What I Talk About When I Talk About Pain, or an Extremely Personal Post about Disability

The thing about disability is that it affects everything in your life. I spent years trying to pretend I didn’t have a physical disability, that it didn’t affect me or the things that I do in any way, fighting against the idea that my body would not be able to carry out the things that I wanted to do.

I first realized that this would be a problem in February 2016. I was on a course trip to Berlin with a fantastic group of professors and students, studying Holocaust memory by encountering sites first-hand. When the week was nearly out, I pulled my Achilles tendon badly and had trouble walking. I was in a terrific amount of pain, but I tried to walk on it for about a day anyway. Because I was on this trip and had committed to attending meetings and discussions, because I wanted to be at those discussions, and because I had trouble understanding that being in pain might mean I had to limit myself in any way.

I’ve been in pain for so long that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t ache. I remember dosing myself on Children’s Motrin when I was in middle school, trying to numb the aches that I assumed were par for the course for a competitive figure skater. In that world something was always tweaked or sore; it was normal to have some pain. I never thought that what I was experiencing might be worse than it was for others, and frankly I still don’t know whether it was. I wouldn’t get a diagnosis for nearly another decade.

The pain began to get worse during my mid-teenage years, but I never let it stop me. I developed chronic tendonitis in both ankles the summer I was 15, and even though the rink trainer told me it was an overuse injury, it never occurred to me to stop practicing. Instead I wore gel sleeves around both ankles, designed to keep the tendons warm, and took more OTP pain relievers. I still have those gel sleeves – I used them for my Achilles when it was injured last year.1

I have more injuries from those years than I can count. I once broke my ankle at school while running down a flight of stairs to a class I was late for; I assumed it was twisted and walked and skated on it for a few days before my mother noticed my limping and insisted I get it checked out. I had to wear an aircast for over a month and would miss the biggest competition of my season; it turned out that it wouldn’t matter, because the competition was scheduled for September 16, 2001 in Manhattan. It was cancelled. I tried to conceal my injury as much as possible – I guess in order not to admit weakness or seem different in any way. I worked on walking as normally as possible, concealing my limp and refusing to use crutches or a cane. I had more broken foot bones, broken ribs, shin splints, toepicks-imbedded-in-knees during those years then I could tally. We all liberally applied Tiger Balm as a cure-all, all had permanent purple rings around our ankles where our boots ended.2

By my senior year in high school I was reconsidering the whole figure skating thing. In those days, if you weren’t on the senior competitive circuit by 16 you weren’t going to have a career in the sport. I had spent years pouring all of my energy into a chimera and didn’t know what I should do next. Quitting seemed natural, although it took me over a year for that to actually stick. A year after that I noticed a weakness in my left knee – it couldn’t always hold my weight, and there was a sort of burning pain under my kneecap that wouldn’t go away. I would hit my knee with a hardcover book until it became numb, so used to mitigating pain that I didn’t think of the consequences of ignoring it.

When I finally dealt with the fact that the pain was becoming permanent, I began seeing doctors. It took another two years, but they thought they knew what was wrong with me. Arthroscopic surgery ended up proving the doctors’ theory wrong, and we went back to the drawing board.

Of course, the other parts of my life didn’t stop during all of this. I began college. I dropped out. I traveled a little and worked a lot. I went back to school. I graduated. I hurt my back terribly that last semester and still don’t know how; I wrote my thesis propped up on pillows and dulled by Vicodin. I didn’t consider any of this abnormal – it was simply how my life has always worked.

Years went by, the pain came and went. I separated my physical body from my daily life as much as possible, as bizarre as that sounds. I went to graduate school, was fortunate enough to have a few years without intense pain spikes, as well as flexible work schedules that allowed me to work around any incidents. I took it for granted that others would be understanding about my disability,3 that they wouldn’t see my physical incapability as symptomatic of a lack of desire or inability to work, that others would see me the way I saw myself – a brain separated from a body.4

This fall a new chronic disability emerged, one both separate from and connected to my decades long struggle with osteoarthritis. The diagnosis is still being workshopped, but it looks as though I have degenerative disc disease, or some other serious disc problem. My neurospine specialist, one of a team of people who work on trying to mitigate my symptoms, was surprised the first time he saw my MRI. “You’re awfully young for this,” he commented. You’re telling me, doc.5

Yesterday afternoon I received a second round of nerve blocks injected into my spine. Each time I do this I have to sign a release saying, among other things, that I won’t “make any major life decisions within 24 hours of the procedure,” which… seems odd to me, but OK. All of this seems self-pitying, whiny, beneath dignity somehow. I know I’m very lucky in many ways – lucky to have a body that appears to conform to norms, lucky to have health insurance that covers anything at all,6 lucky to be years away from back surgery, lucky that none of this is worse.

