page Three
'Rie Pendulum
Xown receives improvement grant
March 10.19TZ
by Li* Priestley
The summer of 1977 wUl see
, new and much improved town
^ Elon College. TTie town has
" ived a federal grant of
^■200 which according to Ms.
^rley’White, alderman and
firman of the comnuttee
upervising the downto^
imUvement project, will be
to make the town a more
inviting and pleasant place.
The Bicentennial
Commission began the plans for
the downtown improvement
gcheme two years ago, when the
town and college began working
together to improve the
business prospects of Elon
contractors handling this
project (the same company that
is carrying out the downtown
project in Burlington),
Muldower and Patterson, of
Atlanta, Ga. are scheduled t»
tegin work on April 26.
The first step of these plans
will be the removal of all
telephone poles and wiring from
the main business section of
Williamson Ave. to the rear of
the buildinp. Red brick
sidewalks will replace the
make-do’s in use now, and with
the elimination of six parking
spaces it is hoped to make the
area more easily accessible to
pedestrians.
With the additions of Brown
& Co., State Farm Insurance,
the Jean and Surt Bam, and
the Renegade Beauty Shop, the
first stages of the buildings’
facelifting project have begun.
There are plans for all the
buildings in this area to be
sandblasted and retouched to
add a colonial flavor to the
street Basic colors will be used
throughout, primarily red brick,
slate blue, and moss green.
Eventually, an ordinance will
be propos^ to limit all exterior
advertising to a bare minimum.
There are tentative plans for
a drugstore to take over the old
launderette, under lease from
the college by Brown,
"By the end of the summer, it
is hoped that we shall see a
pleasantly arranged colonial
style business section, with
brass lamps, iron benches, and
at least six to seven trees lining
the sidewalks,” Ms. White says.
Because Alamance Coimty
has high unemployment, Ms.
White plans to use the many
unemployed skilled workmen in
the completion of this project
The blueprint also includes
curbing airf guttering to be
continued around the comer on
the street on which "Bill’s Blue
Room” is located.
A town by-pass is also in the
long-term scheme, for by 1995
the volume of traffic is expected
to be in the 11,400-14,360 range
for average daily vehicles on
Williamson Ave. and Haggard
Ave. If a town bypass is not
approved, state highway 100
may become four-lane, forcing
many of its attractive homes to
be affected.
A second major project
concerns the town’s water
system, already in progress. The
total cost of the scheme will be
$347,900. A bond referendum
will pay $200,000 and state
contributions will amount to
more than $86,000. Town funds
will pay another $50,925 and
Alamance county will pay the
remaining $10,000. A new tank
is being constructed in the old
ball park behind Johnson
Street. With its completion,
possibly by the winter, the
college tank will be taken down
and the use of four wells on the
campus will also be
discontinued.
The project under the
chairmanship of Robert Olsen
will attach Elon College pipes
to those of Burlington, join up
the dead ends, and provide
better water pressure. It will
also improve emergency
situations such as fire-fighting,
to both the students in
residence and townspeople.
Buffett mixes mellow and boogie
by Doug Durante
The long awaited Jimmy
Buffett concert highlighted one
of the most enjoyable weekends
of the year. Near SOniegree
temperatures on Friday and
Saturday gave the weekend a
holiday-like atmosphere, and
the students who stayed for the
weekend found plenty t» do
while warming up for "the
Buff.” Tennis, softball,
volleyball, and just plain
hanging out insured that
everyone was quite ready (as
well as primed) for the event
Jimmy Buffett did indeed
bring a holiday atmosphere
wi(h him, singing of the world
he has come to love—the sunny
skies and blue water ot the
Florida Keys. I was particularly
impressed with two things, his
stage presence and song
selection. The man was so
relaxed that you could believe if
you were sitting in his living
room he would be no different
than on stage. He immediately
established a good rapport with
the audience, displaying a sense
of humor along with his musical
talents. The other important
ingredient in the success of the
concert was the mixing of the
songs. Too many bands with a
style of both mellow music and
boogie begin dieir show with a
selection of slow, easy listening
and conclude by blasting you
out with the rocking song^
Buffett seemed to want to avoid
this type of trend and mixed the
two styles very well.
