Campus News

Campus News

2020 CADENZA SPECIAL EDITION

Our Voice Matters

The MHU Cadenza Arts and Literature Magazine is excited to announce the publication of a special edition titled “Our Voice Matters,” a collection of works of art and creative writing by Mars Hill College/University students of color dating back to the 1970s, plus several pieces by staff and faculty. All together, it provides a beautiful and eye-opening glimpse of the experiences, dreams, pain, and passion of our students. To explore the magazine, go to: www.mhu.edu/cadenza OUR VOICE MATTERS

A Blast from the Past ... in Living Color

MAY DAY, 1951

Remembering a tradition from the past, the crowning of the May King and Queen. The 1951 court royalty at Mars Hill College were: queen: Carolyn Getzman (Jordan) ’51; king, Bob Melvin ’51 (who was later a beloved chaplain and professor); maid of honor, Dorothy Rose Morgan (Wood) ’51; crown bearer, Eric Blackwell ’68 (son of President and Mrs. Hoyt Blackwell); ladies of the court: Peggy Stahl (Glenn) ’51, Ramona Allen (Womack) ’51, Peggy Savage (Reavis) ’52, Joan Schwab (Hanley) ’52, Betty Shoaf (Privette) ’51, Mary Ann Jones (Riddle) ’52, Judy Henderson (Lasater) ’51, Gaynelle Chandler (Aldridge) ’52, Louise Norwood (Thomas) ’51, and Sarah Thomas (Coppedge) ’52. (This photo appears in the 1952 Laurel. It was enhanced for clarity and colorized by Wes Heath of Mars Hill.)

Birthday Parades for Drs. Hart and Jolley Creative Pandemic Celebrations

As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down almost all in-person contact across the state and nation, two of Mars Hill University’s iconic professors had significant birthdays, prompting the university to find a creative way to celebrate. The university hosted birthday “parades” for Dr. Virginia Hart, professor emeritus of physical education, who turned 97 on May 15, and for Dr. Harley Jolley, professor emeritus of history, who celebrated his 100th birthday on July 5. In both cases, faculty, staff, alumni, and local residents of Mars Hill inched down College Street for the opportunity to spend a few minutes speaking with the birthday celebrants, often expressing their well wishes and gratitude. Both of these well-loved professors have lived storied lives of influence and contribution, and they have been teachers and mentors to countless colleagues and students: Dr. Virginia Hart ’43 taught physical education for 40 years at MHU, in addition to coaching both men’s and women’s tennis and basketball. She is credited with founding the women’s athletic program, beginning with the university’s first extramural basketball club for women in 1964, and she was in the first group of people inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1987. She also planned the institution’s annual May Day celebration for many years. Hart retired the first time in 1983, but returned to work in 1999, this time in the cafeteria, where she became known to a new generation of students as “the omelet lady.” She retired for the second time four years ago, at age 93. She received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2018. Dr. Harley Jolley taught history at MHU for over 40 years. He is also a veteran of World War II and a Pearl Harbor survivor. In addition to his teaching career, he spent 25 years as a seasonal ranger with the interpretive division of the U.S. Park Service, on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He has authored eleven books and publications, most of which chronicle the history of the Parkway, and one of which explores the Civilian Conservation Corps, in which he served as a young man in the 1930s. He has given numerous interviews as an an expert on both the Parkway and the CCC program, and about his experiences at Pearl Harbor. He received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2008. Mayor John Chandler presented Jolley with the key to Mars Hill, and issued a proclamation naming July 5 as “Harley Jolley Day” in the town.