An Evening with NPR’s Carl Kasell, April 16

National Public Radio newscaster and radio personality Carl Kasell will be part of a free public program on April 16 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Continue reading

kasell_thumbkasell_thumbNational Public Radio newscaster and radio personality Carl Kasell will be part of a free public program on April 16 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Continue reading

Player, Preacher, Coach, and Commentator

UNC’s men basketball team bowed out of the NCAA tournament over the weekend, but the UNC women’s team continues on its quest for a national championship this evening.  With basketball season still in high gear, Hugh Morton collection volunteer Jack … Continue reading

UNC’s men basketball team bowed out of the NCAA tournament over the weekend, but the UNC women’s team continues on its quest for a national championship this evening.  With basketball season still in high gear, Hugh Morton collection volunteer Jack Hilliard looks back at a North Carolina basketball legend on the anniversary of UNC’s second place finish in the 1946 NCAA championship game played on March 26, 1946.

Bones McKinney

Wake Forest men’s basketball Head Coach Bones McKinney on bench/sidelines. Possibly during a UNC-Chapel Hill versus Wake Forest University basketball game.

“I don’t remember exactly when everyone started calling me Bones, but with a name like Horace Albert, the sooner the better, right?”

—Bones McKinney from Bones: Honk Your Horn if You Love Basketball (1988)

His resume is like no other.  It goes something like this:

  • High School All-Star Basketball at Durham High
  • Varsity basketball at North Carolina State
  • United States Army, Fort Bragg (basketball coach and player)
  • Varsity basketball at University of North Carolina
  • Basketball Association of America, Washington Capitols
  • National Basketball Association, Boston Celtics
  • Ordained Baptist minister
  • Head coach, Wake Forest
  • Head coach, American Basketball Association, Carolina Cougars
  • TV commentator and analyst, Raycom
  • Newspaper columnist
  • Author
  • Humorist and motivational after-dinner speaker

Folks born on New Year’s Day are special people.

For Horace Albert (Bones) McKinney, born in Lowlands, North Carolina on January 1, 1919, that specialty was his love for the game of basketball.  When he was five years old, the McKinney family moved to Durham and that’s where young Horace began playing his favorite game—starting at Watts Street Grammar School, then to Central Junior High, the YMCA, and finally to Durham High where, under Head Coach Paul Sykes, he led the team to two South Atlantic Prep Tournaments, two Duke-Durham Tournaments, three state championships, and the Interscholastic Basketball Tournament in Glens Falls, New York . . . all the while racking up sixty-nine straight wins.

McKinney graduated a little late from Durham High in the spring of 1940, then headed over to Raleigh for a college career at North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State).  A year of freshman ball was followed by a sophomore year when he led the Southern Conference in scoring with 200 points and was an all conference selection. On Christmas Day, 1941, Bones McKinney married the love of his life, Edna Ruth Stell.

UNC 1946 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship runners-up

Group portrait of UNC-Chapel Hill men’s basketball team after their loss to Oklahoma A&M in the 1946 NCAA championship at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Among those pictured are head coach Ben Carnevale (back row, second from left) and Horace “Bones” McKinney (back row, second from right).

A week after the 1942 season ended, on April 2, 1942, he joined the Army.  At Fort Bragg, Bones played, coached, and led the team to wins in the Southeastern Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Tournament in Savannah and the Southern AAU in Raleigh.  While at Fort Bragg, he became good friends with Ben Carnevale the head coach at UNC and on January 9, 1945, Bones McKinney became a Tar Heel—but the UNC basketball team was called the White Phantoms in those days. The highlight of the 1946 season, which was his only season at UNC, was a NCAA national championship game against Oklahoma A&M at Madison Square Garden.  The 43–40 loss was difficult for Bones as evidenced by Hugh Morton’s photograph of the award ceremony following the game.

1946 UNC coach Ben Carnevale receiving runner-up trophy

“In 1946, before the NCAA national championship became known as the Final Four, UNC lost in the championship game, 43 to 40 to Oklahoma A&M. The game was played in the old Madison Square Garden before 18,479 spectators. UNC head basketball coach and Navy lieutenant Ben Carnevale (shaking hands), who had responsibilities as the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill as well, accepted the runner-up trophy. Carolina’s Horace ‘Bones’ McKinney (far left) was not pleased at being runner up.” Presenting the award is Harold G. Olsen, who was serving his final year as the NCAA basketball tournament chairman. (Identification obtained from book ON TOBACCO ROAD.)

