The Way I See It
by Dr. Dean Chavers
AINT DIMPLE HAS A GENIUS
One of the things that I think about happened one night in Washington,
DC Abouj two dozen of us had gathered at the invitation of the
National Institute of Education to help develop a research agenda for
Indian education.
Deni Leonard had a contract with NIC to the work. He never delivered
the product to N1E, unfortunately, so NIE spent S 50,000 of our
taxpayer money for nothing. But that is another story.
This story is about mentors. At one point in the proceedings 1 made
a point by asking the members of the assemblage to raise their hands
if they had had a mentor in high school or college. No hands went up,
which surprised me. I thought at least one or two of the folk there had
had a mentor.
I said I had never had one either. I concluded that the people in the
room had made it though college on their own, while most of their
peers had fallen along the way, which was true. But 1 realized later
that I was wrong. I did have a mentor.
She was not a teacher or some big - time professor. She was my
grandpa Purcell Godwin's sister, Aint Dimple Revels. I realized now
I got more mentoring from her as a teenager then I realized even 20
years later.
Aint Dimple was a genius, and 1 will prove that to you later. She was
born as the twentieth century started. She went as far as she could go
in school at that time,through the eighth grade. Finishing the eighth
grade in an Indian school before World War 11 was enough to qualify
a person to become a teacher, so she taught school for a few years.
Then she fell in love and married Uncle Lonnie Revels, Sr., one of
the toughest, fairest, kindest, and most exemplary people I have ever
known in my life. They proceeded to have six children, five girls and
a boy whom have been my life long friends and supports.
Florence, Cloris, Delia, Lonnie.Jr, Theresa, and Rosa have always
been kind and wonderful to me. They have forgiven my faults when
other people looked for them.
Once she got married, Aint Dimple quit teaching school and became
a housewife. She was happy doing that, and was an excellent
housewife for the rest of her life.But being a housewife was not a
comedown or a putdown to her. She thought of it as a high calling.
She was a wonderful cook. I had many meals at her house, and
never had anything that didn't taste great. She had all the country
foods - cornbread, beans, peas, collards, okra, tomatoes, ham,bacon,
sausage, liver pudding, com, turnips, squash, chicken, and on and on.
She always had a pound cake on her sideboard, and you could come
in from the field and have a piece of it at ten o'clock if you wanted to,
if you were helping on the farm. That pound cake was always delicious.
One of my favorite memories is of Uncle Lonnie coming in
from the field, cutting himself a slice of that cake, and eating it standing
up in the kitchen.
She inspired her own children and a host of others. For of her six
went to college and earned degrees. The other two chose not to go,
but that was their decision. Just as my brother who never went to
college tells me, not everyone should go to college. Some people hate
it. 1 understandthat, at least intellectually.
Aint Dimple was a lady of strong faith. She was at First Baptist
Church every Sunday morning for Sunday School and church. She
was back again Sunday night for evening service;
She was there on Wednesday night for prayer meeting. And Uncle
Lonnie was with her everytime. They would never have thought of
not going to church.
She and I had many conversations, both when 1 still lived at home,
and after I left home. It was through these conversations that she imparted
her wisdom to me. To extent that it did not take, that is my
fault. After I left, when 1 visited home again, she made it clear that her
house was open to me, and I spent many nights with her and Uncle
Lonnie as a guest. 1 always felt at home, never felt like a guest. I was
just another one of the children.
In addition to raising her own children, she took other children into
her house and raised them. Some stayed a little while, and some stayed
for life. I found it amazing that she could do as muck work as she did,
and still have time to talk to us young people.
I had a somewhat troubled childhood. When I was 14, 15, and 16,1
had my own gang, and we got into a little trouble. The main thing we
did was meet on Saturday and ride in Cliff's car to some bootlegger's.
We would buy some wine, or some beer, and some moonshine, and
ride around and drink it. Or we would go to some juke joint and hang
around while we drank the alcohol illegally.
One of the gang, unfortunately, after he woke up from a bad drunk,
shot up a house in town. We saw him that night, asleep and drunk in
his car. We tired to wake him, and his neck was as limp as a dish rag.
He slept outside the juke joint all night in the front seat of his car.
Why he shot up that house I will never know. We didn't even know he
had a pistol in the car.