I feel this urge to get in my car and drive as far as I can, wake up in a new place, as a new person, with a new body. But that’s not how this works. Back in Berlin in February 2016, I sobbed for nearly an hour when I realized I couldn’t just tough through that Achilles injury – large, body-wracking sobs that I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to have this body that seems as fragile as glass, that kept me from things it seemed everyone else could do. I didn’t want to worry that taking long walks, or standing for too long, or sitting for too long, or crossing my legs, or sleeping without a pillow under my knees, or trying rock climbing that one time, or taking a demanding yoga class might mean I would not be able to walk the next day, that I would be limited in ways that seemed unfair, unjust. But it is what it is; this is the body I have.

I meant to write about what it is like to have permanent, incurable, degenerative disabilities, what it is like to live with chronic pain. Instead this feels more like a confessional of all the ways I’ve hid and denied my disability, all of the ways I’ve felt sorry for myself for even having to deal with it at all. Today my pain is distinctly uncomfortable, soreness from the injections running down my low back and legs adding to the constant knee, ankle, hip, shoulder, neck, and mid-back pain. It’s not excruciating, though – the last year or so has taught me a lot about what level of pain I can be in and still function normally, and what unbearable pain is.7 In a few days I’ll wake up and the nerve blockers will have kicked in and the soreness from the injections will have faded, and the pain will seem manageable again, at a level that lets me hide it from view. I’ll go back to pretending to be a person with a whole, undamaged body, hiding my limp as much as possible and always telling everyone I am “fine,”  in the way that only a stubborn jerk with decent healthcare and an invisible disability can. I’m trying to be better, to admit my weaknesses and be open about my pain, instead of wearing flowy tops so no one will see the icepacks tucked into my waistband, trying not to clutch my lower back and insisting that I am fine, perfectly OK in fact, instead of having difficult conversations. I’m trying, but it’s hard.

NOTES

19 Years Ago Today: March 1, 1998

19 year ago, on March 1, 1998, the Davidson College men’s basketball team won the Southern Conference Tournament and received their first NCAA bid in twelve years. As the following season’s programs put it, “Davidson added the one achievement missing from an otherwise successful run through the ’90s.” This Southern Conference win also marked the first NCAA bid under Bob McKillop, head coach of the men’s basketball team since 1989. As March Madness approaches, this week’s post provides a peek into that exciting Southern Conference win, 19 years ago today.

Davidson’s coaches celebrate the win. From left to right: administrative assistant Sean Sosnowski, Assistant Coach Jason Zimmerman, Head Coach Bob McKillop, Assistant Coach Steve Shurina, Assistant Coach Matt Matheny.

Davidson faced off against Appalachian State at the Greensboro Coliseum for the title game on the 1st, after defeating The Citadel in a semifinal game on February 28th. The 1998 tournament marked the third appearance of the Wildcats in the SoCon final in five years, but the team had ended up on the losing side of the bracket in their previous trips.

The Davidsonian ran a story detailing the Davidson men’s squad’s win over App State in the March 17, 1998 issue.

The SoCon final was a close game, with Davidson winning 66-62. Senior Staff Writer Micheal J. Kruse (Class of 1999) covered the SoCon win in a few articles published in the March 17, 1998 issue of The Davidsonian, including one entitled, “With dancing Davidson in NCAA’s, recognition for school,” that served notice to basketball fans that Davidson was entering the big leagues:

“Attention all college basketball fans, casual or die-hard: Davidson College. Take Note.

It’s in Davidson, N.C., which is about 15 miles north of Charlotte. It’s the eight-ranked liberal arts college in the country according to the most recent U.S. News and World Report, Due to an exceptionally large freshman class this year, enrollment is slightly over 1,600 students.

It is not Denison. It is not Dickinson. The name is Davidson.”

Fifth-year senior Mark Donnelly holds the 1998 SoCon trophy aloft. Donnelly scored 13 points in the final game against Appalachian.

While the moment of glory was brief – Davidson entered that year’s NCAA tournament as a #14 seed in the South Regional, and fell in the first round against #3 Michigan, 80-61 – this trip to the championship marked the men’s basketball team’s emergence as the small school with a lot of heart. Bob McKillop’s teams would return to the dance in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2015.

Team picture of the 1998 men’s basketball team after winning the Southern Conference Tournament.

This year’s team played their final home game of the season last night (a win over St. Bonaventure), and have one more away game before heading to the Atlantic 10 Championship next week. Let’s wish the Wildcats luck!

