quit®' ince re building Hilltop That amou®' _Mars Hill, N.C. 28754 Vol. LIL. No. 2, September 22, 1978 col' K 1 presid®! ; Hill fof Dresident' le Black'^^, need an . icademin ®, major bu> landscap; • BlackW®; led the tr 0 a full fo; .r institu president ,, “That 1 to supl^; leant m3'' :es, adviS t College K to ,« tion bull Geo] phi e former Je n, and they ® e 8, and »s^8Z •Q'N a8a|]Op Ipt* M.H.C. Reeeives Million Dollar Gift bur $1,000,000 — largest eontri- •pn in its 122-year history — has been M£^^~ycai iii.oi.KJL y iiao uc eeived by Mars Hill College from ^®^ey Grayson of Laguna Hills, Calif. Gri money will be used to ereate the of Seholarship Endowment, out S(,h ] the eollege will offer $4,000 s{ j*®^ships to outstanding high sehool cg ®*\ts graduating in the upper 10 per Ug ]°t their elass. This will make the Vgi y endowed seholarships the most thp D ^ nil scholarships offered by Baptist college. sairi thrilled almost beyond words,” Coll Bentley, president of the fro accepting the gift personally thi*'' Grayson Thursday. “I accept Qj ® niagnificent gift as an experession fg *^°nfidence in the college and in our jJBty, staff and students.” for diehard Hoffman, vice president , academic affairs, was equally elat- „°yer the gift. Bdents with superior academic Sent- leadership qualities are es- cqII *nl to the vitality of a liberal arts 8e such as ours,” he said. “They Iggb Provide the stimulation and chal- g "'hich are needed in order to have Wiij^^^’nic community of learning. We atrp^^n Mr. Grayson’s gift to help us •j,, *^t more such students.” Vdt established endowment "'til K ^Bpport the scholarship program , sctj tee f nianaged by the finance commit- ’ J. , the college’s Board of Trustees. it) TPhilpott of Burlington Industries men>, berg f'ngton is chairman; other mem- ocia*'^ Ed Beach of Lenoir, Roy jg^j of Canton, Rom Sparks and Ben- ^ nrf of ^oott of Charlotte, Carl Meares Gg,.®^*' Bluff, and Dr. Robert Wren of begg'y^otired, Mr. Grayson has long iiaricg^'^^^tified with education and fi ler’s d earned bachelor’s and mas- '^ogrees from DePauw University in "I am thrilled almost beyond words," said Dr. Fred Bentlev in accepting the gift . from Mr. Grayson. "I accept this magnificent gift as an expression of confidence in the college and in our faculty, staff and students." (Photo- Kjrk.Jialli sitio»*! slidej educ®" Greencastle, Ind., and for many years was associate professor of economics and finance at the University of Kansas and at Ohio State University. He established and managed the O- hio office of a brokerage firm with mem bership in the New York Stock Ex change and the Chicago Board of Trade. For 20 years prior to his retirement he was a tax economist with the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. Mr. Grayson’s wife, Polly, is an alum na of Mars Hill College, Class of 1934; and her family has long been associated with the school. Her uncle. Dr. Robert Lee Moore, was president from 1897 until 1938. Her mother, Mrs. Clara Wall of Mars Hill, and her late father, Roy Wall, both attended the college as did her sister and two brothers. Final details on the guidelines under which the scholarships will be offered will be worked out soon, ac cording to Dr. Hoffman, and information will be circulated to prospective stu dents who are interested in applying. Being chosen as a Grayson Scholar will mean more to a student than simply receiving financial aid. Dr. Hoffman elaborated. Each Grayson Scholar will participate in a specially designed academic component intended to en hance his/her capacity for leadership and to enrich life. The million-dollar gift comes at a particularly auspicious time for the Baptist college, which is in the midst of a 10-year, $10 million, “Excellence in Action” development plan. Campus buildings and other facilities, the aca demic program, scholarships, and en dowment are all a part of the develop ment plan. “Wes Grayson’s gift,” added Dr. Bentley, “is not only an expression of faith in the college but also an expres sion of his appreciation for America and of his belief in the free enterprise sys tem. He tells me he counts himself fortunate to live in a land whert he has been free to work hard, invest wise ly, take the risks, and reap the benefits. His upbringing impressed him with the integrity of hard work, and he knows and appreciated the value of a good educa tion. He takes great pride in being able to make this generous gift to a Christian college which is striving to offer its stu dents exceptional educational oppor- tiinities.” w ^estival Foresight weekend in October, craff musicians, dancers, and Marg will gather on the campus of of College to honor the memory * OaSr ..... ........— j On tj. Lamar Lunsford, and to carry lUrva^ li'adition he started a half-cen- Th ®!®venth annual Bascom Lamar ,''®ford Ministrel of the Appalach- °Pen Thursday evening, Octo- ors a program of mountain danc- Nitnl^!!!"'"8 at 7 p.m. in Moore Over 14 dance teams, ^8 both clogging and smooth bugr,’, "'ll! perform as will several , Oqp cancers. em^L^ay evening, October 6, a spec- ®'ngij| Bhasis will be placed on ballad 8- According to many mountain music aficionados, old-time ballad sing ing is becoming a lost art. Festival officials have asked several of the a- rea’s best known ballad singers to par ticipate in a more intimate, workshop- type event which will be held in the col lege’s Owen Theatre, beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday still remains the big day for the festival. Lunsford originally con ceived of the festival as a celebration of the mountain way of life; a time when old friends could get together, play the old tunes, dance the dances, and pre serve these traditional ways by pass ing them on to a new generation. To this end, festival administrators have enlisted the help of numerous crafts men, homemakers, musicians, and dancers who know the old ways inti mately and still practice them. Begin ning at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 7, demonstrations in spinning and weaving, wood carving, quilt and doll making, shingle splitting, and whittling will be held. A homemaking exhibition will also be held, featuring cooking on wood- burning stoves, home-made sausage biscuits, buttermilk churning, and making apple butter. A special event for children is also planned and there will be songs and dances as well as handicrafts which the child can take home with him. There will also be workshops featuring well- known musicians in flat-picking a gui tar, clawhammer and old-time banjo playing, old-time fiddling, and playing the Appalachian dulcimer among others. These events, including the jam sessions that go on all day, will be held on the lawn between the Country Boutique and Bridges Cafeteria, with the exception of the workshops which will be held in and around Anderson Amphitheatre. Several special events are planned for the Appalachian Room of Memorial Library on Saturday. These include a photographic exhibition and an exhi bition of artifacts and tools from the college’s Edward W. Stock Collection. This collection is made up of primitive tools and implements used in the every day lives of early mountain settlers. All events during the day Saturday are free of admission charges. On Saturday evening, the Ministrel of the Appalachias will start at 7 p.m. in Moore Auditorium. Musicians and dancers from throughout the area will gather to celebrate the memory of Lunsford and the way of life he dedicat ed himself to preserving. (Cont. On Pg. 4) il Ml -I i-i t ^,1 l^l