Another on of the gang, after 1 left home, killed his wife and went to
prison for 20 years for it. When i knew him he was not married. These
particular boys were a little tough and meaner than the type of people
I should have been hanging around with.
Aint Dimple confronted me about that one time. She let me know
how disappointed she was in me for drinking around and hanging out
with the gang. I was like an egg- sucking dog when he is caught with
my tail between my legs and my head hanging down.
She decided to do something about it. My mother could not handle
me; I refused to let her beat me any more. So Aint Dimple wrote to her
brother, my grandpa, and told him he had better come get me. Grandpa
had moved from North Carolina to Virginia ten years earlier.
With some minor arrangements, Grandpa and Grandma came and
got me in September 1957.1 went home with them and lived for the
next six years. The move possibly saved my life. At least it saved me
from making some foolish choices of friends.
Aint Dimple proved her genius to me 25 years later. She got the
answers to one of my favorite questions on the first try, and got them
all correct. No one else has ever done that.
- -ft* " vM' U,",M rt/"
Duke Endowment Awards
$250,000 to Expand Obstetric,
Emergency Services at SRMC
Lumberton, NC? J Luckcy
Welsh Jr . president/ CEO of
Southeastern Regional Medical
Center, announced an award of
$250,000 from Duke Endowment
The grant will be used for assistance
in the expansion of emergency
and obstetric services Expansion
of these areas is part of
the hospital's master facility plan
to update its main campus in order
to serve a growing patient
population and to expedite care
"The Duke Endowment has
been a good friend and supporter
of SRMC over many years?since
1929," said Welsh "On behalf of
our Board of Trustees who
adopted our master facility plan
and the community to be served
by these new facilities, 1 want to
thank The Endowment for its
continued support and generosity."
The five-year master facility
plan approved by the board of
trustees in 1998 provides for expansion
of medical-surgical, emergency,
maternal/ child health and
cancer services The Duke Endowment
grant is being used for
renovating and expanding emergency
and obstetric areas.
"SRMC's emergency services
are nol only among the busiest in
the state, but thc> serve an unusually
large number of low - income
citizens." said Eugene W
Cochrane Jr. vice president and
director of the health care division
of The Duke Endowment "This
expansion will make a significant
difference to many Robeson
County residents, and we arc
pleased to be able to make this
grant"
SRMC's emergency serv ices
provided care for approximately
60.000 patients last year The department
has now been expanded
by 9,500 square feet, almost doubling
its original size After recent
renovations to existing areas, the
department can now offer 45 beds
for emergency care, up from its
previous total of 23 beds
Dunng the past fiscal year. 1.533
newborns were delivered in
SRMC's birthing suites Three
obstetricians arc employed by
SRMC whose sole practice is to
deliver infants of those women
covered by Medicaid or without
private insurance. These physicians,
along with nurse midwives,
also offer prenatal care for highrisk
pregnancies through clinics
at the Robeson Countv Health
I
Department Currently there are
six labor / delivery / recovery
rooms and two small treatment
rooms for outpatient care With
the proposed additional L / D /R
room and an open bay treatment
area of three to four beds, hospital
officials project the new additions
can accommodate an increase
of 228 deliveries per year
Founded in 1924 by North Carolina
industrialist James B Duke.
The Endowment is one of the
nation's largest private foundations
The foundation which has
its headquarters in Charlotte,
serves the people of North and
South Carolina by supporting selected
programs of higher education.
health care, children's welfare
and spiritual life through
grants to eligible colleges, hospitals
and children's homes in the
Carolinas and to rural United j
Methodist churches in North
Carolina Grants from the Duke
Endow ment to hospitals in North
and Soutli Carolina go only to
those facilities that are-not-for
profit
Since 1929, the Endowment has
provided grants totaling more
than 4.2 million to Southeastern
Regional Medical Center
I
Pediatric Pointers
by Dr. Joey Bell, Pembroke Pediatrics
In our -society, the typical pattern of crying during the first few
months of life consists of a gradual increase until about 6 weeks of life
followed by a steady decrease until about 4 months of age The average
amount of crying in normal infants at age 6 weeks of age is about
2 1/2 hours per day. The loose medical definition of infants colic is
crying or fussiness, in an otherwise healthy child, for more than 3
hours per day and occurring more than 3 days per week.