By the end of the ‘46 season, the McKinney family had grown to three and Bones realized that he needed a paying job to support the family, so he left UNC and went to work for Hanes Hosiery.  It was while there that an unbelievable phone call came.  On the other end of the line was Red Auerbach, who was going to form the “Basketball Association of America”—and he wanted Bones to play for him.  Just when it looked like basketball was over for Bones McKinney, along came an opportunity to play for pay: $6,750 for a season with a $500 advance.  He would play for the Washington Capitols for five seasons, making all pro and led the team to the Eastern Division championship his first season, 1946-47. He led the team into the playoffs each year from 1946 through 1950.

On January 9, 1951 the Washington Capitols folded, and McKinney was sent to the Boston Celtics as a player-coach.  While there he made some NBA history.  He recruited and signed Earl Lloyd, the first African American player in the NBA.  Following the ’52 season, McKinney left pro basketball and enrolled in the Southeastern Theological Seminary at Wake Forest.  While in class on November 8, 1952, Wake Forest Head Basketball Coach Murray Greason walked in and asked Dr. Bill Strickland if he could speak with student McKinney.  Greason needed an assistant coach and offered Bones the job, a job that would last until March 26, 1957 when he took over the head coaching position at Wake.

In February of 1960, a writer for the magazine Life came to Winston-Salem to do a McKinney feature story.  It wasn’t the first time he had made the big time.  There is an action shot by Hugh Morton contemporary Hy Peskin on the front cover of Collier’s dated January 15, 1949.  Life published another article, titled “Basketball’s Incredible Mr. Bones” in its February 22, 1960 issue, which featured the following:

People go to Wake Forest basketball games to see a winning team perform.  For the same price, they get Bones McKinney, the coach with his own private volcano.  Once the game starts, the bench can’t hold him.  The climactic moment arrives when Mr. Bones erupts dramatically from the sideline, looking like a dead ringer for Ichabod Crane.

In 1961 and 1962, McKinney led the Deacons to Atlantic Coast Conference championships, with the ’62 team playing in the NCAA Final Four.  Following the ’64-’65 season, Wake Forest made a coaching change and Bones McKinney took a job with the North Carolina Board of Corrections, but soon after the ’65-’66 basketball season started, he got a call from ACC TV producer Castleman D. Chesley.  It seems that Bones’ good friend Charlie Harville had recommended him as a possible broadcaster with the ACC network.  Bones was eager to get back into basketball, so on January 8, 1966 at the UNC vs. Duke game in Chapel Hill, Bones McKinney became a TV basketball commentator and analyst, working with play-by-play man Jim Thacker, and stat man Charlie Harville.  At first, McKinney didn’t think he was very good as a broadcaster, but when he was invited back, he figured he must be OK.

Then in early 1969 . . . another phone call and another basketball opportunity.  On January 2, 1969, Southern Sports Corporation purchased the Houston Mavericks, a team in the American Basketball Association.  President Jim Gardner was planning to move the team to North Carolina and he wanted Bones as his head coach.  Gardner and McKinney struck a deal and Bones McKinney became to first head coach of the newly formed Carolina Cougars, leading them that year to the ABA playoffs.

One of my favorite Bones McKinney stories came during that ’69-‘70 season. During a hotly contested game, Bones yelled out at an official following a questionable call.

“Hey, you’re either blind or you’re a crook.”
“And you’re out of the game,” yelled back the ref.
“Why?” asked Bones defiantly.
“Because you called me a crook,” replied the official.
“Did not,” yelled Bones, looking back over his shoulder as he departed, “I gave you a choice.”

While still coaching the Carolina Cougars, McKinney was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 1970.

Bones McKinney, Billy Packer, and Jim Thacker, with Castleman Chesley at UNC-Chapel Hill versus Marquette basketball game, 1977 NCAA

Seated are (L to R) Bones McKinney, Billy Packer, and Jim Thacker, with Castleman Chesley (standing) behind the scenes at UNC-Chapel Hill versus Marquette basketball NCAA finals in Atlanta, Georgia.

The 4th Annual ABA All-Star Game was played in the Greensboro Coliseum on January 23, 1971 and CBS-TV carried the game nationwide, with play-by-play by Don Criqui and Pat Summerall and color commentary by Bones McKinney.

