Volume XLVIII
Salem College, Winston-Salem, N. C., Friday, September 30, 1966
Old Salem Restoration Contributes
To City Beauty, Tourism, Education
By Sybil Cheek
(Editor’s Note): The familar
Square and heritage of surrounding
Old Salem was featured during the
summer in an article by Hal Higdon
entitled “Rebirth of an Old Village.”
It appeared in the June issue of The
Kiwanis Magazine, accompanied by
photographs of scenery of the res
toration clutter of Fourth House,
the gold color frame of th Tobacco
Shop, and the criss-cross beams of
single Brothers’ house. The follow
ing is a condensation of that article :
The, name “Salem” comes from an
aiicient Hebrew word that means
“peace.” Founded in 1766, the town
was settled by members of the Mor
avian church, a sect whose develop
ment centered in the doctrines of
John Huss and may be recognized
as being one of the oldest sects that
arose in the early fifteenth century.
In order to avoid persecution, the
Moravians first fled from Bohemia
and Moravia (Czechoslovakia) a-
cross the Ore mountains into Saxony
(East Gennany). Eventually many
of them found their way to the New
World, settling first in what is to
day Savannah, Georgia, then found
ing Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and
finally, Salem.
Moravian communal living was
strict and tightly knit, with “single
brothers” residing i n separate
domiciles from “single sisters.” On
death, all Moravians were buried in
an area known as “God’s Acre” in
separate, non-family tracts with
plainly marked headstones.
In 1849 with the growth of pop
ulation in outlying communities,
Salem was made county seat be
cause of its central location. At
first elders of the village resisted
efforts to locate a courthouse there
with the evils that would accompany
it, but they compromised by selling
the county a section of land to the
north. Thus was born the town of
Winston. As time passed, the two
towns grew together to form the
present city of Winston-Salem.
Although homes and the addition
of classrooms and dormitories of
the college filled the empty lots in
Salem, over the years there seemed
no need to tear down the old struct
ures, many of which were still used,
even though antiquated.
Thus what James A. Gray, presi
dent of Old Salem, Incorporated,
calls “the guts of this little village”
had survived up to 1947. This was
the date that a national chain of
groceries announced its plans to
construct a supermarket beside
Fourth House, a move that stirred
citizens to action which re-zoned
the area to block commerical con
struction.
Later, during the summer of 1949,
Andrew Hepburn, an architect act
ive in the Williamsburg restorations,
surveyed the area. Then, in the
spring, he urged citizens to restore
it. Three weeks later Old Salem,
Incorporated was founded to direct
the restoration of the village to its
appearance in 1830. Progress was
slow, but steady, and proceeded with
two and one half million dollars in
sums raised by several city-wide
drives.
By the time of the village’s 200th
anniversary this year, the corpor
ation had acquired control of sixty-
eight separate properties as gifts,
donations, or loans. Ninety-nine
non-conforming structures were re
moved from the area, and twenty-
three restored. About six miles a-
way on the opposite side of town,
state archaeologists are presently
scraping away layers of soil in
search of the foundations of Betha-
bara, where Moravian pioneers set
tled twelve years before Salem.
The interest Winston-Salemites
have shown in preserving the past
contributed partly to its being nam
ed an All-American City twice in
the past eight years (1959 and 1965).
“Old Salem may mean one thing to
Foyer Dedication Honors
Pauline B. Gray, Alumnae
The Pauline Bahnson Gray Foyer
in the Salem College Fine Arts Cen
ter was dedicated at 11 a.m. on
Alumnae Day, June 4. Present at
the service were members of Mrs.
Gray’s family and a large number
af alumnae. Mrs. Gray was a 1912
graduate of Salem College.
Clark Thompson, College Chap
lain, read the Moravian Daily Text,
gave the prayer of invocation, and
led the Litany of Dedication.
President Gramley presented a
brief sketch of Mrs. Gray’s life. He
pointed out that Mrs. Gray grew
up in the neighborhood of Salem
College and that she was graduated
from Salem Academy and Salem
College. Though she moved away
from Old Salem after her marriage,
she maintained active interest in
Home, the Belo Home, and the
chovia Historical Society, the Salem
Home and the Belo Home, and the
academy and college. Mrs. Gray
gave Old Salem the John Vogler
House and provided many of its
furnishings and heirlooms.
Dr. Gramley called attention to
the paintings by Mrs. Gray which
were then on display in the foyer.
He said that the paintings. Old
Salem scenes, “evidence an interest
and love which encompasses the en
tire Old Salem village and signalize
(Mrs. Gray’s) hope, expressed as
far back as 1942, that the preser
vation and restoration of the area
might come to pass.”
Mrs. Gray’s chief interest. Dr.
Gramley asserted, was her family.
She also reached out graciously to
many friends. For these reasons it
is especially appropriate that the
foyer be provided by her children
and that a place “where friends may
encounter each other and where
new friendships might start” be
named for her.
The Pauline Bahnson Gray Foyer
serves as an exhibit location for the
Winston-Salem area as well as the
academy and college community.
Now on display is a collection of
photographs of the community,
sponsored by the 200 Anniversary
Committee. The two brass rubbings
which have been hung near the
library entrance are part of the
college’s growing permanent art
collection.
one person and something slightly
different to another,” says Gray.
“For some Old Salem has esthetic
meaning....To others....tourism....is of
extreme importance....for the Mor
avian church and Salem College,
the restoration,..saved this neigh
borhood from being a slum. For
others, education ... is all impor
tant.”
Last year 40,000 tourists register
ed at the visitors’ center, but they
are just a fraction of the number
who simply walk through Old Salem
to admire the buildings from the
outside. However, the village has
its year-round residents, too, for
many of the restored buildings are
occupied by the families by lease
from Old Salem, Incorporated.
