Brevard College - Pertelote Yearbook (Brevard, NC)

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Brevard College. These buildings remained unused un- til the opening of Brevard College in the fall of 1934. Mrs. Myrtle Baber Young, at present a house coun- selor at Brevard College, was a student at Brevard In- stitute and later returned as nurse and teacher of home economics. Mr. Herman White, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds at Brevard College, was also a student at Brevard Institute. Before going to Weavet College, Miss Lucile Smith taught at Brevard Institute for three years. In 1933 the Western North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church decided to merge Rutherford College and Weaver College and form a new institu- tion at Brevard. On March 5, 1934, the Board of Trus- tees appointed by the Western North Carolina Confer- ence, elected Dr. E. J. Coltrane, then on the National Committee of Education, to be the president of Brevard College; and Brevard was opened in September, 1934. In founding this new junior college, the Western North Carolina Conference had two definite ideals in mind. The first is the Christian ideal. At Weaver and Rutherford Colleges much emphasis was placed on Christian education; and as their successor, Brevard College is pledged to the continuance of that tradition. The self-help plan is the second ideal. Taking into ac- count the large number of boys and girls desiring a college education but financially unable to attend the existing institutions, the special Conference Educational Commission in 1933 recommended that Brevard College be conducted as a self-help junior college and that pro- vision be made for participation of the students in var- ious phases of farming and industry. For a number of years the college owned and operated a farm and a dairy, and every student was required to do a certain task each day. Then so many students began applying who did not need financial assistance that provision had to be made for only a rather limited number of self-help students, and the farm and dairy were discontinued. During the administration of Dr. Coltrane, from the opening of the institution in 1934 until June 1950, Brevard College greatly expanded its physical plant, its program of instruction, and its faculty. West Hall, Taylor Hall, Ross Hall, and Spencer Hall — later re- named Dunham Hall in honor of Mr. H. A. Dunham of Ashcville — all Brevard Institute buildings, were given to Brevard College by the Methodist Conference. The farm buildings were given by friends of the college who were interested in agricultute. The rock wall, around the athletic field was constructed by the WPA, and a frame building to be used as a gymnasium was given by Mr. H. A. Dunham. A temporary science building, cafeteria, and several housing units for men have been erected to help meet the needs of the college. The James Addison Jones Library, dedicated on April 10, 1948, is a fireproof building which contains approx- imately 42,000 volumes. The Mary Frances Stamey Memorial Infirmary, dedicated on Julv 10, 1948, is also a fireproof structure, of the same architectural de- sign as the library. It was given by the Stamey family in memory of their daughter, who was a student at Brevard College. During the years new courses of instruction have been added, and the faculty has been increased to meet the growing needs of the students. In December of 1949 Brevard College was fully accredited by the South- ern Association and the University Senate. This makes it possible for Brevard graduates to transfer to senior colleges and universities without difficulty. In June, 1950, President Coltrane was succeeded by Reverend George Brinkmann Ehlhardt, who came to Brevard from the faculty of Duke University. The present administrator has entered upon his duties with a new outlook, a fresh enthusiasm, and a constructive vigor which augur well for the future of the College. — Betsy Bowman Robinson. ■H

