A LETHE!A
Volume 2, Number 4
Montreat-Anderson College,
November 20, 1978
■Faculty Accomplishmenti
Gray
Earns Ph. D.
Recently, Richardson Gray,
an Engli:^ professor at
Montreat-Anderson, earned
his Doctorate degree in
American Literature from
Ohio University in Athens,
Ohio. He worked on his degree
for five years. The
requirements for his degree
included course work, com
prehensive exams, and a
dissertation. He spent two
years writing his dissertation,
which he sent in parts to Ohio
University. The dissertation
was entitled, “A Christian
Extentialist: A Vision of
Walker Percy.”
On October 13 and 14, he
took his comprehensive
exams, which entailed an
eight hour essay test, and the
next day, he gave a twenty
minute lecture on his
dissertion. During the
remainder of the three hours,
he was questioned by three
teachers.
Stierwalt To Play In. N.Y.
Extended Dry Spell Plagues
WNC With Forest, Brush Fires
(continued
Montreat-Anderson College
Music Instructor Tom
Stierwalt has received an
invitation to perform in a
piano concert at New York
City’s Carnegie Hall on May 2,
1979. The prestigious in
vitation was issued by the
reknown concert pianist
Eugene List, who was
Stierwalt’ s instructor at
Eastman School of Music in
Rochester, New York.
He will be one of ten pianists
performing on Concert Grand
Pianos under the direction of
Eugene List, who directoed a
simUar nationally-televised
concert at Carnegie Hall last
year.
“I was overwhelmed by the
invitation,”Stierwalt adn^ts.
“Many great pianists never
have this opportunity in a
lifetime. I’m looking forward
to it, but not without some
apprehension, of course. New
York critics can be brutal.”
Stierwalt, who is Chairman
of Montreat-Anderson’ s
Department of Music, has
taught Piano, Organ, and
Music at the college since
1%9. A native of Fremont,
Oregon, he was graduated
with a Master’s Degree in
Music from Eastman, where
he also completed his un
dergraduate studies in Music.
Montreat-Anderson College
is a Christ-centered liberal
arts junior college located in
the Blue Ridge Mountains
near Asheville, NC
by Stuart Jones
An extended spell of dry
weather has plagued the
mountains of Western North
Carolina this fall, resulting in
numerous brush and forest
fires. A number of these fires
are caused by careless
campers and hikers. Because
of this, the Forestry Service
has issued restricticms on the
activities of campers, in
cluding a ban on campfires, in
an effort to avoid more fires.
Another cause for some
fires is arson. State Fire
Marshalls have determined
several Western North
Carolina fires to have been
deliberately set. Also, several
fires on Old Fort Mountain,
among others, are believed to
have been caused by sparks
from trains passing through
the area.
With the present conditions,
a fire can start easily and
spread rapidly. Earle Wat
son, who has manned the fire
tower on Rich Mountain (west
of Boone) for 19 years, says,
“It’s almost like a powder keg
now. It would take at least two
or three days of good steady
rain right now to eliminate the
danger of forest fires. ” He said
that there now exists the
greatest danger of fire in
nearly twenty years.
Locally, the Black Mountain
Fire Department extinguished
brush fires on October 23 and
24 and again on November 5,
responding with as many as
two engines and eighteen men.
The Swannanoa Volunteer
Fire Department responded to
four calls between the 25th and
29th of October, including two
on New Salem Road less than
four hours apart. Both were
believed to have been set by
children.
On the M-AC campus, the
Wilderness and Conservation
Club has organized three
firefighting crews to assist
federal and state crews when
necessary. These crews are
made up of both men and
women, the only requirements
being interested and a timed
run up and down Lookout
Mountain, by way of Suicide.
Crew chiefs include Eric
Bryant, Bill Beatley, Arlene
Burns, and Matt Knapp.
It has been a number of
years since the Montreat area
has been threatened by a
major fire. According to Andy
Andrews, a Montreat resident
since January of 1965, the only
major fire in the area occured
on Easter in 1966. Ap
parently, some students were
clearing land on Big Piney
Mountain, which is behind
Assembly Inn, and let the fire
they were using to bum brush
get out of control. Mr. An
drews also says that M-AC
students have fought fires
near Mt. Mitchell, along the
Blue Ridge Parkway, and as
far away as Georgia.