Yet amidst the Sunday morning
church traffic, and tour guides in
colonial costume, are seen the Salem
College students. All the more proof
to substantiate Jim Gray’s state
ments that “This is more than mere
ly another restored town. It lives.”
Source: Hal Higdon, “Rebirth of
an Old Village,” The Kiwanis Mag
azine June, 1966 pp. 22-25.
GroupSponsors
Current Movies
This year, for the first time, mov
ies are being presented on the Salem
campus. One Friday night each
month a school organization or class
will present a movie in Shirley Re
cital Hall. The admission price to
the 8 p.m. showing will be 35 cents
per person.
The purpose of these movies is
to provide entertainment for those
students who have no plans and
those students who are dating with
out access to a car. In addition,
sponsoring this entertainment en
ables the various organizations on
campus to obtain extra money. The
profit from the admission cost will
be shared equally by the participat
ing clubs and classes at the end of
the semester. The Student Govern
ment is serving only in an organiz
ational capacity in this program and
will receive none of the profit it
self.
The films scheduled are in color
except for two. Of Human Bondage
and Roman Holiday. To Catch a
Thief and It Happened in Naples
were shown the weekend of Sep
tember 16. On October 7, the Junior
Class will present One Eyed Jacks
and on November 18 the Y. W. C. A.
and W.R.A. will sponsor High So
ciety. Prior to the holidays, N.S.A.
and Pierrettes will show Of Human
Bondage on December 2. The World
of Suzie Wong is slated by the May
Day Committee to be presented
January 13.
At the beginning of second se
mester, the Sophomore Class has
scheduled Roman Holiday, February
10. Sweet Bird of Youth, March 3;
The Prize, April 14; and Houseboat,
May 19, will be sponsored by I. R. S.,
the Senior Class, and the Archway
respectively.
Since there are no Saturday classes
the sponsor groups express a com
mon hope that the student body
will support them by attending.
Caught outside in typical "Salem" weather are the new Salem
Scholars (I to r) Sally Rhodes, Barbara Homey, Beth Harris, and
Libby Cain.
Freshmen Scholars Bring
Varied Interests, Abilities
By Jill Stewart
What is it like to be a Salem
Scholar? This interviewer had no
idea so she set out to consult the
four newest additions to the “Salem
Scholar Roster”: Libby Cain, Beth
Harris, Barbara Homey and Sally
Rhodes. The interview disclosed
that these scholars, all freshmen,
have several interests and abilities
in common as well as many variant
characteristics.
Libby Cain, a redhead from Mc
Lean, Virginia, was first glimpsed
as she was rushing to try-out for
the Winston-Salem Choral Singers.
(She made it, by the way!) When
she was finally cornered for an in
terview she revealed that she is a
voice major who hopes to become a
performing musician, probably in
church music. Music was always a
favorite interest of Libby’s, as she
was a member of the Girl’s Chorus,
the Concert Choir, the church Choir
and the Madrigal Singers during
her years at McLean High. Music,
however, is not Libby’s only talent.
She was a member of Thespians (the
dramatic honor society), the Key-
ette Club (a service organization)
and the National Honor Society.
In her spare time Libby also en
joys swimming and embroidering.
When asked about marriage plans
Libby declared, “I may or may not
get married. It depends on whether
that idea occurs to the right boy!”
Beth Harris is from East Point,
Georgia, where she attended Head
land High School. At Headland Beth
was co-editor of the newspaper,
President of the Civinettes Club
(associated with Kiwanis Club), a
member of the National Honor So
ciety and a National Merit Finalist.
Despite these many activities, Beth
also managed to be Salutatorian of
her graduating class.
Although considering English or
French as a major, Beth, too, has an
interest in music. She was a mem
ber of a girls’ trio which sang gos
pels and church music. Asked about
future plans, Beth said she plans to
marry and obtain an M. A. degree
(not necessarily in that order). Any
special boys’ school? “Well, I used
to like the University of Georgia
until a few weeks ago. . .,” she
grimaced.
The only Salem Scholar from
North Carolina, Barbara Homey,
comes to Salem from Grimsley High
School in Greensboro. At Grimsley,
Barbara was President of the Jun
ior Classical League, a member of
the O’Henry’s Junior Service Club,
the History Honor Society, the Nat
ional Honor Society, and played
violin with the school orchestra. A
(Continued on page 3)
Controversy Arises From
Winston Newspaper Article
An article printed in the Wins
ton-Salem Journal and Sentinel on
Sunday, September 25, concerning
girls’ opinions of the “big five” male
colleges in the area caused quite a
controversy on the Salem campus.
In the heat of excitement, facts are
often confused. The following is a
statement of the actual facts be
hind the article.
Arlene Edwards, the writer,
visited Salem last spring and talked
to a group of girls in Bitting. The
majority of the girls present were
seniors who graduated in June.
Approximately thirty girls were
there, but only a few spoke up.
These students were led to believe
that their remarks were not to be
published while Salem and Wake
Forest Colleges were in session.
The questions were phrased nega
tively, and exam frustration con
tributed to the negative attitude of
the girls.
After publication of the article,
many Salem students sent letters
of protest to the newspaper. Several
of these letters were published,
along with another article express
ing the concern of Salemites. Dab
ney Kelley, President of the Stu
dent Government, and Ann Mc-
Master, President of the Senior
Class, appeared on WSJS television
to make a formal apology for the
remarks made in regard to Wake
Forest College. Wake Forest was
invited to comment on the same
television program, but Butch Tate,
student body president, declined.
He said that the whole affair was
ridiculous. Arlene Edwards re
visited Bitting Dormitory, but did
not modify her stand.