SPOTLIGHTOfficial publication of Oxford Orphanage/Masonic Home for Children at Oxford Alumni Association

TheSpring2013

A Message from Home

Administrator joins in festivities

Kevin Otis, MHCO Administrator

Our Journey Begins

TThe six months I have been at The Home has feltlike six years and the blink of an eye, dependenton the issues the day has brought. Your Home has

a very active schedule and an extremely dedicated,hardworking staff. While we have continued to witnessa revolving door of children and youth, at the time of thiswriting MHCO is The Home to fifty-two children. This

is the largest census in the past year. Weare extremely pleased to see the populationincrease so more children and youth canexperience the loving care and be taughtskills to prepare them for a more successfullife, similar to your experiences. Currentlywe have a shortage of houseparents. Wewould be able to consider more referrals if

we had an additional set of houseparents. If you know ofa couple you think would be appropriate, please encour-age them to contact Kristin Morris at 919-603-3905. Being the beginning of a new year, I believe it isappropriate to shed some light on the path we are prepar-ing to walk down together. Our immediate goal is toincrease the population and utilize the current, wonderfulresources available at The Home. In reaching this goal,the administrative team in conjunction the Board hasestablished a marketing plan to better inform the commu-nities regarding the availability of services at The Home.These marketing links will be crucial for announcingevents and needs, augmenting programs, and bringingthose in need to the various services and programs as theyare developed. The best marketing concept I believe isthe success of the children and youth currently placed atThe Home. Their successes in school, employment, andfamily show everyone the importance of the “family”associated with The Home and how children faced withchallenges, often out of their control, can overcome dueto the genuine care of others; whether houseparents, staff,Alumni, peers, Masons, donors, and their families.Together we provide an extended family that communi-cates a sense of care and belonging that is so crucial tothe development of children. The next phase of our plan involves the developmentof additional services and programs to enhance theexperience of current residents and provide variousprogram options for others. This year we will begin by

adding a Vocational Counselor mid-year. This role willhelp seek employment opportunities in the community.Connecting our youth with volunteer experiences will alsobe an option to give a sense of giving back and under-standing the responsibility associated with a work assign-ment. In addition, the Vocational Counselor will supportindependent living skill development associated withemployability skills, budgeting, and maintaining a posi-tive working relationship. Additional Life Skill prepara-tion will be incorporated using the Ansel-Casey Life SkillAssessment tool; development of an action plan based onthe assessment; and utilization of learning materialsprovided by the Casey Foundation. These resources areavailable at no cost due to the Casey Foundation andavailable to all organizations. The Vocational Counselorwill continue to cultivate employment opportunities andbe a liaison for youth to support continued employmentand recommend appropriate job assignments. We plan to expand the involvement of residents withinthe School of Graphic Arts and have made strides in thisarea already. The School of Graphic Arts and Print Shopare extraordinary assets, which have provided a keeneducation for Alumni to further their careers, openbusinesses, and succeed in printing and other ventures.We expect to develop additional vocational enterprisesover time to allow other opportunities for residents tolearn how to be successful employees. In discussing thebenefits of some of the ideas, Chairman Dan Rice helpedput significant perspective on our future plans. I wasenergized in thinking that some of our potential planswould be prudent for residents becoming successful inworking in similar occupations anywhere in the country.Chairman Rice clarified my perspective by suggesting,“What we want to do is teach the residents not only howto be good employees, but how to start their own similarbusiness in the future.” Certainly, we want our residentsto have the capacity to become pioneers and entrepreneursof businesses in their future and Dan’s frame isinstrumental in defining our curriculum and path as wedevelop.

Future program developments will begin with thecollaborative efforts of DSS, Granville Co. Schools,

See MESSAGE. Page 2

“ Thank you for walking alongside the children,families, staff and other stakeholders as we work

together to make The Home even more vibrant andavailable.” Kevin Otis, Administrator

The SPOTLIGHT2

Oxford Orphanage Alumni AssociationOfficers and Board of Directors (2012-2013)

Officers: President: Nina Gibson ‘61 Vice-President: Don Payne ‘65 Secretary: Charlene Johnson Matthews ‘72 Treasurer: Bob Critcher ‘65

Board of Directors: Mike Arrington David Bryant Sandra Clifton Brewer Nita Bunker* Amy Clark Carey Jeff Page Nancy Page Violet Davenport**

Eddie Dickerson*Angie Givens DobyBetty Sutton FlemingJimmy FlemingAllen Hughes*J.C. Knowles*Tommy WoodsTerri Lawson

Randy WilliamsClayton SuttonPaul TauschJim Rice*Ronnie StricklandFrances TauschTerry Mills GillilandGayle Payne Watson

*Past president**Lifetime member

The SPOTLIGHTThe SPOTLIGHT is a publication of the Oxford Orphanage/MHCO

Alumni Association and is published quarterly for its members, theirfamilies and all present and former staff members. The SPOTLIGHT is supported solely by contributions to the AlumniAssociation. The annual dues are $25.00 per year, payable to theOxford Orphanage Alumni Association and mailed to: Bob Critcher,Treas., 5639 Hebron Rd., Oxford, N.C. 27565 Please send all correspondence, photos, articles, comments andemails to: Bill Everett, Editor: 704 Oakland Ave., Rocky Mount, N.C.27804 or lenbill@yahoo.com

