• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1989-01-26_Vol54_No16_08

People The Western Carolinian Page 8 No Bull About Cecil Ward : an Interview s ,J% |f H '"jSps sI'ffH ! lif^ by Bill McEntire STAFF WRITER Cecil Ward is synonymous with food service, yet there is a little known side to him that few students see: that of the supreme storyteller. Mr. Ward is a gentleman farmer today, although he remembers when it was an economic necessity. Hard work was instilled in him at an early age. He fed cows in the dairy barn where Reid Gym is today, and plowed corn where the Ramsey Center now stands. In 1956 he went to work as a stock clerk in the cafeteria located in Moore Dormitory. He remembers that "Moore was the women's dorm, and it was guarded by the Dean of Women, Mrs. Albright. She didn't want any of her girls fooling around with the guys, so she watched them like a mother hen. There was a group of Vets living in a row of huts across from the old Cullowhee High School, Brown Cafeteria stands there now, called "Boodle-villc", and "boodle" was Which One Is theBUILILf what Dean Albright fought so hard against. While she was watching the entrances to her dorm, a group of guys scaled the oaks outside with hooks and ropes, gaining entrance to an upper floor. You can only imagine the reception they got!" He thinks that "all the "boodle-ing" that went on had something to do with baby boom. He says, "The old highway ran through campus past the Methodist church, the by-pass not being built till some time later. This was the road to Cashiers. We didn't have the grounds crew we have today, so beer cans and trash littered both the road and the branch that ran through campus. Today the branch is out of sight, and so is the trash." Can you guess who suggested a clean-up of the campus was in order? The S.G.A and the Greeks were quick to pick up on this idea, and the campus benefited greatly. They used Mr. Ward's pickup truck to haul the trash away. As the campus grew, so OPEN TUES - SAT 11:00 - 8:30 586-5720 did his responsibilities. By the early sixties he was the assistant director of food-service. When Lyndon Johnson was President and Lady Bird was First Lady, she came to Cullowhee for a visit. Food service catered her reception and Mr. Ward helped serve her. He remembers her well. "She was a good-looking woman dedicated to helping people," he says. "She was sincere and really cared about people. She toured the Canada community and left." Mr. Ward remembers Dr. Robinson. "He started the official campus clean-up around 1975 and it has continued to this day. Wcare all better off because of this. The project has become bigger and better with shrubbery and landscaping. This is one of the prettiest campuses anywhere," he says. "Dr. Robinson also brought back the old Indian corn, a flour corn that was once the staple of the Indian diet. The corn had to be grown away from other corn so no cross-pollination would occur. Word got around about the corn being hidden and people thought there was something secret about it. Dr. Robinson is dead now but the work continues thanks to Mrs. Jakes, Dr. Robinson's assistant." Today, Mr. Ward has a few horses and his cows. As he tells it, "I like to call my cows Fords, Chevys, Cadillacs, and Mercedes, with the best being my Rolls-Royces. I Tl have the Rolls- Royce cow bred, then after seven days the embryo can be transplanted into one of the lesser cows. This really improves a herd. One fellow offered me ten grand for a half interest in one of my calves; I didn't take it and probably couldn't give her away now. I look forward to working with my cows when I retire, sometime in the future. I feel extremely fortunate to have always had good health. I have never had a heart attack or an ulcer. I think everyone should have a hobby they enjoy." I agree, don't you. WORK FOR YOURSELF As a campus representative you'll be responsible for placing advertising materials on bulletin boards and working on marketing programs for clients such as American Express. Boston University, Eurall, and various movie companies, among others. Part-time work, choose your own hours. No sales. Many of our reps stay with us long after graduation. If you are self-motivated, hardworking, and a bit of an entrepreneur, call or write for more information to: AMERICAN PASSAGE NETWORK 6211 W. HOWARD STREET CHICAGO, IL 60648 1(800) 221-5942 or (312)647-6860 CHICAGO DALLAS LOS ANGELES NEW YORK SEATTLE An Interview With Rick Boyer by Jeff Ammons STAFF WRITER Rick Boyer is a new teacher in the English department here at WCU. He is uniquely qualified to teach creative writing as he has had several novels published. Mr. Boyer was bom in Evanston, Illinois, where his father was a corporate lawyer. After majoring in English at Dcnnison University he says, "I '^^^^ g^H^ ■ went to the University of Iowa— problem—he' s had enough writer's workshop—at Iowa City m0ney that he's never had any where I met Kurt Vonnegut who adventure. He's been sort of was then an unknown, virtually." programmed to be comfortable Mr. Boyer then taught and he resents that. And I resent high school English for several jti although I don't know if I'd years before becoming a College volunteer to go do anything really Book Representative for Little, dangerous." Brown. "After I had been a book rep for a while I got promoted to going to Boston and being an editor for the textbook division of Little, Brown." In 1976 his first novel, The Giant Rat of Summatra, was published. In 1978 he quit his job to write the Places Rated Almanac with David Savageau. This book rated Asheville as the best place to live in America. In 1982 his second novel, Billingsgate Shoal, come out. This novel won the Edgar Award for best mystery novel of the year. Billingsgate .Shoal introduced Doc Adams, the protagonist in several of Boyer's novels. Mr. Boyer says that after this book came out he moved to Asheville where he has been teaching and writing ever since. "I think that's why I write these books. I want to get the excitement I never had. If you grow up in America, if you have any money, you don't have to Doc Adams is an oral surgeon who always seems to find trouble, or rather, it finds him. To help him deal with the mysteries