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THE VOICE OF WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE
VOLUME 4, NO. 4
WILKESBORO. NORTH CAR(H.INA
NOVEMBER 28, 1973
John Beecher^ Poet Of Steely ^^Steels^^ Show
COUGARETTES — Back Row, left to riffht: Sandra WattB, CapC.,
Barbara Marion. Second Row: Peggy Gambill, Jeanette Miller,
Pamela Jordan, Norma Corpeninf, Wanda CaU. Front Row: Jane
Staley, Anna Waddell, Ann Holbrook, Debbie Cleary, Marsba
Lloyd.
Cougarettes To March
In Christmeis Parade
Dr. Robert Mayer has organ
ized the Cougarettes, a pre
cision drill team, to perform at
basketball games with the Col
lege Pep Band. The thirteen
lovelies include:
Sandra Watts (captain), Bar-
LINDA ANDERSON
LRC Division
Gets New Member
The newest, and also lovely
addition to the secretariat is
demure, brown-eyed Linda An
derson. Mrs. Anderson is re
placing Miss Kay Miller (soon
to be Mrs. Kay Ford) in the Di
vision of Learning Resources.
Linda, originally from Elkin,
is the wife of John B. Ander
son, an employee of Lowe’s
Hardware. They have a 10-
month-old son Bryan.
Before coming to us, Mrs.
Anderson was employed by The
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. She attended
Pfeiffer College. Linda now
plans to get her Business Ad
ministration degree from WCC.
When asked what she thought
of WCC, Linda replied, “So
far I am very impressed with
the college. You have a beau
tiful campus, and the people
are friendlier than any place I
have ever been.”
Thanks, Linda, and WEL
COME to WCC!
bara Marion, Wanda Call, Linda
Shaffner, Norma Corpening,
Pamela Jordan, Jane Staley,
Jeanette Miller, Peggy Gambill,
Marsha Lloyd, Debbie Cleary,
Ann Holbrook, Anna Waddell.
The young ladies have al
ready been practicing and mak
ing up their own routines in
order to march in the Christ
mas Parade on December 1.
Their uniforms, which include:
white military vests, white
shorts, gold blouses, scarlet
ties, white boots with scarlet
tassels (and white sneakers
with red knee socks for basket
ball games), have been measur
ed and will be ready for the
Christmas Parade.
The routines that the Cou
garettes have worked out will
be varied and interesting. They
will use different hats and
props with each new routine.
We can expect anything from
western hats to Geisha girls!
Providing the music in the
Christmas Parade for our
marching Cougarettes will be
the woodwind, brass, and per
cussion sections of the orches
tra and the College Pep Band.
The band will ride in a holiday
decorated flatbed truck in the
Parade.
We only have thirteen young
ladies now who are Cougar
ettes, but we have hopes of ob
taining at least thirty before
basketball season begins. Any
one interested in becoming a
Cougarette should contact Dr.
Mayer in Hayes 321,
I WANTED
A ride from the Lucy Brock
Nursery at Appalachian State
University in Boone, N. C. for
a four-year-old hearing-impair
ed child. If you know of any
one who comes down the moun
tain around 12:00 to 1:00, who
would give this child a ride
back home, please call Nancy
Hartley at 262-3006 or 264-6573,
or get in touch with Mrs.
Greene in the Student Services
Office.
The Fine Arts Class brought
to the campus poet-lecturer
John Beecher, who punctuated
his reading of poetry with per
sonal observations ranging from
compassionate comment to
stinging satire. Listeners might
well have agreed with William
Carlos Williams description of
him as “a man who speaks for
the conscience of the people.”
Introduced by his former
next-door neighbor, Rob Mc
Neill, as the great-great nephew
of abolitionists Henry Ward
Beecher and Harriet Beecher
Stowe, Beecher proceeded to
prove in poetry that “blood
talks.” His REPORT TO THE
STOCKHOLDERS, based on his
own experiences in the steel
mill is an example:
a hot metal car ran over the
Negro switchman’s leg
and nobody expected to see him
around here again
except maybe on the street with
a tin cup
but the superintendent saw
what an ad
the Negro would make with his
peg leg
so he hung a sandwich on him
with safety slogans
and he told the Negro just to
keep walking
all day up and down the plant
and be an example.