Cardinal Innovations Health Care Solutions, and MHCOas we plan to establish a Family Resource Center. Theservices will focus on community needs and the needs ofthe residents. Our goal is to incorporate programs andservices that can be utilized by families and childrenalready associated with The Home and extend theseservices into the community. Programs and services willlikely relate to individual, family and group counseling;school support systems and training for families; parent-ing education; and networking for additional services. Inextending program offerings, it is anticipated that MHCOwill become a more likely referral source for residents;deflect children from requiring residential services; andprovide support services for children and youth returninghome or transitioning to other living arrangements. While these are significant steps, they are only the firstin our journey. The Board of Directors has re-establisheda Vision Committee to explore possible options, developresources, and guide implementation and continual per-formance improvements for programming. Our path willnot lead full circle to where The Home once was, howeverkey elements such as vocational education and academicemphasis will be stressed. In addition, plans to provideresidential care for hundreds of children seem unlikely atthis point. I believe we will be able to work with manymore children, but the programs and services will likelyextend out to meet those in need. In addition I would like to say thank you to the AlumniAssociation for continuing to support the children throughsponsorship of Christmas gifts. The Christmas banquetis an incredible display of Holiday Spirit, generosity, andgratitude. I can clearly see the smiling faces of threechildren that evening, who normally don’t smile too often.Two were recent placements and they continue to adjustto life away from home. Your gift, your commitment,your prayers and words of encouragement make thedifference and help engage these children to be open tolife at The Home and to a future of Hope.

Thank you for walking alongside the children, families,staff and other stakeholders as we work together to makeThe Home even more vibrant and available.

MESSAGE from Page 1 Greeting Cards produced by studentsavailable from School of Graphic Arts

The Masonic Home has greeting cards for sale whichwere produced by the School of Graphic Arts oncampus. The cards project was the inspiration of Mr.Jack Bartle, a Mason of Wake Forest. Mr. Bartle fundedthe undertaking. The sentiments on the cards wereprovided by four of our children and reflect theirthoughts on what the Home has meant in their lives. Thecards sell for $20.00 for a box of 12 cards/envelopes.

All-PurposeGreeting Cards

Suitable forEvery occasion

Eddie Dickerson, ManagerSchool of Graphic Arts

Masonic Home for Children600 College StreetOxford, NC 27565

Late announcement that Rachel Hager Little, Classof ‘44 , died April 2012. Virginia Reynolds Bunn, 2012. Paul Tausch (petausch@gmail.com) will serve asguest editor of The Spotlight for the Summer issue. BillEverett (editor) and Lennie Everett will be in the processof relocating to a new home in rural Nash County.

BITS and PIECESDeceased 2013 Donnie Burnette, ‘70

The SPOTLIGHT 3

MEMORIES OF BABY COTTAGE TIMES “My memories of over 70 years agoare clearer than those of last month.”

Tommy L. Jones, Class of 1954

The War Years - 1941-1945hildren who lived at Oxford Orphanageduring the early 1940s have specialwartime memories. Later in life we wouldread and come to know the reasons forWorld War II. It officially began when

Germany invaded Poland September 1, 1939. TheUnited States entered after Japan bombed Pearl Harboron December 7, 1941. During these war years the orphanage would continueto be permanent and isolated, but the effect of thenational war footing was felt around the edges. In those days, graduation occurred after the 11th grade,yet many of the boys would leave school for somebranch of the armed services before graduation. Itbecame difficult to field a football team in the autumn

and a baseball team in the springbecause of the shortage of boys. Manyof the longtime employees left forother positions related to the war.Examples are Chandler Eakes, ScoutMaster and science teacher, who leftto enter the ship building industry inNorfolk and Mrs. Watson, the caseworker, who resigned and took a posi-

tion at Fort Bragg entertaining the troops. I have a copy of a letter from Mr. Proctor to Mrs.Watson thanking her for her dedicated service to theorphanage and wishing her Godspeed in her new work.Mr. Proctor was placed in a dilemma. He did not wantanyone to leave but his deep patriotism prevented himfrom encouraging anyone to stay. As young children,it was hard to understand why these employees, whoplayed such a vital part in our lives and still today loomin our memories, would not return when the war endednor be seen or heard from again. We felt, erroneously,that their years at Oxford were as important to them asthey were to us. Lee Potter, who graduated in 1943 related a story to

me. Although his training was in the shoeshop, Mr. Proctor persuaded Lee to care forthe 1B and 2B boys during the summer of1943. When he became an employee, Mr.Proctor treated him as if he were still astudent. Later in the fall when Lee decided

to leave for other work, Mr. Proctor said, “What do youthink I’m going to do?”

