McGriff is
back on
her feet
once again
-See Pane Bl
Black Rep
will stage
play at ?
SECCA
Bus
drivers
honored^ i
for service J
Lasting
honor >
' i
for late
painter
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Long before Quentin Huff
knew that his mom was a
renowned artist, he realized
that she had a knack for using
her talents to pique the cre
ativity of others. When he was
in first-grade, his mom won
over the hearts of his class
mates.
"She got these little books
with blank pages and let
everyone write their own little
books," Quentin Huff recalled
Saturday. "She then put a little
library index card in the back
of everyone's book so that we
could check-out one another's
books. It made everyone feel
good to see that other people
were reading their stories."
It is memories like those
that keep Quentin Huff, his
sister, Jasmine, and his father,
James, going. Earnestine
Rainey Huff, the family's
matriarch and rock, passed
away last year after a valiant
? # Photo l>> Kevin Wullu
Quentin Huff admires the street sign that bears his mother's name. Also pictured is James Huff.
fight against cancer. But mem
ories aren't all that the family
has to bring them solace.
"The good thing about
having a visual artist as a
mother, is that we have all of
this work to remember her
by," said Quentin Huff, who
has grown especially fond of
his mother's painting of the
Madonna and child since hfcr
death.
In the art world, there are
few who don't know the name
Earnestine Huff. Often
steeped in her African
American heritage and always
provocative, her work hangs
on the walls of celebrities'
homes and popular galleries.
A street adjacent to the Huff
family's house/ art studio on
Patterson Avenue now bears
the name "Earnestine Rainey
Huff Drive," ensuring that
even those outside of artistic
circles will know of a woman
who meant so much to so
many.
The street sign unveiling
ceremony drew several dozei
peoptfe from around the Eas
Coast. Many, of Earnestin<
Huff's sibling- she had 12
in all - traveled from Georgii
and other states for the cere
mony, and local artists am
creative folks from places liki
See HufT on A'
Helen Foster wails to he driven off in a timo.
Photo by layla Farmer
103 &
Still Feisty
Beloved nursing home resident gets
birthday bash to remember
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Helen Foster, known to
residents and staff as simply
"Grandma," celebrated her
103rd birthday on Friday,
amid much fanfare at the
Reynolds House, a nursing
home on Reynolds Park
Road where she resides.
Foster was treated to a
limousine ride courtesy of
Russell Funeral Home, and a
luncheon sponsored by
Homer Shockely, founder of
Homer's Helping Hands,
and a close friend of hers.
While waiting for the
limo, Foster cut up with cen
ter staff and onlookers, play
fully hiking her skirt above
her knees for the camera and
shooing staff members away
with the bouquet of flowers
they had given her if they
tried to display too much
affection.
At 103, Foster is as sharp
and sassy as she likely ever
was. with keen eyes that
miss nothing", and a point of
view she has no qualms
about voicing.
"Grandma - I just love
her," said CNA Olivia
Vinson. "She's so sweet,
she's got so much energy.
She's real feisty too - she'll
cuss me out."
Foster came to the
Reynolds House in 1998, at
the urging of neighbor Bill
Doss, who discovered that
she was living alone.
See Foster on AU
Career Seekers
Photo by Layla Fanner
Students at Gibson Elementary School took interest in the newspaper business recent
ly. The Chronicle's Layla Farmer was one of many professionals on hand for the
schoiol's career fair. She talked to the kids about her job as a reporter.
Hunt's
teacher
now has
her say
Goetz was one of
the few whites that
supported Darryl
Hunt all along
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The story of Darryl Hunt is
no doubt a compelling account
that winds through the intrica
cies of human nature, both
good and bad. Hunt, a black
man, was wrongfully convict
ed of the vicious rape and
? murder of Debra Sykes, a
young
white copy
editor for
J T h e
Winston
Salem
Sentinel,
j in 1984,
when he
was just
1 9 years
* old.
1 H % e
Goetz
would spend almost 20 years
in prison before DNA evi
dence proved he was innocent.
His decades-long legal strug
gle divided the city1, with
blacks, all along believing his
innocence, and whites pro
claiming his guilt.
But one white women was
an anomaly during those
times. Jo Anne North Goetz
(pronounced Gatz), Hunt's
sixth grade teacher, served as
his only character witness in
the 1984 trial. With the help of
ghost writer, Leigh Somerville
McMillan, Goetz has penned
the book, aptly titled, "A Long
Time Coming: My Life and
the Darryl Hunt Lesson," doc
umenting her experiences
throughout two decades as the
unending fight for Hunt's
.acquittal raged on.
It all began when Hunt
wandered into Goetz's class
room in Mebane in the fall of
1975, on the cusp of integra
tion laws that brought the first
See Goetz on A9
I Hospital volunteers honored for service
Helpers save Baptist millions each year
BY TODD LUCK
THK C HRONIC! (?:
? Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center hon
ored those who donate their
time and energy to
help others late last
easy in comparison with what
volunteers face at the hospital.
He described coming home
from a bad day on the court
and discovering how small
that is when he listens to his
wife talk about
month, during its
annual Volunteer
Awards Luncheon.
Held at Groves
Stadium's Bridger
Field House, the
event treated volun
teers to a spectacular
view of the Wake
Forest football field
as they dined from a
plentiful buffet. The
what she saw as a
trauma nurse on a
hospital helicop
ter.
"That taught
me something
about perspective.
Those out -j of
bounds plays that I
wasn't real happy
about, weren't that
important ... What
we do in my envi
sports-themed celebration fea
tured an appearance by Wake
Forest's famous mascot, the
Demon Deacon, and a speech
by Slyp Prosser, head coach of
the university's men's basket
ball team.
Prosser said that his job is
ronment and the life and death
situations you all deal with,
again I stand in awe," said
Prosser.
Even though the luncheon
mainly featured older adult
Sec Volunteers on A12
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
" Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
ffiugggll fflmtmtl ffitmnc
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
PhiUm by Todd I ucV
Eddie Easley accepts his award. Easley is a cancer support
volunteer and a cancer patient.
822 Carl Russell Ave.
(at Martin Luther King I)r.)
Wlnstoii - Salem, NC 27 101
(336) 722-3459
Fax (336) 631-8268
rusfhome @ bellsoutti.net