On November 18, 1979 during halftime of the Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys game in RFK Stadium, McKinney was inducted into the Washington Hall of Stars.  In 1985 his longtime friend Charlie Justice joined him in the DC Hall.  McKinney continued to coach all-star games, and was in high demand as an after-dinner speaker during the 1980s and early ‘90s.

When the Greensboro News and Record arrived on Saturday morning May 17, 1997, the front page headline read, “Legendary Wake Coach Dies at 78.”  Staff writer Jim Schlosser related the story of McKinney’s death at 5:05 PM on Friday, May 16th at Wake Medical Rehab Center following a stroke two weeks earlier.  On Sunday, I went out to WFMY-TV and put together a video piece for Monday’s “Good Morning Show.”  As I was putting the piece together, I kept thinking about a Bones McKinney quote that I had read years before in his 1988 book.  The quote was part of the short section about his broadcasting career.  It went like this: “I soon found out that if your director ain’t no good, you ain’t no good.”  He went on to talk about the magnificent Raycom directors, Norman Prevatte from WBTV in Charlotte, John Young from WUNC-TV, and Frank Slingland from WRC-TV in Washington, DC.

During my time in broadcasting, I never had the honor of directing a Bones McKinney game or a Bones McKinney broadcast.  However, I worked several Carolina Cougar games in 1972 after Bones had moved on.  But in 1969, WFMY-TV produced the Carolina Cougar coach’s show.  It was called, of course, “The Bones McKinney Show.”  Veteran WFMY Producer/Director George Leh was director and Woody Durham was producer along with Bones. The show was usually taped on Thursday afternoons for weekend playback.  On this particular Thursday, Leh was not available to direct so production manager Jack Forehand asked me to direct the show. For twenty-eight minutes and thirty seconds on Thursday afternoon, March 5, 1969, I knew I was part of something very special.

The Wild West: How the Namesake of Avery Residence Hall Got Away with Murder

In the autumn of 1851, William Waightstill Avery had it all. The grandson of Waightstill Avery, a member of the committee that chose the site of the University, W.W. Avery had been elected to the North Carolina General Assembly, was … Continue reading

In the autumn of 1851, William Waightstill Avery had it all. The grandson of Waightstill Avery, a member of the committee that chose the site of the University, W.W. Avery had been elected to the North Carolina General Assembly, was a member of Carolina’s Board of Trustees, and was married to the governor’s daughter. The year before, W.W. Avery had been the keynote speaker at UNC’s graduation, where, only 13 years prior, he had graduated as valedictorian. However, in October of 1851, Avery’s life took a very violent and bizarre turn.

William Waightstill Avery (From the Portrait Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, P0002)

Avery’s nemesis in the General Assembly, Samuel Flemming of Burnesville, North Carolina, in Yancey County, was in a court battle with the family of his deceased wife, for her possessions. Avery, one of the most talented lawyers in western North Carolina, was representing Flemming’s opponents in court. On October 21, Avery viciously attacked Flemming’s character, calling his entire life’s work a “fraud.” Enraged, Flemming left the courthouse to buy a cowhide whip. When Avery left the courthouse, Flemming and the whip met him. Flemming brutally beat Avery, who was too small to fight back. The beating left Avery bloodied and weak but, more importantly, hungry for revenge.

Just a few weeks later, on November 11, Avery and Flemming crossed paths in a courtroom again, this time in Morganton, North Carolina. Flemming had business with the clerk and Avery had a number of clients appearing in court that afternoon. As they entered the court, Flemming shouted insults at Avery, who pretended not to hear them. However, just a few minutes later, as Flemming was finishing his business in the courtroom, Avery stood up and shot and killed Flemming, right in front of the judge.

Avery immediately surrendered himself to the sheriff and his trial began that Saturday. His attorney, John Bynum, claimed that Avery had been so provoked that the only just action was for him to kill Samuel Flemming. In a rhetorical flourish, Bynum said “no doubt, God forgives Mr. Avery. And whom God pardons, men dare not punish.” Exactly a week after Avery shot Flemming, Judge Battle, who had witnessed Avery shoot Flemming from his bench, read the jury’s verdict: “not guilty by reason of emotional insanity.”

After this bizarre encounter, Avery returned to the General Assembly and lived peacefully until 1864, when union sympathizers killed him. In 1958, the recently completed residence hall on Ridge Road was named in honor of William Wraightstill Avery to commemorate his contributions to the university as an outstanding student and member of the Board of Trustees.