Blackouts, or practiced air raids began occurring ona regular basis in the early 1940s. At a certain hourduring the night all lights were turned off in the cottageson the campus. In total darkness, Miss Warwick, theBaby Cottage counselor, would walk around with aflashlight with the light covered with a blue cellophanepaper. We were supposed to be absolutely quiet. Onceshe caught me talking and for punishment I was madeto stand in the darkened playroombeneath the boy’s dormitory. For somereason I was not afraid. During theseblackouts, we could hear planesbuzzing in the sky. Occasionally duringthe day we would see a Piper Cub andsometimes a dirigible overhead. In conformity with war regulations,the large silver water tank, a giantfixture, that stood between the BabyCottage and kitchen was painted blackand remained black until the war endedand then it was repainted silver. Eachday during the summer months, on our way to and fromthe swimming pool we would stand under the watertank and try to catch the large condensation dropletswith our mouths. The drops would come into viewabout halfway down and we had to be very quickmoving our heads. Our eye-to-hand coordination wasdeveloped by catching falling leaves in the autumn. Our playground was on the kitchen side of the BabyCottage, behind 2-G. The famous Hollow Tree and theCrooked Slide were located there. The large oak treeswere on the outer edge of our playground. Some of ourhappiest times were attempting to catch falling leaves.Years later, our skills at catching a football and hittinga baseball was somewhat attributed to our catching ofthe leaves. Dances for the big boys and girls were held weeklyon the large lawn between the Baby Cottage and theIndustrial Building. The lawn had the shape of a largesquare. As small children we were put to bed at 7:30p.m. The dances occurred on the boy’s side of the BabyCottage and nothing could keep us from peeking out ofthe windows and watching. For some reason we werenever punished for this. Recorded ‘Big Band’ songswere played on the sound system. We looked forwardto the usual last song, the Beer Barrel Polka: “Roll outthe barrel, we’ll have a barrel of fun. Roll out the barrel,we’ve got the blues on the run.”

SEE BABY COTTAGE Page 4

The SPOTLIGHT4

On the back side was a fence where the orphanageproperty ended and the other side of the fence wasForest Avenue. There was a worn path on the orphanageside, between pecan trees, where the older girls of 2G,3G and 4G walked each morning and each afternoon.They would leave from the rear of their cottages, walkthe path to the Industrial Building, perform their dailychores of washing, mending and sewing and then walkback to the cottage. This routine occurred daily for themorning girls who were not in school and for theafternoon girls not in school. This worn path. was alsoused by the Varsity football players after footballpractice each afternoon. Their dressing quarters werein the basement of the Industrial Building and whenleaving to get to supper. they would walk the path, cutsharply in front of the skating rink and on to the diningroom. Every spring there were myriads of dandelions onthe lawn, forming a sea of yellow and in June there werewaves of June Bugs hovering above the yard.

Miniature Orphanage Portraits Charles Hunt was the first friend I had in Kindergar-ten. We called him “Dopey,” not because he was ineptin any way, but because he resembled the smallestdwarf in the newly released movie Snow White and theSeven Dwarfs. He was a favorite of Miss Livingston.Charles left the orphanage in 1940 and returned to hisnative Hickory. Thus began a long list of boys whowould come and go throughout my 15 years at Oxford.Hunt never made it to the first grade. On a cold, darkFebruary day in 1985, I made a trip to Hickory to speakto a Masonic Lodge. Having some spare time beforethe lodge gathering, I sat in the motel room, took thephone directory and called eight Charles Hunts. Nonewere the Charles Hunt I knew. In later years when MissLivingston asked, I told her I had not seen or heard fromCharles. It is true that many of the children whenleaving the orphanage, for any reason, rarely returnedto their original hometowns. Those who did return didnot tarry long.

A Strong Friendship Victor Radford was my best friend in the BabyCottage. Victor and his sisters, Pauline ‘Polly’ and IvaLeah came to the orphanage in 1941. He and I, with theencouragement of Miss Livingston planted a VictoryGarden next to the fence which was adjacent to ForestAvenue. Our garden was in front of the house with aweathervane on top that resembled a small bicycle. Theemblem remains atop the dwelling and I observe thevane whenever I visit the Cobb Center. Every day we

dug the grass out and watered the plants. We watchedthe vegetables sprout and grow until they were ripe forpicking. Miss Livingston told us to pull our first threeears of corn and shuck them and the children would havecorn on the table for dinner. Later I realized that our cornhad been supplemented by corn brought in from theorphanage farm. Victor and I would ‘hunt for junk’ on the groundsaround the cottage. We found pennies, coil springs, hairpins, safety pins, bolts, washers, keys and other odd anends. The ‘junk’ was easy to find when the grass wascut. Victor was always the leader and I was the follower.How we disposed of the ‘junk’ remains a mystery. There was a Jungle Gym in front of the Baby Cottage.Victor was more agile than me and could easily racearound the bars, but I often slipped and skinned my leg.He would laugh, but not in a vicious way. We both moved up to the Walker Building in June of1944. We continued to be friends, but our close relation-ship gradually diminished. Our interests were verydifferent. Mine were in sports and his were in mechanics.He later drove the farm tractor and the big truck. He alsopassed me by in the 6th grade. Under the shed of theMusic Room of the school building, Victor introduced

me to smoking. Regan caughtus smoking and whipped us inthe dark room in the basementof the school. Victor alsointroduced me to chewingtobacco. His favorite was