At the end of the concert, he
was joined on stage by a full
fledged gorilla from our student
body, and I think he appreciated
it as much as anybody. "We love
J.B.” signs could be seen
scattered throughout the crowd,
and I can honestly say that the
"Evening with Jimmy Buffett”
was great
From a financial standpoint
the SGA sold 420 Elon student
tickets, 375 in Chapel Hill and
approximately 100 from the
Burlington area. The general
admission sales brought in
$1,075, bringing the total to
$6,900. Althou^ the SGA lost
approximately $2,00(),
Treasurer David Nichols said it
was the most successful in the
past two to three years. I have to
agree.
Elon will be without the sharp tongue and quick wit of John Grave*
who will retire after this semester. (News Bureau, Robert Houae,
Photo)
The Rev. John Graves
will retire from teaching
II
by Greg Gentry
John Seay Graves, associate
professor of religion and
religious education, will retire
from his teaching position
which he has held for 26 years
at the end of this term. Elon
College won’t be the same place
without him.
Bom in Birmingham, Ala., he
moved as a young man to
Atlanta, Ga, where his father
died. John’s plans for college
came to a quick end. The Great
Depression started, and John
Graves went north to seek work.
Talcing a job with a retired
businessman, he traveled with
him and helped look after his
business affairs. In this venture
he met many artists, and
famous people.
When World War II broke
out, John left his job to serve his
country for four years in the
field artillery in the European
theater. After service, he met a
minister in Connecticut who
came as a student from Yale
Divinity Schoool. Later Mr.
Graves was working in a poet
office in Atlanta when the
pastor telephoned John to ask
him to come to Burlington
where he was holding a revival
to see a little college called
E3on.
Mr. Graves says, '1 took the
train from Atlanta and arrived
at Greensboro at 3 o’clock in the
morning. When the train
stopped at Elon, I looked out of
the window, and I saw a little
town with very few buildings. I
said to myself, T)ear God, I hope
You don’t ever send me to a
place such as this.*” When he
arrived at Burlington, he said,
"Or this place, either.”
I had asked Mr. Graves about
how he got into Elon. "I was
tricked,” he answered. "When I
came to the college, I saw a big
pile of coal in front of Alamance
Building. I thou^t to myself, Tf
he thinks that I am going to this
place, he is out rf his mind.’”
The minister from
Connecticut introduced John to
the dean and the president of
Elon College. That night he waa
invited by the pastor to the
First Christian Church in,
Burlington. Mr. Graves says, "I
thought that he was just being
polite, but within two minutes
after I entered the church, I felt
like a goldfish. People asked me
questions and I asked them
(Continued on Page 6)
Elon Grad named director
of public information
(Doug Durante, Photo)
Tim McDowell, BA ’76, has
been named director of puMic
information for Elon College.
He is replacing Mrs. Maijorie
Long who left on March 1 to
become executive director oi the
United Fund.
Mr. McDowell was graduated
from Williams High,
Burlington, in 1964 after which
he spent two years in active
service in the Navy. He has had
six years in the Naval Reserve.
From the Navy he went to the
Technical Institute of
Alamance for training in
business f»lTniniHtration for two
years. From TJ-A. he came to
Elon College when he radud up
a 3.75 grade point average.
In the meantime, Mr.
McDowell had served as editor
of the Mebane Enterprise for
four years. Last year he was
campaign manager for Mrs. Bob
Scott in her bid for the position
of commissioner of labor ct
, North Carolina. Mr. McDowell
is secretary of the Alamance
Young Democrats Club. A« a
hobby, he enjoys painting in
oils. He and Mrs. McDowell
have a son and a daughter.
As part d his w^ be will
edit the alunmi magarine, the
college bulletins and other
publications as well as all
non-q;>orts nerwB.