Z 541
VOL. XX.
WINSTON-SALEM, N. C, FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 22, 1939.
Number I.
SALEM BEQINS ITS 168TH YEAR
We’re "Standing at the Portals
One More Time.
On Thursday morning at 11:15 in
the old chapel, Salem College opened
its 168th year with the entire stu
dent body, faculty, many alumnae,
trustees, and friends of the college
present.
Dr. Rondthaler presided and intro
duced Rev. Spaugh, who read the
Scripture lesson, and Bishop Pfohl,
who gave greetings from the board
of trustees.
The processional “Standing at the
Portals,” the hymn traditionally
used on the opening day, was sung
as the seniors entered the chapel.
The recessional was the hymn.
OUR “NEW” ORGAN
By Carolyn Creson
At last, we have all heard our
“New” Organ; For all of us this
was indeed a thrilling experience,
especially, as Bca« Vardell was at
the Console. For those who visited
the auditorium during the summer,
it waa a truly amazing experience.
Well do I remember my own startled
expression of wonder each timi- I
would peer within the then myster
ious depth of Memorial Hall. In
truth, chaos prevailed — at least my
inexperienced e.vo characterized it
as such. Pipes to the right of
and pipes to the left of me! A
veritable sea of pipes. How order
was to be brought out of all tliis con
fusion constituted for me one of the
seven wonders of the world. Yet on
Wednesday morning at our first
Chapel held in Memorial Hall all
of my doubts were washed away in
that flood of pure beauty that pour
ed from the many throats of our
“new” organ.
Indeed, Salem is justly proud of
this magnificent instrument. Al
though it is not a complete new
organ — the pipes being the same
— it is modern in every respect. In
short, it is electrically controlled and
possesses an amazing flexibility of
action.
But, to me, the most thrilling as
pect of this organ is the grandeuf
and scope of its tone. Yet what can
I say to describe such an intangible
and fleeting characteristic? I think
Milton in his “H Penseroso” has
beautifully expressed that inexpress-
able sensation felt by all true music
lovers in the presence of such beau-
ty.
“Then let the pealing organ blow,
To the full-voiced choir below.
In service high and anthems clear,
As may with sweetness, through
mine ear,
Dissolve me into extasies.
And bring all heaven before mine
eye. ”
Old Copies of Salem-
ite To Be Had In Office
Do you want any copies of old
Salemites! Perhaps your picture
was in the paper in a past issue,
or maybe you especially liked a
feature or a news story of yours
or somebody else’s in an old pa
per. If you’d like to have these
papers, come down to the Sale-
mit« office in the recreation room
Df Clewell Building, and help
jrourself to as many as you want.
They will be there until next Sat
urday.
“Rise, Crowned With Light. ’
Dr. Rondthaler read telegrams of
greetings and congratulations from
Mary Turner Willis, of New Bern;
Peggy Rogers, of Oreensboro; Mary
Worthy Spence, of Carthage; Mar
garet Ricks, of Winston-Salem; and
Mary Thomas, of Knox\'ille; mem
bers' of the graduating class of
1939.
Miss Blair announced that classes
would begin after chapel at 12
o’clock on a half-hour schedule for
the rest of the opening day of Sal
em’s 168th year.
COURTESY JOUUNAL-SENTINEL
On Tuesday Miss Essie Shouso
celebrated 25 years of service at
Salem. In chapel Dr. Rondthaler
paid tribute to her and her work,
and on that evening she and lier
familv were honored at a dinner
party in the Old Chapel.
academy news
ORIENTATION
At the end of last year’s school
terra, student representatives were
elected at S’alem Academy. These
girls have been working hard during
the summer to get the 1030-40 terra
started right. The student repre
sentatives are: Margaret Webb sec
retary, Anne Concord, !Mebane Har
ris, Betty Jones, Jo I.ui-as, Cornelia
Garber, 'Betty Go-^len, and Alice
Smither.
These student rejn'esent.aives have
been trying to make tlie new girls
feel at home. On Saturday night,
September 10, they gave a dance to
acquaint the new girls with the
town boys, and on Sunday night
they sponsored a ride through town.