‘Days-o-Work.’ He instructed me to not to chewthe tobacco but let it rest in my cheek. Shortly afterwardI was on my back from the osmosis of the tobacco juice. In the late ‘40s and early 50s Victor became interestedin the new crystal radios. They came in kits and he easilyassembled one with an aerial circling the tree outside of3B. It looked like a spider’s web. At night, in bed, hewould listen to WCKY, Cincinnati. He liked SlimWhitman’s Indian Love Call. Victor played guard on the 1952 football team. ‘Gabe’Austell, our coach, caught him smoking and subjectedhim to the Firing Squad. Victor, standing alone, wastackled by each member of the team. We half-heartedlymade the tackles. ‘Gabe’ would, many years later, regretand apologize for these actions. I remember in the fallof 1953, Victor, came to Homecoming and anxiouslywatched us beat Roxboro in a football game. BeforeRadford’s death, Coach Austell made a special trip toMatthews to visit and fellowship with him.

BABY COTTAGE From Page 3

SEE BABY COTTAGE Page 10

The SPOTLIGHT 5

Passing time with youthful imagination “Every young boy that went through the orphanagethought himself to be a marble shooting phenom.”

Our hours were pretty well laid out for us aschildren at Oxford Orphanage. I suppose thestaff of OO learned long ago of the "idle hands"

proverb. I do recall things being found for us to do, butI don't remember ever being told to find something todo. However, times did present themselves in our dailyschedules that offered us the opportunity to fill in theempty spaces ourselves. Many of the activities of whichwe partook were those that children throughout all ofAmerican society participated. I'm fairly confident someof the activities we "orphans" engaged in were peculiarto our institution alone though.   The first money I ever

received came about through the allow-ance system of Oxford Orphanage. I'dimagine the allotments have increased inamount as time has passed. We MastersCottage boys received 40 cents per monthfrom 1969 through 1972. The allowancewould be placed in your "envelope" each

pay period. The only portion of it I recall that we boysactually handled was a penny. Each Sunday morning wewould line up in the hallway outside Miss Hobson's doorfor her to ensure each of us was appropriately cleanedand dressed for church. After passing inspection, shewould place the penny in your hand. Miss Hobsonapparently meant to instill the rule of tithing into us andwe were expected to place our penny into the offeringplate of the downtown church we attended. Having beendeclared cleaned and attired well enough for church,many of us would head back upstairs to increase ourwealth. I've no idea if the art of pitching pennies was anactivity passed down through the years among theMasters Cottage boys, but we whiled away a bit of timewaiting to head to Sunday School and then to church. Ithink we spent more time arguing about illegal throwsthan actually pitching. After attending Sunday school inthe York Rite Chapel, it was off to the Main Road to lineup for the march to your appropriate church. It seemedas if we spent more time waiting in line than actuallymaking the trek to church. Nonetheless, many a littleboy made the journey with only one penny loafer, orneither, having its slot graced by President Lincoln. Sunday afternoons also found us Masters boys with abit of time to burn before heading out to our field to play.Sunday dinner was at 1:00 and by 2:00 we were seatedfor quiet hour in our study hall chairs. I know it was withnoble intentions that Miss Hobson encouraged us towrite a letter to our mothers or other family members

during this quiet period, but I, and I'd imagine severalothers, had no clue what to say in our letter, or to whataddress to send such letter. We couldn't get outside fastenough once this hour of torture was over. The eventsin which to participate until supper were endless. Everyyoung boy that went through O.O. thought himself amarble shooting phenom. One learned very early thatmarble shooting was serious business. Playing for funwas disdainfully looked upon. Our games were for"keeps." A boy could start the day with a bulging pocket

and end with nothing but his favoriteshooter. No decent marble playerwould put his best shooter in the circle.I think we created enough differenttypes of marble games to publish a

book on the game. If one was really feeling sporty thatafternoon, he could simply announce that he was nowin the never-ending baseball game that we played.Should not enough boys want to play baseball to puttwo teams together then it was "roller-bat" time. Whata game! I've no idea who came up this variation ofbaseball, but there's little doubt Mr. Doubleday wouldhave consented. Should these two activities not suit youfor passing time, there was still the challenging gamesof dirt clod or crab apple battles. We actually choseteams for these events and somehow Mike Tart, the"Circle City Kid," always seemed to be on the winningteam or so he would proclaim. Should one not betalented enough to participate in baseball or clod fights,then he could hone his skills by throwing at the chimneysweeps that always flew about the field at dusk. Finally,for those that couldn't handle the cutthroat competitionof marbles, baseball, clod fighting, or other youthful,but manly sports, he could humbly and endlessly wanderabout looking for four-leaf clovers. The move to Parham Cottage brought a bit morefreedom to wander while passing time. Our primaryactivities were still centered around ball, either baseball,football, basketball, or creative variants of them. Manya World Series or Super Bowl championship wasdetermined by the ringing of the first bell for supper.Every boy played ball and played every game like a titlewas truly on the line. As important as ball was to us,there was a world of campus and woods to explore aswell. Assuming one had steered clear of wrongdoingthroughout the week, Saturday and Sunday afternoonsfound us with a void in our schedules. Unfortunately,these voids did not always see productive results. One

Johnny Pilkington, Class of ‘81

See PASSING TIME, Page 6

The SPOTLIGHT6

Fly-AwayUnion Hardware.

