How many of you remember the comic strip that ran for many years and featured Lil Abner, Sadie Hawkins, and their friends in Dogpatch?  On November 17, 1950, Sadie Hawkins Day was celebrated at Elon College and was sponsored by the Student Christian Association.  Prometheus McGurgle (Mayor of Dogpatch) issued a proclamation calling for all Elon men who weren’t married to look over the “passel of gals” on campus, marry them, and “relieve their pappies and mammies of the burden of their board and keep.”Emma Jean Clayton (Sadie) headed the committee responsible for the festivities, while William  Tolley (Lonesome Polecat) handled the decorations for the “stompin” that night. The “stompin” included ‘round and square’ stomps, followed by refreshments of ‘Kickapoo joy juice.’ The Sadie Hawkins Day Race, “the most hooman race of all,” was held during the day. Permission was granted for the girls to wear jeans or appropriate costumes, as all participants were asked to dress in Dogpatch citizenry fashion. The charge for admission to the Sadie Hawkins Day events was one cent per inch of the girl’s waistline – and the girls paid!

If you venture to the second floor of Belk Library and head toward the vicinity of the DVDs section, you might notice a portrait of a man named Andrew Morgan.  This portrait stands out among the others for several reasons: it’s relatively informal, Morgan has a large stature, and he is African-American.  Curious about the role that this man played in Elon’s history, I decided to investigate further.

Andy Morgan was raised in Alamance County and lived on a farm in Mebane, NC until he was 21 years old.  He worked for a textile mill in nearby Glencoe before joining the Elon College staff in 1926.  Though he and his wife Hattie Burton Morgan did not have any children, they raised nine of their nieces and nephews as foster children.

Morgan worked in the campus maintenance department at Elon for thirty eight years, and he became somewhat of a fixture on campus during that time.  Former students recall that he was “so so tall!” and report that he knew everyone by name and always had a smile on his face.  In addition, he was close with Dr. Danieley’s father and his family.

The university community was saddened by Morgan’s sudden death in 1964.  While working on the plumbing underneath his home, he was electrocuted and died at the age of 64.  His obituary from Elon Alumni News refers to him as “one of the oldest and best-loved employees” at Elon, and many members of the Elon community attended his funeral.  The Andrew Morgan Memorial Scholarship was set up in his name following his death.

The painting in the library was done from a photograph of Morgan at work at Elon, sitting in his typical spot near Alamance Building.

Homecoming float, 1991

“Mardi Gras at Elon” was the Homecoming theme in 1991. Prior to Homecoming week, a few events were scheduled which included Skit Night in Whitley Auditorium, and the infamous Homecoming float competition that took place on Haggard Avenue. The Homecoming floats were created by a number of student organizations. The float competition preceded the Elon football game, in which the Fightin’ Christians played the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb (and Elon lost).  Other events that took place during Homecoming included a penny drive to benefit the United Way and a carnival.

Reunion classes from 1941 and 1966 gathered for Homecoming and had a variety of special events planned.  Cathy Miller from the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority was crowned Homecoming Queen, and her escort was Patrick Dillon. Becky Greaves from the Alpha Omicron Pi was awarded second place, third place went to Wendy Law from Alpha Sigma Alpha, and fourth place was awarded to Tricia Talbert from Zeta Tau Alpha. Angie Smith from the Student Union Board placed fifth overall. Homecoming 1991 represented the first time that a representative from a non-Greek organization was included in the top five.

Student organizations collecting money for penny drive

Ashley Pippin served as one of the coordinators for Homecoming 1991 and said “It was a long hard week for all of us, but I think everyone had a good time. It was nice to see that Homecoming was not strictly for the Greeks and that other organizations got involved and did a terrific job.” (The Pendulum, November 8, 1991, pg. 5)

Paul de Montaigne was the first black student to attend classes at Elon College.  Paul was a faculty member of Palmer Institute and, although he was not seeking a degree, he attended evening classes at Elon in the spring of 1963.  Paul was from Martinique and, accordingly, his first language was French.  Some argue that Paul was viewed predominantly as a foreigner rather than as black, and that (combined with his taking only evening classes) certainly eased his entry into Elon College.

Glenda Phillips was the first full-time black student at Elon College.  She graduated from Jordan Sellars High School in Burlington as valedictorian and attended Elon on a day student scholarship.  In fall 1963, Glenda enrolled and walked ten blocks to take the public bus to campus each day.  Glenda was part of the marching band and studied Pre-Medicine while at Elon.  Glenda left Elon during the fall of her sophomore year, partially as a result of getting married.

