75 cents WlNSTON-SALEM GREENSBORO H I li II POINT Vol. XXVII No. 30
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Breaking new ground
I ? t * 1
Photo by Paul C ollins
Marion Woofen, center, who was the executive director of the Beth
lehem Center for more than 40 years before retiring, made remarks
at the groundbreaking.
Bethlehem Center begins $1.4 million expansion
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLL
In 1927 day care was a new con
cept in Winston-Salem. Although
black women worked outside the
home, usually a member of the
family stayed home and cared for
the children.
Marian Brincefield (Wooten).
then a young woman, assumed the
responsibility for making the con
cept of day care a reality, and what
is now Bethlehem Community
Center was born.
Marian Wooten served more
than 40 years as the center's execu
tive director before retiring. She is
now in her nineties.
She returned to Bethlehem Cen
ter last Thursday for a special occa
sion - the groundbreaking for a
$ 1.4 million expansion tntit will
double the size of Bethlehem Cen
ter (Cleveland Avenue location)
and allow it to serve younger chil
dren.
A few dozen people attended
the ceremony. They stood side by
side in front of the speaker's tent,
which flapped in the brisk wind on
this sunny day.
Sarah Hamlin, president of the
center's board of directors, said
during her remarks: "It is a mile
stone, an important one, but it is
also a beginning of new challenges
and new involvement."
Next a group of 4-year-olds
sang "Jesus "Dove Me, This I
Know."
Rev. Hurley Thomas. Winston
Salem district superintendent.
United Methodist Church, gave the
opening prayer.
A liturgy for groundbreaking
followed, in which the speaker
asked for God's blessings on the
center and the crowd responded
each time, "We break this ground
today," as the ground-breaking par
ticipants. one by one. dug a shovel
of dirt. Those who shoveled were:
Hamlin; Rev. James Ferree; Patricia >
Shouse, the current executive direc
tor of Bethlehem Center: Jean
Davis, senior executive vice presi
dent, Wachovia Bank, N.A.; Joyce
Adger, director, poor and needy
division. Kate Bitting Reynolds
Charitable Trust; Rev. Nam Jin
Jun. executive secretary, institution
al ministries. General Board of
Global Ministries of the United
Methodist Church.
When it came time lor Shouse
to make remarks, she said: "I would
like to recognize Marian Wooten.
who was able to be with us today.
She has been ill and she has just
been released from the hospital. I
received word last night that there
was a possibility she might be with
us today. We are very, very happy
that she is able to be here and see
this in the making....She and 1
talked yesterday, and she was very,
very excited and very much on her
head to come to this groundbreak
ing but at that particular time the
doctor had not released her. So
we're very happy to see her this
morning."
Some members of the audience
helped Wooten walk to the podium.
Wooten said. "I'm certainly
happy to be here and ... to help you
appreciate what is happening in
Winston-Salem."
Shouse thanked everyone for
taking time out of their busy sched
ules to attend. "We also want to
thank all of you for helping make
this dream a reality." She said dedi
cation of the expanded facility is
scheduled for the spring of 2002.
A reception followed.
In an interview. Sarah Stephney,
director of support services for the
Bethlehem Center, said. "We hope
to be able to double in size. We're
expanding 7.500 feet. We., will be
able to take care of younger chil
dren. Right now we start taking
children at 13 months. With this
new addition, we'll be able to take
children at 6 months. We should be
able to take an additional 125 chil
dren. Right now, our capacity is at
115.
"Right now we serve from ages
13 months to 5 years. We have a
before- and after-school program
and a summer (enrichment) pro
gram (children 5 to 12 years of age);
See Groundbreaking on A4 |
Asst. superintendent sees freshness as asset
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
The last six months has been a
whirlwind for Angelia Fryer.
She became Dr. Fryer last
October after years of evening
classes at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte resulted in
her earning a doctorate in educa
tion. Around the same time, she
was set to leave her post as princi
pal at Briarwood Elementary
School in the Queen City to head a
middle school in the Charlotte
Mecklenburg school system.
But before she could gel settled
in her new job. Fryer got another
ofTer she could not refuse a
chance to defect to the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County system for
a job as an assistant superinten
dent.
Fryer has been quietly serving
as the new assistant superintendent
for elementary schools sinee the
middle of January. It is the first
time in her more than 20-year edu
cation career that she has not been
in the thick of a school environ
ment.
Fryer served as a teacher and
assistant principal before taking
the helm at Briarwood. where she
became a much-loved member of
the school. She was named Princi
pal of the Year by the Charlotte
Mecklenburg PTA Council in 1994
and served on the State PTA Board
of Managers.
A shiny plaque from her adult
and adolescent friends at Briar
wood is prominently displayed in
her new office. Leaving them and
her hometown of Charlotte was
not easy, she said.
Sc( Fryer on A3
Photo by K<?vin Walker
Charlotte native Angelia Fryer says she has been very impressed
with the city-county school system so far.
Praise-on
at Noon
Local churches trying
to reach the masses
With midweek services
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONK3 I
Those who live in the communi
ty framed by Cleveland Avenue and
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive don't
need a calendar to know whch
Wednesday rolls around. They sim
ply listen for the sounds of urgent
feet and excited conversation or peer
at the hundreds of cars parked any
and everywhere there's a spot in
which they can fit.
