Students' Memories of Professor Graham Pillow

(1931 - 2020)

Collected and edited by

A. Jane Chambers

          After living a meaningful and productive life, Elijah Graham Pillow died on November 13, 2020 of Covid-19 in Elmira, NY, at the age of 89. Below are some students' memories of Graham Pillow as their physics and computers professor at CNC in the sixties and early seventies. The first photograph here, copied from his obituary, is of Graham in his eighties.

FROM RON LOWDER,

CNC First Decaders webmaster:

          The passing of professor Pillow brought back fond memories of attending a physics class he taught. He had a talent for making every classroom session of utmost interest. He was always well prepared for each meeting and treated his students with respect. He was very professional and set a great example for his students. He was one of the many extraordinary professors that have made CNC (now CNU) the magnificent school that it is today.

FROM JOHN SCULL,

Classes of 1971 (AA) and 1973 (BS):

Graham Pillow was undoubtedly the most influential educator in my life. He taught me science in Newport News High School, then physics in the same high school, physics and then computers at Christopher Newport.

FROM WAYNE BROWN RAMMELL,

Class of 1966:

Graham was my physics professor at Christopher Newport College 1965-66. What a great teacher and gentleman! I will keep his family in my prayers.

 FROM DAVE SPRIGGS, Chair, CNC First Decaders

          I was very saddened to learn of Graham’s passing. He and Raoul Weinstein were the only professors I ever had during my brief matriculation at CNC. Graham was unwittingly involved in my meeting Patricia Hemeter, whom I would later marry in January 1970. Pat and I were in Graham’s physics class in the Fall of 1964. She and I would work together on our physics class assignments in the Student Lounge. Nothing like a bit of physics to spark a budding romance, eh?

          The above picture is of Graham Pillow at CNC in 1971, as his former CNC students will remember him. The link to his obituary is

 https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailypress/obituary.aspx?n=elijah-graham-pillow&pid=197125030&fhid=10145

          We encourage short memories such as these of other CNC/U professors whom we have lost. Send yours to one of the email addresses below. Thank you.

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published March 28, 2022

Modern Languages Professor D. Doris Reppen: Cosmopolitan Centenarian

(1920-2021)

by A. Jane Chambers

“At 101 years old, my Mom had a full and exciting life. 

She was active and engaged in many activities

until shortly before her death."

-- Randi Reppen, Ph.D.

          Doris and I first met in the fall of 1964 at a faculty meeting in the old Daniel Building downtown before fall classes began. She had been hired to teach French in CNC’s Evening College. I liked her instantly. She was friendly, enthusiastic, and a very interesting conversationalist. We were soon friends. The next year, she became a full time faculty member. We both taught in the first building on the Shoe Lane campus, Newport Hall, until her department moved to the third classroom building, Wingfield Hall, when it opened in 1970. Because of her pride in our new college and its students, the yearbook staff dedicated the 1970 Trident to her (photo R).

          A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Doris grew up in a multiethnic environment that influenced her interest in languages and cultures. Her cosmopolitan parents, both first generation Argentines, spoke Spanish. However, one had Italian ancestry and the other a Scottish father. Also, her family had “many acquaintances,” Doris wrote, of various linguistic backgrounds. Beginning at age ten, Doris was introduced to English, attending a British School for several years. “In the morning,” she wrote, “I went to the Argentine public school, and in the afternoon the British school.” Her enlightened parents also sent her to the University of Buenos Aires, where she earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philosophy and Literature.

          Later, in America, Doris earned a second M.A. (Spanish) at the University of California at Berkeley, where she also taught Spanish for three years and had an ABD (“All But Dissertation”) in Romance Languages, completing all doctoral requirements except the dissertation. Not surprisingly, when she married Frank Reppen, a native of Norway, their only child grew up speaking Spanish and Norwegian as well as American English.

          After Doris retired from CNC, she and Frank continued to live in their beloved Newport News home. Meanwhile, Randi had made a life for herself in Arizona, where she had completed her Ph.D. at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in 1994 and was soon teaching Applied Linguistics in NAU's English Department. After Frank's death (1997) Doris’s life changed: “I kept flying to Arizona; then I figured out it made better sense if I moved to Arizona and visited Virginia!" In 1998 she moved to Flagstaff. "Many of my friends in Virginia were surprised by my decision," she wrote "but understood my desire to live close to my daughter and her two children.”

          Doris’s other close relatives are all in Argentina: her brother’s four children, their children, and a number of cousins and their families. She and Randi often visited them. The two pictures above, sent to me by Doris, were taken during one such visit in Buenos Aires in 2011, when Doris was 91. The first shows Doris with Randi; the second, Doris with her niece Patricia at the San Isidro Yacht Club.

          Centenarians whose minds are still alert are often asked to what they attribute their longevity. Writing to me in 2014, at age 94, Doris described some of her activities in Flagstaff: “Since I always enjoyed swimming, I joined the Athletic Club, not far from my house. There I soon met a lot of people with the same interests as mine in keeping in good health. Soon I was in a group going to exercise classes and then playing tennis. I still go to the exercise classes." She exercised her mind also--sitting in on some Spanish literature classes (even once teaching a class), joining a reading group, and playing Scrabble weekly at the Adult Center. She also joined a group helping support the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and a group knitting articles for the poor and for veterans.

          In her note with this last photograph, Doris wrote “All my life I have enjoyed traveling"--a major cosmopolitan trait. "With some of my new friends I have taken every year a trip to some place in Europe. My favorites were the river trips on the Danube, the Rhine, the Nile, the Rhone, and of course the Thames.” This picture (right) shows her with a traveling companion in Italy in 1999, with the city of Firenze (Florence) in the background.

Doris's family is continuing to support the Reppen Scholarship

for Spanish majors at CNU. For information and/or to donate to it,

 contact keith.roots@cnu.edu

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published September 28 , 2021

Remembering CNC’s SUPER Superintendent,

Mike Cazares:

Part 2: Mike's Greenhouse

Revised August 2021

by A. Jane Chambers

The Greenhouse project is another example of the dedication

of the early CNC people

and the strong sense of family that existed then.

Without folks like Mike Cazares and Jean Pugh,

I am not sure there would have been a CNU today.

--Dr. Harold Cones, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology

          In 1970, when the Biology Department hired its first botanist and horticulturalist, Dr. Dave Bankes, CNC had no greenhouse. Chances the state would fund one were nil, so the department decided to build its own greenhouse. Dr. Harold Cones remembers how “Mike’s Greenhouse” began: Biology chairman Dr. Jean Pugh talked to Mike Cazares and they agreed that Mike would do the work as he had time (including Saturdays) and would get the bricks (with his own truck) for the head house from the state penitentiary, which had provided the bricks for the other four CNC buildings, and Jean would buy the other building materials. CNC either paid for the bricks or got the state to donate them and also paid for the six or eight metal trusses for the head house roof. Jean bought the rest of the materials, including concrete for the floor.

