5 minute read
Preserving the Mars Hill Story
C. Robert Jones interviews former First Lady Doris Bentley.
Frances Snelson used to tell wonderful stories about “the good old days” at Mars Hill College. Whenever I visited her after she retired in the 1990s, I knew I’d get an afternoon of delightful memories told with zest. She was a “walking encyclopedia” of MHU’s history, having worked 49 years as assistant to Presidents Robert Lee Moore, Hoyt Blackwell, and Fred Bentley. I often wished I’d brought a video camera with me to record those visits. And indeed, that was borne out when the university celebrated its Sesquicentennial in 2006-2007. Shortly after all the Sesquicentennial celebrations were over, then-President Dan Lunsford, called a meeting of those who had been a part of the planning, to make recommendations for those who would plan the next major MHU celebration in 2056, the 200th anniversary. A high priority in those discussions was deciding the best ways to be preserving the university’s history. Remembering Frances, I suggested an ongoing series of video-taped interviews, thus chronicling history by seeing and hearing it from
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The Memories Collection
by C. Robert Jones Professor Emeritus of Theatre
those who had lived it. As often happens in such cases when no one volunteers, I realized I’d talked myself into a new project. Kristie Hollifield, who is now manager of media and print services, has acted as videographer, editor, and preparer of the finished interviews in DVD format. In the 13 years Kristie and I have been working on this endeavor, we’ve completed 100 interviews—involving 119 interviewees and 20 different interviewers. If the DVDs were played end to end, it would take the better part of a week to see them all. Kristie and I have worked in many different locations. I particularly remember the poignancy of the interview Director of Publications Teresa Buckner did with MHU’s first black student, Oralene Graves Simmons. They were seated on a bench at the lovely hillside location of the memorial to her great grandfather, Joe Anderson, the slave who had been taken as collateral when the university could not pay its bills in its early history. Another memorable interview was the one done by alumnus Wayne King ’79 of his mentor Betty Hughes, the much-admired English professor. It
was conducted in the cozy den of her home in Weaverville shortly before she died. I felt the interviews, assembled together, should feel like a living tapestry with all the aspects of university life woven into one giant tableau vivant. I wanted the “personal” as well as the “historical.” The interviewees have included professors, secretaries, coaches, artists and performers, the registrar, board chairpersons, architects for campus buildings, the alumni director, etc. Also included are in-depth interviews with all the deans, vice presidents, and provosts 1980-2020: Drs. Don Schmeltekopf, Earl Leininger, Robert Knott, Nina Pollard, John Wells, and John Omachonu. Throughout the series, I’ve tried to match interviewees with interviewers who knew them best. Especially effective in that regard was Professor Robert Melvin’s insightful interview with his long-time friends, President A. Max Lennon and his wife, Ruth. I interviewed Dr. Lunsford four times during the period between 2008 and 2018. His 16-year term in office, in his own voice, is the most welldocumented of all MHU presidents so far. His retirement interview, the longest in the series, is a thoughtful take on his presidency. One gets to know the Lunsford era as well as Dr. Lunsford, himself. People are always asking me which of the interviews I like best. That’s like asking which is your favorite child. The interviews with some of the now-deceased MHU “giants” are especially memorable: Professor of Mathematics Emmett Sams (by his fellow professor, Susan Kiser); local physician Otis Duck, who worked in the MHU infirmary (by nurse Ellen Coomer); Professor of English Noel Kinnamon (by his fellow professor, Carol Boggess); Professor of Sociology Don Anderson (by history consultant Richard Dillingham); and Robert and Rachel Chapman, who served as registrar and business professors, (a joint interview I did.) Sessions with MHU first ladies Doris Bentley and Beverly Lunsford were delightful, especially Doris’s remembrances of Dr. Bentley carving the front doors of the chapel and getting dust all over the president’s house, and Beverly’s trying to explain “shabby chic” to a delivery man who thought the kitchen chairs had been damaged during the time she was turning the Carter-Humphrey House into a campus guest house.
C. Robert Jones, and Kristie Hollifield, who served as videographer and editor for the Memories Collection DVDs.
Two of the funniest interviews were those involving first female board chair, JoAnne Alexander, and MHU education department founder John Hough. JoAnne interviewed Coach Virginia Hart, her mentor and former teacher, who, thinking it was an audio interview, arrived wearing a t-shirt that said, “GO, CLEMSON!” No problem. She just held up her arms and JoAnne turned the t-shirt front to back. In my interview with John, we get, on tape, the hilarious and oft-told story of the time Miss Snelson sent him and Vice President Richard L. Hoffman to represent MHU at the wrong funeral. Jim Thomas’s, Earl Leininger’s, and Bill Gregg’s recollections of the founding of the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre are noteworthy. In her interview, ballad singer, folklorist, and honorary degree recipient, Betty Smith, stands by the beautiful wall hangings Dr. Bentley commissioned her to weave for Broyhill Chapel, and explains their meaning and how they were woven. And “Herr” Robert Kramer, who taught German for over 40 years, and chaired the Visiting Artists and Lecturers Committee for 30 years, describes his favorite performance. The Memories Collection morphed into an undertaking that has exceeded my fondest hopes. Who knew? The 150-plus folks who have helped by their gracious participation have made it a joyous adventure.