that come his way, Doc has several friends. "Doc has a good angel and a bad angel. The good angel is Moe Abramson who always tells him the right thing to do— right with a capital R. The bad angel is Liatis Roantis. He would say, "Yeah, Jesus did the right thing too and look what happened to him.'" Mr. Boyer is planning on writing a novel set in Western North Carolina. It will be a mystery novel about a wildlife officer. Mr. Boyer does not worry if some people do not consider his books to be deep literature. He says, "I don't think that I 'm Rick Boyer, major author, but I am Rick Boyer pretty damn good story teller." Mr. Boyer's books can be found at The City Lights bookstore in Sylva or Malaprops in Asheville. Thursday, January 26,1989 Fraternity Cleans Up Lake In December of 1988, the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity aided Lake Junaluska Assembly by conducting a trash clean-up around the lake and on the general grounds. Twenty men picked up in excess of forty- five trash bags of litter, around the five mile lake, during the day. Unlike last year, Lake Junaluska's man-made lake was full. This enabled the Lambda Chi's to cover much more ground this year than last, as the lake's bed is heavily polluted. The Lake Junaluska Project is a bi-annual service project for Lambda Chi Alpha and has been very successful, both last semester and in previous years. The fraternity has been asked to help, along with several residents of Junaluska. In reaction to the help that has been generated by Lambda Chi, Vice - President Gibbs Jones commented, "One of the main characteristics that distinguishes our fraternity on campus is our desire to combine the many talents generated within our chapter and assist others in services that benefit our community. Although it does not take much talent to remove litter it does take desire to help others and we are proud of this trait". Will the Groundhog See His Shadow? face anything. That's Doc'd^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sorority Presidents Kidnapped Sorority kidnap is a charity event sponsored by Lambda Chi Alpha each year. The event was held at the end of last semester netting in excess of 70 (33 gallon) plastic bags full of clothes for the needy. The clothes were donated to several charities both local and in other states. The event was coordinated by Lambda Chi Alpha Vice - President Gibbs Jones who said the event has always had great participation from the sororities. "This year was one of the most successful years so far," said Jones. "Sorority kidnap" begins at 4:15 p.m. on the designated day each fall semester, when all the Lambda Chi brothers march down University Drive to Dodson Cafeteria with a police escort. The group is dressed to look like gangsters , and proceed out of the cafeteria with the. sorority presidents. About 9 p.m. each sorortiy sends its members with clothes, which serve as randsom, to get their president back. The sorority donating the most clothes, while exhibiting the most sportsmanship, wins the event. The prize is a commemorative plaque and a mixer with Lambda Chi Alpha. Congratulations to Sigma Kappa, last year's winner. FANTASTIC HAIRSTYLING STUDIO We want youtrJstart your new year off with a new hairstyle. We offer the latest cuts and styles, advanced perms and and colors, and much more! We are located in Cullowhee, next door to The Cullowhee Quick Stopon Long Branch Road. Callorcomeby foryourfreeconsultation. Stylists Marilyn Melton and Judi Cohen are ready to serve you with a smile. *Paul Mitchell *Sebastian *Redken *Lamaur Pectin *Stephen Donte *Gift Certificates for the whole family *Professional Manicures *Perms *Frost Owner: Faye Taylor 293-3125 Visa/Mastercard SPRING BREAK '89 JAMAICA DAYTONA FROM $399 FROM $159 JOIN THE '88-'89 STUDENT TRAVEL SERVICES SALES TEAM Earn money and travel free, set your own hours, and gain excellent sales experience while marketing Spring Break vacations to Montego Bay and Negril Jamaica, Cancun and Acapulco, Mexico, and Daytona Beach, FL. Great packages-Low pricesl £GS Call 1 800 648-4849 for information and reservations by Frederick Mason On February 2nd we celebrate a superstition brought to America by Germany and Great Britain. This holiday is called Groundhog Day. This is the day when a little animal, namely the groundhog, forecasts whether we will receive six more weeks of winter weather or whether spring will arrive soon. This dates back to hundreds of years ago. Long ago, farmers in Germany watched to see what badgers would do on February 2. They thought that when the badger crawled out of its hole and saw its shadow, it would be scared and would crawl back into its hole to go to sleep. Farmers thought that this meant six weeks of cold weather, which meant that they would have to plant their spring crops late and as a result have poor crops. However, if the creature did not see its shadow, this was good news to the farmers because they could get ready for spring planting and receive a good crop. Naturally everyone hoped that February 2 would be dark and cloudy so the badger could not see its shadow. When German farmers moved to the United States, they brought their superstition with them. These farmers settled in the East, where there are no badgers, but they soon discovered that the groundhog is much like the badger. Thus, the groundhog claimed the holiday. Many Americans believe in this tradition, and we all look forward to an early spring, but here in Cullowhee we needn't wish too hard. The weather here has been cloudy or rainy long enough for us to enjoy spring year round. cmcmS(LQTfL (B(LAUcJty'SAL091 "Becki 'Hewman ■ Stylist 15' CW. 'Main Street, Sylva Valmtints (Day Special 10% off for WCU Students J or the month of Jebruary Mens & Women's (Perms, Cuts, Co tor 1 Kx, WCU Student I 55 ^1 £ 586-2417 %edken Matrix ScrupCes £ CO r g; I

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 University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1989-01-26
  • Date digitized: 2019-09-12
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 14.25"
  • Pages: 14 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_1989-01-26_Vol54_No16
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library