VOL. 17, NO. 4
MONTREAT COLLEGE, MONTREAT, NORTH CAROLINA
DECEMBER, 1951
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College Choruses To
Sing In "Messiah
About thirty members of the Montreat
College Chorus will take part in Handel’s
“Messiah” presentation, to be given in
the City Auditorium December 16, 1961,
at 3 p. m., under the sponsorship of the
Asheville Music Club, with Mr. C. Sam
Fox as director.
The soloists -wall include our own
Robert Thatcher who will sing bass. He
is the organ and voice teacher at Mon
treat and we are very proud of him for
hi soutstanding work. The other soloists
are: Miss Jane Mclntire, alto; Mrs. Thaise
Honaker, soprano; Miss Dorothy Weaver,
alto; Paul Berry, tenor; and Mrs. Loren
Parker, soprano.
The Asheville Civic Orchestra, under the
direction of Mrs. May Jo Ford, is to ac
company the chorus and soloists, as well
as Clemens Sandresky, pianist, who has
been accompanying the choral rehearsals.
The Chorus is made up of 260 people
including church choirs of Asheville and
Montreat, and the Mars Hill Choir.
This is a very beautiful and reverent
affair and we hope many of the Mon
treat students can go.
‘‘0 Holy Night” Pageant Theme
The annual Christmas pageant will be
presented Sunday evening, December 17,
at 8 o’clock in Gaither Chapel. The theme
of the pageant is “0 Holy Night.” A choir
composed of students from the high school
and college and members of the high
school and college student bodies will pre
sent the pageant.
The Christmas worship service will be
gin with the singing of several Christ
mas carols by the choir, followed by
Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of a
Messiah and a prayer for His coming. The
Enunciation by the angel Gabriel, the
Magnificat sung by Mary, and a watch
kept by a traveller and a watchman pre
cede the birth of the Savior. His birth is
announced by an angel. Angels, shepherds,
and wise men all come to the manager
to worship the “King of Kings.” The ser
vice will close as we come to worship
Him in song.
Sophomore Class Sponsors
''Night Before Christmas'' Party
Tree-trimming is an important item at
this time of the year, and each one of
us strives to excell in originality and
beauty of decoration, often with lovely
results. But when nature trims the big
evergreen in Central Park with snow and
a cardinal, we can only pause in awe
and admiration, for we know that we
cannot compete with the work of the
Master Decorator.
Choruses Combine
For Carol Service
On the evening of December 12 at 8
o’clock, the Montreat College chorus, under
the direction of Robert Thatcher, and the
High School Glee Club, directed by Miss
Elizabeth Woodhouse, presented an in
spiring carol service by candle-light in
Gaither Chapel.
To open the program a prelude of carols,
“Alleluia” and “Greensleeves” was sung,
after which the choirs entered with “0
Little Town of Bethlehem” as the proces
sional. During the program the following
—Turn to Page 6
Saturday evening, December 15, took on
the atmosphere of Christmas Eve for the
students and faculty members of Mon
treat College, who attended the annual
Sophomore Christmas party at 10:00
that night in Howerton Hall Rec. Room.
The theme of the get-together was “The
Night Before Christmas,” and the activ
ity took place in an average present-day
living room, arranged in one end of the
Rec. Room.
A family of six was comfortably rest
ing at the close of the last day before
Christmas. The parts of the four child
ren were played by Ernestine Wiggins.
Mary Jane Gillespie, Joan Lotson and
Lola Lowery; the father by Betty Blount;
the mother by Elinor Amons. The four
children led the group in audience par
ticipation games, following which the
mother read “The Night Before Christ
mas” to them, and they all fell asleep.
At midnight, according to tradition, the
Christmas tree, voice of which was por
trayed by Virginia Blackburn, awoke and
the dolls under the tree became alive.
They talked, joked, and played for some
time. The following wore represented:
Teacher, Coretta Henson; Liza Jane, June
King; Jack-in-the-Box, Polly Brown;
Howdy Dowdies, Ann Broom, Helen John-
.son, Betty Lou Burgan, Carolyn Robinson";
Sailor, Genevieve Newman; Flapper, Julia
Rankin; Bride Doll, Carolyn Fritts; Clown,
Lucy Boston; Frostee, the Snowman, Alice
Collins; Raggedy Ann, Betty Mebane;
Raggedy Andy, Ellinore Kreiger; German
Doll, Heide Funke; Spanish Doll, Georgina
Sanchez; Baby Doll, Zenia Crovetta;
Choir Dolls, Joan Douglas, Betty Lown,
Ann Fenton, and Mary Ruth Marshall.
As a climax to the enchanted evening,
the popular Montreat socialite. Miss Eliza
beth Wilson was crowned as “Snow Queen,”
after which all joined in the singing of
Christmas carols. Immediately following
this, Santa Claus (Frances Bridges) ap
peared on the scene to distribute the gifts
provided by the College to each student.