          Consulting with Dave Bankes, Mike drew up the design. He did not need blueprints. After all, as his daughter Sandy Allard said, he had built his own cinderblock house on Menchfield Road, from the foundation to the roof, with the help of no one except his wife. He had done everything himself, including carpentry, plumbing and electrical wiring, and had also built his own detached garage, which served as his workshop.

Building the Head House

          Most members of the Biology Department, and some students, pitched in to help Mike build the greenhouse--working mainly on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. Biology professors Dave Bankes and Ron Mollick helped, and Jean Pugh and Harold Cones were there regularly. Not everything the novices did was always done perfectly of course. Harold remembers that when the concrete (paid for by Jean Pugh) was delivered for the floor, he was one of those helping to smooth it after it was dumped, but, he recalls, “It was never really smooth, I’m afraid.”

          Laying bricks for the head house was a major challenge, even under Mike’s well intentioned instruction. Harold laid most of the bricks--a task, he remembers, "not as easy as it looks”--and he’s not laid another brick since. He recalls the bricks were “beautiful, handmade, with lots of interesting color and quality variations, and no two alike.” Alumnus Tom Sobieski (BS, 1973) recollects that “one of the students convinced someone that he could lay bricks,” but his brickwork “resembled more a wave than a straight line,” so he was asked to resign from that job.

Building the Greenhouse

           Mike and his volunteer crew next tackled phase two: building the actual greenhouse. Using glass for it was out of the question, recalls Harold, because glass was extremely expensive. Mike found a product suitable for both the sidewalls and the roof of the greenhouse--greenish-yellow fiberglass sheets, and Jean Pugh, as usual, generously provided the money to buy this material.

          Building the frame for the greenhouse was very hard work, because the wooden roof rafters (photo, right) were not only very expensive, but also very long and very heavy. Once the framing was completed, the Cazares Crew covered it with the fiberglass sheets “and voila,” Harold remembers, “we had a green (actually a yellowish-green) house.” Mike then built plant tables, installed lighting and plumbing, and turned it over to the College. It was named “Cazares Greenhouse.”

          Laying bricks for the head house was a major challenge, even under Mike’s well intentioned instruction. Harold laid most of the bricks--a task, he remembers, "not as easy as it looks”--and he’s not laid another brick since. He recalls the bricks were “beautiful, handmade, with lots of interesting color and quality variations, and no two alike.” Alumnus Tom Sobieski (BS, 1973) recollects that “one of the students convinced someone that he could lay bricks,” but his brickwork “resembled more a wave than a straight line,” so he was asked to resign from that job.

Read by Barry Wood at the Celebration of Life Service

in memory of Dr. James C. Windsor (1932 - 2016)

on April 7, 2016 in Williamsburg, VA.

Introduction by A. Jane Chambers

          Aside from family and close friends, not many people know that in his last years, Dr. James C. (Jim) Windsor, CNC's second president, was writing a book. Unfortunately, it was left unfinished at his death. His close friend since their initial meeting as young professors in 1962, Dr. Lawrence Barron (Barry) Wood, quoted from that work at the end of his speech about Jim delivered at the Celebration of Life Service.

          The photos above of Jim (L) and Barry (R) are both from the 1970 Trident yearbook, and on facing pages (23 & 24)--almost as if Barry is looking back at Jim, who has just shared one of his delightful jokes.

          The italicized words following Barry's paragraph below support his point that Jim was "GROUNDED" in the sense of being "mentally and emotionally stable, admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious" (Merriam-Webster). Addressed to the book's readers, the passage is also instructive and seems to me particularly appropriate at this time to share with our website's readers.

          JIM WAS GROUNDED. "Seek truth, live love, do good" appear over and over again in the book he was working on during his last years. I will close this meditation on Jim by using his own words left to all of us in his chapter entitled "Things We Can Count On":

          Day by day we have to deal with ambiguity and disorder which makes us long for clarity and stability. We need to be reminded there are some things we can count on.

1. We can be sure that there is beauty in the world.

2. We can be sure that there is love in the world, but we cannot sit back and wait for friendship and love to come to us. They have to be earned. If we express love we are loved.

3. We can also be assured that there is bravery in the world. When men, women, boys and girls are tested by life, they usually come through. All around us, on a daily basis, we see expressions of courage in the face of adversity.

4. We can be sure that there is intelligence in the world. On a bad day we can look at the condition of the world and doubt our capacity to deal with our most urgent problems, but when you consider the relative youth of the human race, the marvel is that life on earth is as safe, as ordered, as advanced as it is. Someone has worked out a scale which helps our perspective: If you let the Washington Monument represent the age of the earth--550 feet--a penny placed on top would represent the age of man on the earth.

5. You can be sure that the individual counts. There is no substitute for the competent individual. E. H. Chapin has made the point eloquently: "Not armies, not nations have advanced the race; but here and there, in the course of ages, an individual has stood up and cast his shadow over the world." We can confidently believe that one man, or woman, or child can make a difference.

6. You can be sure that religion, which is man's search for God (meaning, truth), will always be a significant part of our lives. We are restless until we are able to identify and commune with that portion of God which is in each of us.

7. We can be sure that life will involve dealing with our own suffering, and the suffering of others. Since we will surely suffer, we should seek to find meaning in suffering. In the words of Viktor Frankl, "If suffering is all that is available to you then your purpose would be to suffer well. You can't change what happens to you, but you can change your thoughts about it. This is where you have mastery over your life."

          Over a lifetime what will ultimately count the most will be what you become as a person. It will be your values and your character. What you are will be more important than what you do. You don't have to be in a special position to achieve personal growth. It can be achieved wherever you are. "Seek truth, live love, do good." (Source unknown)

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published July 16, 2021

Remembering CNC’s SUPER Superintendent,

Mike Cazares:

(1913 – 1994)

Part 1: Faculty and Staff Memories

Revised July 2021

by A. Jane Chambers

Mike was “the man who quite literally held the College together.”

--Dr. James C. Windsor, CNC’s second President

"Scott was so pleased to have someone as reliable and competent as Mike."

--Mrs. H. Westcott Cunningham, widow of CNC’s first President

Mike was “a real jack-of-all-trades; he could build, repair, or restore anything.”

--Mrs. Jackie Haskins, first Bookstore Manager

          When Mike Cazares joined our Christopher Newport family in the fall of 1964 as our first Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, there was only one building on our new Shoe Lane campus: Christopher Newport Hall. When Mike retired in 1975, there were seven—all of which he had kept in good working condition and the last of which, a greenhouse, he had built himself. All seven of these original buildings have since been demolished, and Mike died in 1994. But those of us who knew him and his devotion to our fledgling college will never forget Mike Cazares, an especially valuable member of our early CNC family.