The Chameleon’s Color: The Story of a Short-Lived Student Literary Magazine

This week’s blog highlights a short-lived student-run literary magazine: The Chameleon. The Chameleon, which ran from 1926 through 1930, was born out of the Davidson Monthly, first published in 1870. In the 1880s the Monthly became Davidson College Magazine, and then morphed into The Chameleon in 1926.

The first issue of The Chameleon, May 1926.
The first issue of The Chameleon, May 1926.

The first issue, put out in May 1926, showed a magazine in transition – no single editor was named, but editorial duties were credited to the Blue Pencil Chapter of Sigma Upsilon, which was the local chapter of a southern literary society. By the November 1926 issue, Holcombe M. Austin (Class of 1927), who had had a short story published in that first Chameleon issue a few months prior, was installed as editor. Austin penned the first “Cham’s Colors” editorial, which explained the impetus behind the shift in the publication and its goals:

Last spring an alumnus, three years graduate, when he had finished reading the red-covered pamphlet, the ‘official, licensed magazine’, sent to him from his alma mater, commented, “Why the boys don’t believe in the kind of stuff that’s in here. This wild thing is just a half-baked imitation of the green-backed radical type of magazine. I know that the thinking men in The College aren’t in sympathy with this kind of thing.”

In attempting escape from the brand “collegiate” the college magazine has wandered afield, lost its way, and with that scarified its value as a student publication.

THE CHAMELEON would be otherwise, would be distinctly Davidson, distinctly student… CHAM wants on his pages the color of student opinion and thought.

Holcombe M. Austin's full editorial in the first issue of the new Chameleon, November 1926.
Holcombe M. Austin’s full editorial in the first issue of the new Chameleon, November 1926.

The Davidsonian covered the release of the December 1926 Cham in their December 16 issue, explaining that “various types of criticism received concerning the first number of this magazine have aided materially in molding the form of this edition.” The story went on to explain the recurring design scheme of The Chameleon:

The Chameleon will begin its policy of changing colors every issue with this edition. The cover of this number being a light blue, the name of the magazine and the usual cut being printed with dark blue ink and shaded with silver. This combination will make as striking an appearance as the jacket in which the first edition was enclosed.

The first three covers of the new run of The Chameleon, showing the repeated design.
The first three covers of the new run of The Chameleon, showing the repeated design.

The cover design of The Chameleon followed this pattern from November 1926 until February 1930. In the December 1936 issue, editor Holcombe M. Austin expanded upon the purpose of the magazine:

The cry of every college editor, the cry, for that matter, of every editor who pilots a magazine of literary pretensions, is for the distinctive, “the original.” Not that the bizarre or extreme is demanded, but when there comes to the editor’s desk a short story or essay through strangely characteristic style or curiousness of subject matter achieves the unusual, his heart is filled with gladness. He clasps the manuscript to his bosom and gives praise… CHAM is looking forward to spring raiment. Then, as now, color without, and so help him students, within!

After this editorial no others were published in the magazine until what would be its last issue in February 1930. In that issue, which also featured a new cover design, editor-in-chief Robert F. Jarratt (Class of 1930), explained the changes to the magazine and hinted at its uncertain future:

Ever faithful to the connotation of its name, the CHAMELEON again changes… During it’s life the CHAMELEON has the Quips and Cranks, and the Davidsonian, both grow to maturity. While the CHAMELEON instead of growing stronger with the passing years, has deteriorated with age…

For the past few years there have been constant changes in the CHAMELEON, all due to the efforts of the editor to strike upon a combination that will be pleasing to the members of the student body, and also reflect the best of student body literary efforts. What few changes that will be made this year, are only tentative efforts to hit upon this combination. Whether they are effective will be demonstrated by their performance.

The cover and editorial of the February 1930 issue.
The cover and editorial of the February 1930 issue.

Unfortunately, The Chameleon‘s redesign did not save it, and the February 1930 issue was its last. College humor magazines The Yowl and Scripts ‘N’ Pranks sprung up in 1935 and 1936 to fill the gap, and Davidson College was without a strictly literary student-run magazine until Hobart Park began in 1978.

Revolution, 1967 and 2017

Revolution 2017, a multidisciplinary campus-wide initiative that focuses on revolution, broadly conceived, marks the 100th anniversary year of the Bolshevik Revolution. As we begin a year of courses and events related to revolution, let’s look back at a campus visit from a Russian embassy staff member 50 years ago.