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£ 8 ? J c B encvin l REVARD College is the result of a merger of Rutherford and Weaver Colleges, on the campus of what was Brevard Institute. Dr. Robert Laban Abernethy founded Ruth- erford College in 1850, but its charter was not granted until 1853. This was the first college in the South to admit boys and girls to the same classes. During the time that this institution was in operation, from the 1850s to 1933 with the exception of the Civil War years, Dr. Abernethy and his successors educated 10,000 boys and girls, many of them free of any tuition charges. A large number of the graduates entered the Christian ministry, not only the Methodist ministry here in our own state, but all over the nation. Many have become famous in other lines of endeavor. Among them are college presidents, judges, scientists, surgeons, lawyers, industrialists, and persons in high federal office. Mr. George F. Ivey, a member of the Board of Trus- tees of Brevard College, was also a member of the Rutherford College Board. Rutherford ' s last president, Dr. E. P. Billups, became closely connected with Bre- vard College during thj years that he was pastor of the Methodist Chutch in Brevard. When Brevard College opened, one member of its faculty, Mr. C. O. Cathey, came to it from the Rutherford College faculty. Measuring the age of the institutions by the date on which the charter was granted, Rutherford College would be considered the older of the two; but Weavet College had important ptedecessors before it teceived its charter. The first session of the Weaverville School was held in the Conference House, a building erected for the meeting of the Holston Annual Conference in 1836. A neighborhood school was conducted in this rude struc- ture until it was destroyed by fire in 1854. Then the teaching was carried on in Temperance Hall until it too was butned in 1872. The section of country benefited by the Weaverville school felt so strongly the need of educational facilities that efforts were put forward at once to construct a new building and to extend the work of the institution. In 1873 the school was incorporated as Weaverville College, under a local Board of Trustees independent of any denomination. Under the administration of Dr. D. Atkins in 1883, the college was deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1912 the charter was amended to change the name to Weaver College and to change the institution from a four-year school to a junior college. Professor C. H. Trowbridge, who was Superintendent of Brevard Institute from 1904 to 1923, became presi- dent of Weaver College in 1923 and held this position until the merger of Weaver and Rutherford Colleges in 1933. Besides Mr. Trowbridge, Miss Lucile Smith, Miss Dulcie Hayes and Mr. Wesley Williams, all mem- bers of the Weaver College faculty, joined the faculty of the new Brevard College. Mrs. Lee Pylant, who had at one time been Dean of Women at Weaver College, Of c= Ll earnLn ft came to Brevard as Dean of Women in 1947. Mrs. C. E. Buckner, former Dean of Brevard College, was a grad- uate of Weaver. The Cliosophic and Delphian literary societies, with theit sister organizations, the Euterpeans and Mnemosy- neans, were also brought to Brevard from Weaver Col- lege. Each of these societies has a long and interesting history. Among the Board of Trustees of Weaver College were Mr. H. A. Dunham, Dr. C. M. Pickens, Judge Guy Weaver, and Rev. H. C. Sprinkle, Sr.,.all of whom are members of the present Board of Trustees of Bre- vard College and continue to support the college and its work. Soon after the Civil War a well-to-do Philadelphian and his wife, who had traveled throughout Europe and visited much of the world, came to the mountains of North Carolina in search of a healthful climate. In 1895 this couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fitch Taylor, started a school for girls in a house near the overhead bridge on West Main Street in Brevard. Because the mountain families distrusted schools and education so much, the first student had to be paid to attend. Soon, however, the Taylors ' little cottage became too small for the large number of girls seeking religious training and edu- cation. Mr. Taylor bought the Red House on Probarte Street, and added courses for the boys of the commun- ity. Again the school outgrew the house, but there was no money for more buildings. Then the Confer- ence Epworth League began helping to support the school, and it became known as the Btevard Epworth School. In 1902 four acres of land were purchased; and West Hall, which was first named Taylor Hall, was begun. The income was not sufficient to complete the building, so the school was discontinued. In the spring of 1903 a committee of three women went to Atlanta to the conference of the Woman ' s Home Mission Board of the Southern Methodist Church to ask for help. Miss Belle Bennett, president of the Home Mission Board, came to Brevard to investigate the school and to find a principal. As a result, Brevard Industrial Institute opened its doors in October of 1904 under the ditection of Mr. E. E. Bishop. Mr. Bishop went to Thomasville, Georgia, to start a new school in 1904; and Mr. C. H. Trowbridge became the prin- cipal of Brevard Institute. Mr. Trowbridge held this position for sixteen years, during which time one hun- dred acres of land were bought, and the administration building and Ross Hall were built; the old Taylor Hall, later to be renamed West Hall, was brick veneered. After Mr. Trowbridge went to Weaver College, the Institute had three other principals. One of these was Mr. Oliver Orr, now of Brevard; the others were Mr. J. F. Winton and Miss Catherine Ritter. In 1933 Bre- vard Institute was consolidated with Vashti School, at Thomasville, Georgia; and the buildings and grounds were left in the care of Mr. D. Guy Dean, who is still a resident of Brevard and who now has a daughter at

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=Jjedt ica tio Yl Do Wiss Cn [Hi K raicj, our Lady of the Hour, who is the culmination of the best in instruction, friendship, and understanding. We dedicate this 1951 Pertelote. She has given the means as well as the inspira- tion to many, and to each of us a word of praise from her is a goal to be won.