ay, April 2aM
cooperation...
communication ...
understanding..
progress.
MARS HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
Saturday, May 8, 1971
Students Launch $100,000 Campaign
IS to the
!r ellorls were ,
Started on
r a nine W
close conic*** g5« y ^
ord is not M
ire freshmen-
iro seed, BHl .
imber six scco*
I Oiese questions were on the
,^®very student passerby. The
hiajors explained it as a
I Phenomenon or maybe even
9as. The religion majors
1 h Was a sign of the end of
l^°hd. The political science
, '^6re undecided on whether
9 fascist or communist plot.
’ *0 add to the public bewild-
,P sign appeared one morn-
“It’s a Pergola.” Now If
■ information has not sent
you screaming for your dictionary,
the explanation of this mysterious
pergola is stated below.
The pergola will be a tunnel-like
entrance to the new Anderson
Ampitheatre which is being spon
sored by Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Wal
lace of Houston, Texas as a me
morial to her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
W. K. Anderson of Mars Hill. This
redwood and brick structure of
eight columns with adjoining patio
areas will lead to the ampitheatre
which will be renovated with lighted
spray fountains, rock garden, and
dressing rooms for outdoor dramat
ic productions.
The official dedication of the new
ampitheatre is planned for Saturday,
May 15, at 7:30 p.m., with a concert
presented by the Mars Hill College
Choir under the direction of Dr.
Rich which will consummate the
achievement of the combined efforts
of the administration, the MHC con
struction crew, and the Wallaces of
Houston.
by Linda Baldwin
Ever heard the joke about a group
of college kids trying to raise $100,-
000? It’s no joke.
In the new student-oriented, stu
dent-managed program, named
“$100,000 Emphasis,” students are
asked to join forces in a monu
mental campaign to raise $100,000.
The money from this drive, which
will be formally announced at the
Alumni Banquet on May 15, will be
turned over to a student board of di
rectors appointed by SGA. The
board will appropriate monies from
this fund to student-directed pro
grams.
This fund will be self-perpetuating
due to the fact that the principle
will be deposited in a trust fund
and expenditures will be made on
the interest collected.
Danny Ray, graduating senior and
President of SGA for the 1970-71
academic year, has been appointed
chairman of the campaign.
The classes of ‘71, '72, ’73, and
’74 as well as those of '69 and ’70
will be called upon to raise the
$100,000. Sometime early In the
summer, a member from each of the
aforementioned classes will be ap
pointed chairman of the campaign
for his class.
The means of procuring the pro
jected $100,000 will be left up to
interested students. It is hoped that
students will campaign in person
and will contact acquaintances and
friends who have some interest in
the development of the college.
When asked for a statement illu
strating the purpose of the program,
Danny referred to a comment by Mr.
John McLeod In his history of the
college. From These Stones: “To be
permanent a college cannot be built.
It has to grow. To thrive It must be
indigenous to the area in which it
is planted. To be strong it must
send its roots far into the soil and
withstand the winds, floods, and
droughts. To serve fully it must
identify itself with its constituents,
sharing their aspirations, their strug
gles, their successes.”
“$100,000 Emphasis” is not only a
fund-raising drive but is also a
means of creating interest among
and Involving off-campus persons in
the growth of the college.
Honorary Doctorate Awarded
To J. R. Wren of Gastonia
by Linda Baldwin
Mars Hill College will bestow its
first honorary doctorate during com
mencement exercises May 16 to Mr.
J. Robert Wren of Gastonia. Presi
dent Fred Bentley will preside at
the investiture of Mr. Wren, out
standing civic leader and two-term
trustee of the college, as honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters.
At the time its charter was ap
proved by state legislature in 1859,
Mars Hill College was awarded “the
power of bestowing all degrees and
other marks of literary distinction
generally accorded to institutions of
higher learning.” No honorary de
gree has been awarded until this
year.
Mr. Wren, who has served on
several committees of the board of
trustees and served as its chairman
for the 1969-1970 term, is a long
time resident of Gastonia where he
serves as Secretary and Treasurer
of Akers Motor Lines, Inc., one of
the largest motor carriers in the na
tion. According to Mr. John M.
Akers, President of Akers Motor
Lines, Inc., Mr. Wren has been with
the company for 33 years, during
which time the organization has
grown from one with assets of less
than $100^000 to one today with
assets exceeding $20,000,000.
The recipient of the Gastonia
Civitan “Citizenship Award” for
1971, Mr. Wren has made innumera
ble contributions of time and work
to charitable and civic enterprises.
He has served as a member of the
Board of Directors of the Gaston
County Chapter of the American
Red Cross and as Chairman of the
Advisory Board of the Salvation
Army.