Event Teaches Student Organizations to Document and Preserve Legacies

radicals_thumbradicals_thumb“When I Was at UNC”: Preserving the Work and Legacy of Student Organizations through Documentation Tuesday, March 26, 2013 5:30 p.m. Program | UNC Student Union Room 3201 Free and open to the public Information: Jay Gaidmore, UNC Archivist, gaidmore@email.unc.edu, (919) 962-6402 Student organizations have long been integral to the UNC experience, with more than … Continue reading

radicals_thumbradicals_thumb“When I Was at UNC”: Preserving the Work and Legacy of Student Organizations through Documentation Tuesday, March 26, 2013 5:30 p.m. Program | UNC Student Union Room 3201 Free and open to the public Information: Jay Gaidmore, UNC Archivist, gaidmore@email.unc.edu, (919) 962-6402 Student organizations have long been integral to the UNC experience, with more than … Continue reading

Back at the Top . . . Back on the Bayou

It’s that time of year again when hundreds of thousands of college basketball fans huddle secretively with their notes on “bracketology.”  The NCAA basketball championship tournaments broke onto the stage this week and, once again, the UNC men’s and women’s … Continue reading

UNC basketball team huddles during 1993 NCAA final

UNC basketball team in huddle during the North Carolina versus Michigan basketball game at 1993 NCAA finals in New Orleans.

It’s that time of year again when hundreds of thousands of college basketball fans huddle secretively with their notes on “bracketology.”  The NCAA basketball championship tournaments broke onto the stage this week and, once again, the UNC men’s and women’s teams find themselves in the mix.  Always hard-earned, NCAA tournament appearances are nonetheless commonplace for UNC’s basketball teams.

Readers of A View to Hugh know that Hugh Morton had a great love for UNC men’s basketball, photographing games regularly as far back as his days as a student in the late 1930s and early 1940s.  As the basketball teams head into their championship runs, Morton collection volunteer Jack Hilliard takes a look back at the men Tar Heels’ 1993 trip to “The Final Four” twenty years ago, when Carolina won its fourth national championship under legendary head coach Dean Smith.

It was one year ago today that library staff members learned of the untimely passing of our colleague, Bill Richards. In 1982, Bill was the Chief Photographer for the Chapel Hill Newspaper.  In 1988, he began working as a photographer and graphic designer in the UNC Office of Sports information.  He began working in the Library Photographic Service  in 1998, but continued working for Sports information into the 2000s. This post is dedicated to Bill who, like Hugh Morton, was an avid UNC basketball fan.

UNC student fans during the 1993 NCAA championship

UNC student fans during the 1993 NCAA championship at New Orleans, Louisiana.

Eleven seasons had come and gone since Dean Smith’s basketball Tar Heels had won the 1982 NCAA championship in the Louisiana Superdome.  But in early April 1993 his team was poised and ready for another run at the big game in “The Big Easy.”

Most UNC fans agree that Smith’s 1992-93 team was one of his best. When all was said and done, their record was 34–4, with 26 wins in the regular season and 8 wins in the post season.  The one post season loss came in the ACC Tournament final, a two-pointer to Georgia Tech.  Following that disappointment, it was on to NCAA March Madness and a number one seed in the East, starting in Winston-Salem.  A twenty-point win over East Carolina and a forty-five-point win against Rhode Island put the Heels in the “Sweet 16” at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.  Then came a six-point win over Arkansas and a seven-point overtime victory versus Cincinnati . . . and it was on to the Crescent City and another Final-Four for Coach Smith (his ninth).

The 1993 Final Four was unique.  Three number one seeds and one number two seed would be playing for the championship: North Carolina, Michigan, and Kentucky along with number two seed Kansas.  The first national semi-final on Saturday, April 3rd would match Dean Smith’s UNC Tar Heels and Roy Williams’ Kansas Jayhawks.  Needless to say, there was plenty of ink and airtime about this rivalry.  Two years earlier, Kansas had beaten Carolina in the national semi-final 79 to 73.  Dean Smith played at Kansas in the early 1950s.  Roy Williams played and coached at Carolina in ‘70s and ‘80s, and one of Williams’ assistants was Matt Doherty who played for Smith during the 1982 NCAA championship season.  If the truth be known, Smith and Williams probably would rather be playing someone else in the semi-final game but they didn’t set the brackets.

