Methodist University - Restore the Classics

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Methodist University-Restore the Classics

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From: Anne Watson Bowen, Class of 1967: We were the first class to live in Garber Hall. It was beautiful and new. We had a wonderful housemother who turned her head a lot and was there just for us. Our second mother, Ruby, was the custodian. She was a big heavy woman and you could hear her coming up the stairs fussing about rooms. Everyone loved Ruby no matter how much she fussed. She checked your room every morning and if it wasn’t clean or your bed wasn’t made, you got demerits. If you got enough demerits, you had room confinement. That’s why people snuck out.
The first floor was full and the second floor was only 2/3 full. We were like a sorority on the second floor. It was so far from the cafeteria. There were no TVs unless you were wealthy and only one fridge in the dorm (that girl was wealthy). In the winter, we put our drinks outside on the window ledge to keep them cold. There were no phones, only one pay phone for the hall, and if you wanted to do research you had to go all the way to the library where you had to hand copy notes (there were no copy machines for students) then come back and put your notes together and type a rough draft and then a final draft on your typewriter. Men were not allowed in the dorm except for move in day. They had to come to the desk in the lobby and call you down. I met my husband in college and he only saw my dorm when moving me in. We had an actual staff hired to cook our meals and the food was so good that people would come from Hay Street United Methodist after church for lunch on Sundays. During summer school, they made our food to order. On Saturdays we went into town for shopping or to Gladys’, the local drive in which was also the first beer whole, and hang out. The Officer’s Club would come to Methodist looking for dates for their officer’s who had come back from Vietnam.
I believe that because of Methodist’s liberal arts education, I got the best start in life I could’ve had because I was exposed to so much and I’m proud that Methodist has found its niche. Garber was really a wonderful home.

From: Edward Dunn, Class of 1969: When I was a Junior in 1968 living on the second floor, north end of Cumberland Hall, I decided to pull a practical joke on Randy Barnes, a Senior at the time. Randy had gone away for the weekend and for some reason his room was left unlocked. I had noticed a large pile of discarded newspapers stacked on the first floor and thought about loosely balling up sheets of the newspapers and filling his room from ceiling to floor. When he opened the door he would face a wall of newspapers and a room stuffed with them. I, and some of my accomplices: Terry Boose, David Bouteiller, David Hatchell, Malvern Barrow and others had the job done in no time. When Randy got back, he was tired and not in the best of moods...so, he didn't think it was as funny as we did. It took us about 5 minutes to clear the room...then he thought it was funny!! Mr. Bruce Pulliam, our faculty resident, was not happy when he heard about it the next day. I thought it was funny, and still do!!

From: Dale Marshall, Jr., Class of 1967: When I was about a junior in college, I had a Triumph motorcycle. I took it up in my dorm room, took it apart, gave it a new paint job, and put it back together. And then I laid black marks up and down the hall with it. I’m not sure if that was the year I was president of the dorm or before. I think before.
We lived in Cumberland, on the 3rd floor for the last 2 years I was in school. There was a little guy, Johnny Parker, who we called Snake Man. He actually went out at night and would go into the swamp and catch poisonous snakes by hand. He had a cigar box with 15-20 queen snakes and one night someone convinced him to give everyone a queen snake up under their doors.
When they were building Sanford, we went over and got a new sheet of plywood and took it up on the third floor and put it in the door of the shower, put towels around it to stop up the drain and created us a swimming pool. I’ll never forget when the night watchmen found it. “This is not right, this is not right!” he said and he pushed it in and the water rushed out of room into the hallway. It was 3 inches deep in the halls and ran down the stairs. On the third floor, there was about 1 inch of water in each room. It was amazing that no one got caught. I always said that I got more education the dorm as to how to live than in the classroom.

From: Betty Neill Guy Parsons, Class of 1964: Dr. Terry Sanford participated in our first Baccalaureate and Graduation. He went to sleep on the podium while Bishop Garber spoke. We all smiled, but in those days couldn't respectfully be seen laughing. :-)

From: Terrianne Alexander, Class of 1970: Grady Alexander went up to the bell tower and put Christmas carols on. He didn’t get caught until the Christmas carols began to repeat and Grady returned to the tower to see what the problem was. He was put on social probation. He was confined to his dorm room except to go to his classes, and he didn’t get to go to a concert he’d planned to go to.
     Back then there wasn’t much to do on weekends, so many students would park and make out in the field known as “the airport,” across the street from the college. One time Grady and Terri backed in to “the airport,” and they saw a car pull in. Terri thought the car might hit them, so she laid on the horn. The person in the car turned out to be the sheriff. They didn’t get in trouble, but it is a funny memory.
     Pope Air Force Base used the Methodist College bell tower to guide their planes in. One day Terri was in her dorm room on the third floor of Garber Hall, and she saw an airplane flying right above another dorm building. The plane was flying so low that Terri could see the pilot.
     Terri recalls panty raids, sledding down hills using trays stolen from the cafeteria, going to Gladys’s down the street, and cutting Grady’s hair in the car to save money.