This man has been active in the
work of the Gastonia Chamber of
Commerce and served as its presi
dent in 1957.
He played a significant role in
establishing the Gaston County
YMCA in his community, has served
on its board of directors since its
beginning in 1959, gave freely of his
time soliciting funds for their build
ing fund. He served as president
of the YMCA in 1961-62.
Mars Hill College’s first recipient
of an honorary doctorate has
served several terms on the Gas
tonia Industrial Diversification Com
mission, which has been successful
in bringing new and diversified in
dustry into Gaston County.
He has been a member of the
Board of Trustees of the North Car
olina Orthopedic Hospital for several
years, the latter part of which was
spent as chairman of the executive
committee of the trustees.
He is a past member of the De
velopment Council of Wake Forest
University.
He has been on the Board of Di
rectors of the Gaston County Wild
life Club. He is a member of the
Elks Club, the Holland Memorial
Masonic Lodge 668, a member of
the Shrine’s Oasis Temple, and
Gaston Post No. 23 of the American
Legion. The Advisory Committee of
the Gaston County Industrial Man
agement Club has carried his name
as a member for many years and
he now holds honorary life member
ship in this organization.
The North Carolina State Legis
lature approved the dreation of the
Gaston County Civil Service Com
mission in 1957. This Commission
is responsible for the operation of
the Gaston County Rural Police.
Judge P. C. Froneberger appointed
Mr. Wren as a member of the first
three-man commission. Mr. Wren
became chairman of the first com-
cont. on p. 3
leepskins To Be Awarded In May 16 Ceremony - - What A Flock!
CT FALL
by John Ulmer
^111 College is awaiting the
May 16 when some 240
''''*•1 walk across Moore Audi-
®*age to receive their much
Bachelor of Science or
of Arts degrees. The tradi-
ceremony, scheduled to
I p.m., will last approxl-
hour. One of the special
the ceremony will be the
V® of Mr. J. Robert Wren as
ifj t^octor of Humane Letters.
J.® Will be the first recipient of
’’9ry degree from Mars Hill
|®7l commencement pro-
^ be celebrated from Fri-
jY 14 through Sunday, May
'"■st of many special events
will be an art exhibit in the gallery
of Fine Arts Building at 4:00 p.m. on
Friday.
Saturday the board of trustees
will meet at 10:00 a.m. and luncheon
at noon with the board of advisors.
The Alumni Association will hold its
annual business meeting at 3:30
p.m. in Moore Auditorium. The
meeting should be over in time for
the alumni to join their class re
unions at 4:00 p.m. Classes which
are holding reunions this year are:
1906, 1911, 1921, 1926, 1931, 1936,
1941, 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, and
1966.
The alumni banquet will be held
at 5:30 p.m. Alumni and members
of the senior class and their families
and guests will attend. There Is no
charge but those who plan to attend
are asked to make reservations
through the Alumni Office in the
Montague Building as soon as pos
sible. It will be during this banquet
that graduating seniors will be wel
comed into the ranks of Alumni by
the President of the Alumni Associa
tion, Mr. Chris Pappas of Charlotte,
SGA President of 1966. The alumna
and alumnus of the year will be
presented at this banquet.
Alumna of the Year Award will
be presented to Miss Irene Willis
who, for the past 40 years, has been
a local nurse. In the early part of
her career she was somewhat like
a country doctor. Miss Willis, mem
ber of the class of 1927, is retiring
this month from the Mars Hill Com
munity Medical Center.
Alumnus of the Year Award will
be presented to Dr. W. R. Wagoner,
head of the Baptist Children’s
Homes of North Carolina, a post he
has filled since 1958. He Is past
president of North Carolina Child
Care Association and Is currently
connected with the Southern Bap
tist Child Care Executives Associa
tion and the Southern Baptist Social
Service Association. The Baptist
Children’s Home of North Carolina
has branches In Kinston, Thomas-
ville, Pembroke, Chapel Hill, and
Waynesville. Dr. Wagoner is a
member of the class of 1938.
To round out the day the official
dedication of the Anderson Amphi
theatre will begin at 7:00 p.m. The_
college choir, under the direction of
Robert C. Rich, will perform at the
dedication.
The actual commencement day
ceremonies will begin with the
Baccalaureate Service at 11:00 a.m.
in Moore Auditorium. Dr. Cecil
Sherman, pastor of First Baptist
Church In Asheville, will speak. Dr.
Sherman received his B.D. from
Southewestern Seminary, his Th. M.
from Princeton, Theological Semin
ary, and his Th. D. from Southwest
ern Seminary. He has pastored
churches in College Station, Texas,
Princeton, N. J., and Chamblee, Ga.
At 2:30 p.m. there will be an
organ recital in Moore Auditorium.
Following the recital, graduation
exercises will be observed.