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Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper, The Pilot, Now Online at DigitalNC

Front Page of The Pilot, Gardner-Webb College newspaper, September 14, 1971

Front Page of The Pilot, Gardner-Webb College newspaper, September 14, 1971

Issues of Gardner-Webb University’s student newspaper dating from 1942-2011 are now online at DigitalNC.

The paper, published continuously throughout that time as The Pilot, covers everything from famous speakers to the development of the campus. There is also, of course, plenty of commentary by students about exams, politics, and student life in general.

While working on this paper, we learned that Gardner-Webb University (then Gardner-Webb College) awarded an honorary doctorate to Johnny Cash in September 1971. The October 1971 issue of The Pilot describes “Johnny Cash Day,” which included an hour-long concert and an award ceremony at the stadium. Cash as well as his wife and 18-month old son were present for the festivities. We found a number of images of the occasion in the Hugh Morton Collection of Photographs and Films (North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

We’re pleased to have worked with Gardner-Webb to include these newspapers on DigitalNC, where you can view the entire run of The Pilot as well as the school’s yearbooks and catalogs.


Move-in Day at Gardner-Webb University

First year students moving into Gardner-Webb University in 1996 got a little help moving into their dorms from upperclassmen. In addition to standard dorm essentials, in 1996, students brought in box televisions and pop culture decorations, such as this cartoon Garfield the Cat trashcan.Image


Gardner-Webb University Yearbooks Now Available on DigitalNC

Student yearbooks from Gardner-Webb University are now available on DigitalNC.org. Eighty-nine volumes, going back as far as 1907, have been digitized and can be searched and browsed in the North Carolina College and University Yearbooks project.

The school was founded in 1905 as Boiling Springs High School, later Boiling Springs Junior College. The name was changed in 1942 in recognition of the support of Governor O. Max Gardner and his wife, Fay Webb Gardner.

The editorial staff of the 1950 edition of The Anchor

The editorial staff of the 1950 edition of The Anchor


Catamounts to Camels: College Mascots in North Carolina

Mascots are a complicated phenomenon. They inspire a spectrum of reactions: ridicule, ambivalence, or fierce loyalty. With thousands of yearbooks online, all of us here at the Digital Heritage Center have probably spent more time looking at yearbooks than anyone else you’re likely to meet. Mascots are a common theme.

I’ve been working on today’s post for quite some time; unable to find a history or comprehensive list of mascots in North Carolina I decided to compile one myself. So here’s a stab at a college mascot overview, drawn from yearbooks and other campus publications. Let me know what I’ve missed or gotten wrong!

Children

In the early 20th century, schools frequently chose children as mascots or sponsors, whether for a sports team or for a particular class. The earliest example we’ve found on DigitalNC is from a 1910 publication by Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in Wilson, which shows Elizabeth Settle Caldwell as the Senior Class sponsor.

Elizabeth Settle Caldwell, First North Carolina Mascot? From the 1910 Pine Knot yearbook, Atlantic Christian College.

Ms. Caldwell was the daughter of Jesse Cobb Caldwell, the college president. From what we’ve been able to tell, children mascots were frequently younger siblings of students, teachers, or others associated with the school. Students mention that Ms. Caldwell brought “solace to many a lonely, homesick heart” and this may be why children were chosen – to foster a feeling of family and comfort among students. We’ve seen several references to mascots being elected or being chosen through competition, although what this might be we haven’t been able to discover. The trend of choosing children as mascots seems to continue through the 1960s. The latest one we found is Dawn, the Senior Class mascot at Peace College (now William Peace University) in 1966.

Animals

Animal mascots span schools across the state, whether it’s Rameses at UNC-Chapel Hill or WCU’s Catamount. The bulldog and different types of cats win out as most frequently adopted. Pictures of live animal mascots start to appear in yearbooks in the early 1900s, and continue today although much less frequently. For a variety of reasons, including concerns expressed by animal rights activists, schools have shifted away from actual animals to students dressing up like animals, as you’ll see later on in this post. 

“Buc” is described here as East Carolina University’s first mascot. From the 1959 Buccaneer yearbook.

Characters

While about half of the four-year college mascots in North Carolina are animals, most of the others are characters that are historic, mythical, or extraordinary in nature. From what I’ve seen in NC yearbooks, humans dressing up as the school mascot really got traction in the 1960s. Initially, these costumes weren’t the fuzzy creations we think of today, but rather less complicated ensembles where the mascot’s identity (his or her face and body) was often apparent. Yosef the Mountaineer, beloved icon of Appalachian State University, was created sometime around 1942 and looked like this in the 1960s:

Yosef the Mountaineer, aka James Randle Tedder (we think). From the 1969 Rhododendron yearbook, Appalachian State University.

One of my favorites has to be this picture of Duke Blue Devil, from 1950:

The Blue Devil. From the 1950 Chanticleer yearbook, Duke University.

Perhaps it was too hard to maintain a degree of consistency as students graduated over the years, and mascot anonymity seemed like a better idea. Whatever the reason, you start to see fuzzy, oversized costumes with gigantic headpieces in the late 1970s.

The Big Costumes

Whether animal or character, plush mascots that include a single piece body suit with a large plastic or cloth-covered head is something most Americans can identify with, thanks to professional sports. Colleges in North Carolina really embraced these costumes through the 1980s. Here’s what the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk looked like in 1987:

The Seahawk. From the 1987 Fledgling yearbook, UNC-Wilmington.

Some schools have developed multiple mascots dedicated to different audiences. It seems like the difficulty with these types of costumes is how to pull off a fierce facial expression that doesn’t come off as goofy or too scary for children. I think this picture from Davidson College sums it all up:

The Davidson Wildcat and … friends. From the 1983 Quips and Cranks yearbook.