In February 1967, Davidson invited Dr. Alexi Stepunin, then first secretary of the cultural division of the Soviet Embassy in D.C. to campus. In many ways, Dr. Stepunin’s visit was revolutionary – he was an campus to discuss the Russian Revolution, and his presence at Davidson was in opposition to the North Carolina Speaker Ban.

An article in the February 3, 1967 Davidsonian announces Stepunin's visit.
An article in the February 3, 1967 Davidsonian announces Stepunin’s visit.

The ban, in effect from 1963 to 1968, prevented state supported colleges and universities from inviting speakers who were “known member[s] of the Communist Party;” “known to advocate the overthrow of the constitution of the United States or the state of North Carolina;” had plead “the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States in refusing to answer any question, with respect to communist or subversive connections, or activities, before an duly constituted legislative committee, any judicial tribunal, or any executive of administrative board of the United States or any state.” While Davidson College, as a private college, was not subject to this law, Davidson faculty members strongly opposed the law and made their opinions publicly known by authoring a position paper.

Draft of the Speaker Ban as H.B. 1395, 1963.
Draft of the Speaker Ban as H.B. 1395, 1963.

This paper, put out by the Davidson College AAUP (American Association of University Professors) stated why the faculty felt the ban would have a negative impact even on schools not bound to follow it:

“Our opposition to this law is permanent, and it is strictly a grass-roots operation… it needs to be stressed in this connection that a great part of our concern lies in the fact that this law endangers the quality of private institutions as well as public ones. To take Davidson College as a case in point, her vitality depends in a number of ways upon the quality of the state University, as is evidenced by the fact that nearly a fourth of our faculty has advanced degrees from this University.”

Statement before the Governor's Commission on the Speaker Ban Law, Davidson College AAUP, September 9, 1965.
Statement before the Governor’s Commission on the Speaker Ban Law, Davidson College AAUP, September 9, 1965.

The Davidson faculty had other concerns besides the special relationship between UNC and Davidson – as the statement goes on to explain:

“The law is harmful to the University in another way as well. The free flow of ideas is inherently bound up in the very functioning of the University. The law does inhibit the free flow of ideas, else there would have been no reason for its passage in the first place. Thus the second hard fact of the matter is that the law not only demoralizes the faculty; it directly impedes the efficiency of their educational effort.”

Jesse Helm's reaction to the Davidson AAUP statement,
Jesse Helm’s reaction the conversations going on at Davidson, January 26, 1965.

Jesse Helms, then Executive Vice President at WRAL-TV and later a long-serving U.S. Senator, did not much like the rumblings emanating from Davidson College. He focused one of his WRAL-TV editorials on the faculty:

“Something over a week ago, there came from the campus of Davidson College the beginning gurgles of what no doubt will shortly be a river of pious nonsense swirling around the ankles of North Carolina legislature. The one-track minds of another group pf college professors had produced another resolution condemning the state law which bans communist speakers from state-owned college campuses… Davidson College was a poor place for this season’s flood of screwball resolutions to begin.”

It was into this environment that Alexi Stepunin stepped when he visited Davidson early in 1967. His main address while on campus discussed the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and provided a “historical outline” of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1967.

The February 10, 1967 issue of The Davidsonian covered Stepunin's visit in three short stories on the front page.
The February 10, 1967 issue of The Davidsonian covered Stepunin’s visit in three short stories on the front page.

We too will be looking back at 1917 this year, as well as many other revolutions before and since as the Revolution 2017 initiative spans across multiple courses and public events. May the courage of the 1960s Davidson faculty in defending the “free flow of ideas” within education guide our actions this year!

Snow! Or a Seasonal Picture Post

While snow is a somewhat rare occurrence in Davidson, it remains an exciting time for the entire college community. This week, let’s take a look at Davidson College dusted with snow throughout the years:

Snowy Main Street in Davidson, March 1915.
Snowy Main Street in Davidson, March 1915.
Three students clear walkways on rails pulled by horses, circa 1915.
Three students clear walkways on rails pulled by horses, circa 1915.
A lone figure walks past Dana Science Building, 1969.
A lone figure walks past Dana Science Building, 1969.
An unknown man leads a burro through the snow near Cunningham, December 1971.
A student leads a burro through the snow near Cunningham, December 1971.
A student walks near Elm Row, December 1971.
A student walks near Elm Row, December 1971.
Two students play in the snow in front of Cunningham, circa 1975.
Two students play in the snow in front of Cunningham, circa 1975.
A snowman in front of Chambers, 1977.
A snowman in front of Chambers, 1977.
The Presidents House looks picturesque in the snow, date unknown.
The Presidents House looks picturesque in the snow, date unknown.
Two students walk near Chambers, 1987.
Two students walk near Chambers, 1987.
A Davidson Wildcat made out of snow! Martin Science Building, circa 1980s.
A Davidson Wildcat made out of snow! Martin Science Building, circa 1980s.
Two students engage in a rowdy snow fight, 1987.
Two students engage in a rowdy snow fight, 1987.
A student works on a snow-cat - possibly the same large one in front of Martin, 1987.
A student works on a snow-cat – possibly the same large one in front of Martin, 1987.

