MERRY
CHRISTMAS
HAPPY
NEW YEAR
Volume XXXI
Salem College, Winston-Salem, N. C., Friday, December 8, 1950
Number X
Salem Begins Christmas Plans
William Laurence
Author Of
"Hell Bomb"
To Lecture
William Laurence, author, lec-
: turer and science editor of the New
York Times, will speak at 8:30 p.m.,
’ January 8 in Memorial Hall.
Mr. Laurence is the second
speaker in the Salem College Lec-
; ture Series, 1950-51.
' Hell Bomb, a book about the
, atomic bomb, and written by Mr.
I Laurence will be released from the
j publishers on the day that the
5 author appears at Salem.
Mr. Laurence was the first news-
; paperman to write of the discovery
' of Uranium 235 and the fact that
j it held the key to the utilization
■ of atomic energy. Subsequently,
he was requested by the War De
partment as the sole newspaperman
to cover the Nagasaki bombing.
He is the only civilian who has
seen four of the five atomic bomb
explosions.
Mr. Laurence is a two-time win
ner of the Pulitzer Prize. The first
: one was conferred in 1937 for his
1 coverage of the Harvard Tercen
tenary Conference of the Arts and
Sciences. The second was for his
: reporting on the A-Bomb.
He is the author of Dawn Over
, Zero and of numerous magazine
articles. He has written several
plays.
I. R. C. Hears
Dr. Singer
' An informal discussion of the
present world crisis was led by
Dr. Singer at the regular meeting
' of the I. R. C. held at 6:45 Wed-
; nesday night in the living roorrt of
i Bitting.
^ He began the discussion by
J throwing out five major statements:
(1) World War III is here on a
! limited scale.
(2) The duration is entirely in
i the hands of Russia.
; (3) We are now reaping the mis
takes of 13 years of foreign
■ policy.
; (4) We are on the wrong foot
- in Korea.
(5) A free government cannot be
; saved by total war, because
; total war in itself breeds
' totalitarinism.
j From this point the discussion
! was continued by a series of ques-
' tions and answers.
•v At the business meeting it was
decided that the I. R. C. will help
I the student body keep abreast of
I the times by posting daily news
I headlines on dormitory bulletin
I boards.
(xi8 aSvd HO panuijuo^)
Seniors Will
Hold Vespers
The seniors will light the Mo
ravian bees-wax candles at the
traditional Christmas Vespers at
7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 10, in
Memorial Hall.
Bishop Howard E. Rondthaler
will speak on “What Christmas
Should Mean in 1950”. The senior
solo will be presented by Betty
Lou P f a f f, soprano. Reverend
Edwin A. Sawyer will give the
Scripture and Invocation, and Dr.
Charles G. Vardell will be organist.
In the traditional manner seniors
in caps and gowns with their sopho
more pages will distribute lighted
candles among members of the audi
ence. An invitation to attend the
Senior Christmas Vespers is ex
tended to members of the faculty
and student body by Cammy Love
lace, president of the Senior Class.
Robert Merrill
To Sing Here
Robert Merrill, Metropolitan
Opera star, will appear in a con
cert sponsored by the Winston-
Salem Civic Music Association at
Reynolds Auditorium at 8:30 on
Friday, December 15.
Throughout his early youth,
Brooklyn-born Mr. Merrell was
active in amateur musicales and
private entertainments in addition
to choir work. His first profes
sional appearance as a mature
artist took place aboard the S. S.
Rotterdam en route to Havana
when he sang three concerts and
was enthusiastically acclaimed.
At the world famous Metropoli
tan Opera House, Merrill has sung
leading roles in over a dozen major
operas.
The thirty-year-old star of the
RCA Victor “Music America Loves
Best” radio show is versatile in
both singing style and personality;
he is equally at home in operatic
arias of songs of Victor Herbert
or Jerome Kern.
High School
Pupils Perform
High school students were pre
sented in a student recital by the
Salem College School of Music at
5 :00 yesterday afternoon in Memor
ial Hall.
Among the composers whose
music was represented on the pro
gram were Chopin, Bach, Beeth
oven, Shubert, Debussy, Sibelius,
Handel and Rachmaninoff.
AAUWMeets
The Salem College alumnae were
hostesses for a joint meeting of
the American Association of Uni
versity Women and the Salem Col
lege Alumnae Club of Winston-
Salem at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec
ember 7.
This meeting was held in the
Day Students Center of the Col
lege and was highlighted with a
discussion, “Behind the Scenes of
the Lost Colony,” by Dr. Elizabeth
Welch, assistant stage manager of
the production, and Mr. James
Hart, Minister of Music, First
Presbyterian Church, organist, com
poser and ^arranger of the music
for the past five seasons.
They related some interesting
facts about the background, history
and actual production of the play.
Dr. Hart brought with him a singer
(Continued on page seven)
The Home Economics Practice House was
on campus to be decorated for Christmas,
watchman, did the angel head over the door.
one of the first buildings
Mr. Gorsuch, the night
Scholarship
Institute
Sends Speaker
Miss Nuvart Parsghian, a repre
sentative of the Institute of Inter
national Education in New York,
is a visitor today on the Salem
campus. She has come to talk to
the foreign students on the cam
pus who are here under the Insti
tute’s sponsorship and to persons
interested in foreign student acti
vities.
The institute that Miss Parse-
ghian represents has over 2,000 stu
dents in the United States under
their sponsorship. They arrange
for qualified students to come to
the United States, arrange their
transportation, and then keep a
record of the students’ progress.
While at Salem, Miss Parseghian
will also talk to students who are
interested in the Fulbright scholar
ship for study abroadi
Birckel, Pooser
Win Contest
Catherine Birckel and Sis Pooser
won the two cartons of cigarettes
given in the contests held last
week and this week, it was an
nounced today by Clara Belle Le-
Grand, campus representative for
a nationally advertised cigarette.
Home Ec.Tea Given
The annual Home Economics
Club Christmas Tea was held
December 7 in the practice house.
Those included on the invitation
list were the faculty of both the
College and the Academy, the
Trustees, parents of the home eco
nomics majors, the foreign stu
dents and patrons of home eco
nomics at Salem.
The house was decorated in the
usual Christmas reds and greens;
a contrast of white and silver was
used for the center piece on the
table. The decorated tree and the
greens, the little cookie church and
the poinsettas all added to the.holi-
(Continued on page six)
Day Students
Give Party
The day students will have a
decorating party from 6:30 until
8:00 tonight prior to the time
of the judging for the Christmas
decorating contest.
A large tree will occupy the
center of the room. Florence
Spaugh, head of the decorating
committee will build a miniature
putz on the piano. The windows
will be painted with white ink and
covered with snowflakes. Green
candles and snow will be used. The
doorways and walls will be strung
with wreaths made of laurel, and
artificial poinsettias will be sprink
led on the front part of the wall.
Assisting in design are Bobbie Lee,
Polly Hartle and Fay Fuller.
Carolyn Johnson, head of the re
freshment committee, will serve
cokes and cookies to about thirty
day students who will assist with
the decorating.
The day students plan to cele
brate their annual Christmas Party
in the Center sometime next week.
uniors
Banquet
Plan
The annual Christmas banquet,
which is given by the Junior class
in honor of the Seniors, will be
held at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Decem
ber 12 in the Salem College dining
room.
The room will be decorated for
Christmas, with a Christmas tree
as the center of attraction.
Dr. Howard Rondthaler will give
the invocation after which Ann
Sprinkle, President of the Junior
class, will welcome the guests. A
toast to the Seniors will follow.
Cammy Lovelace, President of the
Senior class, will then respond
with a toast to the Juniors. Dr.
Gramley, speaker for the evening,
I will be followed by Bobbie Lee
' singing “The Christmas Song” and
“Rudolph the Red Nose Raindeer”.
■ Florence Cole will accompany Bob-
(Continued on page seven)
Putz, Cookies
Play A Part
In Christmas
Salem will celebrate Christmas
this year with traditions which have
been in practice for many years.
One of the oldest Christmas cus
toms is the Putz, built in Brothers’
House by members of the Moravian
church. This Putz always depicts
in miniature some scene in old
Salem.
Two other traditions originated
by the Moravians are the Christ
mas star, hung in Memorial Hall
and in front of the dining hall, and
the Moravian cookies which are
served at school before the holidays.
There are two Christmas customs
reserved especially for the Seniors.
The last Sunday before going home
the Seniors hold their annual
Christmas Vespers. They entertain
the students with caroling the night
before the holidays begin.
One custom which encourages
much originality and enthusiasm
is the decoration of the dormi
tories. Each dorm holds a party
to exchange gifts, sing, and play
games.
A formal Christmas banquet is al
ways given by the Juniors to honor
the Senior class. The dining room
is decorated with a huge Christmas
tree, and the banque tis climaxed
with a visit from Santa Claus him
self.
Noel Customs
Are Explained
Mrs. Howard E. Rondthaler, who
was hostess at Salem for forty
years, spoke in chapel yesterday.
Her topic was “Traditions and Cus
toms of Old Salem”.
Mrs. Rondthaler told of the sim
plicity of the Moravian Church
which is five hundred years old
and began in Europe. “The Christ
mas star is in every Moravian
Church and home and is composed
of twenty-five points which are
easily put together.”
“The orthodox Christmas cookies
are always prepared, and there used
to be a school holiday when this
baking was done. Many families
have had the same cookie cutters
for years.”
The next topic was that of the
Christmas Putz and the making of
the beeswax candles. Both of these
were exhibited in the Brothers
House yesterday and today from
2:00—9:00 p.m.
Mrs. Rondthaler ended with “I
want to wish you all a very Merry ,
Christmas with lots of joy, excite-
(Continued on page six)
Gramley, Hixson
Attend Meeting
Dr. Gramley and Miss Hixson
represented Salem at the meeting
of the Southern Association of Col
leges and Secondary Schools held
from December 4 through 6 in
Richmond, Virginia.
Contest Closes
The I. R. S. Christmas Deco
rations Contest will come to a close
tonight.
The social rooms of Bitting,
Strong, Sisters, South, Clewell, and
the Day Students’ Center will be
judged on originality and attractive
ness. A prize will be given for
each of these qualities.
The general plan and cost of de
corations will also be considered
by the judges — Mr. Shewmake,
Miss Hodges and Mrs. Heidbreder.