UNC History – Page 4 – History on the Hill

“As Close to Magic as I’ve Ever Been”: Thomas Wolfe at Chapel Hill

Image of Thomas Wolfe smoking a pipe. The photo reportedly shows him during his senior year at UNC.

Thomas Wolfe during his senior year.

One hundred years ago today the tall, rather awkward, not quite yet sixteen-year-old Thomas Clayton Wolfe boarded an early morning train in Asheville bound for Durham. There he was met by his brother-in-law who drove him the twelve miles over to Chapel Hill to enroll at the University of North Carolina. Wolfe had longed to attend the University of Virginia. But his father had insisted he go to Chapel Hill, foreseeing a possible legal career and future in politics for his youngest child. Once at Chapel Hill, however, Tom quickly dove into both coursework and campus activities with a passion and focus that quickly made him among the most prominent and popular students on campus.

Upon arrival in Chapel Hill, Tom signed up for room and board at the three-story rooming house of Mrs. Mattie Eva Hardee, a widow originally from Asheville–$15 a month for board and $7.50 for a student’s half of a room. Writing to his brother-in-law a few days later, he declared the food “splendid” but the room rent “exorbitant.” His professors were “all fine fellows” for whom he hoped to “do well in all my studies and my guess is that I’ll have to ‘bone’ up on math.”

During the next four years, Wolfe would do well in his studies—as a junior winning the prize in philosophy for best student thesis and earning multiple A’s that same year from favorite professors Edwin Greenlaw in English, Frederick Koch in dramatic literature, and Horace Williams in philosophy. His achievements in student publications and as a leader of campus organizations were equally outstanding—assistant editor, then managing editor, and finally editor-in-chief of the Tar Heel student newspaper; assistant editor, then assistant editor-in-chief of the University Magazine; associate editor of the Yackety Yack yearbook; member of student council; author of and sometimes actor in plays performed by the campus Carolina Playmakers campus theater company; and class poet.

After graduating from UNC in 1920, Wolfe studied playwriting at Harvard, then moved to New York where he initially did some teaching at New York University. But soon he turned his legendary intellectual energy and passion to fiction writing. In 1929 his first novel, Look Homeward, Angel, was published, winning wide praise among literary critics and creating a sensation because of the thinly-veiled autobiographical nature of the book. The life and experiences of the book’s protagonist, Eugene Gant, are often unmistakably similar to those of Thomas Wolfe. In Look Homeward, Angel, however, young Gant attends the state university at Pulpit Hill, not Chapel Hill. But the sense of adventure, excitement, and intellectual stimulation he experienced there as described in Look Homeward, Angel, echo loudly the fond memories of Thomas Wolfe for a place and time he would later describe as being “as close to magic as I’ve ever been.”

“As Close to Magic as I’ve Ever Been”: Thomas Wolfe at Chapel Hill

Thomas Wolfe during his senior year.

The Strange History of the Old East Plaque

The Old Well and Old East residence hall (background) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Photo courtesy of the University of North Carolina.

Old East, with a cornerstone laid in 1793, was the first state university building in the United States and is one of the oldest continually used academic buildings in the country. Today it serves as a dormitory, but in years past it has also housed classrooms. Its long history and central location on campus makes it one of best-known and most beloved buildings at UNC.

One of the more interesting stories related to Old East involves the original cornerstone and plaque laid ceremonially in 1793. That original cornerstone is missing. It is speculated that during a planned 1840s renovation of the building (which featured several new additions to the architecture of the building), the cornerstone may have been accidentally covered or perhaps even stolen. What is known for sure is that by the time the University reopened after closing for several years in the 1870s, the bronze commemorative plaque created for the cornerstone had disappeared completely.

This plaque was 13.3 cm x 19.2 cm and was created by Roswell Huntington, a silversmith from Hillsborough. In 1792, at age 29, he was commissioned to engrave a bronze plate for the cornerstone of Old East. The Latin inscription was on one side, with the English translation on the reverse.

