Month: August 2019

Leaders of the Band

Ron Sleeth

Ronald Sleeth was the Drum Major for four seasons: 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1942.

Right after that, there is no record of a marching band in the Murmurmontis in 1943 and it was not published in 1944, 1945, or 1946 due to World War II. 

WVWC Drum Major, 1942                            with Drum Majorette, Gloria Harvey

While at WVWC, Ron Sleeth was active in many areas of campus, showing great leadership along the way. Among his accomplishments and activities Ron was President of his class in 1938, President of Playshop in 1942, sang in the choir, played intramural sports,  and worked on the Pharos staff.

After his graduation, he went on to receive his Divinity Degree from Yale University in 1947. He served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy from 1945-46, and came back to WVWC to teach Speech from 1946-48.  He became an ordained Methodist Elder in 1947 before returning to academia to earn his masters and Ph.D. in Communication from Northwestern University. In 1976-77, he came back to WVWC once again to serve as the president of the college. Realizing that administration was not his passion, he stepped down after one year to go back to teaching and writing.

A true leader. Read more about him here.

After the war, various others served in student leadership capacity for a year or two, and under such titles a student director, drum major, and drum majorette. Each one had a different story about how they came to be chosen, different leadership styles, and different skills.

Maraching Band Murmurmontis 1950

Jude Gore

Jude Gore was the Drum Major of the Bobcat Marching band for four seasons: 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. Right after that, the marching band ceased to exist for 34 years. There was an upswing (pun intended) in interest for the Jazz Band, and that truly was the passion of David Milburn, professor and director of bands. Concert band and pep bands continued, but marching band did not.

After his graduation, he went on to have a very successful career in Music Education, and kept right on leading students through music for decades to come.

In the fall of 1978, Ron Sleeth and Jude Gore teamed up to direct the band in the stands at a football game. A true meeting of the minds!

2014 — They’re Back!

In 2014, the Bobcat Marching Band returned. It had only 25 members, but they were mighty! Doubling by the second year, and with steady growth each year, they are now marching about 100 and share their vast amount of school spirit with all of us. Since their return, they have been led by Drum Majors Christen Shell (2014, 205, 2016) and Patrick Withers (2017, 2018). This year, Cassidy Hoffman has been tapped for this leadership position. 

Band Camp 2019 with Drum Major Cassidy Hoffman

Drum Major 101

Each drum major

  • must earn and deserve the respect of those they lead
  • leads the band onto the field and keeps them all going in the right direction
  • keeps the band literally and figuratively on the same page
  • plays a crucial role in communication between band and band director
  • has the opportunity to facilitate change
  • needs to know music and marching drills inside and out – for all members

They are supportive, enthusiastic, prepared and professional.

They set a good example.

These are great life skills!!!

Here’s to a great year for the Bobcat Marching Band in 2019. Their new uniforms have been delayed in production, but hopes are to debut them later this season. And those who wear them will be taking the field under the leadership of Drum Major Cassidy Hoffman.

Dr. Robert Palmer has joined the Bobcat Bands in July 2022!

For more background about the history of the marching band, check out my blog post entitled The Band is Coming!

Before, During, and After

One person’s BEFORE is another person’s AFTER.

New and Current Students

Last year’s entering students will have very different memories than what this year’s entering students will encounter. Take, for example, the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library.

Students coming to college for the first time last year came BEFORE library renovation and experienced the full spring semester DURING that process. When they arrived in the fall, the library was new to them, but operating as “normal.”  In the spring, the building was closed and they had to search out the Nellie Wilson Lounge to find the “library in exile.”

Students who are now Juniors and Seniors are about to have their moment of feeling like old-timers as they regale Freshmen and Sophomores with their stories of the library as it was BEFORE.

Students from the 1970s

Students from the early 1970s remember before, during, and after the wraparound addition which provided more space for more collections and office space for library staff and classrooms.

Emeritus Club

Emeritus Club members (those who have graduated from WVWC at least 50 years ago) remember before and during the building of the original Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library. Some remember the excitement of the dedication of that building in 1953.

This week the Emeritus Club gathered for the last of their summer luncheons and were treated to a tour of the renovated library. They were amazed. They were excited. They were proud. They were also a bit nostalgic as they told stories of times when talking and eating were not permitted in the library!

They ended their tour by standing at the foot of the stairs and singing the Alma Mater, some with misty eyes. They were remembering their time and experiences with love and gratitude while also sharing their excitement for current students. Almost a kind of blessing. It was a beautiful and emotional moment.