We hope Davidsonians near and far are enjoying their winter!

Danish Glogg

This installment of Recipes from the Archives is a festive winter punch from Davidson Senior Center’s 1985 printing of The Davidson Cookbook. – Bob Sailstad’s “Danish Glogg.”

Davidson Senior Services (later the Davidson Senior Center) opened September 1977 in the railroad depot building on Jackson Street. The Center sponsored programs, such as an income tax assistance service and a Senior/Student Friendship program, organized day trips, connected volunteers with seniors, put out a yearly newsletter (Tracks), and published three printings of a cookbook (The Davidson Cookbook). The Center closed in spring 2004.

Robert J. “Bob” Sailstad (1915-1998) worked as the Director of Development (1948-1949) and then Assistant to the President and the Director of Public Relations and Development (1955-1968) at Davidson College. After leaving the College he went on to serve at the Director of Educational Affairs and Public Information for The Duke Endowment (1968-1982). He received a B.S. and M.A. from the University of Minnesota, where he met his wife, Patricia Kreis Sailstad. Patricia had worked as a dental hygienist and preschool teacher in Minnesota, and when she moved to Davidson she continued teaching and also helped found the St. Alban’s Play School and the Davidson-Cornelius Day Care Center. Both Bob and Patricia were active members of the Davidson Senior Center.

Bob Sailstad's Senior Center portrait, as photographed by Frank Bliss.
Bob Sailstad’s Senior Center portrait, as photographed by Frank Bliss.

Glogg, a variety of mulled wine and spirits, appears relatively unchanged in the last few centuries. Sailstad’s glogg makes “14 Danish servings,” so I decided to invite a few folks over to make the warm, wintery punch and then consume some of it.

Bob Sailsted's Danish Glogg
Bob Sailstad’s Danish Glogg recipe.
Glogg heating on my stove, complete with orange slices.
Glogg heating on my stove, complete with floating orange slices.

Glogg is very simple to make, although if you choose to adapt this recipe make to have a large party to share it – Bob Sailstad’s glogg is very strong, and this makes over two dozen servings!

Jan Blodgett (College Archivists and Records Management Coordinator), Roman Utkin (Assistant Professor of Russian Studies), and Caroline Fache (Associate Professor of French & Francophone Studies) enjoy the archival glogg.
Jan Blodgett (College Archivist and Records Management Coordinator), Roman Utkin (Assistant Professor of Russian Studies), and Caroline Fache (Associate Professor of French & Francophone Studies) enjoy the archival glogg.

Davidson on the Cover

Davidson College has often appeared on the cover of publications, particularly local or state magazines. This week, let’s take a look at the covers that made it into our collections:

North Mecklenburg phone book
Students gathered around Chambers Building graced the cover of the July 1977 North Mecklenburg telephone directory.
S
The Winter 1978 issue of Southeastern Librarian featured E.H. Little Library on its cover.
Southern Living
The October 1980 issue of Southern Living showed Davidson’s fall colors at their best.
March 1981 Choice
This March 1981 cover of Choice shows a student walking in front of Eumenean Hall.
We the People of North Carolina's September 1987 cover showed buildings from several academic institutions across the state, including Davidson's Chambers Building.
We the People of North Carolina‘s September 1987 cover showed buildings from several academic institutions across the state, including Davidson’s Chambers Building.
1993
The State of North Carolina Higher Education Comprehensive Planning Program’s 1993 Facilities Inventory and Utilization Study showed the brand new Visual Arts Center building.
Spring 2004 Collegiate Standard
The Spring 2004 Collegiate Standard cover is a blast from the recent past, showing a group of Davidsonians who appeared on The Price is Right.
November 2008's Lake Norman Magazine featured Davidson's favorite basketball player, Steph Curry.
November 2008’s Lake Norman Magazine featured Davidson’s favorite basketball player, Steph Curry.
Southern Home magazine's May 2009 issue featured a cover story on the President's House: "Davidson's White House."
Southern Home Magazine‘s May 2009 issue featured a cover story on the President’s House: “Davidson’s White House.”