SPORTS TEAMS
The first night the Academy girls
spent here, drawings were held. Slips
drawn from a loving cup told the
girls to which athletic team they be
longed. The loving cup is the sanie
cup which, at the end of school, is
presented to the team that has had
the largest number of girls taking
part in the yearly sports. The lead
ers of the two teams are: purples,
Mae Goodson; golds, Ronnie Reid.
anntvebsaby
Thursday, September 14, the Aca
demy celebrated with a birthday
demy celebrated with a birthday
party, its ninth year in its present
buildings. The members of the sen
ior class cut the cake.
rAUi SPORTS
Fall sports are now getting under
wav. Hockey, tennis, archery and
modern dancing began during e
past week. Nest week horseback
riding will begin, and will be o
fered one afternoon a week.
FASHION SHOW
Saturday night, September 2,3, at
7:45, there will be a fashion show
parading new fall styles. All col
lege girls are invited.
Williams Lyon
Phelps Coming As
First Speaker Of
Lecture Series
William Lyon Phelps, one of the
foremost literary lecturers in this
country, will begin the Salem College
lecture series for this year on Sep
tember 29. A professor of Knglish
at Harvard, a member of many lion-
orary societies, holding degrees from
a number of outstanding univer
sities, one of the greatest authors of
the day — he would, even without
all these distinctions, be a distin
guished man. His very personality
makes him unique and outstanding.
He is a man who really knows how
to live fully and happily, and with
his radiant philosophy he has in
fluenced and will continue to in
fluence a gr('at many peoi>le. It is
a privilege and an anxiously-await
ed pleasure to have him come to
Salem.
Salemites Appear
In Mozart Festival
After the manner of the festivals
held annually for nearly a century
at Salzburg, the birthplace of Moz
art, Asheville, North Carolina, pre
sented its third Mozart Festival,
August 28-30, 1930. Salem College
was ably represented^by several stu
dents of the voice department, who
i)articipated in the comic opera
“The Marriage of Figaro,” the
grand finale of the festival.
The cast of “The Marriage of Fig
aro” included Kathryn SNvain as
Countess Almaviva; Carolyn Cresoii
as Susanna, her servant; Lillian
Stokes as Cherubino, a page; Robert
.Tensen as Dr. Bartola; Hugh Holt-
houser as Antonio, a gardener; Ted
Modenheimer as Count Almaviva;
James Blair as Figaro, his servant;
Margaret Welfare as Mareellina, a
housekeeper; and Clifford Bair in the
double role of Don Basilio and Don
Curzio. Anna Withers Bair played
the recitative accompaniments.
The opera was successfully per
formed oh August 30. The “.Ashe
ville Times,” August 31, 1939, made
the following comments in the re
view of the performance:
“The oi>era cast displa.ved, not
only pleasing and particularly well-
trained voices, but also admirable
acting ability.
“The performance of Carolyn Cre-
son was outstanding. Her voice,
highly pleasing and well trained, was
supplemented with unusual dramatic
ability, and she was noticeable in
not once departing from her role of
Susanna, gay little servant. James
Rlair, as Figaro, possessed an excel
lent voice and gave a splendid per
formance.
“Kathryn Swain, as Countess Al
maviva, had probably the most beau
tiful voice in the cast, and she re
ceived much applause at the comple
tion of a number of her arias. Her
duet with Miss Creson in Act III
was one of the highlights of the eve
ning. Also possessing a lovely
voice was Lillian Stokes, who played
the part ofCherubino, youthful page.
Her performance demanded ap
plause.’ ’ I
The Musical Courier of September
15, 1039, a national publication,
makes the following comments
about the opera:
“It was a streamlined version of
Figaro that delighted this audience
and brought the festival to a close.
‘ ‘ Among the singers, Kathryn
Swain’s Countess was outstanding
for its nobility and dignity, as well
as for its vocal beauty. Susanna, in
(Continued on Page Two)
New Students Are Now "In”
Registration, sight-seeing tours, a
picnic supper, conferences with sen
ior advisers, Psychological tests,
faculty-served lemonade, and a form
al dinner all contributed t^ making
dyed-in-the-wool Salemites out of 139
new students at Salem College in a
three-day orienation period, Septem
ber 11, 12, and 13.
The new off-campus students were
guests in the dormitories for two
evenings in order that all the en
trants might meet and mingle with
each other before the arrival of up-
per-classinen.
Miss Marian H. Blair, registrar,
and Dr. Minnie J. {?mith, freshman
adviser, registered the excited new
comers Monday morning at nine
o'clock, after which unpacking was
finished and the campus explored.
Lunch in the dining room, to which
mothers and dads were invited, was
followed by a hatless ride through
Winston-Salem.
After the annual Y. W. C. A. pic
nic supper, served on upper campus,
a hearty welcome was voiced by
President Howard Rondthaler in the
Old Chapel.