Perspective of Time

We see the world in terms of our own perspective of time.

This can give us appreciation for growth and excitement for the future.

Our shared experiences connect us even (and maybe especially) when things look different than they did before.

New opportunities. A new normal.

Fall 2019

Within the week, I will be meeting My First Year Seminar students for the first time. They will experience only the new. 

They will hear stories about the old from those who knew it (including those who just arrived last fall.)

They will probably consider the new door as being the main door. To many of us, it is a marvel to be able to enter from both sides of the building!

They will regularly get lunch, or make themselves a milkshake or Keurig coffee at the new self-service micro store while others will look back with nostalgia on the Cafe Libros. Some Emeritus tour members this week were horrified at food (or even chewing gum) in the library at all.

The library has always been at the heart of academic life – the laboratory where students explore and apply what they learn in the classrooms. Research is done and papers are written there. It has also been the place where people gather as a community of learners. Many have found it a convenient place to meet and talk and get acquainted. It is a center for building Community as well as individuals.

Yes, there are still books (print and electronic) and access to many information sources and reserve items. Yes, there are librarians to guide and teach and help students find what they need. Yes, the building is different and redesigned.

The library is ready to build more people.

We Are Who We Have Been Becoming

I spent this past weekend surrounded by people with shared stories.

These were people from many states and many ages.

Most of them I had never met before, but we had a lot of shared history.

No, it was not WVWC Homecoming!

It was the 38th Annual Gathering of the Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants.

I have often heard people say that this area is different from other places and that WVWC is different from other schools, but that they can’t quite put their finger on why that is. Why do West Virginians stay connected even when they have moved far away – sometimes being drawn back to find their roots more than three generations later?

It may have something to do with explorers, pioneers, and settlers.

The characteristics and values of the people who came and endured hardships while building a region and state are still to be found here today:

  • Independence
  • Courage
  • Creativity
  • Curiosity
  • Someone who is an initiator
  • Someone who is a groundbreaker
  • Someone who sees potential and possibilities all around them
  • Someone who pushes boundaries, advances a cause, or breaks records
  • Someone who is dedicated and does not give up easily

Same Stories and Different Focus

As I read about WVWC, I find things about the Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants, about the history of the region, about the state of West Virginia, and about my family roots. It is all connected, and overlaps in strong ways.

On any given day, I am finding that these four areas of interest overlap and come into focus in different ways depending on my project.

Family : those ancestors whose DNA is literally part of me, the stories of their lives, the connections they had to others, their interests, skills, and passions make me who I am today.

Region: the beauty of the area, the rich natural resources, the rugged terrain, the events that happened here, the people who made them happen. This area in North Central West Virginia which was hard to find and settle, that which is not near the border of another state, that which has so much to offer in what may seem to the uninitiated as being literally in the middle of nowhere. This also includes the religious and educational history of the area, and in my particular case the history of the Methodist Church. Circuit riders and preachers run in my family. As far back as seven generations, there have been church leaders lurking in the family tree.

State of WV: the same as region, but including all areas of West Virginia including those along the Ohio River, bordering Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky.  The exploration,  pioneer adventures, and settling of the only state to be born of the American Civil War. Even today, northern states consider WV to be a southern state while southern states consider WV to be northern.  During the early years, WV was the Western Frontier. Now it is neither east nor west. We are a unique place whose people still can be characterized as independent. In fact, quite a few of those early qualities seem pretty familiar today as I look around the city, state, Methodist Conference, and West Virginia Wesleyan College.

WVWC: Founded in 1890, only 25 years after the state of West Virginia, WVWC was the culmination of a great deal of work by the Methodists in the area. In fact, without those people dreaming us into existence, we would not be here today. Our first trustees incuded both Union and Confederate soldiers and chaplains. Some were active in the act of secession. Some of them attended the first and second Wheeling Conventions in 1861 to determine the name of the state, the position on slavery, and to created the laws. The history of the state and the region can not be separated from the founding of WVWC.

Connections and overlapping stories. People who feature prominently in all of these categories. History is not about lists of names and dates — it is about the stories. And these are what set us apart.

Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants (HCPD)

John Hacker was the first permanent European settler in what is now Lewis County, WV.  Following the Pringle Brothers, who remained in present-day Upshur County with the Jacksons and the Sleeths, he moved a bit further to the west. HCPD founder Joy Gilchrist (now DeFazio) wrote a book about these explorers and pioneers called, They Started it All. An excerpt about this group can be found here.   Joy is one of the Founders of HCPD in 1982, and has been a tireless worker, cheerleader, storyteller, and tour guide.

The HCPD was formed in 1982, and moved locations several times until finding their permanent home in the old Hornor School in 1998. It is a busy place!  On any given day you will find people asking questions, poring over volumes, finding some great information about someone who up until that time was just a name on a page. It gives an opportunity to discover what life was like in former times. The perspective of time gives us an opportunity to see both the good and bad parts of society that make up our own histories. (Pretty sure that I would have a hard time surviving in the late 1700s!!)

Pioneering still, this group of descendants gathers annually to study and research, to tell stories, to share pictures, and to delight in the company of others who understand the value of knowing their history. This year there were more than 50 persons gathered. Many were from West Virginia towns large and small from all over the state. There were people from California, Montana, Georgia, Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio. They gathered in the library in Hornor where there are more than 15,000 books, periodicals, obituaries, cataloged photographs, manuscripts, maps, drawings, yearbooks and memorabilia. And, they ate – this group knows how to cook! On Friday evening there was a slide show which included photographs of people no longer living, but who had been active in HCPD during their lifetimes. The stories multiplied!!

A National Endowment for the Humanities blog post, February 6, 2017, gives the background of this organization. The article is titled 50 States of Preservation: Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants in Hornor, WV.

There is a lot of material! There is a lot of work to be done in processing even more collections. The beauty of it is that the 350 members from around the world are connecting and sharing and finding that their history matters a great deal. They also stay in contact  with those far away through their website and Facebook page.

History is Relevant.

History Relevance

Starting as a series of conversations in 2012 about why

“children are not expected to learn it in schools, community leaders rarely look to it to inform today’s decisions, and national leaders select and distort facts to support their positions. Sure, some people visit historic sites and history museums; and many more watch history-based movies. For them, engagement in history seems to be an occasional pleasant pastime, not something especially relevant to their lives”.

The History Relevance Website was born.

History is Relevant

To Ourselves.
  • Identity: History nurtures personal and collective identity in a diverse world. People discover their place in time through stories of their families, communities, and nation. These stories of freedom and equality, injustice and struggle, loss and achievement, and courage and triumph shape people’s personal values that guide them through life.
  • Critical Thinking: History teaches vital skills. Historical thinking requires critical approaches to evidence and argument and develops contextual understanding and historical perspective, encouraging meaningful engagement with concepts like continuity, change, and causation, and the ability to interpret and communicate complex ideas clearly and coherently.
To Our Communities
  • Vibrant Communities: History is the foundation for strong, vibrant communities. A place becomes a community when wrapped in human memory as told through family stories, tribal traditions, and civic commemorations as well as discussions about our roles and responsibilities to each other and the places we call home.
  •  Economic Development: History is a catalyst for economic growth. Communities with cultural heritage institutions and a strong sense of historical character attract talent, increase tourism revenues, enhance business development, and fortify local economies.
To Our Future
  • Engaged Citizens: History helps people envision a better future. Democracy thrives when individuals convene to express opinions, listen to others, and take action. Weaving history into discussions about contemporary issues clarifies differing perspectives and misperceptions, reveals complexities, grounds competing views in evidence, and introduces new ideas; all can lead to greater understanding and viable community solutions.
  • Inspires Leaders: History inspires leaders. History provides today’s leaders with role models as they navigate through the complexities of modern life. The stories of persons from the past can offer direction to contemporary leaders and help clarify their values and ideals.
  • Legacy:  History, saved and preserved, is the foundation for future generations. Historical knowledge is crucial to protecting democracy. By preserving authentic and meaningful documents, artifacts, images, stories, and places, future generations have a foundation on which to build and know what it means to be a member of the civic community.

We Are Who We Have Been Becoming

To find the explorers, pioneers, settlers, and others who have come before us, we need to gather in groups like I experienced this weekend.

We need to read and listen and be inspired.

We need to know where we have been to know who we are. Why do people think that our state, region, campus have something special? Because we are who we have been becoming.

We need to know who we are to know where we are going.

We need to know it ourselves, and to teach it to future generations.

If you would like to read more about these people, you can start with these great books which have been written by those who realized the importance of history and some pioneer has placed on the internet for you.  If you would like to find more, there are some on the DreamersAndGiants.com website under Sources.