The East Winston site of Cleve
land Avenue Christian Center is the
focus of all the commotion. For the
past six years the church has provid
ed an alternative to the traditional
lunch hour, serving up helpings of
sizzling gospel music and old-fash
ioned preaching.
Cleveland Avenue has been one
of the leaders locally in a growing
movement to make church services
more accessible to an increasingly
hectic work force.
The noonday service, held each
Wednesday at the church, has the
feel of Sunday. The choir and praise
team warm up the crowd with
music; the crowd routinely responds
with hand clapping and feet stomp
ing. The service is capped off with a
spirited rendering of "The Word"
from the Rev. Sheldon McCarter,
the church's pastor. The young pas
tor is known for his ability to work a
room, delivering sermons that many
in his flock say speak to their souk
All of this - the roof-raising
songs, the uplifting message is
done in 45 minutes, giving those
who attend more than enough time
to gel back to their jobs. The church
even provides box lunches to those
who come, knocking down another
barrier that may prohibit people
from attending the lunchtime event.
"We provide spiritual and physi
eal food," McCarter said last week
after the service.
Sl i- Churches ' A5
Photos hv Kevin Walker
The Rev. Sheldon McCarter makes a powerful point during a sermon
at Cleveland Avenue Christian Center's noonday service.
The Book Club of Today celebrates its 61st anniversary
Photo by Felecia P. McMillan
Club president Louise Smith offers remarks on the history of the club.
BY EELECIA P MCMILLAN
COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT
The Book Club of Today, the
oldest African-American book
club in Winston-Salem, was
founded by 12 women in 1940 who
envisioned "an organization of
civic and literary-minded women
pledged to serious study of books,
current events and community ser
vice." according to the club histo
ry. Four of the women were educa
tors, and the remaining ones were
housewives. All of them lived in
East Winston on such streets as
Cameron Avenue. 14th Street. II
1/2 Street. 12 1/2 Street. Gray
Avenue, Dunleilh Avenue. Colum
bia Heights area and other streets.
According to the history, it was
Roberta C. Farmer, the wife of
real estate agent Samuel Farmer.
who called ihe women together.
Meetings were always special
occasions. They usually wore their
hats, bags and gloves.
Their colors were blue and
white, and for their flower . the
founders designated carnations.
These women were Mabel
Bruce, D.W. Clayborn. Essie O.
Donoho. Edith Douglas Ham
mond. J. Hunter. Roberta Farmer.
H.V. Price. Mary Jeffries. H.D.
Malloy. Belle Diggs McCorkle.
Vandelia Johns. Petronclla Jones
and U.S. Reynolds.
The current members of the
club celebrated its 61st anniver
sary on Sunday. March 25. at First
Baptist Church located at Seventh
and Highland Avenue. The current
group of 24 women is comprised
of educators, professors, adminis
trators. lawyers, political officials.
librarians and computer special
ists. Although none of them came
into the group as housewives, they
still value the rich legacy of the
original 12.
Relatives of the founders were
presented at the gathering. Gwen
dolyn Hunter Ashley. Evelyn Sell
ers. Dr. H. Rembert Malloy. Dr.
Rachel Diggs Wilkerson, Gloria
Diggs Banks. Louise Hammond
Davis. Ms Browen, Dorothy
Unthank of Baltimore. Md.. Eliza
Glenn Miller of Salisbury, Kim
berly Livingstone. Avery Booker
of Charlotte and Mary Bruce.
Andrea M. Bush, anniversary
chairperson, served as the mistress
of ceremonies. Bush set the tone
for the year 1140 by citing signifi
cant facts and figures. A gallon of
See. Book Club en A10
Divas ready to
invade Triad
for festival
Ferrell, Freelon talk
about music, life
BY CORTNEY 1. HILL
THE CHRONICLE
Pop culture. A world where
only commercial music is accept
able. Eccen
inc. music
that is often I
considered I
to be on I
edge, differ- H
ent. basical- L
ly. anything I
other than I
pop. rock or P
h i p - h o p , j
How do
these ele
nicuis cum
bine? Oftentimes, they don't, but
when one meets the other it cre
ates an idea that is thought of as
being innov- , ,
alive,
fresh,..new.
Take jazz,
for instance.
It is the basis
for all musi
cal genius
and is the
pioneer of
what we lis
ten to today.
Though
many artists in pop culture test
the waters every now and then,
"jazz" itself will never be consid
ered "pop Culture". However,
such great artists as Nnenna
Frcelon and Raehelle Fcrrell may
never be heard on the radio, but
examine their achievements and
staying power and many will see
that they are a forces to be reck
oned with.
"Divas" is the title normally
connected to Ferrell and Freelon.
Although one is more known
than the other, they both are vet
erans to the field. Sure. Ferrell
has received national recognition.
taken the world by storm with her
six and a half octave range and is
the only person who can leave the
scene for eight years and come
back to blow minds again. Never
sleep on Freelon. for she packs a
mean punch when it comes to a
hard hitting success.
Coming to the Triad area in
early April is the 2001 Piedmont
Jazz Festival, where these two
remarkable divas will appear.
Freelon will make appearances on
April 5 to kick off the festival.
April 6 to give an artist workshop
at Winston-Salem State Universi
ty and she will give a final perfor
mance at the Benton Convention
So Divas i "i A3
I?mL J
Ferrell
Freelon
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