Row Williams, Dean Smith, and Bill Guthridge

Row Williams, Dean Smith, and Bill Guthridge prior to the 1993 NCAA tournament semifinal in New Orleans, Louisiana. Cropped by the editor; the full-frame image (click to see photograph without cropping) includes Kansas assistant coach and former UNC player Matt Doherty.  A slightly wider crop, also without Doherty, appears in the book Return to the Top: The Inside Story of Carolina’s 1993 NCAA Championship.

During the warm-up for the game, photographer Hugh Morton got a classic shot, one that he would include in all his future slides shows.  The image shows Smith, Williams, Doherty, and then UNC assistant Bill Guthridge, current and future Carolina coaches from 1961 to the present.

A crowd of 64,151 watched as Kansas took an early 3–2 lead, but Brian Reese hit a driving layup to put Carolina up by a score of 4–3. The Heels would retain a lead the rest of the way.  Kansas kept it close; Carolina led by only four at halftime, 40–36.  In the second half when George Lynch hit a layup at the 17:01 mark, the Tar Heel lead was seven, 48 to 41; but one minute later, Kansas had cut that lead to two at 48 to 46.

Donald Williams’ twenty-one foot three ball made the score 63–55 with 9:35 to play.  But five minutes later, Carolina’s lead was once again down to four, 67–63 and Coach Smith called a time-out to change his lineup.  In the final 2:36, Donald Williams scored seven points as the Heels finally pulled away for a 78–68 win.  Eric Montross and Donald Williams accounted for forty-eight Carolina points.

Coach Williams, in his post-game news conference, said, “I’ll be pulling like the dickens for Carolina Monday night.”

Later that day, Michigan defeated Kentucky to set up a UNC vs. Michigan national final.  It would be only the second time two number one seeds had met for the championship.  (The other time was Carolina and Georgetown in 1982).

Once again there was lots of media coverage, focusing on a Rainbow Classic game between Michigan and Carolina, which Michigan wound up as the 79–78 winner back on December 29, 1992.

Monday, April 5th was a long day for me.  I did my usual morning show shift at WFMY-TV, and then returned in the evening for a “NCAA Countdown” special program just before CBS’ live coverage of the game.  By the time I got home, the game was well underway and Carolina trailed 23–13.  But three-and-a-half minutes later, the Tar Heels had tied the score at 25.  George Lynch, Eric Montross, and Derrick Phelps kept Carolina in front going into the halftime break.

Halfway through the second half, the Wolverines caught the Heels, tying the score at 56.  Chris Webber’s alley-oop at the 8:35 mark gave Michigan a 60–58 lead.  Five minutes later, Derrick Phelps’ fast break layup put Carolina back on top 68–67.  An Eric Montross dunk at the 1:03 mark pushed the UNC lead to 72-67.  Then Ray Jackson’s 18-foot jumper brought Michigan within three at 72–69.  Following a Michigan timeout, Chris Webber’s follow up shot made the score 72–71.  Then with twenty seconds remaining in the game Michigan’s Rob Pelinka fouled Carolina’s Pat Sullivan, who hit one of two foul shots.  Chris Webber got the rebound . . . seemed to travel, then took the ball the length of the court into the corner in front of his bench.  At this point, Carolina had fouls to give, so Lynch and Phelps set up a vicious trap.  Webber picked up his dribble.  With nowhere to go, only eleven seconds left in the game, and the Michigan coaches shouting “NO,” Webber called a timeout—a timeout he didn’t have.  Donald Williams calmly stepped to the line and hit the two technical foul shots, raising the score to 75–71.  Williams would hit two more foul shots following a Ray Jackson miscue, thus giving Dean Smith his 774th win and his 2nd NCAA Championship.  Final score:  Carolina 77, Michigan 71.

Victorious UNC men's basketball team after the 1993 NCAA championship game.

Victorious UNC men’s basketball team after the 1993 NCAA championship game.

As the CBS cameras focused on the team celebration, a celebration of another kind began back in rainy Chapel Hill as 25,000 fans stormed Franklin Street—light blue paint in hand. As the bell from University Methodist Church rang out, a Tar Heel fan was heard to say:
“Dick Vitale, you picked the wrong winner tonight, baby.”  The headline in Tuesday’s Gastonia Gazette read: DEJA BLUE.