Ati eight o’clock Monday evening,
senior advisers were introduced by
Elizabeth Hendrick, Clififside, presi
dent of the Student Self-Government
Many of you new students —
transfers and freshmen — and
probably some of you old stu
dents who formerly had no leisure
time are interested in being on
the Salemite staff. For the past
three years we have conducted
try-outs to find new staff mem
bers. By “try-outs,” we mean
that you who are interested arc to
hand us a sample of your writing
— news reporting, poetry^ feature
specialty or any kind of writ
ing that you particularly like
— and then after examina
tion of your work, we will notify
you of our acceptance or rejec
tion of you as one of our group.
For next week this period of
trial.writing will be in progress.
Leav(' your sample work in the
Salemite office in tlie recreation
room of Clewell Building or hand
it to me.
Sara Harrison.
While all of us have been having
a grand and glorious summer, Mr.
Higgins has been busy putting in a
new inicro-weighi!|ng room in the
chemistl-y laboratory. This new
weighing room which has just been
completed is to be used in connec
tion with micro-analysis. It is di
vided into three compartments: one
is for the balances; one is for an air-
conditioning unit; and one is an en
trance hall. The walls, ceiling, and
floor are insulated with roek-wool.
This is in connection with the air-
conditioning unit, which makes it
possible to maintain the same tem
perature in the weighing room at all
times. The temperature is kept
around seventy degrees.
Tlie balances installed are Kuhl-
man Balances ordered from Ger
many. These are mounted on a con
crete pedestal which is in direct
contact with the ground. The mount
ing is so arranged to reduce vibra
tion and outside influence to a min
imum.
The lighting in the room is pro
duced by two Mercury Vapor Gen
eral Electric lights, giving daylight
light. In connection with the light
ing, the walls arc painted white and
green.
Association; and the more experi
enced seniors began a question an
swering session.
Music in the recreation room of
Louisi^ Bitting Building brought the
first day of orientation to a close.
After psychological tests in Main
Hall, much-needed refreshment was
served by the faculty near the lUy
pond to the students, who then re
turned to take English and Math
tests. Following an afternoon of
swimming or loafing, the freshmen
wero entertained at a formal dinner
by the I. R. S. in the college; dining
room.
“Getting off to a Good Start,” a
talk by Dr. Minnie J. Smith, and
more conferences with senior ad
visers wound up another full day of
initiation.
Wednesday was filled with tests,
swimming, 8hoj)ping, talks, and col
lege moving pictures.
In the evening the freshmen’s
big sisters entertained them at a
scavenger hunt, bringing to a close
the period of orientation which
transformed the green initiates into
full-fledg!d Salemites.
Responsible for this special pro
gram, which was initiated in 1938,
are the members of the Student Self-
Government Association.
”New” Memorial
Hall Presented In
Expanded Chapel
The first expanded chapel in the
renovated Memorial Hall was held
Wednesday morning at eleven
o’clock. The processional was ‘ ‘ My
Country ’Tia of Thee. ’ ’
Dean Vardell, head of our S'alem
music, prcsent-ed the voice of Me
morial Hall, in describing the com
pletely modernized organ. He said
that the music department was ex
ceptionally fortunate in having a
machine in first-class working-order
with which to begin this year. Dr.
Rondthaler presented the spirit of
Memorial Hall, in telling of the sur
roundings. The auditorium of the
building has also been completely
redecorated, with an efficient light
ing system and .«ioft-tone colored
walls. The only unfinished part of
the renovation is the drapery which
is to be hung at the front of the
stage. Dr. Rondthaler said that the
many generous, unsolicited gifts
had made it possible to have this
campus structure restored. He also
enumerated many of the memorials
in the building. Memorial Hall, the
center of worship and learning at
Salem, has grown dear to the hearts
of the students, both of the Acad
emy and College. After reading a
personal letter from Mary Turner
Willis class of 39, Dr. Rondthaler
offered a prayer of recognition and
purpose. Chapel was dismissed with
the singing of the hymn, “Teach
me. My God and King,.”
TRADITIONAL
HOME CHURCH
ATTENDANCE
Sunday, September 17th the stu
dents of Salem Academy and Salem
College went to the Home Moravia*
Church in a body. Going to church
in a body on the first Sunday of the
school year is an old cnstom of both
the Academy and the College. At
the service last Sunday all the stu
dents were welcomed and urged to
think of the Moravian Church as
their Home Church and to become
associate members if they so desire.