The S. N. S. Messenger
Vol. I. No. 1 Elizabeth City, N. C. - May, 1937 Single Copies, Five Cents
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL GETS
APPROPRIATION OF $109,000.00
*
Commencement
Events To Start
May Sixteenth
Rev. Isaac Fisher To De
liver Baccalaureate
Address
The baccalaureate sermon on
May 16, at 3 p. m. will mark the
beginning: of the graduation exer
cises for the senior class of 1937.
The sermon will be preached by
the Rev. Isaac Fisher of Hampton
Institute, Hampton, Virginia.
Senior Class Day exercises will
be held in Moore Auditorium on
Wednesday, May 19, at 11 p. ,m.
At this time the valedictorian of
the grammar grade class, Wendell
Jones, the valedictorian of the pri
mary class, Aurelia Lester, will
deliver orations.
Thursday, May 20, is Alumni
Day. Many of the alumni will be
present to discuss new business
for the ensuing year and complete
the old business of the past year.
Some of the chief activities of the
day will be the pilgrimage to the
grave of Dr. P. W. Moore, the
founder of the school; the Junior
Oratorical Contest, and the An
nual Reception in honor of the
Senior Class.
Friday, May 21, will close a
week of stirring activity. Dr. D. O.
W. Holmes of the Graduate School
of Howard University will deliver
the graduation address. At this
time diplomas are to be presented
to more than two hundred seniors
by President J. H. Bias.
FACULTY NEWS
^ The following members of the
S. N. S. faculty staff plan further
study during the summer months:
Miss V. O. Walden, grammar
gra.de supervisor, at Ohio State
University; Miss Virginia Jones,
public school art teacher, at Co
lumbia University; Miss Jaynie
Shelton, librarian, at Columbia
University; Miss Evelyn Johnson,
public school music teacher, at Co
lumbia University; Mrs. E. M.
Bullard, clothing specialist, at Co
lumbia University.
Mr. Leon DeKalb, of the de
partment of biology, was guest
artist at the P. W. Moore High
School Glee Club recital on May
2, 1937.
Rev. Doles, school chaplain, de
livered the iDaccalaureate sermon
at Roanoke Institute on May 2.
Mrs. Edna Harris Mitchell, of
the Department of English, has
just completed a successful year
as president of the Statewide Dra
matic Association. Mrs. Mitchell
was a judge at the High School
Dramatic contest in Rocky Mount,
N. C. on April 9-10.
President J. H. Bias delivered
the commencement address at
Bethel, N. C., on April 30.
One Act Play
Festival Held
Saturday, April 23, the Winston-
Salem Teachers College was host
to the North Carolina College Dra
matic Association of which Mrs.
E. C. H. Mitchell was president
for the school year 1936-37. For
the past three years the associa
tion has sponsored a college dra
matic tournament, (the last one
being held here in 1936) but this
year it sponsored a play festival
in which eight Negro colleges par
ticipated. No awards were given
for plays; rather, the plays were
presented for their educational
value and for the encouragement
of play production.
Colleges represented and the
plays they presented were as fol
lows: Winston-Sallem Teachers
College—The Conflict; St. Augus
tine’s College—Death Takes a
Bribe; Elizabeth City State Nor
mal—Thursday Evening; Fayette
ville State Normal—The Blue Tea
pot; Livingston College—The Sis
ters Tragedy; Shaw University—
The Caravan; Barber Scotia Ju
nior College—The Glamour Girl.
The Bennett College presented a
very good Make-up Demonstration.
Probably the most outstanding and
entertaining plays presented were:
(1) Death Takes a Bribe and (2)
The Sis'ter’s Tragedy.
A very significant part of the
program was that played by Mr.
Randolph Edmonds, a distinguish
ed Negro playwright and author
and now director of Dramatics at
Dillard University. Mr. Edmonds
delivered an address entitled, “To
ward the Negro Theater.” Mr. Ed
monds, in giving a view point on
what Dramatic Associations were
driving at said that things come
Into college curricula because
there is a need and demand for
them. The educated person needs
a combination of learning, litera
ture and art. For that and other
reasons greater use is made of
dramatics for Art is a weapon
that can used successfully by our
people to interpret themselves to
the world, to gain peace uncon
sciously and to carry our philoso
phy to the world.
Between the presentation of
plays the Winston-Salem Teach
ers College presented its Verse
Speaking Choir and Glee Club.
Both were very good. During the
early evening a reception was held
in the college gymnasium.
At the close of the evening per
formances, Mrs. Edna C. H. Mit
chell retiring president, announc
ed the selection of Mr, J. O. Holm
es, this year’s Festival Manager,
of Winston-Salem Teachers Col
lege as president for the year 1937-
38. The association scholarship
of $100 was presented to Miss Car-
olease Faulkner, a senior of Liv
ingston College and is to be used
for further study in the field of
Dramatics.