Homecoming Queen

fall Saturday afternoon saw a small group of us wander-ing down at the football field. There was a hole at thefar end of the field that allowed one to crawl beneath thefence and enter the cow pasture that was on the oppositeside of Hwy. 15 from the Esso gas station. Our younggroup had scraped together our holdings, thusproducing the exact amount of money to buy a packof cigarettes from the cigarette machine that satoutside the entrance to the station. Barry Lynchand I shot across Hwy. 15, put the required 35cents into the machine, pulled the knob, grabbedour pack of Winston, and were back in the cowpasture before anyone from OO could ever come downthe road and see us. Our little group, consisting ofRodney Moore, Kenny Walker, Robert Landers, BarryLynch, and I had our first smoke. I'm pretty sure weweren't really impressed, but it's tough to get the realimpact of a cigarette when five boys are passing itaround. Barry Lynch had put up more money thananyone else. Heck, he probably put up all the money inour purchase. He was the one holding onto the pack andwas determined to make them last at least until we cameup with another 35 cents. The next evening, which wasSunday, our little group covertly gathered behind thecottage for another attempt at smoking. Barry had footedthe bill for our pack, thus he still claimed authority aswe frugally passed one cigarette around the group. Weapparently weren't quite advanced in the area of covertoperations yet because Miss Vaughn's head poked outthe window and commenced yelling each of our names.Miss Vaughn never called a boy by his first name only.She either called you by your first and last name orsimply by last name. I managed to remain in the lastname only category the entire time I was under hertutelage. She had concluded that Barry, Rodney, Kenny,and Robert needed extra recognition when being identi-fied as wrongdoers, so they were always first and lastname boys to her. We knew a storm was headed our wayand it arrived the following night. Study hall lasted from6:00 until 7:00 each school night. Just as time was aboutconcluded for that Monday night study hall, in throughthe door walked Mr. Flowers, the interim superintendent,and Mr. Wicker. Mr. Flowers gave a short talk on theevils of smoking and then called our little group oftobacco enthusiasts to the front.  I'm sure we werethinking we were about to get a good paddling and thenmove on. Quite wrong, we were to be introduced to thealready practiced punishment and training tool of eatingcigarettes and smoking cigars. I don't know what brandof cigar I was to smoke, but I do know that each of us

received a pack of Raleigh cigarettes.  Each of us satdown with a trash can beside our chair, ate our entirepack of cigarettes, along with the filters, and just asquickly threw everything up into our trash can. They

must have extended a bit of sympathy towardour woes for I don't remember smoking muchof the cigar.  Time may have been a factorthough. Another nonproductive event that took placeas a result of efforts to pass time while living inParham Cottage involved a good number ofus. The counselors, as we referred to them, would

take a few days off from time to time. We boys usuallyheld a celebration when this occurred for we knew thatthe substitute counselor did not know all the particularrules that we lived by and we could take advantage ofher naiveté.  Miss Rachel Stewart filled in for MissVaughn at this particular time and we thought she wasjust wonderful as we ran wild. Donnie Anderson, alsoknown as Cannon Ball and Dopie, committed a deedthat would have been unthinkable had Miss Vaughn notdecided to go on vacation and leave an unknowledgeablesubstitute in her place. Donnie returned from his wan-derings one week-end afternoon with a beagle that wasready to have a litter of pups. He stowed her away in hisdorm and we all gleefully snuck food from the diningroom for her for a couple of days. Donnie's beagle musthave decided the bottom of his case was a great, or onlyavailable place to introduce her puppies to the world. Ofcourse, we boys were tickled to death over this.  Wethought it wonderful; what little boy doesn't love dogs,especially puppies? Things were going great until MissVaughn returned. She hadn't been back an hour beforediscovering the family of beagles. Miss Vaughn had atendency to flog her boys when one upset her toogreatly.  The floggings were quick, but vicious, andusually included the ring of keys she carried or a sectionof orange Johnny Lightning race track. Donnie's backfrom vacation greeting from Miss Vaughn taught all ofus one of civilization's great rules. Dogs belong outside,especially beagles with puppies, and not in MissVaughn's cottage. Every weekday during the summer and afternoonduring the school year saw all of the little boys at thefarm.  Mr. Bob Davis and Mr. Frank Hobgood weregeniuses at keeping us active. It was never too hot ortoo cold for us to work. However, working in the rainwas unacceptable for some reason. Rainy days wouldsee roughly forty to fifty of us in the corn-shucking barn

PASSING TIME from Page 5 “... ate our entire pack of cigarettes…”