Mike Could Build Anything

          Money was often tight in CNC' early years, but fortunately, as former Men’s Basketball Coach Bev Vaughan recalled in his essay "Setting the Sail: Launching the Men's Basketball Program," Mike could be counted on to come to our rescue in almost any emergency. The time was December, 1967— shortly before the first basketball game was to be played in the newly opened Ratcliffe Gymnasium:

          There was no funding available yet for a traditional scoreboard for the first game, so I asked Mike Cazares … to build one. Several days before the game date, Mike brought his innovative version of a basketball scoreboard to Ratcliffe Gym. It was a piece of plywood, about 3’ x 3’ with “CNC” painted in the upper left-hand corner and “Visitors” painted in the upper right-hand corner. About halfway down on the board was another caption, “Quarters.” Under each heading, there were tracks, constructed of wood, to hold numbers, also constructed of wood. It was somewhat like an information board that hangs up front inside some churches, indicating the various hymns to be sung for a specific service. This handmade scoreboard was mounted 6 – 8 feet above the left side of a wall located at one end of the gym. As the game progressed, a person on a stepladder changed numbers for each category (Memories of Christopher Newport College: The First Decade, p. 123).

          There was no funding for a traditional scoreboard until the second season, so both the men's and women's basketball teams that first season had to use Mike's handmade scoreboard.

           As a public college, CNC was required to purchase office furniture built by prison inmates--very heavy solid wooden desks and chairs. But Mike Cazares had to build our library shelves and office bookcases. In an email Dr. Harold Cones, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Science, wrote: Mike made all the office bookcases in his shop at home....Wherever you went on campus, there was that five foot tall, 30" wide bookcase looking back at you. There were still several of them in the second science building ... when it was torn down to make way for Forbes Hall. Mike also made one for me as a gift for my daughter's room when she was born 40 years ago.

He Could Repair Anything

          Recalling his first year in CNC's Chemistry Department (1967- 68), Professor Emeritus Dr. Gary Hammer wrote: Mike Cazares was the entire Building and Grounds Department, a one-man operation. And, believe me, we saw a lot of Mike because of problems with the hoods in [Gosnold Hall's] laboratories. Many were the days when Mike went up on the roof to change fan belts for hoods (“From Dow Chemical to CNC,” in Memories, p. 63).

          There was no funding for a traditional scoreboard until the second season, so both the men's and women's basketball teams that first season had to use Mike's handmade scoreboard.

           As a public college, CNC was required to purchase office furniture built by prison inmates--very heavy solid wooden desks and chairs. But Mike Cazares had to build our library shelves and office bookcases. In an email Dr. Harold Cones, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Science, wrote: Mike made all the office bookcases in his shop at home....Wherever you went on campus, there was that five foot tall, 30" wide bookcase looking back at you. There were still several of them in the second science building ... when it was torn down to make way for Forbes Hall. Mike also made one for me as a gift for my daughter's room when she was born 40 years ago.

He Could Repair Anything

          Recalling his first year in CNC's Chemistry Department (1967- 68), Professor Emeritus Dr. Gary Hammer wrote: Mike Cazares was the entire Building and Grounds Department, a one-man operation. And, believe me, we saw a lot of Mike because of problems with the hoods in [Gosnold Hall's] laboratories. Many were the days when Mike went up on the roof to change fan belts for hoods (“From Dow Chemical to CNC,” in Memories, p. 63).

          Dr. Harold Cones sent a memorable example of Mike's talents: About my second year at CNU our building, Gosnold Hall, sprung a leak that made itself known by a puddle of water on the floor. Mike came to take a look and decided there was a bad pipe in the wall. Without measuring or looking at any plans, he walked over to the wall, started hitting the cinder blocks with a hammer, and presto, there was the pipe—and the leak. It amazed me that he knew where everything was on campus, even the stuff in the walls.

He Could Restore Anything

          Jackie Haskins, our first Bookstore Manager, recalled Mike’s talent in restoring furniture in her essay about CNC's first bookstore, located in Newport Hall across from the Lecture Room: Mike got us our first display case for the bookstore, for $5.00. He found it downtown at Crum’s Bakery, which was moving to a new location and selling its old equipment, and I think he paid for the case out of his own pocket. Mike was very devoted to the college. After removing several coats of white paint from this cabinet, Mike discovered that it was made of solid oak… [It] had a slanted glass front and sliding glass door in back. I used it to house candy bars and crackers as well as notions such as tissues and aspirin. It was a very serviceable piece, probably dating to the turn of the twentieth century (Memories , pp. 157- 58).

He Gave Help Freely

          Professor Emeritus of History Dr. Mario Mazzarella wrote: Mike was the first CNC person I met.  The school flew me down for an interview in 1969.  I landed at then-Patrick Henry Field … and was picked up by Mike.  I always remember him as a fine (and good-looking) gentleman. In 1972, when I was going on leave of absence, he saw me moving boxes of books and things out of my office in Christopher Newport Hall (later, McMurran) and jumped in to help me, a typical kindness.

          Dr. Harold Cones gave several examples of Mike’s generosity: I always liked Mike and he was a friend to everyone on campus. He was often there on Saturday (no pay on the weekend) and was always willing to drop whatever he was doing to lend a helping hand. When I built my porch, Mike came over on a Saturday and taught me to cut jack rafters, then stayed to help me cut and install them. He would take no money.

____________________________________________________________

Part 2 will be about Mike’s Greenhouse. 

Published February 14, 2014 with title beginning

 "Memories of" rather than "Remembering." 

Revised 2021

Published again July 14, 2021

          The 1971 Senior Class President (L) was JON GRIMES, JR. (deceased, 2006), also the 1970 Junior Class President and Chaplain of CNC's first fraternity, Chi Psi Omega. Jon had a very successful career in Information Technology beginning with Forrest Coile & Associates, the Newport News firm that designed the original CNC buildings. The Vice President (R) was WAYNE MARTIN BARRY, who later earned an M.Ed at JMU, M.Div at Catholic Univ. (DC), and an Ed.D. at UVA. His career included juvenile probation officer, school psychologist, educator and Catholic priest. He resigned the active ministry to become husband and father. (Photos: Grimes, 1970 Trident, p. 35; Barry, 1970 Trident, p.34.)

          KATHRYN HANSEN (KATHY) GREEN (later SMITH) (L) was Secretary of both the 1970 and 1971 classes, a cheerleader for 3 years, a Trident staff member and a member of the 1st sorority at CNC, Pi Kappa Sigma. She is deceased.  Class Treasurer WILLIAM NORMAN (MAC) McGLAUN was also 1970 SGA president and 1971 Honor Committee Chair and Ring Committee Chair. He taught math and science and coached tennis, wrestling, and track & field 7 years at Carver Middle School in Newport News, then worked 30 years for the Federal Government as oceanographer and environmental scientist. (Photes: Green, 1970 Trident, p.35; McGlaun, 1970 Trident, p.51.)

Faculty of Degree-Granting Departments

Biology

          Dr. JEAN E. PUGH (deceased) was Biology Department Chairman and held the rank of Professor in 1971. She was hired in 1965 specifically to build a department qualified to grant the baccalaureate degree. She received a B.S. at Madison College, then earned an M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.           OTHER BIOLOGY FACULTY (and ranks in 1971): David A. BANKES, Asst. Prof.; Harold N. CONES, Jr., Asst. Prof.; Dr. Robert J. EDWARDS (deceased), Assoc. Prof.; Dr. Aletha S. MARKUSEN (deceased), Assoc. Prof.; Ronald S. MOLLICK, Instructor; Dr. Lee C. OLSON (deceased), Asst. Prof.; Ruth O. SIMMONS (deceased), Asst. Prof.; and E. Spencer WISE (deceased), Asst. Prof.