American Historical Society (1923). History of West Virginia Old and New, Volume 3 (West Virginia Biography) [electronic]. Retrieved from Internet Archive. Chicago and New York.

Atkinson, G.W. & Gibbens, A.F. (1890). Prominent men of West Virginia: biographical sketches, the growth and advancement of the state,a compendium of returns of every election, a record of every state officer[electronic]. Retrieved from Internet Archive. Wheeling: W.L. Callin.

Atkinson, G.W. (1901). Public addresses, etc., of Geo. W. Atkinson, governor of West Virginia, during his term of office [electronic]. Retrieved from Internet Archive. Charleston: The Public Printer.

Atkinson, G.W. (1919) Bench and bar of West Virginia [electronic]. Retrieved from Internet Archive. Print copy available in Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library: WV 340.092 At54b

Bruce, T. (1894) Heritage of the trans-Alleghany pioneers, or, resources of Central West Virginia. Baltimore, Maryland: Nichols, Killam and Maffitt.

Giants With Long Shadows

It is hard to see through the fog. You know something is out there. You catch just a glimpse, but can’t tell what it might be. You wonder.

This photo is one that I took on New Year’s Day 2017. It was the dawn of a new year. The sun was coming up beyond those clouds, but you couldn’t really anticipate what would lie ahead in the future. I remember standing at the railing of the cabin at the Stonewall Resort wondering about that.

As the sun broke through the clouds, the lake and the mountains came into view. The reflections still made me think about how the old and new years seemed to be connected.  A reflection, and yet more than that. The total view seemed to be all as one. It seemed timeless to me.

The past and the present are much like this.

The present is a reflection of the past, and yet more than that.

The future will be a reflection of our present. But, do we even take time to put our own present into focus as we live it? Or are we too busy and distracted?

We Are Part of a Bigger Picture

Writing about the DreamersAndGiants has given me an opportunity to “meet” many of the people who have walked the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan before me. Some have become very familiar to me, and pop up over and over again in various articles that I read or photographs that I see.

For those people, you and I are the future that they couldn’t quite see. They thought about many of the same things that we do. They wondered about us.

Their present is the murky past to us, but they left us some clues through their writing. And, sometimes in that writing they pull things together for us. Sometimes things that we think we have “discovered” are things that they have thought about long before we were born.

Sundial and Admin 2018

Written in 1925, and published in the Spring 1969 Sundial.

Among many other activities at Wesleyan during her student days, Mary Sumner edited the Pharos. She left many clues to help us to understand the college in the 1920s, including this great poem about the Sundial. I wrote a blog about that very same Sundial last year, called the Timeless Sundial.

She married Eugene, who likewise edited the Pharos along with a long list of activities and leadership positions. I also wrote a blog last year about the Gifts of Stories from the Past, which includes a wonderful article that Mary and Gene wrote for the March 1966 issue of the West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin – Sundial. It is on pages 17-23.

In this article, Looking Back Forty Years, the Modlins reflected on the college, the students, the faculty, and the culture of the “Roaring Twenties.” They had been there and covered it all — everything from Bobbed Hair and the post WWI Culture to the new road that had been built from Weston to Buckhannon. From the dreams of the students to the faculty who was here to guide them. From the High School State Basketball Tournament to the legendary 1924 Football Season at Wesleyan. They were Giants even in the 1920s, but their Giant Shadows were cast down through the years even further.

Later on, their son Charles, class of 1958, was also Editor-in-Chief of the Pharos. He married Marjorie McCullough, class of 1957. They continued the work of reporting and telling the stories of people and events on campus.

It was my honor to receive a generous gift from Marjorie in 2007 on behalf of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library. Charlie had died, and she wanted to do something in his memory. We decided that using those funds to digitize and make the Pharos available to current audiences would be a wonderful way to celebrate and honor his work on the Pharos. When I later found out that this also honored his parents’ work as well, it was a joyful discovery.

Each and every day something new comes to light. Something about Wesleyan becomes a little clearer. New insights are possible.

Photo by Dewayne R. Lowther, ’57

We don’t know what is beyond the mist of time, or around the bend. We don’t know who has walked before us, where they have gone, or who we might meet. But, the reflection of the past is with us in the present and we can learn from it to make our lives richer and to guide us into the future. And, with appreciation, we stand on the shoulders of Giants and in the long shadows of their work to make it so.