Front Side of the Old East Commemorative Plaque; note the crack across the middle. Courtesy of The North Carolina Collection, Wilson Library — Front Side (English inscription) of the Old East Commemorative Plaque; note the crack across the middle. Courtesy of The North Carolina Collection, Wilson Library

Back Side of the Commemorative Plaque. Courtesy of the North Carolina Collection at Wilson Library. — Back Side (Latin inscription) of the Commemorative Plaque. Courtesy of the North Carolina Collection at Wilson Library.

In English, the plate reads:

‘The Right Worshipful William Richardson Davie, Grand Master of the most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Freemasons in the State of North Carolina, one of the trustees of the University of the said state, and a Commissioner of the same, assisted by the other commissioners and the Brethren of the Eagle and Independence Lodges, on the 12th day of October in the Year of Masonry 5793 and in the 18th year of the American Independence, laid the cornerstone of this edifice.’

Note that the date is listed as 5793 from the Masonic calendar.

In a strange twist of fate, the plate was eventually found over 40 years after its disappearance in Tennessee at the Clarksville Foundry and Machine Works. The owner of this business was a man named Thomas Foust. One of the metal workers was about to melt the plaque down, but showed it to Foust before doing so. Foust happened to be UNC Class of 1903 and as soon as he saw the plate, he recognized William Davie’s name and knew it had to be significant to the university.

The plate was returned just in time for the 1916 University Day celebrations. It was presented to University President Edward Kidder Graham during the festivities. The 2016 University Day celebrations mark the 100^th anniversary of its return.

The Carolina Alumni Review featured an article entitled “The Presentation of the Plate” in the November 1916 issue, with a detailed look into how Foust came to find the plaque and how the university thanked him. The article makes note of the fact that President Graham was presented the plate by A.B. Andrews Jr., a graduate of the class of 1893 and the Grand Master of Masons of North Carolina at the time. The article also quotes a letter written by Thomas Foust concerning the discovery of the plate.

Foust wrote, in part, “Some days ago, the foreman in my foundry stopped me as I was passing through and said, ‘Here is a plate that looks like it might be valuable and I think I will keep it.’ . . . As he handed it to me the name of William R. Davie caught my eye and after a little further examination, for it was so dirty and tarnished that it was almost illegible, I saw that it must be linked with the history of the dear old University and at once carried it to the laboratory of the Red River Furnace Co., where we cleaned it sufficiently to make it entirely legible.”

He further noted that the plate had come to his foundry along with a lot of other scrap brass. It was purchased from a local junk dealer to be melted down into brass castings. He could not determine where the junk dealer had found the plate. After the plate had been cleaned, he showed it to professors at Southwestern Presbyterian University and especially enlisted the help of a Dr. Shaw, who was also a UNC alum, to try to contact the Charlotte Observer and get confirmation that the plaque did have a connection with UNC.

In recognition of his part in returning the plate to the university, President Graham sent Thomas Foust a copy of Kemp Battle’s History of the University with the inscription: “To T.B. Foust, ’03: In grateful acknowledgement of his fine and thoughtful loyalty, that restored to his Alma Mater the plate commemorating the laying of the cornerstone on October twelfth, 1793. This October twelfth, 1916.”

The plaque is today housed at Wilson Library.

Artifacts of the Month: Daily Grind menu board and stool

As more than 29,000 students return to Carolina’s campus, we welcome them back with our August Artifacts of the Month, a menu board and stool from the Daily Grind Café. The Daily Grind served coffee in a small, lively space adjacent to UNC’s Student Stores for more than twenty-two years. When news broke at the end of last school year that the Café would close in the summer of 2016, students, faculty, and staff mourned the loss of a campus institution.

These items serve as a reminder of just how fun and innovative The Daily Grind was. For over two decades, the cafe provided students with freshly brewed, locally roasted coffee in a multitude of ways — like their Crème Brulee and Snickerdoodle “Magical Mochas,” as seen on this menu board.

One-of-a-kind painted stools like this one offered the perfect perch for employees of the one-of-a-kind café, where students met up with friends, chatted with professors, or just took a break as they looked out into the Pit.

After Barnes and Noble purchased the Student Stores, the Daily Grind Café moved out of its location at the heart of campus. Yet students should have no fear! The Friends Café at the Health Sciences Library still serves the same “mean beans” as its sister café, with an extensive espresso drink list and fresh treats served every weekday.