          Dr. W. STEPHEN SANDERLIN, Jr. (deceased) was hired in 1961 as Chairman of the English Department and held the rank of Professor in 1971. Like Dr. Pugh, he was expected to build a department qualified to grant the bachelor degree. After receiving his A.B. at the College of William and Mary, he earned his M.A. at Catholic Univ. (DC) and Ph.D. at the Univ. of Virginia. OTHER ENGLISH FACULTY (and ranks in 1971): Dr. Ross C. BRACKNEY (deceased), Assoc. Prof.; A. Jane CHAMBERS, Asst. Prof.; Rita C. HUBBARD (deceased), Instructor; Dr. Albert E. MILLAR, Jr. (deceased), Asst. Prof.; Jean M. REGONE, Instructor; Ursula V. RIDDICK (deceased), Asst. Prof.; Dr. Joyce SANCETTA, Assoc. Prof.; Ronald S. STEWART, Instructor; and Lawrence B. WOOD, Jr., Asst. Prof.

          Assistant Professor C. HARVEY WILLIAMS, Jr. (deceased) was Acting Chairman of the Government and Political Science Department in 1971. His degrees were an A.B. from Duke University, B.D. from Crozer Theological Seminary, and M.A. from the University of Virginia.  OTHER GOVERNMENT FACULTY (and ranks in 1971): Joseph R. AMBROSE (deceased), Asst. Prof.; Paul C. SHAW, Asst. Prof.; and Dr. William C. WINTER, Assoc. Prof., the department's first Ph.D.

          Dr. ROBERT M. (BOB) SAUNDERS (L above) was hired in 1970 as the History Department's first Ph.D., with the rank of Asst. Professor. He was Acting Chairman of the department in 1971. His degrees were B.A. and M.A., Univ. of Richmond, and Ph.D., Univ. of Virginia.  OTHER HISTORY FACULTY (and ranks in 1971): Dr. Theodora A. BOSTIC, Asst. Prof. and the department's second Ph.D. ; Richard E. McMURRAN (deceased), Asst. Prof.; Mario D. MAZZARELLA, Instructor; Timothy E. MORGAN, Asst. Prof.; and Robert M. USRY (deceased, 1971), Asst. Prof.

          Associate Professor JOANNE SQUIRES (deceased) was Acting Chairman of the Psychology Department in 1971 (1972 Trident photo, p. 121). Her degrees were a B.A. from Willamette Univ. and an M.A. from the Univ. of Arizona.  OTHER PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY (and ranks in 1971): Elizabeth S, CALDER, Instructor; David E. DOOLEY, Asst. Prof. (deceased); Dr. Ruth K. MULLIKEN (deceased), Assoc. Prof.; Elizabeth A. SMITH, Instructor; and James C. WINDSOR, Assoc. Prof. and Acting CNC President in 1971.

          During his eleven years with the college (1964 - 1975 ) CNC's first Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, MIKE CAZARES, was twice honored at commencements for his exceptional service--first in 1971 and next in 1975. A Letter of Appreciation--signed by President James C. Windsor, Dean Marshall Booker, and SGA President Steve Franklin--was read aloud at the 1971 Commencement, then presented to Mike. Below is a copy of it, courtesy of Sandy Cazares Allard, Mike's daughter.

When Patch Adams 

Recited Wordsworth

 in My 

Romantic Literature Class 

by A. Jane Chambers

          I met him first in the hall outside my second floor classroom in Newport Hall, shortly before my Monday night class was to begin. His cousin, one of my students in that class, introduced us. When she called him "Dr. Hunter Adams," he quickly said with a smile, reaching for my hand, "Patch. Just call me Patch."

          The year was 1988, a full decade before Robin Williams introduced us to Patch Adams, M.D., by portraying him in the movie PATCH ADAMS, so I knew virtually nothing about this very tall man I had agreed to have as a guest speaker in my British Romantic Literature course. I knew only what my student, his young cousin, had told me a few days before, when she had asked me if she could bring him to our meeting. He was, she had said, a medical doctor, visiting relatives on the Peninsula, and a "very unusual, most interesting man...a genius!" He could recite by heart all of William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality."

          "All 204 lines?" I had asked. "Yes!" she had replied enthusiastically. "Every bit of it! And many other poems as well!" Since we were studying Wordsworth's poetry at that time, I agreed to have him come to recite the "Ode" in my class.

          He looked more like an 1960s Hippy than like a medical doctor. He had long hair, pulled back into a pony tail, and a large handlebar mustache, and he sported a colorful pair of suspenders. Thirty-plus years later, having read much about Patch Adams, I know now he was in 1988 forty-two years old, eight years younger than I was then. He looked like his image ten years later in the 1998 photograph above with Robin Williams.

          Patch's recitation of Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality" was perfect. It was obvious that he not only knew the wording of all eleven stanzas totaling 204 words but also felt and understood the poem's varying tones and meaning. When he ended, the class applauded enthusiastically.

          I had agreed that after the recitation Patch could spend a little time discussing his medical practice in West Virginia and his belief that medical care should be free for everyone. He told how, after completing his M.D. at MCV in Richmond in 1971, he and a small staff of medical friends founded and operated a small, cost-free medical service in the building shown above, which he named the Gesundheit Institute. He also talked briefly about his medical philosophy and how he hoped to build a hospital some day which would charge its patients nothing. He did not ask us to donate to his cause. And then he thanked us for inviting him and left.

          Nine years later, in 1997, Patch and a co-author published a book titled Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy. It was this book that led to the movie PATCH ADAMS. Patch said afterwards that he agreed to the making of this film because he was given the impression that money earned from it would be donated toward the building of his hospital. That did not happen. He also criticized the film as portrayed him as just a funny doctor.

          At one time he harshly criticized Robin Williams for making "$21 million for four months of pretending to be me, in a very simplistic version," yet not giving even "$10 to my free hospital." But in another interview, he praised Williams: "I think Robin himself is compassionate, generous and funny. I like to think that that's who I am, and so I think he was the only actor I wanted to play me, and I think he did a fabulous job." When Patch heard the news of the actor's suicide, he sent out a press release dated August 12, 2014 including these comments:

          "Robin Williams was a wonderful, kind and generous man .... he never acted as if he was powerful or famous. Instead, he was always tender and welcoming, willing to help others with a smile or a joke. Robin was a brilliant comedian--there is no doubt. He was a compassionate, caring human being....especially kind toward my children when they would visit the set....When he invited me and my family into his home, he valued peace and quiet, a chance to breathe--a chance to get away from the fame that his talent has brought him....This world is not kind to people who become famous, and the fame he had garnered was a nightmare....I'm enormously grateful for his wonderful performance of my early life, which has allowed the Gesundheit Institute to continue and expand our work. We extend our blessings to his family and friends in this moment of sadness....Thank you for all you've given this world Robin, thank you my friend."

