Page 4 - The Perquimans Weekly, Hertford, N.C., Thursday, July 27,1995
Perspectives
The Perquimans Weekly
119 W. Grubb St., P.O. Box 277, Hertford, N.C. 27944
426-5728
Richard D. Brown, Publisher
Susan R. Harris, Managing Editor
Shirley Pizzitola, Administrative Assistant
Anzie Ziemba, Account Executive
Published each Thursday by The Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Second class postage paid in Hertford, N.C. 27944
Affirmative action is the least of it
Peaceful
pond
O ver ten
years
ago, my
husband and I
dug a small gold
fish pond in our
backyard near the
house where I
could observe it
from the window.
It soon became
the most enjoy
able spot in our
yard, as word of '
water spreads
like magic among wildlife. We
chose to cement the smaU
pond, add water lilies and a
few other aquatic plants, a
small log and a lovely fountain
in the center whose recirculat
ing, cascading water can be
heard from all comers of our
acre lot. Within just hours
after its completion, the pond
was already home to mosqui
toes and dragonflies. We added
goldfish to the decor of the
water to complete the magical
pool effect. Having the little
pond just off the patio means
we enjoy it aU the time, aU sea
sons.
The fish and other pond life
control the mosquitoes. I
looked out the window the
other day to see a black ring
around the top of the pond and
knew the millions of tadpoles
that composed it would soon
be splashing in the pond,
bringing even more natural
predators to investigate. There
are always frogs croaking and
leaping here, and box turtles
sunning on the log. This
month I discovered a large box
turtle crawling into the pond
that appeared to have two
heads. When I picked it up to
examine it, I finally decided it
had been bitten, probably by a
poisonous snake, and had
swollen so large that it could
no longer draw its head into
the shell for protection. I fed
the turtle bits of apple and put
it back in the pond. Here, I
hope it win be safe and protect
ed while it heals.
Once a small blue heron
found our little man-made
pond and helped himself each
morning to a daily diet of the
largest goldfish. While I didn’t
particularly want this preda
tor on my pond, he was so
stately and beautiful and pro
vided such a rare opportunity
to observe his stalking meth
ods that I almost lost all the
fish to him before scaring him
off for good. The pond became
so natural so quickly that the
goldfish population quickly
increased, and this morning I
counted at least a dozen new
babies swimming at the sur
face. I originally put just a
small amount, a handful, of
aquatic weed in the pond, and
now the thickened growth pro
vides both ample food for the
fish as weU as a cushiony area
to spawn.
I’ve looked out the window
to see raccoons wading in the
pool, probably after the fish
and frogs for a meal. There are
always water beetles and
I }
Nature in a Nutshell
Gail R«berson
P icture this: You’re
Dean of Admissions
for a small, yet presti
gious college in North
Carolina. You’ve got spaces for
300 qualified freshman appli
cants but have received over
700 inquiries. Over 500 appli
cants are “all A” students; all
of these are white. The remain
der are a mixture of “A-B” or
“B-f” students; all of these are
minority students. Who gets
in?
Do you just admit the top
300 with the highest Grade
Point Average? That’d frost
the heck out of the remaining
200 “A” students. Should you
consider qualifications other
than GPA, like the ability to
All over the map
Tony Key
pay tuition? So you let the chil
dren of middle and working
class parents take the cut,
huh? Better hope your school
isn’t state-supported.
Okay, how about things like
work experience, community
service or extra curricular
activities/ Those should count
for something! Uh, oh: now the
children of wealthier parents
will feel they’re being slighted
on account of their folks’
financial success. You’ve prob
ably noticed how deep into the
thicket we’ve gone and we
haven’t even started dis
cussing the minority students
or affirmative action yet.
Remember that when some
political talking head starts
spouting simple solutions to
complicated issues.
Eliminating affirmative
action won’t eliminate the
problem of too many people
chasing after too few spaces in
newts in this little
water wonder
land, and once a
magnificent
great-horned owl
perched on the
log, snatched a
large fish and
flew off with it.
