• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1939-05-13_Vol07_No50th_14

Fiftieth Anniversary Edition THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN Western Carolina Teachers College ROBERT DAVIS ON THE JOB FOR 35 YEARS Others Have Come And Gone; Robert Remains Constant Mamie An Employe The Fast Four Years; Both Well Loved (By A VALINE PA1 Undoubtedly, as the fiftieth yeai of the . . m Carolin; Teachers College draws to a clos< and the I cords of the first half century of it: life one of those names which stands near the top in service rendered ll Robert Davil and a close second is his wife, Mamie. In point he is one of the oldest em, the college. He has seen it grow from a three teacher school of high school level to a college with a faculty of fifty or more and a student body of around 800 students, including the training school. He takes a personal pride in the success of the college, and every student and teacher on the campus feels that Robert and Mamie are his friends. Robert Davis was born in 1887. He has always lived near the mill dam where the college gets its electric power. Robert was seventeen years old when he began working for Professor Madison, the founder of the college. His first job for the school was hauling wood on a sled; later he hauled it in a one horse wagon, and finally he advanced to a two-horse wagon. For twelve years Robert ran a hack line, transporting students and hauling groceries, furniture and trunks. He has also worked some in the book store. In the early days of the college Robert carried water to the dormitories and heated it in an upright boiler for the girls to bathe. They were allowed to take a bath only three time a week. At this time the college got its light from' oil lamps and wood burned in stoves for heat. Robert and Mamie have two one twenty-six years old, and the other twenty-two years old. Mamie was born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, March 31, 1890. She lived in Georgia until she was twenty-five years old. In 1915 she married Rob- Tower on Waywah Ball, about thirty miles from the campus. Trips in the college bus are made to this ert in Sylva and has lived here since. She did not begin working at the school until 1925. Until then she stayed at home and kept house, her spare time she did laundry v for the college boys. When Mamie started working at the college, she promised to work only two weeks, but she was liked so well that she was asked to stay. Mamie has worked fourteen years, as mard in the dormitories. The personalities and services of Robert and Mamie are inextricably interwoven in the spirit that is Western Carolina Teachers College. Their places will be hard to fill. Written by: Grady Edney, Pauline Pressley, Adele Bieginger e p>a haps only three People—Professor R. L. Madison, E. H. Stillwell and P. H. Brown who more a part of Western Carolina Teachers College than are a negro man and his wife, Robert and Mam Davis. For thirty-two years Robert, as I is known on the campus, has served as janitor and general handy man on Folks who lived in the "gay nineties" when W. C. T. C. was new; when transportation was by horse-and-buggy; when streets were lit by kerosene; those folks thought they dwelt in a halcyon era. But you wouldn't want to go back, now would you? Not back to the days when farmers did not appreciate the value of guaranteed fertilizers; not back to the days when no one had heard of certified seed; not back to the days when all feeding and conditioning of livestock was by the hit-and-miss method; not back to the days when there were no progressive firms like SYLVA FEJED CO., to keep customers posted on the very latest innovations in the feeding and planting world. the Cullowhee campus. His wife, Mamie, has been head maid in the girls' dormitory ejnei Thirty-two years ago Robert began working at the little tin. school that was the beginning of i arolina Teachers College. The thro K. L. Mad H. Still well, and 1'rofessor Frank Brown. In Robert kept supplied with wood. Be carried the water to the school from the "Meeting House Spring," near He hauled the wood on a sled; as the college gNV he got a one-hor later a two-horse wagon. He graduated from the wagon to a hack and a pole buggy. In this hack tobert hauled the little safe that is low in the Book Store. I i he time bought. Robert also hauled the desk Dean Bird's office and the books for the lirst library which then pied the typing room. In the seated hack called the "Yellow Jack- ," Robert used to take the boys and girls to "Double-Top" and to "White- ide," where they often had Sunday School. He also used to chaperone the students to box suppers, picnics, and camping trips. When the board of trustees met, Robert polished the handsome hack, curried and brushed his horses, and brought the gentlemen from Sylva. When Moore Dormitory was built, Robert remembers that the grave of ed Boone Chastine had to be moved from the site. "He had a wonderful gold tooth." His body was moved to Brown's graveyard. Several weeks later seventey-two graves and the colored church wen from the present site of Robei Hall to another hill. Robert worked with Professor Madison while he was president of the college for eight years; he worked for President A. C. Reynolds for years; and he has worked with President Hunter for sixteen years. He worked for Professor Madison when he \vas a little boy for five cents Robert was born on the Tuckaseegec River fifty-two years ago. In 11)15 he married Mamie, who is from Hawkinsville, Georgia, and brought her to Cullowhee to live. In August. 1925, Mamie came to work at Moor Dormitory for two weeks for a maid who was sick. She has worked ther since. Mamie says the greatest change in the college that she see is that there ai-e more students in the dormitory, they are less mature, and there is more work to do. When she first befean working, the second and third flcfors of Moore Hall were only about ha'lf occupied. When Mamie came to Cullowhee, it often took four hours to get to Sylva, and then one had to travel on horse-back because a wagon could be driven over the roads. Mamie says "Cullowhee is a city now to what it was when I first came here." The rules were much stricter when Mamie came than they are now. The girls could go to Cullowhee only twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, and then they went in a group with the matron to chaperone them. The girls' rooms were checked every day and graded. Failure to keep a root clean resulted in a week's campus. When Mamie was asked what she thought about marriage si "It takes a brave woman to marry, but it takes a braver woma Dining Hall Accomodates 400; Kitchen Equipped With Every Modern Convenience And Device Meals Only tost Students Eleven Cents; Plans Being Made For Cafeteria e lirst Cuban student to enter \ ostein Carolina Teachers College came in 1987. She is now Studying in New York. in the students is that they are less serious and worry less than they did ears ago. There is also a in the courting now. There was no holding hands then; there just "plain out courtin'," Robert says. "Plain out courtin"" means "three weeks' of hard courtship." Robert went to a three-month' school at Cullowhee until he finished li grade. Mamie finished i] at Hawkinsville, Georgia. It is Robert who keeps the Joyner Building clean, and helps care for the .pus. Last year during the spe- six weeks' session a student lost $700 in bank notes on the campus. Robert found the money and returned ry cent of it. lamie cleans the parlors and halls Moore Dormitory and helps tin girls by doing little washings for hem. They have two children, Homer Kemp, whii is Robert's step-son, and -" nas Davis. Homer is married and has been teaching school for three s. He received his A. B. degret i a college in Jefferson City, Missouri, Thomas is attending Tuskee- Institute where he will finish this year. He plans to teach music. Robert and Mamie never forget a OUR HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO W.C.T.C. On Her On Her 50th Birthday Anniversary SYLVA FEED CO. 1 old I lid." Robert remembers when the water and light systems were put in the college, and when the mill at Cullowhee was bought and the meal and flour for college use were ground there. He carried water to stick the pebbles on Davies Hall from the at Cullowhee. The greatest change Robert sees CONGRATULATIONS W. C. T. C. ON YOUR 0 YEARS WHILE IN SYLVA, PARK YOUR CAR AT KELLY'S SINCLAIR STATION Greasing — Washing Lubrication Allelic- Jackson. The dining hall and kitchen of a changed considerably to accommodate the increasing numbei of students. The location ; I il times since the founding of the college. At first, the dining hall and kitchen were in Davies Hall. The (lining hall was part of what is now Mrs. llulloy's apartment. a window between the dining hall and kitchen, through which the fond was passed to the lines the students would wake up to find the one cook gone; then they would show good sportsmanship by preparing their own Winn Moore Dormitory was completed, the dining hall was moved into what is now the recreation r< This room soon became too small; and the wing which is now the larger section ol" the dining hall was added. work in the kitchen was done by six colored people; students were used wait i In 1929, as a result of the growth of the college, more room was needed i the kitchen and dining room. Con- •quently, the kitchen was enlarged to twice its size, and the smaller section of the dining hall w student who has attended this college. They can call by their first names students who graduated from the college many years ago. Through the years Robert and Mamie have lived beside the m dering Tuckaseegee, they have shared in the defeats and in the triumph: of the college. They are passing middle age now, but both are as enthusiastic over Western Carolina's past record and. its even greater future as anyone else connected with th(. institution. We salute you Robert and Mamie! You are truly Cullowheeans! This expansion called for larger sup- .1 and for better methods ! he result was th*> installation of a cold storage plant. hich makes about one thousand pounds of ice at a time. The plant a room to ,.-!, of the following: milk, fruits and vegetables, meats, ice, and With this equipment -.ii fruits hies for consumption by as delicious as : .. |a one of the few institutions which owns a plant of this nature. At the present time, the kitchen and dining hall department furnishes employment for about twenty-five students, enabling them to work for Students at this institution pay hoard at the rate of eleven cents a meal, a very small amount for the type of meal served. This college has the reputation of serving as good, if not better, food for the smallest amount of money of any other school of this type. When the new dormitory is completed, this college will have more students than the dining room will accommondate; its capacity is about four hundred people. To remedy this situation, plans are being made for a cafeteria which will care for an unlimited number. Apple Group Big Family It's a big family, the apple group. It traces its origin up the same Ifamily tree as the rose. It has more than 1,000 members, 100 of which are commercially valuable. The champ "big apple" was one that sold for $70 in London in 1913. It weighed more than two pounds. Best for Color Discrimination Noon sunlight is better suited for color discrimination purposes than north-sky light, says Collier's Weekly. Light from the north sky not only varies in intensity from hour to hour, but it has a slight bluish tinge, which tends to exaggerate blues and minimize reds and yel- Not juti 50 1/eaM. BUT, SINCE TIME BEGAN Milk Has Been Considered Our One And Only Complete Food CONGRATULATE C. T. C. ON ITS W. FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY AND WISH FOR IT CONTINUED SUCCESS Men, women and children need the health-giving properties of MILK in their daily diet. It's the most complete food of all—it builds health and strength. Best of all, milk is an economical food at any price. If milk were put up in small vials and sold at the drug store on the basis of what it would do for one's health there would be a stampede to get it no matter what it cost. Drink Pet Pasteurized GRADE "A" MILK Ask your favorite Western North Carolina dealer for Pet Ice Cream, "A Health Food." Pet Ice Cream is made out of guaranteed sweet milk and sweet cream, which assures you of the highest quality ice cream available. All Pet products are laboratory tested before leaving our plant. Pet Dairy Products PHONE H) WAYNESVILLE, N. C. An Institution Truly Interested In The Progress of Western North Carolina

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University’s student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina Teachers College
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1939-05-13
  • Date digitized: 2017-01-31
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22" x 15"
  • Pages: 20 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1939-05-13_Vol07_No50th
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library