          Recently now 75-years-old Dr. Patch Adams had to have the lower part of his left leg amputated after three failed operations on his left foot, infected with MRSA. While still recovering in the hospital, he had a video made in which he talked cheerfully about how he might now be called "Stumpy" and how his prosthesis will provide him with opportunities to enjoy new adventures and new fun. If you want to meet him, just watch this short video by holding down your CTRL key and clicking these words: Patch Adams response to losing a leg - Bing video. When the page of videos opens, click the first one on the top row.

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published June 16, 2021

Students and Colleagues Remember 

Biology Professor Dr. Jean Pugh

Part 3: Conclusion

Revised June, 2021

by A. Jane Chambers

Jean's Generosity and Frugality

          Dr. Pugh's biology colleague and close friend HAROLD CONES (photo below L) shared several examples of Jean's generosity: "She bought cars for some, financed trips, and helped many people with projects." Learning that Gosnold Hall's housekeeper "had terrible teeth and was in constant pain, Jean gave her a bus ticket to a dental clinic in N.C.," where she had paid for the woman to receive a full set of dentures. Jean asked her "not to tell anyone" who her benefactor had been. Jean also "donated $10,000 a year to the Biology Department," for "student trips and ... pizza for every senior." Annually, she "made a large donation to the Daily Press Christmas Fund"--not under her name, but that of her little dog, "Tinkerbell."

          Another of Jean's close friends, psychology professor SAM BAUER (photo above R), wrote that she was "extremely generous" but "very much did not want to be recognized for her charities and gifts, which I greatly admired as true charity." He recalled that in the early 1980s, when he and his wife, Karen, moved to an old farm house in Hayes, not far from Jean's home, "in the process of moving and beginning to clear land," they often "had to borrow a truck." When Jean's brother died, "she bought his Toyota pick-up truck and gave it to us, making our lives a lot easier and allowing me to get rid of our old van."

          Biology colleague and friend EDWARD WEISS (sadly, now deceased) wrote in 2012: "I was one of the recipients of Jean's generosity. In 1988 I was able to be part of a People to People tour to China for biology instructors. Spouses were allowed to go but the expense was my responsibility....I knew my wife, Marcia, should go but did not have any idea how I could afford to do this. No problem--there was Jean making sure I did the right thing. Always there when needed!"

          Jean was exceptionally generous but also "most frugal"-- as shown in this anecdote by former student and close friend DANNY PETERS (photo R): "When Jean offered to give me the 5.5 acres to build my house, I told her I was going to have it surveyed. Her reply was, 'Why are you going to waste your money on this?' " The survey uncovered an error in addition; the land was actually only 4.5 acres. When Danny showed Jean the proof, "She took the original plat to the Commissioner of the Revenue to get back the taxes she had been paying on the non-existent acre for 15 years!"

          HAROLD CONES remembers how Jean loved the 22 cents sales in some stores on George Washington's Birthday: "Jean would do a careful analysis of what was on sale, where it was geographically, both address wise and in the store, and on the morning of the 22nd, Jean, Sam [Bauer], Edward [Weiss] and I would head out early on a sort of Black Friday kind of event." Jean especially wanted hoses for her gardens, and once "the four of us, each limited to five hoses," bought 20 hoses for her in one store at 22 cents each--"among our other purchases. We moved from store to store ...and by 10:00 or so we were finished."

Her Friendship and Sense of Humor

          HAROLD CONES recalls that he and his wife "started life in this area living in a trailer." One day Jean told him that "the house next to her house on 60th Street was for rent." They then "lived next to her for two years" and "learned stuff!"--such as her friendship with neighbors. "Jean baked cookies every few weeks--not just a few cookies, but hundreds of cookies--and mixed the dough in a small wash tub. She often called on us to help stir the 25 pounds or so of mix. Everybody in the neighborhood received a pile of cookies on baking Saturdays."

      DANNY PETERS wrote: "Jean was a master of jokes and shared them often." One time her major professor at UVa, Dr. Horton Hobbs, asked her to send him a joke "that was easy to remember and clean" for a weekly department meeting. She sent this one: "What happened when the woman backed into the plane's propeller?" Answer: "disaster." Dr. Hobbs told Jean a few days later that no one laughed at her joke. She "couldn't believe it and asked him to repeat everything he said. All was fine until the punch line--Dr. Hobbs said, 'decapitation.' Neither she nor he ever forgot this mistake."

          HAROLD CONES sent this amusing example of Jean's sense of humor: "After Jean moved to Hayes she bought a player piano, the kind that used paper rolls. Whenever the department (then probably eight folks or so) had a party at her house, we all gathered around the piano and sang the words printed on the roll. We always had real difficulty with one particular song. Jean revealed years later that the words were misprinted so that the music and the words did not match, but she didn't tell us because she had so much fun listening to us trying to sing that song."

          The close friendship Jean shared with three colleagues in particular is reflected in this brief account by HAROLD CONES of how the group gave themselves a special nickname: "One year many years ago, Jean, Sam Bauer, Ed Weiss and I traveled very early in the morning to Madison College for a conference (a very, very poor biology conference) .... All we could receive on the car radio was a fire and brimstone sermon by Brother Green, who told us all about picking fruit from the tree of life. His metaphors were so outlandish we laughed for hours. From that point on, the four of us called ourselves 'The Bro.' "

 __________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published June, 2021

Celebrating CNC's Class of 1971, the First Baccalaureate Class

by A. Jane Chambers

          The 1971 Class of Christopher Newport College of the College of William and Mary in Virginia would be celebrating its 50th Reunion on the CNU campus this month (on May 7th) were our planet not still battling Covid-19. But we will celebrate that Class of 1971 here, beginning this May of, 2021, by recalling various ways in which the word first applies to the class. The photo above, from page 124 of the CNC Trident, shows some of the degree candidates marching toward Ratcliffe Gymnasium, and the one below, also from that page, shows the procession inside Ratcliffe, led by Dean of Students William H. (Bill) Polis.

          From the beginning, the goal of CNC's first leader, H. Westcott Cunningham, was not merely to build a very successful two-year branch of The College of William and Mary (his alma mater), but also to prepare that junior college to transition into an outstanding senior college. Thus, in 1963 he hired English professor Dr. W. Stephen Sanderlin to chair the English Department and lead its development of a BA degree in English, and in 1965 he hired Dr. Jean E. Pugh to head the Biology Department and lead it quickly into a position to offer a BS degree in biology. Additional highly qualified PhDs were hired in major fields in the later 1960s, so that by academic year 1970-71, CNC was ready to award baccalaureate degrees in five fields: English, history, government, psychology, and business.

          The seniors expecting to receive baccalaureate degrees in June of 1971 found themselves needing much more time in the office of Registrar Mrs. Jane Pillow than usual. She had the burdens of counting course hours, computing grade point averages, sending transcripts to graduate schools, and ordering academic regalia and invitations. Every bachelor degree candidate needed her help in planning for graduation. To show their gratitude, the Trident staff, which included many seniors and was headed by senior Dinah Everett, dedicated the yearbook to Mrs. Pillow, pictured here with degree candidates (1971 Trident, p. 13).