About 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, 1993, a crowd started gathering in the Smith Center on the UNC campus. The crowd would eventually grow to be about 20,000 strong by the time the team bus pulled into the parking lot at 4:47.  As the Marching Tar Heels played the fight song, Pat Sullivan and Senior Matt Wenstrom, with NCAA trophy in hand, led the victorious Tar Heels into the arena.  Each team member was introduced by the “Voice of the Tar Heels” Woody Durham, and each spoke briefly.  Said Eric Montross:  “It just doesn’t get any better than this.”

Missing from the festivities was the man who had orchestrated the “Season of Dreams.”  Head coach Dean Smith wanted the celebration to be about his players, so he had scheduled a recruiting trip to Pennsylvania for Tuesday, April 6, 1993.

For those wanting to read more about UNC’s 1992-1993 season, see the book Return to the Top: The Inside Story of Carolina’s 1993 NCAA Championship.  The book contains an ample serving of Hugh Morton photographs made throughout that season.  You may see additional images of the UNC versus Kansas game and the 1993 championship game versus Michigan as part of the more than 8,000 Hugh Morton photographs online (A mere sampling of the 250,00 images in the entire collection!)

Karen Parker: A Woman to Remember

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we here at University Archives can think of many women from the Carolina community to celebrate. There’s Cornelia Phillips Spencer, for example, who rang the bell in celebration of the university’s reopening in 1875. … Continue reading

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we here at University Archives can think of many women from the Carolina community to celebrate. There’s Cornelia Phillips Spencer, for example, who rang the bell in celebration of the university’s reopening in 1875. We also remember Mia Hamm, who led the women’s soccer team to four NCAA  championships in the 1990s. Who don’t we remember then?

The cover of Karen Parker's notebook from her time at UNC.  The Karen L. Parker Diary, Letter and Clippings, Folder 1, #05275-z, The Southern Historical Collection, The Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library.

The cover of Karen Parker’s notebook from her time at UNC. (Karen L. Parker Diary, Letter and Clippings, #05275-z, The Southern Historical Collection.)

A woman you may not remember by name is Karen Lynn Parker. Karen Parker was the first African-American woman to attend and graduate from UNC Chapel Hill as an undergraduate student. In the fall of 1963, Karen Parker transferred to UNC from the Greensboro Women’s College and began her studies in journalism. In 1964, Parker was elected as  vice president of the UNC Press Club. She also served as the editor of the UNC Journalist, the School of Journalism’s newspaper, in that year. Achievements aside, Karen Parker’s time at UNC was far from smooth sailing.

The first entry of her diary on November 5, 1963, began with her own reflections on the freedom marches. Her next diary entry on November 22 related her shock and sadness at the assassination of President Kennedy. On campus, she wrote that classes were called off and tests were cancelled. Even the Duke-Carolina game and the Beat Dook parade (which had been an annual event since 1950) were struck from the calendar. On November 24, Karen Parker wrote in her journal that she felt “insecure, unsafe” and that the “future looks quite uncertain.”

However uncertain the future looked, Parker took hold of the present. As part of her activism with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), she often spent time in jail. In her entry of December 18, she wrote: “On Saturday, the 14th, I decided to go to jail [….] We went to Leo’s, were arrested, and hauled to jail.” Leo’s was a restaurant in downtown Chapel Hill whose segregation policy Parker and others protested.

2 March 1964 drawing of the inside of the Orange County Superior Court in Hillsborough, NC.  From the Karen L. Parker Diary, Letter and Clippings, #05275-z, folder 1, the Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library.

Drawing of the inside of the Orange County Superior Court in Hillsborough, NC, March 2, 1964. (Karen L. Parker Diary, Letter and Clippings, #05275-z, the Southern Historical Collection.)

As time wore on, Parker continued to demonstrate and protest against segregation with other students and members of CORE. As CORE was accused of communist leanings, and the university began to threaten student demonstrators with expulsion, Karen Parker felt her faith in Carolina waver as she wondered about the future. Though summoned before the Women’s Honor Council in early 1964, Karen Parker remained firm: “They were going to have to expel me because I wasn’t going to give up.”

And Karen Parker did not give up. She went on to graduate from UNC Chapel Hill in 1965 with a BA in Journalism. So, as we remember the women that have made Carolina great, we should not forget Karen Parker. As Eve Carson said, “it’s us—the student body—who make Carolina what it is.” Thank you, Karen, for being one of many who have made Carolina what it is today.

