THE VOICE OF WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE
VOLUME 8, NO. 5
WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
MARCH 9, 1978
Absher Crowned Queen
Homecoming A
Big Success
At WCC
February 13-17 was homecom
ing week at WCC. The Phi Beta
Lamba Club sponsored the
annual WCC homecoming this
year. Several activities were
planned. Two of these activities
were the crowing of the WCC
homecoming queen, and the
WCC homecoming dance.
The Wilkes YMCA was the
setting for the crowning of
WCC’s Homecoming Queen Judy
Absher. Judy was crowned
Homecoming Queen during half-
time at the WCC-MCC on
February 15. She was crowned by
Dr. Daniels, and her escort was
Ronald Holbrook. The members
of the homecoming court were
Sherry Wolfe, maid of Honor;
Kathy Green, Sophmore attend
ant; Gail Barker, Freshman
attendant; Angie Crabb, Lisa
Cramer, Anita Ferguson, Shirley
Gilley, Christine Harris, Zarrest
Pennell, Gaye Phillips, Linda
Pugh, Shelia Scott and Donna
Shore.
The WCC Homecoming dance
was held Friday, February 17, at
the Wilkes National Guard
Armory. Attendance by WCC
students was excellent. The dance
started at 9 p.m. and lasted until
the wee hours of 1 a.m.
Entertainment was provided by
Clockwork, and the students
enjoyed the event immensely.
•iV
Judy Absher, the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Ray Absher
of McGrady, was crowned as the
1978 Wilkes Community College
homecoming queen by Dr. David
Daniels, Wilkes Community Coll
ege President, during halftime
festivities at the WCC-Mitchell
Community College game at the
Wilkes Y.M.C.A. Wednesday
night, Feb. 15. Miss Absher a
graduate of North Wilkes High
School, was escorted by Ronald
Holbrook.
Others in the homecoming
court were: Sherry Wolfe, maid of
honor; Kathy Green, Sophomore
attendant; Gail Barker, Freshman
attendant; Angie Crabb, Lisa
Cranor, Anita Ferguson, Shirley
Gilley, Christine Harris, Zorrest
Pennell, Gaye Phillips, Linda
Pugh, Shelia Scott and Donna
Shore.
On Friday night, February 17, a
Homecoming dance was held at
the National Guard Armory,
from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Music was provided by “Clock
work.”
Cassette
Checkout
JUDY ABSHER
A limited number of cassette
players are availalbe for checkout
in the Instructional Media Center.
Students will need to provide
batteries and cassette.
They may be checked out for a
maximum of two days.
Please inform the IMC staff of
the number of hours used upon
return of the player.
Commissioners Hold Bicentemiial Meeting
Whereas “a General Assembly
of the State of North Carolina,
begun and held at Newbern, on
the Fifteenth Day of November,
in the Year of our Lord One
Thousand Seven Hundred and
Seventy-seven, and in the Second
Year of the Independence of the
said State:”
Whereas Chapter XXXII of the
Laws of North Carolina was “an
Act creating Part of the County of
Surry, and Part of the District of
Washington, into a separate and
distinct County, by the Name of
Wilkes...”
Whereas the first meeting of the
Commissioners of said County of
Wilkes was held on the first
Monday in March, 1778, accord
ing to the law creating the County
of Wilkes;
Therefore, on last Monday,
March 6,1978, the Wilkes County
Commissioners, meeting in the
County courthouse in Wilkes-
boro, held their bicentennial
meeting with distinguished guests
and many other citizens of the
county present; and an impressive
ceremony was held, including the
reading of the minutes of the first
meeting on March 2, 1778.
The following is a brief history
of Wilkes County which was
presented to the group by J. Jay
Anderson of the Wilkes Commu
nity College General Studies
Division.
WILKES COUNTY HISTORY
The General Assembly of the
State of North Carolina ratified
an Act on December 24, 1777,
stating that “from and after the
fifteenth Day of February next
(1778), the County of Surry and
District of Washington be
divided by” stated lines, “into a
distinct County, by the name of
Wilkes.” Therefore, it is obvious
that Wilkes never extended to
either the Mississippi nor to the
Pacific, wishful thinking to the
contrary.
From its beginning, Wilkes,
somewhat comparable to a
description of Rhode Island in its
earlier years, has been “the home
of the otherwise minded.” The
people herein are independent-mi
nded and have stood for their
convictions.
The history of any area is
basically a history of its people,
and Wilkes has been fortunate
in its men and women who have
achieved and who have provided
leadership at home and abroad.
Christopher Gist, the first
non-Indian to settle in Wilkes in
1750, so far as we know, was
called upon by the Ohio Company
to survey and arrange for
settlement on new territories, and
Gist served as a guide and
companion to George Washing
ton.
Daniel Boone early came into
Wilkes and led the Westward trek
from this place.
William Lenoir settled in earlier
Wilkes and became the first
Chairman of the Board of
Trustees for the University of
North Carolina.
Benjamin Cleveland built his
home in what became Wilkes, and
he was notorious for his
rough-and-ready justice during
the Revolutionary War period.
Today, the home of his brother,
Robert, still stands in Parsonsville
community.
James Wellborn, a trustee of
early schools in Wilkesboro,
represented this section in the
General Assembly for some 27
years.
Montford Stokes, while resid
ing on the Yadkin in Wilkes,
became Governor of North
Carolina and was appointed
Indian Commissioner by Presi
dent Jackson.
The list could go on and on, but
we skip to the Civil War period.
General James B. Gordon was
the highest-ranking leader from
Wilkes on the Southern side
during the Confederate War for
Independence. His home was
where the hospital stands today.
The “Red Fox,” John Quincy
Adams Bryan, was an outstanding
leader in recruiting men for the
Federal cause during the Civil
War, later served in the General
Assembly and was a leader in
education.
Dr James Calloway, grandfat
her of Dr. Fred C. Hubbard, was
a surgeon, operating in Wilkes
during the Civil War—from the
1830’s up until years following the
war.
The world-famous Siamese
Twins, Chang and Eng Bunker,
partially as a result of their
acquaintance with Dr. Calloway,
settled in Wilkes and became
American citizens here in this
spot, got married in Wilkes, and
took their name in the place.
Dr. Tyre York, of Traphill, was
well-known during and following
the Civil War and was involved in
medicine, education, and politics.
We have, from this county,
within the memory of many here,
given to the world such men as
Dr. Arthur Eugene Billings who
performed perhaps the first
open-heart surgery. We are the
home of outstanding men and
Senate Majority Leader, Robert
Byrd, who was born a Sale in
North Wilkesboro; Dr. Irene
Parsons, raised at Cricket, who
became head of the Personnel
Division of the Veterans Adminis
tration in Washington; Lady
Sara Lou Carter, born Sar Lou
Harris in Wilkesboro, and for a
brief time teacher at Lincoln
Heights;
Dr. Paul Caudill, Internatio-
nally-known Baptist minister, and
since his retirement, interim
pastor at the Traphill Baptist
Church. The list could go on and
on, but time is limited.
We are justifiably proud of
Judge Johnson Jay Hayes,
Federal jurist, who has two
building in Wilkesboro named for
him, and the author of the most
complete history of Wilkes
County-The Land of Wilkes.
Then there is Dr. Frederick C.
Hubbard who has been associated
with the three hospitals in Wilkes;
first, that of Dr. White in
Wilkesboro, then the Wilkes
Hospital which he founded, and
the present Wilkes General
Hospital, for which he gave the
land and led the fight to obtain.
Edd F. Gardner, responsible
for two of the world’s largest
mirror plants, is today a visible
asset to this community.
Then, too, there is Junior
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