I will also take this opportunity to mention a mascot that routinely makes the “wait … what?” list – the Campbell University Fighting Camels:

The Campbell Camel. From the 1983 Pine Burr yearbook.

Even the humans and human-like creatures are clothed in oversized costumes these days. Wake Forest University’s Deacon is a dapper chap:

Wake Forest’s Deacon poses with fans. From the 1985 Howler yearbook.

In addition to the Demon Deacons and the Blue Devils, North Carolina boasts a number of  other spiritual mascots: North Carolina Wesleyan’s Battling Bishops, Belmont Abbey’s Crusaders, and Guilford College’s Quakers. Meredith College’s teams are known as the Avenging Angels (formerly just the Angels). While Elon University’s mascot is now the Phoenix, before 2000 they were the Fighting Christians:

The Elon Fighting Christian mascot with cheerleaders. From the 1986 Phi Psi Cli yearbook.

Two schools break with the animal/human tradition in North Carolina. The Brevard College Tornadoes and the Louisburg College Hurricanes. Weather phenomena mascots are always difficult to pull off. I couldn’t find one for Brevard, but Louisburg, which currently has a bird mascot, had “Louie” up until 2006:

Louie, the former Louisburg College Hurricanes mascot. From the 1996 The Oak yearbook.

Who knows when the next mascot sea change will happen. Below is a list of mascots in North Carolina; let us know if we got anything wrong. Which one is your favorite?

School Mascot Notes
Appalachian State University Yosef the Mountaineer First appeared in the yearbook in 1942
Barton College Bulldog  
Belmont Abbey College Crusader  
Bennett College   Known as the Bennett Belles
Brevard College Tornado  
Campbell University Fighting Camels The Hornets in the 1920s-1930s
Catawba College Catawba Indian  
Chowan University Hawks The Braves until 2006
Davidson College Wildcats Also a bulldog (1929) and a bobcat (1939)
Duke University Blue Devil  
East Carolina University Pirates Formerly Pee Dee the Pirate
Elizabeth City State University Vikings  
Elon University Phoenix The Fightin’ Christians until 2000
Fayetteville State University Broncos  
Gardner-Webb University Runnin’ Bulldogs  
Greensboro College The Pride Formerly the Hornets
Guilford College Quakers  
High Point University Panthers  
Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls  
Lees-McRae College Wily the Bobcat  
Lenoir-Rhyne University Joe and Josie Bear  
Louisburg College Hurricanes  
Mars Hill College Mountain Lion  
Meredith College Avenging Angels Formerly the Angels
Methodist University Eagles  
Montreat College Cavaliers  
Mount Olive College Trojans  
North Carolina A&T Aggie Dog (Bulldog)  
North Carolina Central University Eagles  
North Carolina State University Wolfpack  
North Carolina Wesleyan College Battling Bishops Formerly the Circuit Riders
Peace College Pacer  
Pfeiffer University Falcons  
Queens University of Charlotte Rex the Royal  
Saint Augustine’s University Mighty Falcons  
Salem College Spirits  
Shaw University Bears  
St. Andrews University Knights  
UNC Asheville Bulldog  
UNC Chapel Hill Rameses the Ram Also known as the Tar Heels
UNC Charlotte Norm the Niner  
UNC Greensboro Spartans  
UNC Pembroke Braves  
UNC Wilmington Seahawk  
UNC School of the Arts Fighting Pickle  
UNC School of Science and Math Unicorn  
Wake Forest University Demon Deacons  
Warren Wilson College Owls  
Western Carolina University Catamount “Paws”
Wingate University Bulldog  
Winston-Salem State University Ram  

May Queen Fashion 1920s-1990s

We wrote about May Queens a couple of years ago, but can’t help showcasing them again. This time, we’re bringing you a gown per decade from North Carolina’s High Schools, Colleges, and Universities. (We picked 2 from the 1990s because we just couldn’t decide.)

Photo of Maude McCracken, May Queen in 1926

Maude McCracken, May Queen in 1926

 The Messenger Yearbook, 1926 (courtesy Durham Public Library)

The Lotus Yearbook, 1938 (courtesy William Peace University)

The Anchor Yearbook, 1948 (courtesy Gardner-Webb University)

B-Somebody Yearbook, 1958 (courtesy Edgecombe County Memorial Library)

The Zenith Yearbook, 1964 (courtesy High Point University)

The Golden Bull Yearbook, 1972 (courtesy Johnson C. Smith University)

The Circle Yearbook, 1986 (courtesy Mitchell Community College)

Arete Yearbook, 1990 (courtesy Queens University of Charlotte)

The Gate Yearbook, 1991 (courtesy Wingate University)


The Foothills View, a Boiling Springs community paper, now online

You can now learn lots of intimate details about the lives of those in the Boiling Springs area in the early 1980s in The Foothills View, a community newspaper digitized by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, courtesy of our partner Gardner Webb University.  Issues from the 1981 to 1984 are now online.  The paper, which was published weekly, included national and local news sections, as well as detailed community comings and goings for each of the local communities around Boiling Springs, such as Lavonia, Trinity, and Mt. Pleasant.

A tongue in cheek look at some of the letters to the editor The Foothills View got in their mailbag.

A tongue in cheek look at some of the letters to the editor The Foothills View got in their mailbag.

News about Earl Scruggs, a Boiling Springs native, visiting home in 1984

News about Earl Scruggs, a Boiling Springs native, visiting home in 1984

News out of Mt. Pleasant on March 19, 1981

News out of Mt. Pleasant on March 19, 1981

To view more materials from our partner, Gardner Webb University, visit their partner page here.  And to view more newspapers from across North Carolina, visit our North Carolina Newspapers Collection.


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This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.

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