These students attended Elon at a time when the nation was in racial turmoil.  In 1962, James Meredith became the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi, against the wishes of university and state officials.  Federal marshals were sent to Mississippi to protect James as he registered for classes.  The violence that erupted as a result left two people dead and many others injured.  Fortunately, such violence did not occur at Elon.  Nonetheless, the racial strains at the time resulted in Glenda being less welcomed and less supported than her white counterparts, which played a part in her decision to leave Elon in her second year.  The first black student to graduate from Elon was Eugene Perry, who did so in 1969.

If you’re interested in learning more about integration at Elon, take a look at L’Tanya Richmond’s Master’s Thesis, “Elon’s Black History: A Story to be Told,” which includes interview transcripts with several people from the Multicultural Center’s Wall of Fame.

Time:  3:00 a.m.
Date: Monday, December 1, 1952
Place:  Elon College Business Office

The sound of breaking glass and loud banging on steel…what was happening?  Thieves were trying to break into the safe! At 8:00 a.m. when Mrs. E.B. Huffines (acting treasurer of the college) came to work, the break-in attempt was discovered. The business manager, W.E. Butler, called the sheriff who soon arrived at the scene.The sheriff said the job had all the earmarks of two or more professionals.  They gained entry by breaking a window in the office of the treasurer.  They knocked the knobs off the big steel door, and then tried to punch out the works inside the lock.  The thieves never got the door open into the vault, which they thought contained receipts and money from student registration for the new semester.  However, the safe was virtually empty—as all the money had been deposited the previous Friday afternoon, and what was left had little value (for a thief). Maybe the thieves needed to be better educated in their chosen profession and this was as close as they could get!

Gym in North Dorm

During a quiet and somewhat dull weekend in 1947, the male students of East Dormitory staged a masquerade ball. The ball took place in the gym of North Dormitory and it attracted a crowd of gypsies, pirates, sheiks, and Turks (all students of course!).

Prizes and boxes of candy were given for the best costumes, as the boys of East Dorm (mostly veterans of WWII) couldn’t afford much. During the Grand March, Jack McFadden won for the most original costume – a seductive red light girl with a lampshade hat. Roberta Roberts won for best all-around costume when she dressed up as a rotund grandma. Wallace Owen dressed as a tramp and was voted most comical.

The real “prize” of the evening (although they didn’t win anything) was Sheik Percy Price and Elon College art professor Lila Newman. In the November 1, 1947 issue of the Maroon and Gold student newspaper, they were reported to be “something out of Persia.” Refreshments of punch and cookies were served by white jacketed waiters—who of course were in costume. It seems that the students in 1947 had a sense of humor!

The usual serenity of a Sunday morning was broken on January 29, 1950, by a skirmish between man and beast in the halls of South Dormitory.  George Stanley was awakened by the sounds of a rat escaping from a trap set by George Seay.  Seay had been bitten on the ear by one of these rodents and was determined to get him.  And get him he did, but the rat was getting away!

Throwing caution to the winds, George Stanley grabbed a broom and whacked it—ending the rat’s life. Grateful congratulations came from all around, and it was even suggested that Stanley had earned the right to be in Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.  Actually, he was already in Who’s Who – but for his scholarship, not his rat whacking.

Radio room in Whitley, 1948.

If you’re old enough to remember a time with no TV, no internet, no Nook or Blackberry, then you will remember the radio.  The family gathered around that early entertainment center and listened to “The Jack Benny Show” or “One Man’s Family” or “Your Hit Parade” and thought themselves lucky to have a radio in their home.  By 1947, Elon had completed a radio broadcasting studio in Whitley auditorium on the second floor facing the stage and was ready to launch the Elon Radio Players over WBBB, the Burlington, N.C.  station that would carry the plays.  The room, the wiring, and installation of equipment was done by Professor A.L. Hook and students from his physics classes. The first show was pretty challenging – “Jane Eyre.”  The 30-minute show was cast, produced and directed by members of the cast as part of their final examination.  All went well, so they planned the next productions.

The idea for the Radio Players came from Mrs. Elizabeth Riddick Smith, Assistant Professor of Dramatic Arts, who, by the way, was the daughter-in-law of Dr. Leon Edgar Smith, the President of Elon College (1931-1957).  After “Jane Eyre” came “The Phantom,” a suspense drama handled ably by the students of Mrs. Smith’s Advance Radio Class.  The broadcast had a director, a narrator, a music supervisor, and a student handling sound effects.  In all, three plays were presented over WBBB and then the Elon Radio Players faded away like the sound from the old radios.