FOCUS WEEK NEWS
ELLSASSER RECITAL
INSTITUTE SPEAKER
Volume XX
YOUNG ORGANIST
TO APPEAR HERE
Richard Ellsasser, 19-year-old
concert organist, will appear in
recital in the Meredith College
Auditorium on February 26,
1946.
Richard was born in Cleve
land, Ohio, Sept. 14, 1926. His
early life was the typical one of
a child prodigy. His great musi
cal talents include the rare gift
of perfect pitch. The study of
piano was begun; and at the age
of 9, he was firmly established
in the East as a concert pianist
of “immature, but brilliant pro
portions.”
In 1935 he joined a boys’ choir
where he became interested in
the organ. His progress on that
instrument was phenomenal;
and in less than a year, he was
giving recitals in Cleveland and
nearby cities playing a program
of all Bach.
From his New York debut in
1937, his career has been glo
rious. His annual mid-western,
eastern, and southern tours have
been triumphs applauded by
critics and audiences.
His educational progress has
not suffered from his musical
(Continued on Page 3)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
SAUNTERING WITH SAWYER
SCANTY SKETCHES
Newspaper oj the Students of Meredith College
MEREDITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N. C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1946
Number 8
LaniaTalks
At Institute
Lee Lania will address the
Institute of Religion audience on
Monday evening, February 18,
at eight o’clock in the auditorium
of the United Church on Hills
boro and Dawson Streets. The
theme for the 1946 Institute is
“What Price Peace?” Mr. Lania
will speak on the subject of
“Minorities in a Democratic
World.”
Mr. Lania is a naturalized citi
zen of Austria, having been born
in Russia. A notable Jewish
leader, he is known as journalist,
novelist, playwright, scenarist,
and lecturer. His present resi
dence in the United States fol
lows an earlier career, says the
Institute calendar, “of amazing
adventures. . . . He posed as a
Fascist, and worked at the same
desk with Mussolini for a year,
lived with Hitler for ten days
while he interviewed him—and
miraculously lives to tell the
story.”
During the evening, the regu
lar Institute schedule will be ob
served, beginning with the Fel
lowship dinner at 6:00 p.m., class
sessions at 7:00 p.m., the ad
dress at 8:00 p.m., and an open
forum following the address.
Focus Team To Arrive
On Sunday, February 17
t
Week's Program to Include
Coffees, Teas, Conferences,
Discussions, Chapel Programs,
and Classroom Visitation
Above are pictured Rev. W. W. Finlator, Rev. Harry Gamble, Dr. Frank Leavell, IH Clarence Jordan,
Miss Marjorie Moore, and Mrs. Kay Ferrell, several members of the Focus Week team. The team will arrive
Sunday, February 17, and Focus Week will be observed February 17 through February 22.
FOCUS TEAM EXPRESS PERSONALITIES THROUGH LETTERS
By FLORINE OLIVE
Gamble Contributes
His Religious Poetry
At the request of a group of
Meredith students, team mem
bers submitted, soon to be for
student display, letters in which
they expressed their personal in
terests, hobbies, and general
personalities. Some letters were
rather formal, others strictly in
formal. Some team members re
viewed their lives briefly, others
chose a specific topic about
which they wrote and expressed
their philosophy through opin
ions. In various ways, the team,
composed of leading Baptist men
and women throughout the
South, wrote to express them
selves to the faculty and stu
dents in order that we may know
them better before their arrival.
Harry Gamble, pastor from
Statesville, writes inspiring
poetry, poetry chiefly of a re
ligious nature. “The Church
Building,” “North Carolina at
Sunset,” and “Hills In White”
are his contributions to an eager
audience.
Then there is Miss Marjorie
Moore, who is managing editor
of The Commission. She con
tends that “Today’s Woman
Knows Her ‘Place’,” and that
place, oddly enough, is in the
home. Miss Moore has recog
nized the affects of World War
II on modern woman and she
seems prepared to prove that
“every Meredith woman will be
an American citizen and a world
citizen.”
Frank Leavell, secretary of
Southern Baptist Student Work,
is the man to receive our thanks
for Focus Week on our campus.
With the suggestion and original
idea of Dr. Jesse M. Bader, whose
idea was tried on the Furman
University campus in 1941, Dr.
Leavell started a Focus Week on
Baptist college campuses.
Claude Broach, pastor at Char
lotte, refers to one team mem
ber as the “ladies’ man,” him
self, of course. Why a ladies’
man? He is sole possessor of a
wife, two daughters, a maid, a
female dog with a litter of pups,
five of which are, you guessed it,
female pups. Besides his interest
FOCUS WEEK WILL INCLUDE INFORMAL GATHERINGS
FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND MEMBERS OF TEAM
Leavell Reviews History of
College Focus Weeks
in the opposite sex, he seems to
have established himself as
handball and golf champion
among his friends.
W. W. Finlator, pastor at Wel
don, lives in a world of “happen
to,” for all his memories are
based on events which just “hap
pen to” have happened. His in
terests at present, however, lie
in politics, people, food, and
Meredith. His favorite star is
Walter Pidgeon, favorite novel
ist Charles Dickens, favorite poet
Robert Browning, and his fa
vorite pursuit “life itself.”
J. W. Marshall, better known
as “Bill,” becomes stifled when
he can’t tell one or many of his
myriad of jokes; yet in all his
mirth, he’s really a proud sort
of man. Proud? Oh yes! He
hails from Texas, and it takes
only a minute to And that out
from him personally. His two
children, Ann Lynn 3V^ years
old, and William Earl, 6 weeks,
rate a huge place in his big
heart.