No one knows for sure what causes colic (sometimes called "gas" or
"wind" colic). Some commonly heard theories 1) allergens in milk or
lactose intolerance, 2) abnormal movement of the intestines or excess
gas production, 3) an immature nervous system, and 4) parental anxiety
sensed by the infant. It could be some of all these theories combined;
no one is sure.
The thing to realize is that there is no single remedy for infant colic
that works for all cases. Changing formulas, using gas drops, placing
the infant on a running washing machine? all these and more have
been tried, with some success in some cases but not all cases. My
suggestion is to first check to see if the infant is hungry, then try a
pacifier, stimulate the baby, hold the baby or lay the baby down to
sleep. Going through this checklist quickly to see if the baby will stop
crying often decrease the fussing time. Often the infant will have a
favorite position he likes to be held in that will pacify him From my
experience, gas drops only work about 50% of the time and arc expensive,
so think carefully before starting them. Catnip Tea works better
in my opinion.
The best thing about infant colic, even in bad cases like my
daughter's, is that they eventually outgrow it, usually around 3 months
of age. If you suspect that your baby's fussiness is not colic, see your
doctor.
Delaware was the last state in
which physical beatings were a
legal form of punishment for
crimes. The state prohibited the
practice in 1972.
PART OF AGING
BUT IT ISN'T
ELECT
LARRY TOWNSEND
LUMBEE TRIBAL
GOVERNMENT
June 29th, 2002
If elected to the LUMBEE TRIBAL COUNCIL, I will endeavor to work with
fellow elected members to achieve full Federal Recognition, continued economic
development and to build a more cohesive tribe.
WE must be ever diligent to protect our heritage, our culture and our way of life as a
people while striving to protect our identity as an indigenous people.
Proven leadership is a must for our Lumbee Tribal Government. My leadership,
skills and abilities on local, state and national issues show that 1 possess the necessary
needed skills to help develop further our Lumbee Tribal Government.
I need your help. 1 need your aapport and I need your vote on Electloa Pay. Jane
2?, 29Q2. Thank You.
VOTE
LARRY TOWNSEND
4 '
'; V
Lumbee Homecoming
Schedule of Events
Sunday - June 23. 2002
Farewell Tea
o 3pm / LRDA Assembly Room
Friday - June 28. 2002
Little Miss and Junior Miss Pageant
o 6:30 pm / Givens Performing Arts Center
Homecoming Kick Off Dance
o 9 pm / Porter Plaza
Saturday - June 29. 2002
Golf Tournament
o 8:30 am / Flag tree Golf Club, Fairmont
Teen and Miss Lumbee Pageant
o 6:30 pm / Givens Performing Arts Center
Sunday - June 30. 2002
Lumbee Elders Dinner
o "Honoring our Elders" "*
o 3:00pm / LRDA Office Complex
Monday - July 1. 2002
Art Show & Contest
o 7-9 pm / LRDA Assembly Room
Tuesday - July 2. 2002
o Wrestling Contest
o 10 am - 5 pm / UNCP Gym
Strike at the Wind Art Dinner
o 6:30 pm / Porter Plaza
Mr. Lumbee
o 6:30 pm / Givens Performing Arts Center
Wednesday - July 3. 2002
a Fashion Show
o 12-3 / Porter Plaza
Genealogy Workshop
o 7-9 pm / Indian Education Resource Center
Thursday - July 4. 2002
Lumbee Sports Legend Roundtable & Photo Exhibit
o 3-5 pm / LRDA Office Complex
Gospel Sing
o 7-9 pm / Givens Performing Arts Center
Friday - July 5. 2002
Lumbee Bike Rally
o 9 am -until / LRDA Event Field
Ellis' Barbeque
o 12-7 pm
Coronation Ball
o 7:30 pm / Porters Plaza
Saturday - July 6, 2007
a 5K Run
o 6 am
Activities in the Square
o 10 am
Parade
o 10 am
AISES Powwow
o 12 Noon
Kelvin Sampson Reception
o 12-2 pm / LRDA Assembly Room
a Ellis' Barbeque
o J 2-7 pm
a Literary Voices
o 2:30pm /Dial Humanities Building
Car Show
o 3-5 pm
Strike at the Wind Premiere
o 7 pm / A dolph Dial A mphitheatre
a Firecracker Finale
O 9:30 nm - until / Porter Pin*n