John Beecher was brought up
in Birmingham and worked 12-
hour shifts at the steel mills
after his summary dismissal
from VMI for refusal to give
information against his room
mates, information he claims
not to have had. He later at
tended Cornell, the University
of Alabama, Harvard, and the
University of North Carolina.
His teaching career took him to
Dartmouth, the University of
Wisconsin, San Francisco State,
Santa Clara, and Arizona State.
He is presently a visiting pro
fessor at Duke under a grant to
write his autobiography.
During World War II, Beech
er served aboard the first raci
ally integrated Liberty ship,
Booker T. Washington, an ex
perience which inspired his
book ALL BRAVE SAILORS,
hailed as a minestone in litera
ture.
His refusal to sign the Loy
alty Oath at San Francisco
State (an oath later declared
unconstitutional) cost him his
teaching position at San Fran
cisco State in the 1950’s.
Following his 1962 collection
REPORT TO THE STOCK
HOLDERS, a volume revealing
inhumane conditions in the
steel mills of his youth, Beech
er published TO LIVE AND
DIE IN DIXIE in 1966. One of
the most poignant of the 47
poems in this collection is “In
Egypt Land,” a narrative of a
black sharecropper’s revolt in
Alabama.
His poems exemplify the
harsh and unjust conditions not
only of the Negro but also of
others who were forced to en
dure wretched conditions just
to survive and provide for their
families in trying times.
Comments by a COUGAR
CRY staff member following
the poet’s appearance were,
“Mr. Beecher, like his poetry
is one of the most interesting
JOHN BEECHER
individuals ever to visit Wilkes
Community College. I’m grate
ful to those responsible for his
visit and urge others to read
his works.”
The Microfilm Corporation of
America has gathered and plac
ed on microfilm all of Beecher’s
papers, and McMillian and
Company in releasing, early in
1974, a 357-page book of his
collected poems.
Community Chorus To Sing
By Carlton Waddell
On December 9 at 8 p.m., the
newly - formed Community
Chorus will give its first public
performance at the First Bap
tist Church of North Wilkes-
boro. This presentation will
consist of both sacred and
secular Christmas music by the
combined Community and Col
lege Choruses and the 85-mem
ber orchestra. The program is
open to the public and is free
of charge.
The Community Chorus will
be practicing for the next three
weeks at 8:30 on Monday nights
in the Wilkes Community Col
lege auditorium. Anyone who
would like to sing with this
group is encouraged to come.
There is no charge to be a
member of the Community
Chorus.
Coot Gilreath, Mac Warren, Bonnie Baucniiss, Martha Ciithbertson
Help For The Veteran
When a Veteran at Wilkes
Community College has a prob
lem, who can he come to for
help? This is the topic of the
Veteran Corner this edition.
Wilkes Community College
now has Federal Funds which
has enabled the College to hire
full-time and part-time people
to serve the Veteran. From
left to right in the above pic
ture are Coot Gilreath, Mac
Warren, Bonnie Bauguss, and
Martha Cuthbertson.
Coot Gilreath and Mac War
ren give full-time attention to
Veteran affairs and the prob
lems of Vets. They can be
found in Room 218 or Student
Services. Mrs. Martha Cuth
bertson handles certification
and records of Veterans. Mrs.
Bonnie Bauguss is located in
the Learning Lab. She provides
individualized instruction in
English, grammar, and compo
sition for Veterans who are
preparing for the GED. Mrs.
Bauguss is also available to in
struct in other areas of high
school study. Special tutorial
instruction is provided for all
Veterans enrolled in College
Transfer, Technical, or Voca
tional curriculum.
All of these people have one
big thing in common — they
want to serve the Veteran.
Come by and get to know them.