A Montreater Reminisces
Miss Elizabeth Maxwell
Mon treat fifteen years ago? From a
child s-eye point of view, it was a fas
cinating place—not like cities or towns
or the country, where other people had
to live.
Back in the mid-thirties. Montreat was
aced with lovely dirt roads everywhere
except for Assembly Drive, which even
en was paved and worn smooth enough
o make an excellent skating lane from
e dam to the gate. You’d be surprised
at how difficult it is to skate back a
Mile uphill on slick asphalt! Neverthe-
tess, this was the best place in Montreat
or skating. The bridge at the lake was
considered unsafe after the addition to
tne population of a small boy with an
|n ense delight in pushing people under
e unguarded bars, and the roof of the
tnn was somewhat rough. (Possibly the
ea cs in some of the rooms today could
ne traced back to those days.)
ewer buildings cluttered the landscape
^ ^ first came to Montreat to live.
o ege Hall, Fellowship, and Gaither did
no exist; the Alba and the old Auditorium
occupied the spaces now taken over by
Howerton and Anderson. The Alba—you
Should have known the Alba! A huge,
v.’hite frame structure it was, that creaked
j i’^nnned protestingly in the winter
v.n s and appeared to be fit material
factory. On the other hand,
e Auditorium was quite similar to the
present one—impervious to wind, water,
or fire—supposedly. Gaither Hall was
ui t in the next year or so; I remember
most about it what fun it was to bal
ance along the edge of the foundation
' es and grumble about how two per-
cc y good tennis courts were being ruined
by putting the building in that particular
liua'" cultural advancement of the
0 ‘ ren in the community, there was a
^actice school connected with the college.
8 d^ at first in the two rooms of the
oys Club building—grades 1-4 down-
t ^ npstairs—the school was moved
t° Lakeside Book Store and finally
0 he Auditorium, to rooms vacated when
IS school and college classes were trans-
fhe new Gaither. I remember
no mg about the student teachers, ex
cept for the one who taught me piano.
y music lessons ceased at the end of
three months.
■ ^ remember the bell, situated
tn he same spot as its successor, but
cnc osed in a frame tower. My memory
° especially vivid because of an
?”^ttunate Halloween episode when the
c was rung in the middle of the night,
causing the occupants of the Alba to file
unexpected fire drill. The epi-
so e was unfortunate, indeed; the culprits
"'ere discovered through the non-coopera-
JANUARY, 1952
NEW SEMESTER BRINGS
Cont’d From Page 1
Her plans for the future are uncertain,
but she hopes to do publicity work in
Atlanta, Georgia.
A resident of Montreat for thirty-five
years, Mr. J. P. Williams has become Di
rector of Development for the Mountain
Retreat Association. His job here is to
increase the enrollment of both the High
School and the College, and to aid
the finances of these and the Associa
tion.
Mr. Edward Pearce, of our Business
department, has accepted a position as
physical therapy instructor in the Swan-
nanoa Branch of the Moore General Hos
pital and will no longer be with us. He
and his family will move to Asheville
in the near future.
We extend a hearty welcome to all the
newcomers and feel that your presence
with us will make this semester one of
the best we’ve had. At the same time
we feel a loss in having so many faithful
Montreaters leave us.
tion of an easily recognized dog. As I
remember, the dean took a dim view of
the whole affair.
There was plenty of entertainment in
Montreat for a child, at least if she pos
sessed an adored older brother. If pre
sent-day college hikers should happen,
while climbing Little Piney behind the
Inn, to find a tremendous flat-topped
boulder with a good view of the valley,
they will see still an unfinished log
shelter begun there a good many years
ago by the Maxwell carpenters. And there
might even be a few scattered rabbit traps
remaining in the woods around the upper
end of Lookout Road. (We never caught
any bunnies, but a luckless ’possum was
once our captive for several days.) Ex
ploring was one of our chief joys, and
it is surprising what used to turn up. For
instance, the remains of a battered car
lie (or lay) in a ravine half-way up Look
out Mountain. And then there was snow
—one year practically none, and the next
it seems to me it must have stayed on
the ground most of the winter. I re
member getting a running start at the
spot where the pavement now ends on
Lookout Road and sledding as far as the
Williams house below the bridge. Yes, that
was quite a life!
But in spite of it all. Montreat has
changed very little in these fifteen years.
There’s a certain unchangeable attraction
about the place—a combination of moun
tains and sky and tradition and people
and “spirit”—that made it the place my
brother and his friends chose for their
final reunion before going to war, the
place that draws people back year after
year, and the place that young people
throughout the South know as the Happy
Valley.
Dr. Kennedy Writes
Prize-Winning Poem
The following poem won the first prize
in a recent “Poems on Peace” contest
sponsored by the creative writing group
of the Black Mountain Arts Club. All
poems were submitted to a critic who
judges poems in the National League of
American Pen Women and for National
Poetry Day.
We are indeed proud of our own Dr.
Fronde Kennedy.
PEACE
In God’s own time He will give peace;
The battle flags will then be furled;
Prom fear of war will come release.
And this I feel though men seem whirled
By flying shuttle of circumstance
As if they were through chaos hurled.
For I am sure that God, not chance.
Selects the web, the way, the woof
And has a pattern to advance.
The tapestry of time gives proof
A guiding hand controlled each strand;
God from His world stands not aloof.
And I believe that God has planned
To knit the hearts of all mankind
Into one seamless tapestry grand.
The finished web He will firmly bind.
The weaving finished, wars will cease;
For man will share with God his mind.
In God’s own time He will give peace.
DORM DOINGS
Mary Ruth surely is lonesome without
Elinor, and aren’t we all! (Especially the
Staff) Hurry and get well and come back,
Elinor!
It’s wonderful having Olivia back in
circulation, isn’t it? We hope you’ll soon
regain all your strength and feel better
than ever!
And that goes for you, too, Pat. We’re
glad you finally got rid of those chicken-
pox!
Carolyn and Margaret have left us and
we are all very sorry they did, but we
wish them the very best in whatever they
do—whether it be secretarial work or
marriage.
Girls, did you know ’Tress is no longer
“Touch me Not”, but can actually be
handled? She can even be carried out of
room 218 if you promise not to drop her.
Boy, you kids up on 3rd floor are gain
ing fast these days. Could it be because
the Staff candy stays in the hall? Watch
it, now!!
Speaking of third floor, it looks as if
the Sophs have it sewed up again. And
to their gain, the second's have sustained
a LOSS — “John” has joined us!!
I believe we have our share of night
ly thrills, shrills, chills, drills, etc. The
recent fire caused quite an amount of
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