See PASSING TIME, Page 7

The SPOTLIGHT 7

Burton siblings - a family affair

Homecoming-2012

November Alumni Breakfast

or the farm office. These weren't times to sit and lookat one another.  Not only could work be done in thecorn-shucking barn, but exciting football games playedas well. If football wasn't in that day, then corn on thecob throwing wars were on. Should we be allowed toremain in the farm office, then boxing was often theactivity of the day. We would be paired with someonethat guaranteed an exciting match for the audience ofother boys. Somehow I always squared off with BarryLynch or Rodney Moore.  A bleeding nose was thegreatest damage ever done and I don't remember any ofus having animosity toward our opponent afterwards.. The move up to Bundy was once again a step towardmore freedom.  Miss Rachel Stewart was thecounselor. Every boy that passed through Miss Stewart'scottage learned the meaning of cleanliness. Miss Stewarttook to a new level the practice of everything being freeof spot, dust, or dirt within her realm. To be caught withshoes on within the cottage was close to a capitaloffense. We all learned and prided ourselves on howclean our cottage was kept. Miss Stewart also introducedus to the game of softball to whittle away a weekendafternoon.  All of us being baseball aficionados werereluctant to accept this sport in which Miss Stewartdemanded we participate.  We reluctantly came toembrace the game and many an exhilarating afternoonwas spent playing it. Whether young or older boys at Oxford Orphanage,playing ball dominated our free time.  However, wan-dering the endless fields and woods behind the orphan-age occupied a close second. Many of us erected whatwe referred to as camps in the woods.  We could spendseveral weekends building our little huts as a gatheringspot.  One could also fish the many waterholes availableto us. Lack of a store-bought rod or pole was not muchof an obstacle for us. We little boys quickly learned toimprovise. One could tie line and hook to a long saplingbranch and use a small piece of wood as the cork. Manya horny-headed sucker was pulled from the creek withthese fishing poles. The best spots to fish the creek werebetween the "Old Swimming Hole" and down to thebridge. There were a couple of deep pools on the farside of the trestle that offered promise as well. A few ofthe older boys were fortunate enough to own a rod andreel, which was usually a Zebco. Had the lodges thatsent us gifts at Christmas been aware of our fishingequipment plight, they could have saved themselves alot of shopping time. As we grew older, we expandedto ponds off the orphanage property. The Gregory, alsoknown as the "Haunted House" pond, and the Capps

farm ponds were frequent destinations for promisingresults. Another pond, just off our property, owned byDoctor Nowell, was also a bonanza hole. That's assum-ing he didn't see us and run us off. JD Bryant and I madefish traps from chicken wire stealthily borrowed fromthe dairy and placed them in the creek. We were quitesurprised at the number and variety of fish in our littlecreek. We even managed to make money from sellingthe red-fins that we caught in our traps. A few of theSutton boys trapped the woods for whatever crittersavailable. I'm unsure how well their endeavors went, butI recall Jimmy Sutton and JD Bryant trapping a skunk. Swimming in the open and in the nude

Swimming in the "Old Swimming Hole" and theGregory pond must be mentioned as worthwhile timepassers. A warm April weekend afternoon marked thebeginning of swim season for us and a group of shiveringand usually naked boys could be found in one of theselocations. Coach Hester introduced the boys of MastersCottage of my time period to the "Old Swimming Hole"one summer afternoon.  No matter the age we boysreached, we returned to the creek for swims and swingson the vines. One could reach the "Old Swimming Hole"quicker by cutting across one of the pastures behind thedairy, walking the pipe to the railroad tracks, and thencutting across the thirteen-acre field.  The pipe was achallenge for many. It was a branch line that cut throughthe farm and dairy property and ultimately ended at awater treatment facility that was just off the orphanageproperty. The pipe was approximately twelve inches indiameter, and ran beneath ground, except for a stretchof about football field length.  This stretch of aboveground pipe cut the distance to many of the farm fieldsand the creek considerably in comparison to walking thedirt road to these destinations. We would often take thisroute, with swing blades on shoulders, to keep areas ofthe farm cut back. It was a given that we would use thisshortcut if headed to the "Old Swimming Hole." To theunknowledgeable, this seems quite trivial. However, thegreatest portion of unburied football field length wasroughly fifteen feet above ground. The foot surface areaon the circular pipe was no wider than your shoe. Theground beneath the pipe was a low-lying, marshyarea.  The height was a fear one encountered whencrossing this shortcut, but the greater fear was generatedby the mass of extreme, head high, bramble briars thatthrived there. Even "Brer Rabbit" may not have desiredthis thicket. Most boys learned walking the pipe was arequisite of an Oxford Orphanage boy.  Unfortunately

PASSING TIME from Page 6

See PASSING TIME, Page 8

The SPOTLIGHT8

for some, they could not bring themselves to stand andwalk. The ground beneath the shortcut was impassable,so they were reduced to draping their legs over the sidesand scooting across on their backside or crawling onhands and knees. After holding the group up and finallyarriving on the far side of the pipe, the scooters orcrawlers were greeted with looks of disappointmentfrom some and looks of scorn from others. To displayfear was undignified and just outright unacceptableamong Oxford Orphanage boys. I know I'm leaving out a great deal of events and waysthat we passed the time while children at OxfordOrphanage. I also know the activities we created variedas the years passed. However, I'm quite confident thatmany of our activities, events, games, and experienceswere the same, no matter the time frame one calledOxford Orphanage home.  I'm also certain a goodnumber of these experiences were unique to our livesonly and they were absolutely great.

