Bettis Academy celebrates the fourth : [1943].

ArchivalResource

Woodson, Hortense. Bettis Academy celebrates the fourth : [1943].

Bettis Academy celebrates the fourth : [1943].

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51995547

Account of Independence Day celebrations, 4 July [1943] at Bettis Academy, which often attracted ca. 10,000 African-American residents of the area; apparently this essay is the typescript for a newspaper article written by Hortense Woodson of Edgefield, S.C., whose name is written on the last page. Essay discusses hosts President and Mrs. Alfred W. Nicholson; food prepared by Georgianne White that included barbequed goats, hogs, and chickens; entertainment that included a precision formation step show performed to drumming, which the author described as a combination of "African tribal dance, the old-fashioned square dances of the South, and the drills of military companies." Other topics noted include the school's current enrollment of 500, with 300 students boarding on campus, 30 faculty members, and impact of the war, including mention of Victory Gardens, canning projects, and Red Cross work. Woodson discusses President Nicholdson's 1913 book about the school's founder, the Rev. Alexander Bettis (1836-1895), and a meeting between Nicholson and Sen. Ben Tillman; at Nicholson's request, Tillman wrote a few lines about Bettis' contributions in a letter dated 10 July 1913, the text of which appears in this essay. Includes two photographs, "Senior Class, Bettis Academy, 1940; photo by W.D. Crouch, Batesburg, S.C.," exterior view of graduates in cap and gown in front of building; and interior view of elementary and secondary students studying in library, "Interior view of the Faith Cabin Library, one of the group of libraries originated by the Rev. Willie Lee Buffington, the young white preacher ..." This folder also included a blank form from the school's Boarding Department listing entrance fees for high school and college students, board for $8.00 per month, or if parents could not afford the boarding fee, listing the equivalent amount of provisions which the parents could provide instead.

1 boarding student card.

University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries