r
May 23, 1952
THE TWIG
Page tiiree
KIHY BARBEHENN
ACCEPTED BY NAVY
By BARBARA WHITE
What next!” was the phrase
on every lip as the exciting
news about Kitty Barbehenn
passed from suite to suite
throughout the campus with the
speed of electricity. It was on
the eve of February 11 that
this history-making event oc
curred; Katherine Anna Barbe
henn with due solemnity and
dignity did solemnly swear that
she would bear true allegiance
to the United States of America,
and that she would protect her
country against any enemies
whomsoever, and she did further
swear that she would obey the
orders of the President of the
United States of America and
the officers placed above her.
Then on April 28, Kitty received
the thrilling news that she had
been accepted for ROC-Two,
Reserve Officers’ Candidate
Program.
Just what does all this mean,
you ask. To be specific, it means
that Kitty will spend two sum
mers of six weeks, basic training
at Bainbridge, Maryland. Just to
give the reader an idea of life in
the Navy, a look into the future
provides the answer. July and
August of this summer will find
Cadet Barbehenn busy from re
veille to taps on a split-second
schedule. Daily routine will in
clude muster, meals, morning
quarters, classes, shots, and
drill, with linen exchange, in
spection, and pay line thrown in
to break the monotony. After
this, the now Ensign Barbehenn
will have two busy years as a
member of the United States
Naval Reserve on active duty,
one of which may include ad
vanced education or graduate
work. Kitty is considering work
in the field of cartography and
convoy routing, or possibly per
sonnel work; however it is
probable that the Navy already
has a big future plann^ for her.
As for vital statistics. Miss
Barbehenn stands five feet and
four inches high, has blond hair,
blue eyes, and handles a wicked
paint brush! Among her favor
ite hobbies are sailing, sewing,
and meeting people. She hails
from Plainfield, New Jersey.
She attended the Hartridge
School for Girls, and Radcliffe
College before coming to Mere
dith. Her curriculum at Mere
dith includes a major in art, and
minors in history and Latin.
Membership in the I.R.C., Folk
Dance Club, and Art Editor of
the Oak Leaves are to be found
among her extra-curricular ac
tivities. And, of course, this list
has recently been expanded to
include Monday night with its
Reserve meetings. Meredith has
good reason to be proud of its
contribution to the armed serv
ices. And the best o’ luck to you,
Kitty Barbehenn!
GWEN HORNE
(Continued from page one)
life of every Meredith girl. Each
edition of The Twig of that dec
ade was chucked full to the
brim with articles on these sub
jects.
Oops! I almost forgot to add
that you as a Meredith girl of
the 1920’s get your Twig every
week, but now as we journey
back to the present year of
1952, I’m sure you’ll agree that
the waiting of another week for
our Twig is worth it because I
think our 1952 Twig is better
than ever!
Before I really do forget, let
me point out something which
goes to prove that times may
change, but certain things re
main the same. Advertisements
in the early Twigs were differ
ent, I agree, but many of
them were advertising wedding
dresses and invitations. So you
see, girls, the early Meredith
girls had nothing on us!!
DAY STUDENT DOINGS
By CHARLOTTE TAYLOR
We’ve heard so much about
the A.F. of L. and the C.I.O.
lately, that I would like to give
a bit of publicity to the
P.P.P.P.P. This stands for the
People Putting Prunes on Party
Plates Union of America, and
consists of that unoriginal little
group of dinner party hosts and
hostesses who delight in decora
ting all their salads with an
over-sized variety of the com
mon raisin. These people open
ly declare that they are unor
ganized, but I have always
insisted that they have clandes
tine meetings and conspire
against their innocent guests.
Several weeks ago, I was for
tunate enough to be invited to
the meeting of P.P.P.P.P. Local
No. 5, which was to change my
attitude toward prunes. I ar
rived with my friend, Gertrude
Blatzmore, who is a very active
member of the organization.
The- meeting was held in the
back of an old warehouse, mere
ly to add a bit of subversion to
the occasion, so said Gertie. We
entered the dingy room and
took our seats near the back.
Over the rostrum was a large
sign in red letters which boldly
declared, “Once a Prune, Al
ways a Prune.” I chuckled at the
cleverness of the slogan, but
was stopped dead in my tracks
by what stood beneath it. It
seemed to be a rather squat lit
tle figure that was completely
dominated by two big bushy
eyebrows that waved gently
back and forth in the breeze
from the open window. Two
cold, beady eyes stared steadily
at me, reading my every
thought.
I clutched Gertie’s frail arm
with an iron grip, and as she
winced and turned grey, I whis
pered in a choked voice, “Ger
tie, I don’t think IT likes me,”
pointing a trembling finger at
the figure. “Oh, him. That’s our
new president, John L. Prune-
whip. He’s harmless if he takes
a fancy to you, but he sure
swings a mighty left if he
doesn’t.” Instinctively I knew
she meant left eyebrow. At that
moment the monster called the
meeting to order.
“Fellow Prune Lovers, let us
stand and sing one verse of ‘I’ll
be Eating Prunes Always,’ ac-
compani^ by our genial pian
ist, Miss Blatzmore.” Gertie
scurried toward the front and
plunked down on the piano; she
then picked herself up and sat
on the stool. I must confess I
was touched by the fervor of
those voices raised in triumph
ant song. Cheers and clapping
followed as Gertie blushingly
found her way back to her seat.
The old and new business was
carried out with minor mis
haps. The dues were raised with
the swish of an eyebrow, and
not a murmur was heard. A bit
of confusion was caused by one
broken-down debutante who in
sisted on relating the enjoy
ment she received shooting her
prunes on the salads standing in
the kitchen door and using the
new beanshooter she got for
Christmas. No sooner had her
friends succeeded in quieting
her than another lady told of a
member who had turned traitor
to the Union and served apri
cots instead of prunes on her
salad plate. The loyal members
screamed “Down with the trai
tor,” and one little man caught
himself before he lost his head
BSU Council Visit
Beach Weekend
On Friday, May 9, the retir
ing and incoming BSU Councils
went to Morehead for a week
end of fun and Christian fellow
ship. The group gathered to dis
cuss the activities of the old
year and to formulate plans for
the coming year. The retiring
council advised the newcomers
on matters of improving the
present program, and the new
council members spent time set
ting up goals for next year.
Incidentally, these girls
soaked up quite a bit of sun, as
witnessed by the peeling pro
cess which occurred last week.
STUDENTS CHOOSE JOBS
(Continued from page one)
and Mary Evelyn Hensley as re
ligious workers with the State
Baptist Board.
Emily Boone will spend the
summer working at a hotel at
Virginia Beach as a waitress,
while Millie Green will bask in
the sun as pool life guard in Tar-
boro. Nancy House will become
well acquainted with her home
town while selling one-volume
encyclopedias.
Not to be overlooked are the
girls for whom there will be no
change in work, those spending
their summers in summer
schools; Pug Blalock at Duke,
Trevah Garrett at Carolina,
Emma Jean Maddrey at E.C.C.
Many more belong to this
group.
Summer is always fun,
whether spent at home loafing,
or away working, or in school
— shall we say, studying?
T H E R E '5
c
IN THE AIR
By BETTY MILLER
There really is music in the
air at Meredith! If you don’t be
lieve it, just take a stroll over
towards the Music Building—
just any time you take a notion!
I was reading a joke in the
Etude the other day which fits
the situation perfectly.
The bass Lablache and the
baritone Tamburini possessed
enormously powerful voices.
Rossini, known as a wit, wrote
from Paris to a friend in Italy:
“Lablache and Tamburini sang
the duet from Bellini’s The Pur
itans. I need not tell you any
thing about their performance
— you must have heard it your
self.”
If you have been anywhere
near the Music Building lately,
you know what I mean. All day
a medley of songs, (not always
blending) can be heard. At
night, recitals, recitals, and
more recitals! On Friday even
ing, May 2, Linda Swann, Bar
bara Harper, and Louise Stew
art gave a joint recital. All
three of these girls are studying
to be Public School Music
teachers.
On May Day weekend, the
chorus gave its annual spring
t
f
concert under Miss Beatrice
Donley’s capable leadership. On
Monday night, the music fra
ternity on campus. Sigma Alpha
Iota, gave a Modern Music
Recital. I was a little surprised
at the apparent lack of inter
est in modern music. There
certainly could have been more
people to support the fraternity.
Jackie Creef gave her gradu
ating recital May 10. Angerline
Whitfield gave her piano recital
May 13, Elsie Williams gave her
graduation recital in organ May
14. On May 17, Faith Frye gave
her graduating recital in piano.
Pat Sullivan, a transfer student
from Florida, gave her voice re
cital May 21.
I also read a joke in a new
magazine out — Repertoire —
which I’d like to pass on to you.
“She plays the piano with a
great deal of feeling — feeling
around for the keys.” (Of
course this could apply to no
one on our campus.)
I would like to congratulate
Miss Donley, the head of the
voice department, for being the
dedicatee of the 1952 annual.
A worthier person could not
be found. She well deserves the
honor.
IF YOU DON^T LIKE HORSES, YOU SHOULD
LEARN TO LIKE THEM, ADVISES INSTRUCTOR
By MARJORIE BLANKEN
SHIP
Most kids love horses. Few,
especially if they hail from a
city, get the chance to ride in
early years. Then some of them
come to Meredith College
where, thanks to Mrs. Miriam
Todd Hitt, instructor, Ann Bru
ton, student instructor, and
Zeno Martin, college bursar and
horse fan, they get the chance
not only to ride, but to ride cor
rectly and safely.
Most girls sign up for the
course with mixed feelings.
Donning their jeans and plaid
shirt and breaking a switch
from a nearby tree, they head
for the stables. There, warily
eyeing the little steel things
which they come to know as
stirrups and solving the mys
tery of the double bridle, they
receive their first instruction in
riding. After mastering the pre
liminary lessons of mounting
and dismounting and after con
quering the mdinentary feeling
of hydrophobia when first sitting
on top of 1100 pounds of animal,
they have scheduled workouts
in the ring, learning to walk,
trot, pace, and eventually to
canter. Then they put this skill
to use on the trails. At first it
was necessary to control every
thing from fear of the first fall to
holding one’s feet steady in the
stirrups, but the ensuing months
proved fruitful. The girls were
mighty proud when Mrs. Hitt,
surveying her new crop of
and yelled “Down with Prune-
whip,” a terrorized look on his
face.
Well, that’s about all, except
for the inspiring message given
by President Prunewhip on
“Why I Like Prunes.” As we
walked home through the star
lit night, I knew I had changed.
I could never be anything else
but a prune. Come over to din
ner some night and see!
riders, remarked recently, “All
of you can ride now. I don’t
have the least bit of apprehen
sion for any of you.”
Although all phases of the rid
ing course are fun, perhaps the
most eagerly awaited event of
the year is the spring breakfast
ride when Mr. Martin, as host,
takes the group out at 6 a.m.
through five miles of un
disturbed morning countryside
to a pine grove owned by John
Morton, trust officer of Ra
leigh’s Wachovia Bank. Located
near Crabtree Creek, the grove
is equipped with a big outdoor
grill. Hungry and refreshingly
exhausted after the invigor
ating ride, the girls tie their
horses to the fence and sur
rounding trees and wait while
three Meredith cooks prepare
ham and eggs in a tremendous
skillet.
Next in popularity is the sup
per ride when Mrs. Hitt leads
the girls off in a fast canter to
an open clover field. The supper
part of the ride is incidental, as
members of the party drink
cokes and eat their knapsack
suppers on top of their mounts.
The excitement is afterward
when the races through the
broad expanse of clover begin.
The Meredith and St. Mary’s
girls and the town students tak
ing riding are justly proud of the
course at Meredith, the only
North Carolina college to own
its own stables. Under the care
of Jim Nelson and Bud Worley,
the stable boys, the twenty-
seven horses and five colts con
sume around 14,600 bales of hay
in a school term, a great part of
which is grown on the 170-acre
college campus. The horses may
be divided into two groups:
the Tennessee walking horses,
which are used primarily for
leisurely riding, and the Ameri
can saddle breed, which are
breed, which are used by the
students in instruction and in
the Horse Show. In the summer,
most of the horses are taken to
Blowing Rock to participate in
more horse shows and the equi
tation program at Camp Yonah-
lossee where Mrs. Hitt is direc
tor of riding.
It is impossible to attend one
of Mrs. Hitt’s riding courses
without having some of her en
thusiasm for the sport rub off
on you. Conducting her classes
as informally as possible, her
side comments add as much col
or to the instruction as does her
actual teaching. “If you don’t
like horses, you should learn to
like them,” she warns her stu
dents. “Your husbands will
probably like to ride. This also
applies to golf. I don’t want any
of you to end up as golf wi
dows.” However, she doesn’t
have to give her students a pep
talk, for they work hard from
pure enjoyment, judging by the
loss of excess weight and the
hard muscles and tanned faces.
Mrs. Hitt has been riding
since the age of three. During
this time she has broken horses,
ridden professionally for eight
years, and taught riding for
twenty-two years. Before com
ing to Meredith eight years ago,
she rode professionally, cover
ing the southern circuit with
cities such as Clearwater, Mi
ami and Jacksonville, Florida;
A.tlanta, Georgia, and Green
ville, South Carolina. When
asked if riding is her main in
terest in life, she laughingly as
serts, “No, but it runs a close
second to my twenty-two year
old son, who’s an Ensign in the
navy at Memphis.”
In addition to the regular
ly scheduled classes, the girls
have organized a Hoof Print
club, which functions purely for
the enjoyment of riding. Be
sides planning extracurricular
riding excursions, the club oc
casionally sponsors a gymkhana
in which the Meredith students
challenge the town students in
games such as tag (which is
identical to the milder version,
(Continued on page four)