From: Lynn Gruber Clark, Class of 1972: I remember…Fire drills on the coldest, rainiest nights and running across to Garber Hall for roll call…When the Chorus went on tour and a V.W. blocked our bus in New York City. Our guys got out of the bus, picked the V.W. up and put it on the sidewalk….Cutting each others’ hair to save money and because there were not any beauty shops (or much of anything else) nearby and very few people had cars…Jan Marcy Rhue getting this homesick freshman through the first two weeks at MC…Dean Dent dressed as Santa…Cantique de Jean Racine…Forgetting to remove my Beanie at the Lobster House…Baby sitting Greg and David Porter…Sweet potato pie in the cafeteria on Sundays…Jim Wolffbrandt singing “Alice’s Restaurant”…Jim Poole singing in pageants and shows…Bruce Pulliam as Bunnlevel’s one-man chamber of commerce…Barney Vincelette’s vest and radio station…The MacDonald murders and being warned that night to “watch out for drug-crazed hippies”…Choir rehearsals at Hay Street Methodist Church…The Capitol, Tweeds and Things, Miss Vogue, and other downtown stores…Oh, yes, ask Larry Lugar and Alan and Elaine Porter about Vander Light and a telephone call.

From: Marie B. Conner, Class of 1978: I lived in Weaver Dorm for four and 1/2 semesters. Also, I love my years at Methodist. I was encouraged to be a student there by Bill Lowdermilk and Hilda Jones who was my dorm mother. I was very active in the music program and traveled a great deal with the choir with Alan Porter. My dorm memories are the Christmas gathering we would have around the Christmas tree and playing Secret Santas during that week. Talking into all hours of the night, Christian fellowship in and out of the dorm, the friendships that are still strong today, and my education that opened such a beautiful appreciation for all things. Methodist is a special place and home away from home. Thanks for the memories.

From: Linda Hall, Class of 1971: I made many lasting friendships. I remember arriving on campus in 1967 with my entire family pulling a U-Haul. The picture made the college paper. I also remember waiting for a call my Junior year that my baby sister had been born. Yes, I could have been her mother! I remember roll call at chapel, no men in the halls, 10:00 curfew, dress code, no stores or anything out that way, learning to play Bridge, all nighters, and dinners at The Lobster House with the Weaver Girls of second floor for birthdays, student teaching, and the long walk from the dorm to the classroom buildings. I can't believe the growth the college has seen over the years and each year that I attend the UMW Annual Conference I am excited for the college that the growth is continuing.

From: Yvonne Walker McDowell, Class of 77: In October of 1976, there was a gospel sing at the College. There was a sign outside the College that said “Gospel Sing Here Tonight.” It was left out there for a while and I got the bright idea since I had Mrs. Porter for French and the other two had Mr. Porter for chorus to take the sign and put it in their front yard. There were 4 people including myself, Ruth Davis, Marie Beane, and another person. We went in broad daylight, loaded the sign into my car, and set it up in their front yard. Why neither one of them saw it, I have no idea. But it was Halloween and a little girl came up and asked “Is there a gospel sing here tonight?” instead of “Trick or Treat.” The next day in chorus, Mr. Porter was livid asking who put that sign in his yard. Of course the other two knew nothing about it and I was not in his class so I could have all sorts of fun. Marie, Ruth and I just thought that after 31 years, Mr. Porter needed to know who put that sign in his front yard.

From: The Rev. Dr. Michael Safley, Class of 1972: I lived in room 112 of Sanford Hall all of my four years at Methodist, which was my favorite place on campus. Many of my friends gathered there after class. The funniest thing I remember was watching men slide down the first floor of Sanford on their behind and landing in the lobby. The food was excellent. Dr. Plyler was my favorite instructor because he challenged my way of thinking. Dean Arnold Pope tried to provide as much discipline as possible. He nurtured and disciplined. My time at Methodist was a positive, life-changing experience.

From: The Rev. Dr. Dennis Sheppard, Class of 1977: It was a cold night in January, everything was frozen. My roommate and I woke up early and heard something in the hall, so we went out to check on it. Someone had plugged the water fountain on the first floor of Cumberland and it had flowed into the lobby. The RA was trying to mop it up with a frozen mop singing "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden"!

From: Steve Thompson, Class of 70: I was a lowly freshman in 1966, had but a few friends yet, and lived on the 3rd floor of Sanford Dormitory with a pre-ministerial roommate, also a newcomer to the campus. One night I took down a set of drums stored in a the room closet, and decided to do a 10 minute drum solo at 2 AM.
I locked the door and by the time I had finished the solo, the dorm captain, hall monitors, and house mother were all screaming outside my door. Throughout the dormitory you could hear a chorus of riotous laughter, some clapping, and many insults (which I can not here repeat). My roommate was lying in his bed with his hands over his ears praying aloud (I do not know if that was for his survival or mine).
They took away my sticks, but never really did anything else but dare me to do it again. It was a pretty good solo as they go, and as a freelance musician before coming to Methodist, it was time to nourish the desire to hit the skins. Two years later I played drums at the Miss Boiler Plant Pageant which goes to show all is well that ends well!

