Bluford Library Archives: A 1920s Aggie Christmas Story
Some of the best Christmas stories are the ones that take people back in time. Many holiday stories about Aggieland from long ago can be found in historically black newspapers. These publications would have a column called “Notes From the A. and T. College,” or simply “Greensboro, N.C.” Securing information from these clippings, we can weave together a tale from a century ago of an A&T student who could not go home for Christmas. While reading this article just imagine yourself as that student.
It is December 23, 1924, the last day before the Christmas break, and it is mid-way through the “winter semester.” Many of your classmates have left to be with family. Even though you cannot go home for Christmas this year, you are far from alone. Many of your friends are still in their rooms at the North Dormitory, South Dormitory (Old Vanstory Hall), and Morrison Hall. Many of the A&T faculty and staff live just across from the campus on Dudley Street, and old Lindsay Street (now Bluford Street). As you walk around campus you can see Christmas trees from the dorm windows.
Other than Christmas, the big news on campus is that A&T is now a member of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association (C. I. A. A.). When you see Coach L. P. Byarm ‘1911, you give him your congratulations and expect wonderful things to come from our sports teams.
Before you can blink it is Christmas Eve, and the news has gone out that there is a surprise for you and the other students. President Dudley has given a Christmas tree and several gifts to all who are on campus. Giving out these “very valuable presents” has been a tradition from President Dudley for several years.
On Christmas Day, you cannot wait for the big dinner being held on campus for faculty and students. The 1924 dinner was special for two reasons – it would be in the new Walter Pete Murphy Dining Hall which had formally opened just a month earlier. Second, and unknown to anyone at the time, it would be President Dudley’s last Christmas. He would pass away at the age of 65 the following April and his body would lie in state in Murphy Hall. Following this dinner, a special address was given on the meaning of Christmas by your math teacher, Professor D. K. Cherry.
Pretty soon it is New Year’s Eve, and you do not want to miss “An Evening with the Poets and Artists.” You hurry over to the Agricultural Building (now Noble Hall) and get a good seat in the auditorium. This is a program put together by ladies of the faculty and wives of faculty and staff members. Among these women were Mrs. Susie B. Dudley lyricist, drama teacher and First Lady of A&T, Irene Cherry wife of Prof. Cherry, Martha J. O. Sebastian, Head Librarian of the Carnegie Negro Library and wife of Dr. S. P. Sebastian, and Anna Campbell the campus matron and wife of Lt. Robert Lee Campbell (Campbell Hall). The program is wonderful, and the auditorium is full of applause. Afterward, you ask Mrs. Dudley where did she learn Greek and assure Mrs. Sebastian that you will return your books on time.
January 1 is “Emancipation Day” for the Black community of Greensboro. Through all the slush and snow you go downtown to the Guilford County Courthouse. Over 500 people will be attending the annual program, so you want to get a good seat. You marvel at all the beautiful hymns and spirituals sung by the Bennett College Choir, the A&T College Glee Club, and the A&T College Quartet. Rev. J. J. Carlette pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro is the master of ceremonies. Prof. Cherry introduces the guest speaker, E. L. Nickle of Durham, N.C.
You want to enjoy all the Emancipation Day festivities, but you told a friend that you would help them decorate Murphy Hall for the Klodd Hopper. You leave the program early and head back to campus. The Klodd Hopper was A&T’s oldest festival and was celebrated close to, or on New Year’s Day. When you get back to Murphy, you get on a ladder and help put up some of the decorations and farm scenery. Like any other great Aggie time, you can smell the great food cooking and cannot wait for the event to start. Pretty soon the campus is full of visitors from all over the state including alumni.
After so much fun in just one week, you feel relaxed and energized for 1925. As soon as your friends who went away come back to campus, you will tell them that they should stick around in Greensboro next year. You are now halfway into the 1920s, and with so much teaching, inspiration, kindness, and guidance from Aggieland and the Greensboro community, you believe that anything is possible.
All the information from these stories come from December 1924 – February 1925 accounts from the “New York Age,” the “Greensboro Daily News”, and the “Baltimore Afro-American”, and the book “Great Recollections From Aggieland” by Dr. Albert W. Spruill. For more information about this story, or any topic in A&T History, please contact the F. D. Bluford Library Archives and Special Collections at libraryarchives@ncat.edu. To begin researching A&T history from your device, visit our home page or our new Archives and Special Collections LibGuide.