The Elizabeth City State Normal
players made a very creditable
showing for State Normal. The
cast of characters in “Thursday
Offers Four-Year Course
The State Normal School of
Elizabeth City, N. C., beginning
with the school year of 1937-
1938 will offer a four-year
course leading to the bachelor’s
degree, and primary and gram
mar grade Class A certificates.
CLASS DAY TO BE
HELD MAY 19, 1937
May 19 will be a grand day for
Seniors around S. N. S. Why ? It
is their Class Day. Efforts are be
ing made to make Class Day this
year more interesting than ever.
The Class Will, History, and
Prophecy are to be presented in
the most unique manner.
Imagine a young man who has
never had a regular girl-friend
while at S. N. S. writing (20 years
hence) a college text on the “Psy
chology of Courtship.” Well, that’s
a prophecy.
Imagine a barely-passing stu
dent willing his brain to an Honor
Roll student so he can keep his
girl-friend or she her boy-friend.
Well, that’s a will.
Imagine history revealing the
fact that for two years one gen
tleman has liked a girl who liked
him but neither knew the one liked
the other until—.
Oh well, stop by chapel, Wed
nesday, May 19 at 11 a. m. and see
the Seniors give their Class Day
program.
MAY RECITAL, MAY 16th
Sunday evening. May 16 at the
Vesper Hour the Music Depart
ment will present its Annual May
Recital. Selections will be ren
dered by the Women’s Glee Club,
Male Glee Club, Girls’ Trio, and
students of Piano. The program,
in the light of past ones, promises
to be very entertaining as well as
educational.
Mention The S. N. S. Messen
ger when patronizing our adver
tisers.
Evening” was a follows: Gordon
Johns, Grayer Powell; Laura, his
wife, Pathenia Rowe; Mrs. Johns,
Gordon’s mother, Mary Belle No
bles; Mrs. Sheffield, Laura’s mo
ther, Lucille Heartley. The play
ers wer« the recipients of much
praise and commendation.
Persons who accompanied the
players included the directors.
Misses E. J. Lewis, and J. M. Shel
ton; Mrs. E. C. H. Mitchell, State
President and Wendell P. Jones.—
Wendell P. Jones, President Dra
matic Club.
The Trustee Board of the State
Normal School met Easter Monday
at the school. After the business
meeting was over, the members of
the board came to Moore Audito-
irium where the group of students
had assembled. President Bias
gave the introductory remarks.
The students were asked to render
musical selections.
The numbers presented were “I
Want Jesus to Walk With Me”
and “Hear the Lambs A Crying”
by the Young Women’s Glee Club;
“I’m Going to Wait Until My Lord
Calls Me” and “I’ve Heard of a
City Called Heaven” by the Young
Women’s Trio; “Wade in the Wa
ter Children” and “The Bill of
Fare” by the Male Glee Club. The
students sang “Steal Away.”
Mr. G. R. Little, chairman of
the Trustee Board of in the insti
tution stated that the institution
would receive an appropriation of
$109,000 out of the $177,600 that
was requested. $75,000 of the ap
propriation will be used for con
struction of a new dormitory, $10,-
000 for equipment, $22,000 for new
classroom^, and $2,000 for class
room equipment. He also stated
that the school may be able to get
an additional $89,000 as a PWA
grant. If so, a new library build
ing will be added to the institu
tion, and the old agricultural build
ing will be remodled for the use
of the physical education depart
ment of the institution.
Mr. Little thinks the reasons for
the State’s liberal attitude toward
the school were the merit of the
request, the influence of the visit
to the then Governor Ehringhaus
and the visit of the Elizabeth City
representatives who were Mayor
J. B. Flora, Postmaster W. T. Cul
pepper, Mr. S. G. Scott, chairman
of the County Board of Education,
Mr. Frank Selig, head of the
Chamber of Commerce and Mr. J.
C. Sawyer, chairman of the City
School Board.
The members of the Trustee
Board are Mrs. J. G. Fearing, Mr.
W. I. Halstead, Captain J. L. Wig
gins, Mr. J. K. Wilson, Mr. G. R.
Little, Mr. Miles Clark, and Mr.
J. H. Hall.
SCHOOL PAPER NAMED
A name for the school paper!
This seemed a very urgent mat
ter at the beginning of this quar
ter.
Every student was asked to find
a suitable name.
A year’s subscription was offer
ed to the person or persons who
sent in the most appropriate name.
The staff selected the name,
“The S. N. S. Messenger,” which
was suggested by Mises Kathryn
Hunter and Mildred Taylor of the
Freshmen and Senior Classes re
spectively.
Tell them you saw their adver
tisement in your school paper.