          Ken Flick added to his sketch a ship's wheel, held by Newport with his right hook and left hand. He based the wheel on the pilot's wheel on the seal of the City of Newport News, symbolizing the area's shipbuilding and seafaring history. Finally, Ken put three historically important images within the wheel. Top left is the Wren Building, from the seal of The College of William and Mary--a reminder of CNC's beginning as a two-year branch of W&M. To the right of that is the central image from CNC's first seal, with the date 1960, the year CNC was established by the General Assembly. And at the bottom is an image of the three ships that Newport commanded, also based on the Jones mural. Together, the three images, Ken says, "show the ties" of CNC "to the community, education, and history." Circling these three symbols are the words "Christopher Newport College."

          The U.S. Continental Army Band, based at Fort Monroe, participated for the first time in a CNC commencement on June 12, 1971, and Mills E. Godwin, Jr. gave the commencement address--the first governor of Virginia to do so (photo left below). Graduates also had their degrees handed to them by President James C. Windsor, then serving his first year as CNC's second president. Senior Wayne M. Barry received the first four-year degree (photo below right) --"just because," he said, "mine was the first surname on the alphabetized list." Both photos are from page 125 of the 1971 Trident.

          In offering the baccalaureate degree in 1971, CNC did not turn away from those students seeking the associate degree, as shown on the below list of candidates in the June 12th program. It continued to offer both degree levels for a number of years.

          The back of the program listed the senior class officers: President, Jon Grimes, Jr.; Vice President, Wayne M. Barry; Secretary, Kathryn H. Green; and Treasurer, William N. MacGlaun.

          There was also a summer commencement on August 2Oth, which will be included in Part 2 of this article--along with more firsts and more pictures. We will welcome additional commencement 1971 photographs!

________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published May 6, 2021

 Celebrating CNC's Class of 1971,

 The First 

Baccalaureate Class

Part 2 

By A. Jane Chambers

Following the June 12th commencement in 1971 there was a second one on August 20. Below is that program.

The First Four-Year Ring

          Covered in Part 1 here was the creation of CNC's new college seal, designed by student Kenneth Flick (photo R) and subsequently used on the front pages of the 1971 June and August commencement programs. In the spring of 1970, a Ring Committee was formed to create a new ring for the first baccalaureate class. Committee member Ken Flick submitted a ring design that the committee immediately approved. His design choice for the top of the ring was the same as that used earlier for CNC's Associate of Arts (AA) degree: a stone with the words "Christopher Newport College" (photo R). The three ring photos here were made by Ken, using his own ring, from the class of 1972--identical to the 1971 ring except for the date.

          Ken's designs for the two sides of the four-year ring can be seen in the photos below. On one side (photo L below) was the same image of the upper body of Captain Newport that appeared on the larger college seal Ken had created--Christopher Newport holding the ship's wheel with his left hand and right hook. Added also was a compass at the bottom. The graduation date above the captain's head is 19 (L) and 72 (R)--Ken's class.

           Another fact Ken recalls about this first baccalaureate ring is that "our men's rings weighed a hefty 29 penny weight, one penny weight heavier than VMI's," then the largest men's college ring in Virginia. The Ring Committee chose this extra weight, Ken says, for this reason: "Since CNC did not have the largest campus, the largest library, or the largest student population, it should at least have the largest men's ring" among Virginia's colleges and universities. This ring continued to be CNC's four-year ring for many years. Does anyone know when it was replaced?

          At least two recipients of CNC's Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in 1971 deserve "first" titles. CATHERINE SYLVIA CURTIS JOHNSON (photo L above) was the first Black student to earn a four-year degree at CNC, in psychology. Also, she went on to earn an MA in guidance and counseling at Hampton U and then a JD at William & Mary’s prestigious Marshall Wythe Law School—the first in her class to earn that law degree. She became an attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia.

          WILLIAM KEITH KAHLE (photo R above) was CNC's first BS degree recipient (biology) to become a medical doctor, earning his MD at UVA. He served as an orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. Air Force for twenty years, retiring in 1991 as Lt. Col. Then he practiced spine surgery with Dean Health System in Madison, WI

          At least three Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) recipients in the 1971 class also deserve "first" titles. MARTHA L. (MARTY) MUGUIRA (sadly, deceased in 2012) was CNC's first Latina BA degree graduate (photo L above). After earning her BA at CNC in psychology, she earned a MS.Ed at ODU and an Ed.S at William and Mary. In 1991 she became the first of her CNC class to earn also an Ed.D at William and Mary. She had a long career as counselor, family therapist, psychotherapist (even had a bilingual private practice) and was an assistant professor and counselor at ODU from 1994 to 2005. During her fatal illness, she wrote and published a book of her memoirs.

          By completing the ROTC program at William and Mary while also completing his BA degree work at CNC, WILLIAM H. (BILL) MANN, JR. (photo R above) became the first CNC graduate to earn the military commission of Second Lieutenant in the Army. He then served two years actively at Fort Carson, Colorado (1971-73), followed by 14 years (1973 - 87) in the Army Reserve as a Captain. A career in human relations culminated in Bill’s being Executive Director of the Greater Peninsula Workforce Development Consortium.

          After earning his BA in English at CNC, ROBERT C. (BOB) SCHLAGAL completed his MA in English at UVA, and then became the first in his 1971 class to earn a Ph.D. at UVA, in Language, Literature, and Pedagogy. After 10 years of teaching at two colleges, in 1992 he joined the faculty at Appalachian State College, where he served until retirement as Professor of Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities.

          I used the phrase “at least” here because there are over a dozen members of this first baccalaureate class for whom I have no information because they have not yet been located or have been reported as deceased. They will be listed in the next article about the Class of 1971.

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published June 15, 2021

DR. JEAN ELIZABETH PUGH (1928 - 2012) joined the CNC faculty in its fifth year (1965 - 66)--the second permanent member with a Ph. D. Then Director H. Westcott (Scotty) Cunningham hired her to head the Biology Department and lead it quickly into a position to offer a BS degree in biology--just as, four years earlier, he had hired Dr. Wallace Stephen (Steve) Sanderlin, Jr. (1921 - 2010)--CNC's first Ph.D.-- to chair the English Department and lead its development of a BA degree in English. Like Steve, Jean was a Tidewater native, had earned her PhD at UVA, and was lured away from Old Dominion College (now ODU) by Cunningham.

          The 1971 commencement program at CNC was the first program that had more than one page! More importantly, however, the 1971 program was the first one to include an image of CNC's first four-year college seal. It was designed by student Kenneth Michael Flick, who won a campus contest in 1969-70 to create a new seal. Ken submitted the drawing (below left) which began with his copying the historically accurate image of Captain Christopher Newport (below right) that dominates the 27-foot-long mural painted in 1957 by Hampton artist Allan D. Jones, Jr. Located in West Avenue Library in Newport News, which closed to the public in 2014, this mural depicting the 1607 landing in Virginia should be relocated now so that it can again be seen by the public.