To read about the team mem
bers is one way of getting ac
quainted; to know them is an
other.
“Christ, My Imperative,” is
the theme of the Religious Focus
Week scheduled at Meredith
College for February 17 through
the 22, when eleven outstand
ing religious leaders will visit
the campus. The week’s activi
ties officially begin with an in
formal tea, given by the com
mittee of students and faculty
members in charge of the pro
gram, for the team members in
the Blue Parlor at 4:30 p.m. on
Sunday afternoon, February 17.
Each day’s program opens
with a meeting of the Planning
Committee and team members
at 8:00 a.m., in the Rotunda.
Team members will visit classes
each morning, in addition to con
ducting chapel services at 10:30
a.m. and Pause for Power at 1:40
p.m. Afternoons are to be free
for personal conferences of stu
dents with visiting members and
for recreation. After chapel serv
ices at 7:00 p.m. each evening,
seminars will convene for one
hour, and informal discussion
groups will meet in the social
rooms on each hall at 10:00 p.m.
every night.
Visits to Raleigh Churches
Other features of the program
include the team members’
speaking at various Raleigh
churches on Sunday morning
and night, February 17, and a
party in Phi Hall at 9:00 p.m. on
Tuesday night. Also, three in
formal teas will be held in the
Faculty Parlor from four until
flve o’clock on Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday afternoons.
These teas are for the entire stu
dent body and faculty. A book
exhibit and book store will be
set up in the library to provide
reading material for the semi
nars and opportunity to buy
some recommended books.
Speakers
Visiting speakers for the week
are to be: Miss Marjorie Moore
of the Foreign Mission Board,
Richmond, Virginia; Mr. Wil
liam Poteat, Assistant Secretary
of the Y.M.C.A. at Chapel Hill,
North Carolina; Dr. Kelly Bar
nett, minister at Chapel Hill,
North Carolina; Dr. J. W. Mar
shall, Personnel Secretary of the
Foreign Mission Board, Rich
mond, Virginia; Mrs. Kay Fer
rell, Y.W.C.A. at Chapel Hill,
North Carolina; Rev. R. T. How
erton, State Student Secretary
(Continued on Page 3)
Several informal gatherings
have been planned for faculty,
students, and team members
during Focus Week.
On Tuesday afternoon, Feb
ruary 19, from four-thirty until
five-thirty, the faculty will en
tertain the Focus Week team at
an informal coffee in the Blue
Parlor. Miss Anna May Baker
and Mrs. Carlyle Campbell will
pour the coffee. Members of the
faculty and administrative staff
and their husbands and wives
are invited. Miss Edna Frances
Dawkins is chairman of the com
mittee for the coffee, and work
ing with her are Miss Ellen
Brewer and Miss Phyllis Cun
ningham. Miss Julia Harris is
chairman of the faculty commit
tee for the week.
The purpose of the coffee is to
give the faculty an opportunity
to become acquainted with the
Focus team early in the week.
Tuesday evening, February 19,
at nine o’clock, there will be a
party in Phi Hall for all stu
dents, faculty members, and
Focus Week team. The theme
for the evening is a secret, but
watch the bulletin boards for
suggestions of what to wear. If
you wish to hear Bill Marshall
sing his famous Texas song, and
see the other team members dis
play their various talents, you
will And your way to Phi Hall
at the appointed time. Frances
Thompson is chairman of the
committee for the party. Work
ing with her are Geneva Wither
spoon, Ruth Martin, Mary G.
Turner, Sue Betty Chapman,
Lois Harmon, Katherine Wyatt,
Dot Singleton, Betty Hefner, and
Mary Frances Carpenter. Miss
Doris Peterson is adviser of the
committee.
Students who wish to engage
in any of the sports, with the
team members, during the week
may make arrangements with
Frances Thompson or members
of her committee.
Sunday afternoon, February
17, the committee of one hun
dred and seventy-five will have
an opportunity to meet the team
members for Focus Week. An
informal coffee will be held in
the Blue Parlor at four-thirty.
Betty Hefner is chairman for the
coffee.
On the following Monday and
Wednesday afternoons, from
four until flve, there will be an
informal tea in the Faculty Par
lor for all students and team
members. Imogene Grainger and
Dot Singleton are in charge of
the teas.
COLLEGE COMMEMORATES FOUNDING
The annual Founders’ Day
program was held at Meredith
College on February 15 with Dr.
J. Clyde Turner, pastor of the
First Baptist Church in Greens
boro delivering the morning ad
dress. In the afternoon, the fac
ulty, administration and trustees
of the college received friends
in the parlors. An evening recep
tion was held by the Student
Government Council, also in the
college parlors.
Another annual event in con
nection with the Founders’ Day
exercises was the alumnae
broadcast from Station WPTF.
President Campbell and Mrs.
Marguerite M. Wilkins, along
with several students and the
sextet of the college, conducted
the radio program.
This academic year is the 47th
anniversary for Meredith Col
lege and the 55th year since the
charter was first granted in
1891. Over 600 students have
enrolled at Meredith this year.
This is the seventh year for Dr.
Carlyle Campbell, President of
the college and Meredith’s fourth
president. Under his leadership,
the college has experienced an
ever-increasing enrollment.
Architects have completed
their plans for several new build
ings on the campus. In the near
future, contracts will be let for
the beginning of the new build
ings which will house the chapel,
some class rooms, and the de
partment of music.
Founder’s Day this year was
(Continued on Page 3)
Meredith College library