By Valarie Schwartz, columnist
Some vibrancy may have faded, but the radiance of graduation day still shines on the faces of Carolina Living Legends. To qualify as a Carolina Living Legend, one must have graduated from UNC 50 or more years ago. Some 250 such folks gaily gathered Nov. 16 at the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center and spent the better part of a day together, once again learning in concert.
Clarence Whitefield, who has chaired the group for 14 years, led the program following a continental breakfast and social hour. He later told me that it began in 1987 as an offshoot of the Old Students’ Club.
“Each spring during commencement weekend, one activity is to induct the 50-year graduating class into the Old Students’ Club,†Whitefield said, “after which they are treated to a luncheon.â€
He further explained that L.C. Bruce of Raleigh and some of his contemporaries decided that the “old students†needed more. They’d come back for games and such, but felt disconnected from university life.
“There was certainly no way to get to meet the new chancellor, dean or coach; and no one to tell them what a new building was,†Whitefield said. “On a small scale, they started inviting people to come talk to them.â€
The idea grew, and the Office of University Development began to sponsor it, holding fall and spring events at the Friday Center. Virginia Powell (class of 1952) greeted me soon after my arrival. When asked what year her husband, esteemed North Carolina historian William Powell (who was schmoozing nearby), became a Carolina Living Legend, she quipped, “the minute Bill graduated in 1940!â€
Eleanor Morris, a Chapel Hill native (class of 1955), said she enjoys the events. “It gives us contact with the university. We hear wonderful speeches from coaches and the chancellor — Jack Evans is speaking today.â€
Evans presented an update on Carolina North at the end of a program that included other associates of the university: Barbara Fredrickson talking about her studies in positivity; Lisa Broome, a finance lawyer, speaking about the government’s response to the financial crisis; and Dr. Travis Meredith, an ophthalmologist who introduced the Kittner Eye Center. Following lunch, attendees were invited to a tour of the newly opened visitor education center at the N.C. Botanical Garden.
Geri Snider Laport of Fayetteville (class of 1955) was among the first women who lived on the UNC campus as freshmen, in the School of Nursing.
“There were only 27 women [in the nursing program] in 1951,†she said. “We lost 10 of them the first year. We had to work very hard. Of the 17 who were left, everybody finished.â€
At that time only women in nursing and pharmacy could live on campus.
“Their academic work was premed,†added her husband, Bob, whom she met when he came down visiting from New Jersey.
“We married five days after graduation, went on our honeymoon, and the next day I took the state boards,†Geri said. With Bob in the U.S. Air Force, she never had the opportunity to work at Memorial Hospital, but she enjoyed a long career until they returned to Chapel Hill in 1986, where they’ve lived since.
“Our class is still very, very close,†Geri said. “I always felt like I had a really wonderful education and always felt proud of my university.â€
Rollie Tillman (class of 1955), a UNC professor emeritus and former vice chancellor, followed a cousin to Carolina from Florida.
“I saw my first snowflake in Chapel Hill and before that I saw my first autumn leaf,†Tillman said. “By spring, I knew I’d probably never go back to live in Florida.
“[Carolina Living Legends] is a huge success,†Tillman said. “It brings people back and it runs on time. People really like that.â€
And with that, Clarence Whitefield ignited the auditorium microphone and the program began at exactly 10 a.m.
Contact Valarie Schwartz at 923-3746 or valariekays@mac.com