had been laid.
Dozens of lesser projects were
also finished with Newlin doing
much of the lifting and carrying,
himself. Later he and members
of his family would build their
home on Foxwood Drive with
their own hands. It became a
place where he and his wife Eva
extended hospitality to many
students, especially foreign
students, who found a home
there.
Algie Newlin was an easy man
Cleveland Sellars' talk on
"Principles and Ideals of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr." After
the talk, Ken Schwab moderated
a panel response. The panel con
sisted of James France, student
and president of student affairs
at A&T State University; Tom
Jarrell, student and President of
the Community Senate at
Guilford; Adrienne Manns and
Pella Stokes held a workshop on
"Institutional Racism." It was
beautiful to see so many people
get involved. Much thanks goes to
faculty members Claudette
Franklin, Ed Lowe, Jackie Ludel,
Adrienne Manns, Claire Morse,
Ken Schwab, Sam Schuman, and
Bob Wynn, as well as to Guilford
'students Jill Bradshaw, Laura
Collins, and Becky Gunn.
Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C. 27410
to get to know and to come to
love. His warm personality was
one which enabled him to relate
to a wide range of people. He was
never pompous or standoffish. He
was always kind, friendly, or
dinary, approachable and in
terested in other people and their
work. His spirit always lent a
special presence and quality to
any activity or occasion he at
tended. It would probably be im
possible to find anyone who did
not respect and admire Algie
Newlin. He could have chosen
other more lucrative or
prestigious callings, but he
preferred to remain as a pro
fessor and to develop and amplify
the lives of Guilford's students.
Newlin was rewarded by their
success in graduate school, law
school and in a wide variety of
careers.
While Algie Newlin taught
courses ranging from
Renaissance and Reformation to
recent American history, he was
a specialist in Quaker genealogy
and North Carolina history. In
1965 he published his masterful
genealogy of the Newlin family,
and in retirement wrote a series
of studies on North Carolina
topics including: The Battle of
New Garden, Charity Cook: A
Liberated Woman and At the Spr
ing: A History of Spring Monthly
Meeting. His work in local and
family history paralleled one of
Staff Prank Mocks Signs
By Doc Roberts
On January 7 Anne Devaney
had signs installed in Founders
Hall identifying such places as
"Commons," "Mailroom,"
Kitchen," and "Stair." These
were presumably to benefit those
who were not familiar with
certain rooms and lounges in
which meetings were to be held.
This then inspired a staff
member, who asked to be
referred to as "Deep Joke," to
parody these signs. On January
28th more signs appeared,
identifying such items as
"ceiling," "door," "thermostat,"
and "water fountain." Was this
addition to the sign collection
meant only for our vocabulary
enrichment?
In an exclusive interview with
The Guilfordian, Deep Joke
commented, "Them what done it
had rued the fact that with
today's conservative student
body, it was up to the staff to
perpetrate such pranks. Someone
had to take the intitiative.
The idea came from practical
jokes pulled at a neighboring
institution by "real students,"
who knew how to mock the
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the major trends in historical
scholarship in the United States
in the last two decades.
Algie Newlin has provided us
with the model of graceful, pro
ductive retirment. In addition to
his scholarly activity, he taught
North Carolina history at
Guilford until 1971, in various
classes on request, and remained
intellectually and physically
vigorous until his final brief il
lness. At the time of his death he
was serving on a special commit
tee to plan for the sesquicenten
nial of the college.
The passing of Algie Newlin
administration. According to
Deep Joke, the school had put up
signs on days of important
visitations, dedicating buildings
to those who had funded them.
The students, in turn, put signs
around campus such as, "SKY -
Gift of the God Foundation."
This sort of prank is not without
precedent here at Guilford; it is
an honorable tradition for the
staff to pull jokes on students.
The chains which line the
walkways and keep students
from wearing paths across the
lawns once played a part in one of
these pranks. A certain clique of
professors thought that "Keep
Off the Grass" signs were not
eloquent enough to grace the
walkways of such a fine
institution as Guilford, and so the
joke began. The pranksters made
up poetic passages which wordily
said "Stay On the Path," and
attributed the quotations to
famous classic poets. These
sayings were then put on signs
which were attached to the
chains all around campus. It
wasn't until a couple of years
later that an English professor
finally claimed that these poets
has never said such things. (To
this day there are probably
February 8, 1985
marks the end of an era of direct
contact with the college's past.
His was a connection that went
directly back to Lewis Lyndon
Hobbs and on through the ad
ministrations of Raymond Bin
ford, Clyde A. Milner and
Grimsley T. Hobbs. He could
describe in detail dozens of
events both major and minor
along with scores of faculty
members including some he
described as "rare characters".
His love of Guilford College and
work on its behalf has few
equals; his quiet, dignified and
learned influence will endure.
former students who have said
that Walt Whitman is their
favorite poet simply because of
some poetry that was attributed
to him.)
There is also another prank
which has gone unnoticed by the
students for over a decade. The
Guilfordian has learned from
Deep Joke that the faculty
created a department and offered
a major which does not offically
exist. It is lamented that some
former students have actually
graduated with a degree from
this department, only to later find
that it was all just a joke.
"The clue to identifying this
fictitious department,' says Deep
Joke, "is to knock on all faculty
member's doors and see which
offices are empty. However,
since most faculty members are
never in their offices anyway, it
is still difficult."
Students cannot help but
wonder whether such things as
take-home final exams and the
price we pay for meals may also
be part of this prank by the
faculty conspiracy. According to
Deep Joke, there is an ancient
Asian proverb which says, "If
you can tickle yourself, you can
laugh when you please."