Initial Encounters

          In July 1967, young HAROLD CONES, in his "very best gray-striped seersucker suit and tie," entered Gosnold Hall for his job interview with Dr. Jean Pugh, whom he recalled thus: "Like a hurricane, the office door burst open and a figure in red shorts moved quickly into the end office and yelled in a very authoritative voice, 'Are you here for the interview? Get in here. I don't have much time.' My interview took place ... while she ate a cheeseburger during a break in a summer school class .... I have no idea today what we talked about ... but I felt an instant liking for [her] ... and I hoped all would turn out well for me. And it did" (Memories of Christopher Newport College: The First Decade, p. 57). They became both colleagues and close friends.

          Some years later, biology department chair DR. HAROLD CONES recalled "interviewing a very prim and proper candidate for biology's secretarial position. I had just said, 'You might hear some things that are a bit strong, so I want to warn you.' As if on cue, Jean came bursting through the outer door, yelling, 'Shit! Why in the Hell can't these God-damned students study!' and slammed her office door. All I could say was, 'Sort of like that.' "

          Alumna DALTON KELLEY BLANKENSHIP remembered her first day in Biology 101, in 1965, thus: "I was totally unprepared for this dynamic onslaught of a personality! 'This is college people! Get used to it!' And we did. What a presence! I was just not quite ready for college, or hard work--which she required--and I produced--under duress. She was born to teach. We all knew that as soon as we met her. I was just not mature enough at the time to realize what her teaching meant to her, or to me."

          Alumnus KENNETH FLICK shared his memory: "It was a Thursday morning at 8:00, my first day as a freshman at CNC. I was in the biology lab, getting to know my lab partner, when Dr. Pugh walked in with one of her lab assistants. In their hands were stacks of trays. She took a drag off her cigarette, a sip of her cola, and loudly said, 'I'm Dr. Jean Pugh. This is Biology Lab 101. If you are not signed up for this lab, get out!' She then put the trays down and added, 'Here are the frogs. Go to it!' "

          Dr. Jean Pugh was one of those rare, remarkable people who provide a pivotal presence in the lives of others by simply representing the reach of possibility. Among my favorite memories are the simplest of interactions--botany walks through the CNC neighborhoods, clean-up mornings on her farm lawns, bus trips with the basketball team, even those relentless Friday quizzes--but most of all that smile....many [of us] were enriched by the time we shared with her on this precious green planet.

Brenda Burnette Tagge (CNC alumna)

          Colleague DR. MARY LU ROYALL wrote that as Coach of the first Women's Basketball Team (1968-69), Dr. Pugh "was promised $500 for ... this additional duty, but at the end of the season, Dean Jim Windsor told her there was no money available, so she didn't receive anything for her efforts--except the satisfaction of having helped the team and the College ....The costs of basketball uniforms and other expenses that first year were paid out of Jean Pugh's pocket. The first uniforms were white blouses embroidered on the front with CNC and the players' numbers in blue (photo above). Jean purchased the shirts and paid a little old lady in Gloucester to embroider the letters and numbers. The blue shorts worn by team members were part of their physical education uniform" (Memories of Christopher Newport College: The First Decade, pp. 105-06).

          Alumna TERRY GOODING, who later played for the ODC Lady Monarchs, remembered an unforgettable personal encounter with Dr. Pugh, her first basketball coach and one of her favorite CNC professors: "At that time we were still playing six girls on a team with stationary and rover positions...at basketball practice, she was emphasizing the effectiveness of setting screens--getting in a position to impede a player's movement. I was playing stationary guard at mid court. A teammate passed me the ball and I turned to drive down the court. No one told me Dr. Pugh had set a screen on me, [so] Kapow! I ran full force into her. She stood her ground, but paid the price with a monster black eye that stayed with her for days. We laughed about that years later."

          Before the College had its first bus, the used and sometimes unreliable "Blue Goose," Jean helped provide transportation for both the first Women's Field Hockey team (1967-68), coached by Lil Seats, and the first Women's Basketball team--driving players to and from games in her own car. If a player was injured during a game (photo above), it was often Jean also who performed first aid on her. (colleague A. Jane Chambers)

          Biology colleague and Jean's close friend HAROLD CONES sent this amusing memory: "In 1968 or 1969 there was a faculty talent show. Tiny Tim was the person of interest at the time, so we decided to work him into the talent show. Picture this: Dark Gym. Spotlight. Into the spotlight I stepped. I moved slowly across the floor, singing 'Tiptoe through the Tulips.' As I approached a poor representation of three closed flowers, they slowly opened, revealing Jean and two of our colleagues. I would like to think it was pretty cool, but as I look back on it, it was probably pretty bad--but, we won the contest."

          Colleague BARRY WOOD wrote: "Under President John Anderson (1980-86), Jean Pugh was annually elected by the Faculty as Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors. At that time, I served as Secretary to the Board of Visitors. That Jean was chosen over and over again always seemed to me to demonstrate that the Faculty wanted to be heard and to be understood by the Board and they knew, above all else, that Jean's speech was neither soft nor timid. Even if she were in the proverbial Lion's Den, she would announce herself forth rightfully. For years, I recorded her hand-pounding speeches in the "Open" sessions of the Board, and then had to put my pen aside in the "Closed" sessions, where President Anderson often had to take her voice under the control of his comedic detachment."

          Jean contributed substantially to campus-wide beautification in the early decades, when there was no money for professional landscaping. As HAROLD CONES wrote in Memories of Christopher Newport College: "Almost from the minute I arrived, I joined Jean Pugh, Ron Mollick, and several students in a campus-wide landscaping effort that occupied many Saturday mornings....There existed only one professionally landscaped area on campus, the azalea garden in front of the president's office. Each Saturday, an azalea or two was removed from that garden and moved to the front of Gosnold. The beautiful azalea display each spring in front of Gosnold [was] testimonial to the president's garden and the selective replanting done by the Saturday group" (pp. 223-224).

          By the time the first biology majors were in their senior year (1970-71), there was a Biological Society, which did much landscaping with Dr. Pugh as its Spiritual Leader, Dr. Bankes as its Physical Leader, and biology major Danny Peters as its Emperor. This student-faculty group installed nearly all the landscaping around the first buildings, with Jean Pugh contributing not only her time, muscle power, and red truck, but also most of the money for purchasing plants, mulch, fertilizer and so forth. Among the major landscape acquisitions which Jean made possible were 50 camellias, donated by a camellia specialist who died in Hampton, and a large number of sugar maple trees. ( A. Jane Chambers)

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published May 7, 2021

Dramatic Workshop Series, No. 2

CNC's First Dramatic Productions:

"Spring—1622" and "Cold Harbor—1864"

Part 2: Fort Eustis and Memories

by A. Jane Chambers

with Dramatic Workshop Scrapbook materials

Dramatic Workshop Series, No. 2

CNC's First Dramatic Productions:

"Spring—1622" and "Cold Harbor—1864"

Part 1

by A. Jane Chambers

with Dramatic Workshop Scrapbook materials

          Off stage awaiting their cue in the Fort Eustis theater (photo above) are "Cold Harbor" actors Larry Herman (as a Confederate soldier) and Norman Blankenship (as a wounded Union soldier). All photographs in this article are from Dalton Kelley Blankenship's Dramatic Workshop Scrapbook.