(Access the Finding Aid for the Karen L. Parker Diary, Letter, and Clippings here: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/p/Parker,Karen_L.html.)

World rankings show UNC’s reputation sliding

Academics falls outside my usual hodgepodge of interests, but I couldn’t help noticing — hat tip, slate.com — the 2013 World Reputation Rankings published by Times Higher Education. According to the magazine, “The world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey [is intended] to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands…. […]

Academics falls outside my usual hodgepodge of interests, but I couldn’t help noticing — hat tip, slate.com — the 2013 World Reputation Rankings published by Times Higher Education.

According to the magazine, “The world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey [is intended] to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands…. The table is based on nothing more than subjective judgement — but it is the considered expert judgement of senior, published academics — the people best placed to know the most about excellence in our universities.”

In 2013, UNC Chapel Hill is included among those colleges clustered between Nos. 51 and 60 — a position most colleges can only envy, of course. In 2012, however, UNC ranked No. 46 and in 2011 No. 41.

Does anyone dispute that this decline in reputation is real?… Or that it is justified?

 

Artifacts of the Month: 1960s UNC Cheerleading mementos

Last month we did what so many do this time of year: We devoted our attention to college basketball. This month we turn our focus to another group of athletic students who are equally agile but far too often unsung: cheerleaders. This month we bring you not just one but three artifacts, all of them […]

Last month we did what so many do this time of year: We devoted our attention to college basketball.

This month we turn our focus to another group of athletic students who are equally agile but far too often unsung: cheerleaders. This month we bring you not just one but three artifacts, all of them from a UNC cheerleader who graduated in 1968.

cheerleader's sweater

This sweater, a bit darker than the Carolina blue we see these days, features a very realistic-looking Rameses (the UNC mascot).

football program

In this framed program from a UNC-Duke football game, two cheerleaders accompany the real live Rameses into the stadium. The cheerleader on the left is Jack Betts, the donor of these artifacts and the sweater’s former owner. Betts followed in the footsteps of his uncle Henry Betts, who had been a cheerleader at UNC in the early 1930s.

megaphone

Our third artifact is this megaphone, which is about two-and-a-half feet long and, as the photo shows, in less-than-great shape. Betts explains that members of the squad would beat on their megaphones to generate noise during games — the reason for the wear and tear.

Jack Betts attended UNC from the fall of 1964 to the spring of 1968. He fondly recalls being a cheerleader during the time when the basketball team moved from the much-smaller Woollen Gymnasium to Carmichael Arena, which seated just over 8,000 people. The thrill of being right on the court, of watching the games from such a short distance, he says, was dizzying.

The staff of the NCC Gallery will never know the excitement of standing on the court during a nail-biting game. But as far as we’re concerned, the thrill of adding these great artifacts to our collection is excitement enough.

Free Expression at UNC is Subject of Wilson Library Exhibition

A new exhibition in the North Carolina Collection Gallery of Wilson Library explores the history of free speech controversies at UNC. Continue reading

Freedom_thumbA new exhibition in the North Carolina Collection Gallery of Wilson Library explores the history of free speech controversies at UNC. Continue reading

Where’s Hugh Bennett? Climate debate needs him!

“It’s one thing to persuade hipsters in Portland, Ore., or Brooklyn to grow organic — hey, how cool is an artisan radish — in their rooftop gardens. It’s a much tougher push to get Big Ag, made up mostly of stubborn older men, to change its ways. “But imagine if a farmer led the cause […]

“It’s one thing to persuade hipsters in Portland, Ore., or Brooklyn to grow organic — hey, how cool is an artisan radish — in their rooftop gardens. It’s a much tougher push to get Big Ag, made up mostly of stubborn older men, to change its ways.

“But imagine if a farmer led the cause against climate change. Franklin Roosevelt chose Hugh Bennett, a son of the North Carolina soil, to rally Americans against the abusive farming practices that led to the Dust Bowl. Big Hugh was blunt, smart and convincing. ‘Of all the countries in the world, we Americans have been the greatest destroyers of land of any race of people,’ he said, without apology.

– From “Hicks Nix Climate Fix” by Timothy Egan in the New York Times (March 7) 

For a little more background on the too-seldom-remembered Bennett (UNC, Class of 1903), click here.

For a lot more, click here.