Each year, particularly
during the spring and autumn
months, forest fires are major
hazards in the North Carolina
mountains. It’s good that M-
AC students are making every
effort to help contain existing
fires and to prevent new ones
from starting. These efforts
are very beneficial to local
residents and to Western
North Carolinians in general.
Library Proposals Being Discussed
Crater Susan Returns
by Karl E. Peters
“Crater Susan’ ’ has once
again entered the Umelight.
Reactions to the sight of the
empty lake differ among the
various groups wi campus.
The new students could be
heard commenting on the
ugly view it makes while sighs
of “Here we go , again” cir
culated among those that
remember the long battle to
fix ttie dam over the last few
years.
Rumors as to the reason for
needing ttie lake to be drained
also vary widely. The
problem centers around, not a
crack in the dam, but leakage
under it When the dam was
last repaired, the area on the
upstream side of it was filled
in with soil. The soU has
allowed water to break
through at the base and made
it necessary to drain the lake
for repairs. The problem is
not a major one and can be
corrected by replacing the soil
with red clay which will hold
better.
The original contractor will
be contacted about the repairs
first but another will be ap
proached if the original can
not or will not complete the
work in the very near future.
Once the work is begun, it
should take only a few days to
complete and the process of
refilling the lake can begin
once again.
by Karl E. Peters
Some action may soon be
taken on the late evening
study problems here at
Montreat. In the S.G.A.
meeting of November 6, 1978,
two proposals were brought up
for discussion that would
attempt to ease the problem of
studying between the hours of
ten and eleven p.m. As it now
stands, the library closes at
ten with quiet hours in the
dorms not starting until
eleven.
The first proposal, if ap
proved, would lengthen the
library hours in the evening to
ten-thirty or eleven cutting
down or eliminating the gap in
prime study time. In the event
that this doesn’t pass or for
some other reason becomes.
unworkable, a second
proposal was also brought up.
This proposal would allow for
one room in each dorm to be
set aside for study to ac
comodate those who need to
study during that hour and
other times.
As of this time, neither
proposal has been approved
by the admisistration. Joey
Shore, President of the S.G.A.
says that “the administration
is very concerned about this
problem”and that he “expects
action on these two S.G.A.
proposals in the near future.”
Further discussion on this
subject will be held in the
S.G.A. meeting of November
20, 1978.
CBU Conference
Well Attented
by Brenda Irwin
CBU (Christian Brothers
United) hosted ■ a conference
the weexend November 16,17,
and 18 with a theme of “No
Longer Babes” here in Mon
treat. Different speakers and
singers • were* there to share
with those attending.
Jamie Buckingham, author,
teacher and pastor in
Melbourne, Florida; Harold
Hill, best-selling author of
“How to Live Like a King’s
Kid”, teacher and scientist;
and Devem Fromke, teacher
and author all spoke at
various times throughout the
conference.
A time for singing and
praise \ was provided by Ray
Baker, an Elder in the
Tabernacle, three times a day
Friday and Saturday. Also
sharing through music was
Jeannie C. Riley, Country and
Western singer who made
popular the song “Harper
Valley PTA”. She shared ,
now the Lord changed her life
and gave her a great joy in her
life; and Janet Clark, pianist
who has played at previous
CBU Conferences.
A Love Feast (Communion
Service) was led by Jamie
Buckingham Saturday night
for all those who attend the
conference.
Name Tags were required
for all those who attend the
events. They were given out
Thursday afternoon at
Registration.
Aletheis’s First Contest
Poetry
Short
Story
Drawing
Rules
Poems — must be typed (double-spaced) and must
be original. Length does not matter, and the topic of
the poem does not matter. There will be a first
second, & third prize given .
Short Stories — must be typed (double-spaced) and
must be original. Subject matter is not important.
Short Stories should not exceed 5 type-written pages.
Drawing must be done on white paper and
outlined in black ink, so that they will reproduce well
in the newspaper. Entries may be in the form of
cartoons or sketches. Subject matter is not im
portant, but entries should be original.
All entries wiu oe judged by the editors of Aletheia
and should be submitted directly to the editors or
placed in the newspaper box in the Faculty Office in
Gaither. In order to be judged by our Dec. 9 issue,
entries should be submitted no later than Monday
Dec. 4.
Show
your
Artistic
Abilities!