The food web of
my little hand-
dug pond is amaz
ing. Crayfish,
———mayflies and
snails are among
the many lifeforms of the pond
today, and each morning as I
stand by its edge I am never
certain what new life I will see
there.
I have, on occasion, sprin
kled sand around the edges of
the pond before dark, and gone
out the next morning to see,
from the tell-tale tracks left in
it, what came there the night
before. I’ve observed, from the
window, squirrels drinking
from the pond. AU my cats go
there for liquid refreshment.
And once the neighbor’s big
dog was found standing half
submerged in the pool, cooling
himself from the hot August
heat. His big feet upset the
pots holding the plants and
muddied the water badly. A
severe scolding sent him away,
but I suspect he has sneaked
back again from the looks of
things now and then.
Of aU wUdlife the pond
attracts, I enjoy the birds the
most. Most different species
are drawn by the sound of the
cascading water head, and
often I stand at the window
and watch butter-colored
goldfinches splash in the foun
tain or with firmly planted
feet, stand directly in line of
the hard rush of faUing water
to shower and preen then-
feathers. The edges of the pond
are slanted so as to allow birds
to skinny dip without fear of
deep water, and those I’ve seen
doing this include jays, wrens,
sparrows, juncos, cardinals,
finches, warblers, buntings
and even doves. I have to force
myself away from the window
and back to the typewriter, the
observations of the pool are
just so appealing and time-con
suming.
In winter, there is often a
half-inch of frozen ice on the
pool’s surface, whUe below
swim the goldfish, contented
in their wintry wonderland.
The cats slip and slide across
the surface, trying to catch the
fish below, confused, playful
expressions on their furry
faces.
The pond l^ts at night
attract moths, which attract
the bat that lives in the bat box
on a nearby tree. There is
always something going on
here, day or night, at any sea
son. Even an old bathtub, gal
vanized bucket or wooden bar
rel fiUed with water, a fish and
plant, can provide hours of
pleasure for you by bringing
nature right to your own
porch step.
Blueberries so plump you have to roll
them in your car at Perry’s U-Pick
b
3^
Wiley was education pioneer
By ASA C. RICHARDSON
Guest Columnist
C alvin Henderson
WUey was a pioneer
in education.
'This grandson of a revolu
tionary warrior was born on a
farm Feb. 3,1810 in Guilford
County. He was named after
Presbyterian ministers, John
Calvin and Dr. Henderson, his
mother’s pastor. He attended
Caldwell Institute at
Greensboro and the University
of North Carolina, where he
graduated in 1840.
After studying law he
opened a practice on Oxford.
In his spare time he edited the
Oxford Mercury for two years.
In 1847 he published a novel,
and two years later another
novel. He was distraught with
the hardship conditions,
which he thought caused the
emigration of so many North
Carolinians. He believed edu
cation was the remedy. He
opined that the young people
should be taught a greater love
for their state, to have pride in
its welfare, understand the
opportunities that exist and
prepare themselves to make
use of those opportunities.
'The young lawyer decided
to give up his practice and
devote his life to furthering
education opportunities. He
returned to Guilford County,
became a member of the legis
lature and promoted the idea
that common schools needed a
superintendent. The assembly
was, at first, not supportive of
his efforts. His continued
efforts, however, were success
ful and the legislature created
the office of Superintendent of
the Common Schools. Due to
his long, ardent struggle it was
thought that he should fill that
office. On January 1,1853, he
realized his dream.
In 1853 the common schools
were little more than log hov
els; teaches were scarce; teach
ers were poorly prepared, and
the people did not know how to
manage the schools. He wrote
letters, published articles in
newspapers and made speech
es aU over the countryside in
his efforts for Improvement.
His patience and determina
tion brought him success. He
increased the nvunber of teach
es to more than 2,000 and the
number of schools to nearly
3,000. The number of children
in the common schools, when
he took over, was estimated to
be 8,300. The number of chil
dren in the common schools
rose to about 116,000. The
school houses and books were
greatly Improved by 1861.