The North Carolina Collection Gallery is honored to preserve these and other Daily Grind artifacts as a reminder of a beloved campus café. Getting coffee at the Daily Grind was more than a quick break — it was a UNC tradition.

For more Carolina traditions, both old and new, visit the exhibit Classic Carolina: Traditions Then and Now in the Gallery. The exhibit, dedicated to all of our new Tar Heels, shares Carolina food, athletic, and dorm traditions from the mid-twentieth century.

Artifacts of the Month: Daily Grind menu board and stool

After Barnes and Noble assumed management of the Student Stores, the Daily Grind Café moved out of its location at the heart of campus. Yet students should have no fear! The Friends Café at the Health Sciences Library still serves the same “mean beans” as its sister café, with an extensive espresso drink list and fresh treats served every weekday.

James K. Polk: 19th Century Student Activist?

Was there such a thing as student activism in the 19^th century? If so, what form did this activism take? An article in the Daily Tar Heel, published December 5, 1967, asserts that one of UNC’s most famous alums, United States President James Knox Polk, led a “rebellion” in 1816 among the students that culminated with the resignation of the University’s president at the time, Robert Hett Chapman. The title states, “U.S. President Was Campus Activist.”

The_Daily_Tar_Heel_Tue__Dec_5__1967_ — page 5, 12/5/1967, Daily Tar Heel

What is true is that an actual student uprising against the faculty did take place, and it not only led to the ousting of Chapman, but also to the expulsion of the leader of said rebellion. What is false is that Polk led it, although he may very well have been present and subsequently inspired by the cause. This September 1816 event has been written about in numerous histories, however the misleading newspaper headline regarding Polk’s role requires clarification of who did what, but more importantly, presents an opportunity to revisit what was a fascinating chain of events at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Although Polk was on campus at that time, having enrolled as a sophomore in spring 1816, the “leader” of the September 18, 1816 “uprising” was actually a student by the name of William Biddle Shepard. As Battle states in his history of the university, he gave a speech without approval, and the next day he was suspended for 6 months. Shepard, the future congressman, eventually left to attend the University of Pennsylvania. Others, not including Polk, were also suspended due to their support of Shepard’s defiance. News of the controversy spread quickly across the state, requiring the University to make a public statement justifying their response.

The oration expressed popular Republican and anti-British sentiments (inspired by bitterness over the War of 1812), despite a campus ban on making speeches supporting party politics. And it so happened that the person required to review speeches beforehand was the unpopular Peace Federalist and University President Robert Hett Chapman. Biddle not only dismissed Chapman’s edits, he gave the speech in its original form and then refused to stand down, inspiring near chaos to ensue on campus for days afterward. For Chapman, this event was essentially the last straw. Over the few years of his tenure, he and his family were subjected to student pranks of all sorts, including the tarring and feathering of the gatepost at his home and other destruction to his property, sometimes accompanied by taunting notes. Totally unrelated to these stressors, but certainly compounding the problem, his teenage daughter also died suddenly at age 15. She is buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery. Chapman submitted his resignation in November 1816.

How does Polk fit into the picture? To write the Daily Tar Heel article, Charles Sellers’ biography James K. Polk: Jacksonian would have been an ideal source. In this book, Sellers quotes from Polk’s speech “Eloquence,” an inaugural address he delivered to the Dialectic Society, of which he was a member. With one line, Polk the undergraduate essentially advises his fellow students to never bow to faculty and to stay true to their ideals. Sellers uses this to emphasize the role and influence of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies on campus, each essentially a hotbed for 19^th century anti-authoritarianism. This same quote appears in the DTH article and is credited as the speech that sparked the rebellion. The snag is that “Eloquence” was delivered on May 20, 1818, therefore almost two years after the Shepard oration. Polk was likely inspired by his rebellious classmates, but the documentation does not prove his involvement in the Infamous Uprising of 1816. Nevertheless, this provides fascinating insight into the rebellious nature of the 19^th century undergraduate, which certainly continues to resonate with those at UNC centuries later.

polkEloquence — page 9 of Polk’s Inaugural Address, 5/20/1818, from the Dialectic Society Papers, University Archives

For further information:

Speeches by Polk in the Dialectic Society papers : “Composition on the Powers of Invention,” circa 1816-1818; “Composition on the Admission of Foreigners into Office in the United States,” 30 August 1817; Inaugural Address, 20 May 1818.