PASSING TIME from Page 7 My new bike purchased withearnings from mowing yards

WAYLON COX, Class of ‘76In the months following my arrival at Oxford Orphan-

age in 1964, I noticed that the only children ridingbicycles on the campus were children of supervisors E.T. Regan and Calvin Pleasants. My mother had givenme a bicycle before I entered the orphanage, but bicycles

were not permitted at the time. My motherpassed away shortly after I entered theorphanage. Ten years later I realized thetime might be right for a change in thebicycle privileges for children at the orphan-age. Having no money to purchase a bike Icanvassed the neighborhood near the

campus seeking yard work. My effort met with successand I worked at yard maintenance to earn money for anew bicycle. With the proceeds of my labor I purchaseda new Ross Europia 10-Speed. Shortly after the arrival of Mr. Robert Winston asadministrator of the orphanage, he observed me ridingmy bike on campus. Mr. Winston stopped me and asked,“Where did you get thatbicycle?” I related to himhow I sought yard work inthe neighborhood and earnedthe money to buy the bike.The administrator nodded inapproval and said, “Goodjob, have fun, you deserveit.” Later, another of our brothers, Steve Worley pur-chased an identical bicycle. Worley’s bike was approved,also. Steve and I collaborated to inform Masons of thechange in bicycle policy and the need for bikes oncampus. Bicycles began to arrive by truck and the needwas met.. To my knowledge my bike was the first to break thelong-standing prohibition of bicycles on campus. Bicy-cles are now an established part of life at the MasonicHome for Children

Late announcement: Mark Stamatakis, a sophomore inthe class of ‘57-’58 passed away November, 2012.  Helived most of his life in Tampa, FL.  He was a retiredPolice Detective with the Tampa Police Department.

More BITS and PIECES

Remember a classmate with a greeting card on aspecial occasion. Thoughtfulness is kindness expressed.

God blesses one generation to another with thewonderful gifts of grandchildren. We, as grandparents,become proud of their achievements to the point ofsharing with those we love. I would like to share withyou the achievements of one of my eight grandchildren.Chelsea Wilkinson, daughter of Tandra and RobbyWilkinson, is now a freshman at UGA in Athens, Ga.

She graduated from Taylorsville HighSchool. She was awarded a five-yearscholarship based on her academicscores and her ongoing strengthplaying Fast-Pitch Softball. Chelsea’s history goes back to preteenyears, expressing her interest in follow-ing her dad’s footsteps and perhaps alittle from me. I played softball atOxford Orphanage and her dad pitchedfor Winthrop College. She also spentmuch vacation time with me at theorphanage when I was on staff there.

She led theDawgs as fast-ball pitcher on Feb. 8, whichwas also her birthday. Of course, upon entering college,as it was in high school, a sportsman starts at the baseof achievements and with self-drive moves to the topagain. So, this proud grandparent cheers this 5’8” UGAfreshman to the top.

Grandmother is proud of collegeachievements of granddaughter

HAZEL STRUM, Class of ‘56

9The SPOTLIGHT

Everetts to relocate fromcity to rural Nash County

Bill and Lennie McGuire Everett have resided inRocky Mount, N.C. more than 60 years. They haveoccupied their present home for more than 50 years.William L. (Bill) Everett, Jr., noting that he wants hisparents nearer him and his wife Cynthia, is providingand overseeing construction of a new dwelling adjacentto their home in rural Nash County. The new home forthe Everetts affords a wooded view and a 5-acre pond.The home is situated east and west. The front porch faceseast to greet the morning sun. The screened rear porchprovides a view of the sun setting over the tree-linedpond. A Spring move is expected. Paul Tausch has agreed to serve as guest editor forthe Summer edition of The Spotlight.

Planning with builder

Bass Road, Nash County, N.C.Visit the Masonic Home for Children-Oxford website

www.mhc-oxford.orgChild Care in the 21st Century

Alumni Breakfastremains popularfor fellowshipFarmer’s Market settingdraws from all locales

February Breakfast

Next Breakfast, May 14

The SPOTLIGHT10

Bob Critcher, Treas.5639 Hebron Rd.Oxford, N.C. 27565

RED DEVIL CLUB - Contributions of $100 +

SPOTLIGHT DEADLINESSPRING: FEB. 15SUMMER: MAY 15

2013

FALL: AUG. !5WINTER: NOV. 15

Pauline G. OlexaErsul E. SowersWinfred J. PotterArchie M. CappsLynwood L. DavenportCarroll R. SheffieldPauline HomerMike ArringtonLayton JordanDoris BakerWayne JonesCharles BurtonLinda B. GilmoreVictor Jack DebnamJames CrutchfieldJohn A. WileyJim Rice

Allen HughesSandra HughesVan T. EdwardsRandayle and Frank McMillanTreva Moss BrooksElizabeth Dowd KuhnBettie and David BraswellDr. Ben R. TuckerJerrine McMillan DavisMonroe DavisGeorge Leon CappsMary Singleton CappsRonnie StricklandAlbert Lee PotterBilly and Janette WillisPaul and Frances TauschLuther J. Laton