The war preparations
caused the legislature to pro
pose closing the common
schools. Wiley strongly resist
ed the legislative proposal.
The legislature relented. The
schools remained open, how
ever, it became more difficult
to get new books and teachers.
At the close of the war the
schools were closed. Calvin
Henderson WUey became a
Presbyterian minister. He died
in Winston January 11,1887.
Calvin Henderson WUey was
truly an apostle for public edu
cation and a pioneer in awak
ening the people to the great
need for public schools.
(Editor’s note: This column
is part of a series by Mr.
Richardson based on his educa
tion research.)
Letters
Dear Editor:
As I prepare to journey off
to college next month. I’d like
to take this opportunity to say
“thank you” to a few people.
First, I have to thank Mr.
Charles Woodard, my employ
er for 5 years. He is one of the
finest members of our commu
nity and is not given the recog
nition he deserves. I don’t
know where I’d be without
him. Second, I’d like to thank
the entire Perquimans County
School System. From Ms.
Mansfield in 1st grade to Mrs.
Whitley just months ago, they
aU tried their best to beat some
sense into my thick head.
Third, I thank my mom for
putting up with me for 18
years. Fourth, ! thank my
friends. I am fortunate enough
to have some of the best
friends in the world, and they
mean a lot to me. And finaUy,
I’d like to thank everybody
else in Perquimans County.
Although I’m only 18, I’ve done
quite a bit of travelling, and I
must say that some of the
nicest people on earth live
right here. As I move onto col
lege, I feel thankful to have
known & met all the people I
have met in Perquimans
County. Thank you all for
everything!
Guy Webb
Hertford
a college classroom, or on a job
site. As long as we have a sur
plus of people, we’ll find ways
to pick and choose, to discrimi
nate. Affirmative action is the
least of it.
icide
Fun with math
1. What is the surface area
of a cube whose sides are aU
five inches squared?
2. An eighteen-wheeler haiU-
ing a 62,000 pound load is
puUing how many tons?
3. If the “d” is 72 and the “r”
is 9, what is the “t?”
(Answers: 1.150 sq. inches,
2. thirty-one and 3. eight)
On the
cooler
side
N o, it was not a joke.
Those of you who
caUed in to question
our weather map on page 1 last
week know it was not a joke.
This weather we’re having is
anything but funny!
Ramblin’with Susan
Susan Harris
Believe me, we were just as
surprised as you were when
the temperatures for Saturday
in our weather box were caUed
to oiu- attention. Highs in the
50s, lows in the 30s? Yeah,
right!
Oiu- weather box is generat
ed by computer in Elizabeth
City. When it is to appear in
color, as it did last week, we
only see a negative of the map.
Because aU the information
comes from people who are
supposed to know much more
about weather than we do, we
just take it for granted that the
predictions wiU be somewhere
in the range of the truth. Boy,
were we wrong!
I suppose that’s what hap
pens when we become too
dependent on our good friends
of the modern era, the comput
er, like MatUda here. WhUe I
have become accustomed to
her moods and nuances over
the past year, I stiU have the
greatest respect for old
Matilda. Every now and again
she still throws me for a loop.
The loop we got thrown last
week was huge. I must admit, I
have not researched this situa
tion too thoroughly, although I
suspect that the temperature
predictions were Elizabeth
City’s computer’s idea of a
joke. The only place I know of
that was 50 degrees last week
end was my refrigerator.
This heat doesn’t show any
signs of letting up. I’m lucky to
work in air conditioning and I
know it. My husband, like
many of you, does not have
that luxxiry, and these past few
weeks have been pretty tough
on him.
'The only thing we can do
now is sip taU glasses of iced
tea and dream of those chilly
fall nights when we can slip
into a lightweight sweater and
really enjoy the outdoors
again.
Fall is ri^ht around the cor
ner. Really it is. Band camps
started this week. Football
practice starts Saturday.
School begins in a month.
Relief is on the way.