Senior speech controversy at Exhibits: http://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/academic_freedom/19th-century/senior-speech-controversy

From Tokyo to Chapel Hill: UNC’s First International Student?

One of the earliest — and possibly the first — international student to attend UNC was Shinzaburo Mogi, from Tokyo, Japan, who was enrolled during the 1893-1894 school year. Mogi had an interesting personal history. His family in Japan was involved in the production of soy sauce, beginning the company that would later become Kikkoman Corporation. Mogi himself made several attempts to manufacture soy sauce in the United States.

Mogi has a brief entry in the earliest alumni directory, noting only that he was a student during the 1893-1894 year. He is listed among the freshman class members in the 1894 yearbook, but does not appear to have been mentioned in the student newspaper for those years. Nor could I find anything about him in the University President’s correspondence for 1893-1894. The Registrar’s record book for the 1890s show that Mogi was here for just one term, taking classes in Math, English, and Physics.

The only other references to Mogi that I could track down were from local newspapers, including one published a few decades after he left UNC.

Note: Some contemporary coverage of Mogi described him using terms that are now considered slurs and framing that modern readers will see as tokenizing. We are sharing these items in this post as part of the very limited historical record about Mogi’s time at the University

Mogi is first mentioned in the Durham Globe on February 2, 1894:

Durham Globe, 2 February 1894. Newspapers.com. — *Durham Globe*, 2 February 1894. Newspapers.com.

The so-called “conversion” mentioned by UNC President George Tayloe Winston is evidence that there was still a strong religious emphasis at the University at the time.

Mogi received a brief mention in the social column of the Raleigh Evening Visitor a month later when he visited Raleigh to attend the state museum.

Evening Visitor (Raleigh, N.C.), 10 March 1894. Newspapers.com. — *Evening Visitor* (Raleigh, N.C.), 10 March 1894. Newspapers.com.

Mogi didn’t appear in local newspapers again until an article about international students at UNC published in the Salisbury Evening Post in 1920.

Salisbury Evening Post, 30 January 1920. Newspapers.com. — *Salisbury Evening Post*, 30 January 1920. Newspapers.com.

We believe that the Shinzaburo Mogi who attended UNC is the same as the member of the Mogi family who came to the United States in the 1890s and opened the first soy sauce factory in America. In Ronald Yates’s 1998 book, The Kikkoman Chronicles, he says that Shinzaburo Mogi, then 20 years old, left Japan in 1892 with the intention of bringing the family business to the United States. Little is known about Mogi’s early years in the United States (the book does not mention his time in Chapel Hill), but he is known to have opened a soy sauce plant in Denver in 1907. The business was not successful, and Mogi moved to Toronto where he managed another soy sauce factory. This, too, was a short-lived effort and he eventually settled in Chicago where he worked as a trader, importing Japanese soy sauce and also continuing to invest in American soy sauce companies. Mogi returned to Japan in the 1930s and died in 1946.

The School Colors: The History of Carolina Blue

2015 University of North Carolina commencement; Photo by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The school colors for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are some of the most recognizable in higher education. Carolina Blue is a symbolic and beloved shade that, for many alums and Carolina fans, immediately conjures up images of the school, the Carolina sports teams and a sense of community. Carolina Blue has a long history tied to the culture of this university.

Dialectic Society membership certificate with blue ribbon, 1807. Southern Historical Collection.

The use of a distinctive light blue in association with UNC began not long after the first students arrived on campus in 1795. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies were a huge part of student life at the time. Through the nineteenth century, students were required to be members of either the Di or the Phi. These two literary and debate societies were both an academic and a social way of life at the time. It was traditional for students from the west of Chapel Hill to affiliate with the Di and students from the east to join the Phi. The Di’s color was light blue and the Phi’s was white.

At major university events, such as commencements, balls and social events all of the student officials and marshals wore the color of their chosen society. The Chief Marshal or Chief Ball Manager would wear both colors because he was a representative of the whole student body and not just his society. Ribbons of the appropriate societal color were also attached to the diplomas of graduates, as emblems of their time with the Di or Phi.