Joseph L. EarnhardtNina and Stephanie GibsonLouis E. SurlesRobert ForbesJean JohnsonWilton R. SmithClairene G. BrownJoyce H. ButtsPerry A. WilliamsJoyce Howell NemecViolet DavenportRosalyn PeeleMary Miriam GasqueWilliam Newton WilderJames & Sandra EarpWillis Earl TantDebbie Rice

Troy ReganRandy WilliamsAnn S. DowningBob CritcherNancy WardBetty H. WilsonGlenn T. SniderWm. L. DavenportMozelle K. ThompsonCarolyn HerndonRichard JonesEddie Strickland (Mem.)Phil Edwards

Dan RiceCecil MashburnAnne Vinson O’ConnorDennis and Dixie HarrisonGale Payne WatsonLinda Boykin BarnesDoris Coley ClementsHarry N. Clements, Jr.Harry Dean SmithJohn BelkArt StoneBobby ThompsonHerb and Betty ColendaEddie JonesDalton Odell SmithClayton and Sue SuttonCarol P. Bordeaux

Victor was one of “McSwain’s” boys, skilled inelectricity. He could easily rewind a motor, wire abuilding and find the source of some electrical problems.Following graduation in June 1953, he went to Charlotteand began working for Duke Power Company. He leftDuke Power and became a Motorola employee. He neverlost his love for mechanics and heavy road equipment.He kept a heavy road tractor at this home. His tobaccoaddiction was the cause of the throat cancer and his death. The orphanage, as I knew it exists no more. Only theold Walker Building, the Superintendent’s home, BabyCottage (Cobb Center), Regan’s home and the MeatFreezer remain. And these only because of a specificpurpose. The zenith was reached between 1930 and1965, a period of 35 years. From 1965 onward there hasbeen a gradual decline. Only the landscape, campus, some trees and farm landresemble yesteryears.

The years can be summed up:1872-1930: A building up1930-1965: Zenith reached

1965 forward: A gradual decline Razing of buildings

Small student population What remains is a deep and rich nostalgia and agrateful heart.

BABY COTTAGE from Page 4

Direct comments and submissions to:Bill Everett, Editor704 Oakland Ave.

Rocky Mount, N.C. 27804252-443-1050

lenbill@yahoo.comYesterday fades with passing time…

Registration is a family affairThe Lamb sisters volunteerevery year to serve asRegistrars at Homecoming.

Mary and Rosalyn arethe smiles and cheerygreetings that welcomesalumni home.

“A collective Thank You”

February Alumni Breakfast

Call 919.585.0100 for all your printing needs.

• Stationery• Shelf Talkers• Business Cards• Pocket Folders• Packaging• Letterhead• Sales Sheets• Direct Mail• Flyers• And More!

• Pressure Sensitive Labels• Sheetfed Labels• Brochures• Posters• Banners• RFID Capabilities• Table Tents• Hangtags• Custom Magnets• Catalogs

The SPOTLIGHT12

The SPOTLIGHT c/o Tina Gilreath MHCO - 600 College St. Oxford, N.C. 27565

Return Service Requested

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDOxford, N.C. 27565

Permit No. 56

Landscaping Day scheduledfor Children's Home in Oxford

With a successful inaugural event in 2012, TheMasonic Home for Children is looking for an evenbigger turnout in 2013 as they plan for their second"Great Landscape at MHCO". With over 40 individualsfrom Lodges, family, friends, and groups such as theGirl Scouts and businesses such as Direct Insurance

attending the Saturday event last year, theHome is looking for even more to volunteertime and work in 2013. In addition tomulching, weeding, planting, and pruning,plans to help ready the campus for spring willinclude some painting and cleaning for the

March 16, 2013 date. Volunteers and volunteer groupsare encouraged to visit the children's campus on thisdate equipped with shovels, rakes, and plants ready tohelp spruce up the grounds while giving to the kids ofthe Home, providing a beautiful and personal home andneighborhood to live in. Breakfast and lunch will beprovided. Plan to come in 2013 as the Home welcomesMasons and their families and friends or any serviceorganization one half-day, preparing our campus forthe kids and the coming of spring. Mark your calendars

for March 16, 2013, from 9am to 12:30pm (Rain Date-March 23, 2013) to help the Home with its 2nd Annual"Great Landscape Event" and call or email to registeryourself or your group. You can contact the Home at1-888-505-4357, 919-693-5111 or by visiting theHome's website (www.mhc-oxford.org) and emailingChris Richardson at crichards@mhc-oxford.org.

Volunteers welcomed to help beautify the campus,enrich the lives and homes of the children this Spring

2nd Annual “Great Landscaping Event” When: Saturday, March 16, 2013 (Rain Date: March 23, 2013) Where: Campus of The Masonic Home for Children at Oxford

SCHEDULE 8-9 a.m. - Continental Breakfast

9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Landscaping (Campus)12:30 p.m. - Lunch and Conclusion of Event

To sign up or for more information: Contact MHCO Financial Development Dept. at: 1-888-505-4357

or 919-693-5111 or crichards@mhc-oxford.org

CHRIS RICHARDSON, Assistant Administrator

Remember the wild onion taste in springtime?