Sassy Spice Cake

For this installment of Recipes from the Archives, I chose to make “Sassy Spice Cake,” contributed by “Mrs. J.P. Stowe” to the 1965 The Village Cook Book: Recipes from the P.T.A. Pantry, Davidson, North Carolina. The members of Davidson’s Parent-Teacher Association gathered recipes from townswomen compiled the cookbook as a fundraiser for Davidson Elementary School.

I selected this recipe because of it’s fun title, and because it had some similarities with election cake recipes. Election cakes, as laid out in a Bon Appétit story on their history, were an American tradition at the polls in the days of the Early Republic. While our archival collections do not contain any election cake recipes, Sassy Spice Cake contains some of the same ingredients and flavors, so it seemed an apropos choice.

The cover of the 1965 PTA cookbook.
The cover of the 1965 PTA cookbook.

Finding out more about Mrs. J.P. Stowe proved to be difficult – she didn’t appear in any of our human resources records, and I couldn’t find any relatives who had graduated from or worked at Davidson College. However, some creative Internet searching led me to an obituary on obitcentral.com that seems to match:

“Agnes F. Honeycutt Stowe of Davidson died Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center.

Born Jan. 9, 1923 in Stony Point, to the late James Ray and Minnie Triplett Foy, she was a member of Davidson United Methodist Church. For many years she worked at Laney’s Fish Camp. She founded Aggie ‘J’ Originals and was one of the first three cross-stitch designers.

Survivors include her sons, Tommy Honeycutt of Davidson and Tim Honeycutt of Charlotte; a daughter, Sandra H. Boyd of Davidson; a brother, Frank L. Foy of Virginia; sisters, Peggy F. Pender of Huntersville and Minnie Rae Barker of Denver; eight grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

Husbands, James Monroe Honeycutt and J.P. Stowe; son, James H. Honeycutt, Jr.; b[r]others, James and Joseph Foy, and sister, Sue F. Howard preceded her in death.

Funeral services were Saturday, Nov. 17 at Davidson United Methodist Church. Interment followed at the Mimosa Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, 1229 Greenwood Cliff, Suite 109, Charlotte, N.C. 28204.”

Anges Foy Honeycutt Stowe is most likely the same “Mrs. J.P. Stowe” – U.S. Census Bureau data shows that in 1940, then 17 year old Agnes lived in Davidson with her first husband, James Monroe Honeycutt, in the same house as her mother Minnie and younger siblings. Laney’s Fish Camp, mentioned in the obituary as Agnes’ longtime employer, was a fried fish restaurant in Mooresville that closed in 2013.

Library Serials Assistant and longtime Davidson resident Mittie Wally mentioned that she’d met Agnes Stowe and that she was a great cook. She also confirmed that Agnes husband was “in a roundabout way related to Stowe’s Corner” – the triangular shaped building on Main Street that currently houses Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse, and used to contain a gas station owned by the Stowe family.

Agnes Stowe's Sassy Spice Cake recipe.
Agnes Stowe’s Sassy Spice Cake recipe.

The Sassy Spice Cake recipe is fairly simple, and I followed it to the letter with the exception of the pan shape – I chose to make the cake in a bundt pan instead of an “oblong cake pan,” since it was more reminiscent of the election cake recipe put out by OWL Bakery. The icing is definitely “not a stiff frosting”; it’s more like a glaze.

The final product!
The final product!

I shared the Sassy Spice Cake with the rest of the library staff, to rave reviews – several staff members have said they saved the recipe to make at home for the holidays.

Davidson’s First Die-In

Many current Davidsonians are aware of the December 2014 die-in on Main Street, in which “a group of about 200 students and several faculty and staff members staged a die-in protest on Main Street Saturday night to protest police violence against people of color.” (The Davidsonian, December 10, 2014) However, this was not the first die-in at Davidson – the Davidson Peace Coalition organized a die-in on April 22, 1985. While our records on the Davidson Peace Coalition are not robust, we do have documentation of the die-in and reactions to the protest from the student newspaper, The Davidsonian.

Letter to the Editor from the Davidson Peace Coalition, April 19, 1985.
Letter to the Editor from the Davidson Peace Coalition, April 19, 1985.

As their Letter to the Editor states, the Peace Coalition organized the die-in as “a symbolic action to show our concern about the increased militarization, by U.S. aid, of Central America in particular and our earth in general.”

A photo capturing students participating in the die-in inf front of Chambers Building.
A photo capturing students participating in the die-in in front of Chambers Building.
This image of the die-in ran in the April 26, 1985 issue of The Davidsonian. The image and caption were the only coverage of the event, outside of Letters to the Editor.
This image of the die-in ran in the April 26, 1985 issue of The Davidsonian. The image and caption were the only coverage of the event, outside of Letters to the Editor and write-in opinion pieces.

