Newspapers / Salem College Student Newspaper / Nov. 20, 1953, edition 1 / Page 3
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November 20. 1953 THE SALE MITE Page Three er Name Was Miss Hattie... By Betsy Liles That afternoon was cloudy. The November sun, like a feeble light •bulb yellov/ and dim, fell behind ;,the trees. Outside, the fog frosted the windowpanes, but inside the -fire glowed on the hearth. Sitting ;on the couch was a little woman, her white hair bound back with horn hairpins, her lap spread with a chambray apron and her feet laced in prim black shoes. She was cutting out a turkey with red crown and, 'her scissors -flashed in and out of the paper. iiBecause her hands were small and .'skillful, she could even trirn be tween the toes on the turkey’s feet. Her name was Miss Hattie. Miss Hattie has always reminded me of the illustrations in a story book I ionce read. I can still see the pic tures clearly. One was a girl lean ing from a castle window in the: .blight, her long hair hanging down! the castle wall. Below her a knight! hn armour smiled and held up his | arms to her. But on another page, j ta stooped old woman, swaddled iri 'a black dress, was bending over a Vfire and stirring a pot of porridge. : If she could have come to life, -she would have looked like Miss IHattie. For Miss Hattie wore black crepe dresses, sat near a fire and stood barely four and a half ' feet tall. Before the age of babysitters, vjold ladies like her came to sit With children when their mothers went off. I cannot remember the 'first day that Miss Hattie kept me, hut I do remember that our days were enchanted. We would sit on the sofa and play school or cut Valentine hearts, draw yellow biddies or crochet doilies, do watercolors or paste stamps. Sometimes Miss Hattie .would recite a verse for me. She lended with “a shave and a haircut —two bits!’ and a funny cluck of the tongue. That November day, after sitting by the fire cutting turkeys, Mve set the breakfast room table for sup per. Miss Hattie and Ella fixed soup and soft buttered toast, for neither had teeth. We sat there, Miss Hattie eating neatly, with her little fingers close to her face, the way a squirrel chews a nut. always had a gallon jug from the country when she came—and drank long and slowly. When she put down her glass, she wore a white mustache on her lip. Finishing, she carried her plate into the kit chen and rinsed it with warm water. (Ella always protested; she liked to do things in a grand man ner for which English butlers and not colored maids, are famed.) She was wiping her plate when the question came. “Miss Hattie, why haven’t you ever married?” Ella inquired. The kitchen was silent. Miss Hattie’s little hands clutched the plate. She put it down carefully. She folded the dish towel and mur mured, “I’d rather not talk about it, Ella.” I didn’t blame her for not ans wering, Everyone knows that old ladies in black crepe who look like fairy book characters are not bothered by husbands. That night, we went back to the fire and water- colored. When Mother returned, Ella immediafely sent home. The mar riage was annulled on the grounds that Henry, was in an alcoholic con dition when he was married. Hattie never saw him after that. Henry Realm went up North to live and Hattie began sitting with children and growing lacy fern to sell to the florist shops. She would not talk about her marriage. She grew old quickly. Two years later, it was almost un believable that she had ever had long, light hair or slipped away on the one o’clock express to Atlanta. She was transformed from the girl who smiled at her knight in the moonlight to the old woman bend ing over the fire and stirring her pot of porridge. Now she sits near the hearth, cutting and painting and reciting verse to children in her thin voice. News Briefs ' Vespers Sunday will be a movie entitled “The Flickering Flame” to be shown at 6;30 p.m. in the pro jection room of South Hall. * * * ♦ ♦ mentioned the incident to her, sens ing with a maid’s intuition that somewhere scandal lurked. Mother talked to her in low tones in the kitchen; the door was closed to me. But one evening I was told. Once, it seems, Miss Hattie was young. She had the smallest waist in town and with her whalebones laced, she measured only two hand- spans. She looked like the girl in the castle, for her hair was long and light. She was pretty. But she had few beaus. When she did start courting, Mr. Henry Realm was her caller. Henry was an alcoholic, some people declared; others said he Avas merely a wild boy, still sewing his oats. But they all agreed that he was charming, that he was handsome. Henry must have been fascinated by Hattie’s small waist. One night he rapped on the front door knocker and Hattie came out in the moonlight. The rest of the story is not clear, but at twelve Henry and Hattie eloped to the Justice of the Peace in Paxton, married, and left that night on the one o’clock express for Atlanta, They say when Henry awoke the next morning and found Hattie he A -WVYT>-| vr UTo+ft^ X170C Freshman Win Hockey Crown Tlie freshmen were the victors of the 1953 intramural hockey tournament, having defeated both the sophomores and seniors while holding the juniors to a tie. The sophomores held second place with a two win-one loss count, and the juniors and seniors were third and fourth respectively. The tournament ended Tuesday when the sophomores defeated the seniors in the final game, 3-0. Betty Morrison and Nellie Ann Barrow led the victor’s attack, while Anne Merritt was the defensive star for the seniors. Tuesday night, the following girls were elected to the 1953 hockey varsity; Ann Crenshaw, Jean Stone, Sissie Allen, Betty Morrison, Nellie Ann Barrow, Agnes Rennie, Polly Larkins, Ann Mixon, Carolyn Knee- burg, Jean Currin, Betty McGlaug- hon, Joan Shope and Anne Mer ritt. These girls played Guilford Wednesday afternoon, and lost by a score of 3-1. Ann Mixon made The Canterbury Club held its regular meeting Wednesday night, Nov. 18. Bishop CotAdjutor Henry Baker and Mrs. Baker were the guests of the group. After coffee was served in the Friendship Rooms of Strong Dor mitory, Bishop Baker spoke briefly on the meeting of the House of Bishops. * ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ The ping-pong tournament was completed when Louise Fike de feated Betty Morrison, thus win ning the crown for the second con secutive year. The contest was close with the game scores stand ing ^1-19 and 21-16. **=):** Dr. Hixon and Dr. Gramley will attend the Southern Association of Colleges Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Memp his, Tenn. Dr. Hixon, vice-presi dent of the Conference of Academic Deans, will preside over the meet ing Tuesday, Dec. 1. their mothers at the annual Moth ers’ Tea Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 24, in the Day Students’ Center. Guests will include faculty members and mothers of the Day Students. * * Preliminary registration for next semester will be held Dec. 7-11. The students will register with their advisors and will be furnished with a list of the courses offered. New courses are: art 200 taught by Mr. Shewmake; religion 210 taught by Rev. Sawyer and plans for a new psychology course are being considered. Saturday night, Dec. 5, . twelve Salem girls will act as program sellers at the annual Piedmont Bowl football game in Bowman Gray stadium. * * ♦ ♦ * The Day Students will entertain For Christmas The Perfect Gigt— Salem Book Store The Perfect Gift For Christmas SALEM BOOK STORE Tom Perry s Thirsty? . . . Broke? . . Snip this coupon and come to Tom’s for a big Milk Shake. stars got started... »t MARGE and GOWER CHAMPION met as shy schoolkids at dancing schoQl. Their paths criss-crossed for years as each worked hard to make a career. Finally, Gower, back from Service, “teamed up” with Marge. After months of strenuous rehearsal, they were a sensation, creating original “dance stories” for TV, movies and stage. They are now Mister and Missus. Start smoking Camels yourself! Smoke only Camels for 30 days and find out why Camels are first in mildness, fla vor and popularity! See how much pure pleasure a cigarett# can give you! AGREE “THAKi ANY CTTHEPL OGAFLEXTE I
Salem College Student Newspaper
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Nov. 20, 1953, edition 1
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