          The first plays produced by students in CNC's first theatrical group, were two one-act historical dramas written and copyrighted by Frances Kitchin, director of CNC's Dramatic Workshop and wife of CNC English and speech instructor William W. Kitchin. Both plays had been performed at other venues earlier and had won awards. Workshop member Norman Blankenship recalls that Frances Kitchin was "a true theater professional and a gracious lady" and that "the only reason we were able to perform 'Spring—1622' and 'Cold Harbor—1864’ was that Mrs. Kitchin had written them"--thus the group did not have to adhere to "rights and royalties."

          The two dramas were excellent choices for CNC's theatrical debut on Friday evening, February 26, 1965 in Christopher Newport Hall's Lecture Room. Each was based upon brutal historical events in Virginia that had occurred relatively close to Newport News and about which most educated Virginians had some knowledge.

          The title and setting of "Spring—1622," described in the program (cover right) as "a few miles outside Jamestown," allude to the Indian Massacre of 1622--a daylight slaughter of colonists--men, women and children--on March 22, 1622. Powhatan warriors suddenly attacked English settlements all up and down the James River in retaliation for similar violent acts the colonists had committed against them. They burned and looted the settlements and killed 347 colonists--then 25% of the English population of Virginia. Warned of the pending attack by colonist Richard Pace, who was warned by an Indian youth living at his home, Jamestown had time to increase its defenses and was fortunately spared (Wikipedia).

          The title of “Cold Harbor—1864" and the setting, an evening "behind Confederate lines" at "an isolated guard post,” allude to the Civil War's Battle of Cold Harbor (May 31 - June 12)--one of the "bloodiest, most lopsided battles" of that war. Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, attempting to reach Richmond, ordered “a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army" near what is now Mechanicsville, VA. Approximately 7,000 Union soldiers and 1,500 Confederate ones were killed (Wikipedia). Grant later wrote in his memoirs, "I regret this assault more than any one I have ever ordered."

THE PERFORMANCES AT CNC

          CNC’s one-act plays of course did not stage the historical events described above, but depicted how they might have influenced the lives of some people during those periods. The March 10, 1965 article below from CNC’s student newspaper, The Captain’s Log (Vol. 2, Issue 3, p. 1), included the names of all the student actors, directors, musicians and others involved in presenting “Spring—1622” and “Cold Harbor—1864” and called the performances “a tremendous success.”

         In the 1964-65 academic year, the only building on the CNC campus on Shoe Lane was the first one: Christopher Newport Hall. The Lecture Hall in Newport was where these first two plays were performed. With theater-like tiered seating for about 225 people, the hall was used for numerous events: class lectures, faculty meetings, community events and, beginning in 1965, commencements and theatrical performances. There was no elevated stage—just a floor area at the front of the room. “Cold Harbor” actor Norman Blankenship remembers that since the audience “was right at the edge of the stage,” the student actors “thought we were ‘avant garde’ even though we really did not know what that meant.” Behind this “stage,” Norman recalls, was “a small supply room,” very narrow, which doubled as “backstage” for scene and costume changes—fortunately, in these first plays, quite minimal.

          Not only were the two plays CNC’s first dramatic productions, they were also CNC’s first dramas to be performed at an off-campus venue: the Army base Fort Eustis, located in upper Newport News. The above photograph with a caption probably appeared in one of the newspapers printed then by the Daily Press—most likely, the afternoon paper, The Times-Herald, which almost exclusively covered CNC news in the college’s early decades. Part 2 of this article, to be published January 29, 2021, will cover the Fort Eustis performances of “Spring—1622” and “Cold Harbor—1864,” with photos and memories of some of the students involved in that historic event.

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or dave.spriggs@cox.net

Published January 16, 2021.

THE CONTEST

          The ten people in the above photograph were members of two academic departments at CNC in the mid-to-latter part of the first decade. How many of them can you identify by both NAME and DEPARTMENT at CNC? Even if you cannot identify all of them, consider entering this Photo ID Contest, which is only for CNC students of the First Decade (the First Decaders). CNC/CNU faculty, staff, and administrators, and other readers of this website may not enter this contest.

HOW TO ENTER

Email me at cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com with your list (by the 2 rows) of those professors whom you can identify. Give for each person the NAME, DEPARTMENT, and LOCATION in the photograph--for example: "Row 1, left-right: 1. Mr. W (A dept), 2. Ms. X (B dept.), 3. ? , 4. Ms. Z (A dept.) & 5. ? (B dept )." Also give your name, phone number and mailing address. DEADLINE for entering the contest is December 9 at 5:00 p.m.

HOW TO WIN

          The contestant who correctly identifies the MOST professors and their departments will win the contest and a PRIZE, which will be mailed to the winner's home. The name and (if possible) a photo of the winner will be posted on this website on December 13. If there is a tie, both contestants will receive a prize and also be named and (if possible) pictured on this website. If three or more contestants are tied, the PRIZE will go to the 2 contestants whose emails were dated the earliest; therefore, enter soon.

          Please observe the Honor System: If you know the location of this photo, and therefore can easily locate the faculty names and departments, do not enter this contest, and do not enable another contestant to cheat.

Thank you! And Good Luck!

P.S.: We might have more contests (also with prizes) if the response to this one reflects enough interest among our readers.

__________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or cnc6171@cox.net.

Published November 15, 2019

           The photo on the right, from page 30 of the 1966 Trident, shows CNC’s class rings for students who were candidates for the two-year (Associate in Arts) degree. This picture was first posted on this website in 2012 in our website's Memorabilia Gallery, along with this question--“Who has one of these?” and this statement: “We need some more information about these earliest rings, plus close-up photos.” Much to my delight, Ted McFalls (66 FD) contacted me in mid-December of 2012 with this good news: not only did he have one of these first AA degree rings, but also he posed for this yearbook photo of it.

Here’s the photo’s history: At the time, Ted was working part time as a student assistant in the Captain John Smith Library. As usual, he had on his CNC ring. He was spotted by a Trident yearbook photographer who was scouting the library in search of students wearing their class rings. Ted agreed to lend the photographer a hand— his hand--for this yearbook picture. He cannot remember who the young woman was that also agreed to lend hers. If you know who she is, please contact me at (757) 238-9629 or cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com.  

          I have found no information about the history of CNC's AA degree ring. Apparently the first ring was that for the 1964 class--identical to Ted's 1965 ring except for the year on it. I discovered a 1964 ring existed when an alumnus of the 1964 class showed me his during the class's 50th Reunion (May, 2014). The photos here of Ted's 1965 ring are mine. The lettering on the top of the ring (photo right) is typical--the school's name: Christopher Newport College. Although the ring's designer remains a mystery, the ring clearly reflects young CNC's status as a two-year branch of The College of William and Mary, as shown in the pictures below.

          The 1961 photo above, by Lt. C. L. Tench, is from page 18 of Sean M. Heuvel's  Christopher Newport University. It shows Georgia lecturing to a class in the old Daniel school building, CNC's first  home, located in downtown Newport News. Georgia taught there for four years, then taught at the college's new campus, on Shoe Lane, for three years.