From: Capt. Richard A. Briggs, Jr., Class of 1987:I have great memories of Methodist College, my fellow classmates Cu Phung '87, Damian Ikeya '89 (Prince of Palau) and I were fraternity brothers (Lambda Chi Alpha ) and a very tight knit group. Dr. Lowdermilk was a favorite of ours and we adopted him into our fraternity.
I paid extra so I could have my own room in the Sanford dorm. I pushed both beds together to create a King size bed in the middle of my room and suspended a parachute canopy from the center of my ceiling. It looked like a big circus tent when you entered my room.
Dr. Hendricks became President of Methodist College when I was going to school and I drove him and his family around the track in a convertible car to celebrate his appointment to office. I took a shine to his daughter Leslie, and she and I dated for about a year when I was here.

From: Debbie Cribb Owens, Class of 1984: Dr. Margaret Folsom's prairie chicken imitation...Laughing myself hoarse at the annual Ms. Monarch pageant...Singing in the chapel choir on Sunday mornings...The Moravian Love Feat..."Man on the hall!"...Benzene rings in Organic Chemistry. With that hexagonal shape all over campus, how could I forget?...Watching Homecoming games--on the soccer field...Cheap pizza runs...Taco Tuesday...Koinonia get-togethers...Watching low-flying planes go past the windows of the student union...Sunbathing with the other Garber girls on the back patio...The height of the preppy era, and the discovery that pink and kelly green were considered to be compatible with each other...The amazing transformation of the campus after it had been toilet papered...The Mata Hari pinball machine in the student union snack bar. One quarter in the morning, and we could play that thing all day long!...Too many more to list here, but how they make me smile!

From: Anonymous, Class of 1997: Some of my favorite memories was spending nights on the third floor of Sanford having putting contests all the way down the hallway. And some of the funniest was hitting 1-Irons down the hallway at the exit signs - having them ricochet and end up in someone’s room.

From: Herman F. Dixon III, Class of 1997: I was a freshman in August 1993 starting my first collegiate football practice. As expected, I had anxieties as it was my first time away from home and I was new to the Fayetteville Area. But it was here in the MC experience where I met true dear friends, alumni, and professors whom I'm fortunate and blessed to continue to be involved with. The late Chris Ryan set up my dorm accommodations.
The heart of the matter is there was a comforting closeness as if we were all family. We all made huge steps together as a college community and I'm proud of what Methodist University stands for and where it strives to be.

From: Nick Whited, Class of 2000: I was an RA in the Sanford Hall from 1998 until graduating in May 2000. One particular night will go down in history as the wildest night that poor dorm ever experienced. It was 9/9/99. The dorm was in full swing as was my job of being an RA. Every time I would go into the bathroom near my room, someone had drawn another tacky masterpiece on the wall. This had been going on all day. It became apparent that someone was going to get into big trouble for this ordeal. The final straw was someone drew pictures of me and the janitors who took care of the dorm floor regularly. They took it the wrong way and President Hendricks and Dean Dowd came over to the dorm. Needless to say, we were all scared out of our minds that day as we didn't know who was comitting the drawings - turns out it was the 2nd floor. Those drawings will go down in my mind as the funniest thing I have ever seen and add to the memories of crazy things happening on the floor. 6 months later - the Fayetteville Police Dept was at the dorm - a fellow had left the during the fall semester and didn't come back for the spring semester. He left behind the Joe's Crab Shack captain in his 3rd floor room - all 700lbs of him!

From: Anonymous, Class of 2001: Some of the best memories I have of MC were all of the hours spent in the Student Union playing pool and making sure everyone there knew it was only business and nothing personal on the tables. The competition on those tables was fierce and no one wanted to lose. I remember alot of sad faces at the end of the games. My dynasty lasted for 4 years. LOL. On a serious note I met alot of good people at MC in my 4 years and stay in touch with many to this day. And Dr Sill was the best professor ever. Class of 2001

From: Taurean D. Johnson, Class of 2005: Well one thing that I remember the most from my time at Garber and Sanford was the time that everyone would come down stairs and play spades. At that time spades was more popular than some of the video games, because everyone had a partner that they had to play with and everyone felt that they were better than the next team. It was competition at its best, and the set up of the lobby facilitated any spades tourney that we wanted to put on. RA's didn't even have to get involved to make it a program, that was the student putting on events that the students enjoyed. There are so many other things that come to mind when I think about old MC. But this event is by far one of my fondest memories from my freshman and sophomore year.

From: Melinda Porter, Class of 2005: My four years at Methodist were spent living in the same room in Weaver Hall, and I definitely gained alot of wonderful and funny memories. I enjoyed going to FCA in the basement and meeting lots of people. One of the best times I ever spent in Weaver was during the holiday season of my freshman year (2001). The lobby was decorated in a "God Bless America" Christmas theme, which included: a large tree, American flags drapped over the windows, lots of lights, and a Santa doll sitting in a camping chair. It was one of the prettiest Christmas displays I have ever seen. We were having a competition with Garber to see who had the lobby with the best decorations, and even though Garber won, I still think that our lobby looked nicer.

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