In the issues following the die-in, The Davidsonian published a series of Letters to the Editor responding to both whether Davidson students should protest U.S. aid to the Contras in Nicaragua, and whether U.S. policies in Central America were justified.

James Lewis' letter expressing disapproval of the die-in.
James Lewis’ April 26 letter expressing disapproval of the die-in. Peggy Pierotti, the Photo Editor of The Davidsonian, had penned a much-criticized editorial that defined the “truly useful and utterly useless aspects of Davidson life” for the April 10, 1985 issue of the paper, called “Student Reflects On Life at Davidson.”

James Lewis’ Letter to the Editor inspired several responses from fellow students who disagreed with his read of the die-in:

Gordon Watkins' response to John Lewis, "Die-In Tried to Dispel Apathy," ran on the opinions page of the May 3, 1985 issue.
Gordon Watkins’ response to James Lewis, “Die-In Tried To Dispel Apathy,” ran on the opinions page of the May 3, 1985 issue.
Sharon Spong and Stu King's Letter to the Editor in response to John Lewis ran in the May 3, 1985 issue of The Davidsonian.
Sharon Spong and Stu King’s Letter to the Editor in response to James Lewis ran in the May 3, 1985 issue of The Davidsonian.
Anne Blue's response to John Lewis also ran in the May 3, 1985 issue. Anne Blue Wills is now a professor of religion at Davidson College.
Anne Blue’s response to Lewis also ran in the May 3, 1985 issue. Anne Blue Wills is now a professor of religion at Davidson College.
Russell Booker's sardonic response to the conversations on campus surrounding U.S. involvement in Nicaragua ran alongside a political cartoon on the subject in the May 10, 1985 issue of The Davidsonian.
Russell Booker’s sardonic response to the conversations on campus surrounding U.S. involvement in Nicaragua ran alongside a political cartoon on the subject in the May 10, 1985 issue of The Davidsonian.

Lewis then responded to his critics, also in the May 10 issue:

Lewis' "Contras Like 'Founding Fathers'" takes aim at the letters responding to his April 26 opinion letter.
Lewis’ “Contras Like ‘Founding Fathers'” takes aim at the letters responding to his April 26 opinion letter.

The May 10 issue was the last of the 1984-1985 academic year, and when publication of the newspaper began again for the fall semester, the die-in stopped appearing in the editorials page. The Davidsonian is one of the College Archives’ most heavily-used resources, and these opinion letters make clear why: the student newspaper provides valuable insight into what students thought and cared about while they were attending Davidson College. Furthermore, sometimes mentions in The Davidsonian are the only documentation we have of campus events or student groups. The Davidsonian continues to publish today, and we continue to meticulously gather and preserve the newspaper!

Gingerale Fruit Salad

For this installment of Recipes from the Archives, I made Mary Black’s “Gingerale Fruit Salad” from the Davidson Civic Club’s Davidson Cook Book (circa 1928). The Davidson Cook Book has been the source of the some of our favorite archival recipes, including the Misses Scofield’s Ice Box Pudding #1. The Davidson Civic Club (1911 – 1959; Davidson Civic League from 1952) was founded to promote “a well-kept household and a place for good and pleasant living” in Davidson.

The Black family home, on Concord Road (circa 1987).
The Black family home, on Concord Road (circa 1987).

Mary Caldwell Black (1899 – 1989) moved to Davidson with her parents Dr. James C. and Emma Black, sister Emma, and five brothers in 1918, so that her brothers could attend Davidson College – John McKinley Black graduated from Davidson in 1918, Robert Lawson Black in 1922, William Morton Black in 1926, and Samuel Lacy Black graduated in 1929. All four were football stars while in college, and William was a member of the 1926 State Championship team. Their brother James C. Black, Jr. graduated from North Carolina State University.

Mary and Ellen both attended Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs, North Carolina, as part of the 1922 and 1923 classes respectively. Coverage of town news in The Davidsonian makes it clear that both sisters were active in the social scene of Davidson, with Ellen performing a high jump at field games during “Senior Christian Endeavor Expert Class” on campus in March 1924, and Mary playing “the Spirit of Mexico” during a pageant in February 1923. Both women were active in bible study groups in college at Red Springs and in Davidson, and Mary was a longtime member of town book club The Tuesday Club. She gave a lecture on the history of religion in Davidson at The Tuesday Club’s November 1959 meeting; a copy of this speech is in the club’s archival records. Ellen lived in New York City for many years and took a nursing training course at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, but moved back to Davidson and into the family home with her sister by the 1980s. Both sisters then moved to The Pines.