In 1888, UNC started its first intercollegiate athletic teams. By this time, light blue and white were recognizable parts of the university’s student life and culture and the decision was made to carry those colors over (in combination) to athletic life as well.

A UNC Diploma from 1793 with blue ribbon indicating membership in Di Society; Southern Historical Collection — A UNC Diploma from the 1840s with a blue ribbon indicating membership in Dialectic Society. Southern Historical Collection

A UNC Diploma from 1800 with a white ribbon, indicating membership in Phi; Southern Historical Collection — A Philanthropic Society membership certificate with a white ribbon, ca. 1850s. Southern Historical Collection

At the beginning of the 20th century, the school colors had been established as light blue and white and these colors began to appear on a variety of ephemera associated with the university. This went beyond sports uniforms and diplomas. Shades of Carolina Blue began to appear on many official documents as a signature of the university. At the turn of the century, blue appeared on the commencement programs and was especially highlighted in the University seal. The exact shade of blue deemed official had not yet been established and different years saw slightly different shades. Between 1900 and 1901, for instance, the blue used on the seal became a great deal brighter and lighter.

Seal from the 1900 graduation program. North Carolina Collection.

Seal from the 1901 graduation program. North Carolina Collection.

Blue was accepted for use by organizations all across campus, from clubs to academics to research. A 1908 pamphlet created by the Campus Y featured the color.

A pamphlet from the campus YMCA from 1908, using Carolina Blue; Wilson Library Carolina Collection

A question soon developed—exactly what shade of light blue was the correct shade? While many Carolina fans will purport to recognize Carolina Blue when they see it, there has been quite a bit of difference between the shades of blue used by official University departments and teams. No one shade of blue has been the True Blue because things have developed over time. For instance, in the 1960s Carolina basketball games began to be broadcast on television in color for the first time. On a television set, the blue then in use looked washed out and extremely light. It was almost grey. The shade of blue was thus darkened for many athletic uniforms, but kept the same on University logos, merchandise and documents. Over time, there grew a disparity between the shades of Carolina Blue used across campus.

Consider these pantone color swatches. Which one is the real Carolina Blue?

A spectrum of Carolina Blue pantone swatches; Courtesy David C. Smith — A spectrum of Carolina Blue pantone swatches; Image by David C. Smith

The correct answer? All of them. Each one of these shades has been used officially by the University as representative of Carolina. UNC Hospitals often used Pantone 543 (on the far right). The athletics departments often favored bolder, sharper blues such as Pantone 297 and 298 (which look more teal, but show up strongly on uniforms and merchandise).

The July/August 2002 issue of Carolina Alumni Review

For many years, the University’s official stance was that Pantone 278 (far left) be used to represent the University but different shades were still used across campus. In 2002, the Carolina Alumni Review ran a cover story discussing the disparity between blues across campus.

In 2015, UNC worked with Nike on a project to revise and standardize Carolina’s athletic uniforms and logos. The decision was made to make Carolina Blue officially Pantone 542 (second from the right). This shade was noticeably darker and greener with a warmer tone than Pantone 278 (Old Carolina Blue). These days if you purchase Carolina merchandise, the blue should be in this tone. For more information on the regulations for the look of official Carolina products, see the UNC Branding & Visual Identity Guidelines here: identity.unc.edu/colors

N.C. Digital Heritage Center Celebrates a Milestone

If your web browsing has included perusal of yearbooks or newspapers from North Carolina colleges and universities, then you likely have seen the work of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center. Its mission includes scanning and publishing online materials from cultural heritage institutions throughout North Carolina. The center and its hardworking staff are headquartered in Wilson Library, here in Chapel Hill. And this month the Digital Heritage Center is celebrating a milestone. It just added its 200th partner institution. And those partners extend across 119 communities in 73 counties.

A big congratulations to the Digital Heritage Center. Its interim director, Lisa Gregory, is rightfully proud of the work that the center has accomplished since opening its doors in 2009.

N.C. Digital Heritage Center Celebrates a Milestone

A big congratulations to the Digital Heritage Center. Its interim director, Lisa Gregory, is rightfully proud of the work that the center has accomplished since opening its doors in 2009.