This March 30, 1987 Davidsonian article on Mary Black provides insight into her life in Davidson.
This March 30, 1987 Davidsonian article on Mary Black provides insight into her life in Davidson.

Mary Black was interviewed by Nelle McCorkle ’87 for The Davidsonian, which included some lively reflections on Davidson College and town in the 1910s and ’20s:

“While her brothers attended Davidson, Black and her family frequently entertained their student friends. ‘I’ve always lived with a whole lot of men here,’ she said. ‘Some called this the Kappa Sigma Hotel… One Sunday my brother said, ‘Who slept in the front room last night?’ I said, ‘I don’t know; I thought it was a friend of yours.’ He said, ‘I thought you knew him.’ Before dark, here came a friend of ours who said he wanted to thank his hosts. He said he just looked around ’til he found an empty bed and got in it.'”

Mary also gave some insight on what it was it was like for women to take classes at Davidson College while it was still a men’s college:

“Although her brothers all enrolled at Davidson (four graduated from Davidson; one graduated from North Carolina State University), Black never attended Davidson classes. She said of the college attitude toward women who asked to attend classes at that time, ‘It wasn’t very pleasant really. They didn’t give them any recognition – no diplomas, no certificates, some of the people in town went for two years and then went somewhere else. They couldn’t take all the courses – some of the professors just wouldn’t have girls in class.”

Perhaps the most interesting archival trace of the Black family are the records we have of Mary Black’s travels – Mary and fellow Davidsonian Mary Richards spent 1923-24 studying at Oxford and traipsing around Europe. Mary Richards attended Converse College, was an English teacher in Mocksville, Mebane, and Davidson. The two Marys sailed for England on October 6, 1923.

One of the fascinating pieces of ephemera in the Black collection is this pamphlet from the United States Lines: "What's going on in Europe in 1923."
One of the fascinating pieces of ephemera in the Black collection is this pamphlet from the United States Lines: “What’s going on in Europe in 1923.”
Mary Black's reader's ticket for the Oxford Public Library, "to be renewed before 18 Oct 1924."
Mary Black’s reader’s ticket for the Oxford Public Library, “to be renewed before 18 Oct 1924.”
A card admitting Mary Black "to the lectures of Professor Gordon on 'The Seventeenth Century' in Michaelmas Term, 1923."
A card admitting Mary Black “to the lectures of Professor Gordon on ‘The Seventeenth Century’ in Michaelmas Term, 1923.”
Mary Richards' planned itinerary for a portion of the Marys European adventures.
Mary Richards’ planned itinerary for a portion of the Marys European adventures.
Mary's train ticket for her return to Davidson, via Charlotte.
Mary’s train ticket for her return to Davidson, via Charlotte.

Mary Black later took trips to Canada and the western United States, and we have some ephemera from those travels as well. The Canadian trip included a visit to Boswell’s, “Canada’s First Brewery,” Quebec City, and Montreal. Her western trip spanned several states and included stops at the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Yellowstone.

A suggested itinerary from one of Mary Black's later travels - this one is for a west coast trip.
A suggested itinerary from one of Mary Black’s later travels – this one is for a west coast trip.
A few stickers from Yellowstone Park, likely picked up on her western U.S. trip.
A few stickers from Yellowstone Park, likely picked up on her western U.S. trip.

I chose Mary Black’s “Gingerale Fruit Salad” for two reasons – I felt it was time that I tackled a gelatin salad recipe since we have so many in our archival collections, and I was intrigued by the travel ephemera of Mary Black, so choosing her recipe allowed me to look further into her collection and her background.

Mary Black's 1920's "Gingerale Fruit Salad" recipe.
Mary Black’s 1920’s “Gingerale Fruit Salad” recipe.

The recipe was simple to follow – essentially, boil the juice and melt sugar and gelatin into it, then mix everything else together, place in a mold, and pop it in the fridge to set. I chose to use Whole Foods 365 ginger ale and Granny Smith apples, as those are my favorite types of soda and apples respectively and the recipe did not specify. I also used crystallized ginger in place of preserved ginger, since my coworker Sharon Byrd (Special Collections Outreach Librarian) had some crystallized ginger at home that she contributed to the cooking effort.

The finished product, before and after un-molding!
The finished product, before and after un-molding!

I am pleased with how the fruit salad turned out, although the next time I attempt a molded gelatin recipe, I will look into decorating it in a more traditional fashion. A bed of lettuce and some parsley in the center may have spruced up this effort, but Mary Black’s recipe did not give decoration instructions as some of the other recipes do. Overall, an easy gelatin recipe from a fascinating woman of Davidson’s past!