4p, first three pages front and back, last one sided, mimeograph on matte off white paper. Staple in top left corner, one horizontal fold, pencil note in top left corner on first page: "Fac. Meeting Co[illegible]?" also on first page the word Education is corrected to "economics' in pencil, second page back there is a pencil note referencing a section in excerpts from letters and says: "should be omitted!"
BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE COMMUNITY BULLETIN
College Year 10 Summer Bulletin 14
Monday, September 13, 1943
CALENDAR:
There will be a meeting of the Faculty on Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 o’clock in the Kocher Room.
The Board of Fellows will meet at 5:00 o’clock on Thursday afternoon in Study 10.
There will be a picnic on the Knoll at 6:00 o’clock on Thursday evening for the members of the College Community and the Textile Workers of America.
There will be a concert in the Dining Hall on Thursday evening. The program consists of a violin sonata, and the piano trio by Beethoven.
On Sunday the three meals will be served in the Dining Hall.
THE BULLETIN:
There will be one more Summer Bulletin. It will contain the revised College Calendar for the 1943-44 session, a somewhat detailed account of the courses to be offered next session, transportation directions, and other announcements.
APPOINTMENT:
Clark Foreman has been appointed to the teaching staff of Black Mountain College. He will arrive at Lake Eden, with his family, on October 1. The Foremans will live in the Meadows Inn apartment occupied last session by the Gorman Mattisons.
Dr. Foreman will teach two courses: American History, for beginners; and American Politics, for advanced students. The American Politics, for advanced students. The American Politics course will not begin until the Winter Quarter, however. During the Fall Quarter Dr. Foreman and Eric Bentley will conduct together a course in Twentieth Century Politics.
Dr. Foreman is a Southerner. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia; he received his early education in the public schools of Atlanta; he was graduated from the University of Georgia in 1921, when he received his A.B. degree. During the following session, 1921-22, he did work in the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He travelled in Europe during 1922-23 and attended the London School of (*word crossed out with pencil) during 1923-24. For the next two years he served as Secretary for the Georgia Committee on Interracial Cooperation. From 1926 to 1928 he was assistant to Jesse Jones, Director of the Phelps-Stokes Fund. During that time he also earned his Master’s Degree in Political Science at Columbia University. In the subsequent few years he was Associate for Studies, then Director of Studies for the Rosenwald Fund.
Dr. Foreman received his PhD degree from Columbia University in 1932, then travelled in Europe during the following year on a scholarship from the Rosenwald Fund.
When he returned to the United States, Dr. Foreman became an Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior on the Economic Status of Negroes; later he became the Special Counsellor to the Secretary of the Interior.
For five years- until 1940- Dr. Foreman was Director of the Power Division of the Public Works Administration. From 1940 until 1942 he was Director of Defense Housing. Dr. Foreman has returned from England where he did Operational Research for the Navy.
BMC COMMUNITY BULLETIN- SUMMER BULLETIN #14- Page Two
RETURNING:
Paul Radin will return to Black Mountain College in January. During the Winter and Spring Quarters he will teach a course in Anthropology and a course on Latin America.
He writes from Berkeley, California: “For the duration I can come for only two quarters, from January through May, are the best for me.”
THE CONFERENCE OF THE TEXTILE WORKERS:
Bob Wunsch talked informally on “Black Mountain College” at the opening session of the Conference on Sunday evening in the College Dining Hall. Larry Rogan, Educational Director of the Textile Workers of America, acted as Chairman of the meeting, and, after the general singing of Union songs, had each delegate to the conference introduce himself. The meeting ended after the running of a film showing early activities of textile unions.
BY THE LAST POST
Edward Lowinsky writes from Berkeley, California on September 8: “This morning I received my induction order for September 15. This comes somewhat unexpectedly, since the local board here assured me I could not be inducted before the alien investigation had been completed, which would take several months…. I have now to ask for a transfer to the local board here. I do not know whether this transfer will delay my induction. But I figure that I shall be inducted before school starts….. If I am accepted, I shall have a few weeks furlough and I plan to come to BMC to take care of moving of our household. If I am rejected, we shall make reservations as best we can and come to BMC in all possible haste……”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Summer Quarter will end on Saturday at noon.
This week’s The Nation contains “The Jewish Wife” by Bertold Brecht, translated by Eric Bentley.
Betty Brett will leave this afternoon for New York City to take her oral examinations for graduation under Dr. Jacques Barsun on Wednesday, September 15.
Sam Brown left Lake Eden on Friday afternoon for New England for medical treatment.
The Frederic Cohens were hosts on Saturday afternoon to the College Community at a Coffee Party in honor of John Evarts.
Corporal John Evarts was a recent visitor to Lake Eden.
He arrived on Wednesday morning, September 8, and left on Saturday afternoon. There was a Community Party for John in the College Dining Hall on Friday evening. At this Party John gave his two piano monologues. “The Saga of Private Elmer Brown” and “Collins Avenue (Miami Beach) from Dawn to Dusk”; Bob Kumabo did Magic Tricks; Molly Gregory gave a dance “Cutting Corn on the College Farm”, in the Martha Grahams style; and Frederic Cohen and Heinrich Jalowetz played the Lanner Waltzes. There was dancing before and after the program. The Party ended with a Virginia Reel.
Gwendolyn Currier, student cellist, has been accepted by Benjamin Swalon, Director, for membership in the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.
Kenneth and Ann Kuntz are leaving on Friday for a ten days vacation in Wilmington, North Carolina.
BMC COMMUNITY BULLETIN- SUMMER BULLETIN #14- Page Three
WITH FORMER STUDENTS:
NEW ADDRESSES
Corporal R.L. Bliss, 11094139
Co. B, 3rd Bn.
Pittsburg Replacement Depot
Pittsburg, California
Pfc. Claude Montoux, 12062773
Co. A. ASTP. Bks. 491
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
Corporal Daughten Cramer, 31152068
92 D.R.S. 94 A.D.T.
A.P.O. 635
Caro P.M.
New York, New York
Frances Kuntz
75 Washington Square, South
New York, New York
Corporal Bob Bliss writes from California: “Louisiana, I’m afraid, will always remain an unpleasant memory, unless there is an opportunity to visit it under better conditions sometime. Our last four weeks were spent doing either K.P. or guard duty, not bad once in a while, but as a steady diet for a group of specialists, it was a bit demoralizing. The heat didn’t make ‘us Northern boys’ over happy, either….. The news that the bulletins give of the Work Camp, Summer School, and the American Seminar is so heartening….. If you can stretch the life- I know it’s near the elastic limit- at school for another year, the future looks fairly promising. I’ve been continually surprised by the number of people who have heard of the College but most of them think it an unattainable ideal, for them, that is, they have somewhere been led to believe that it is super exclusive and open to only the so-called privileged classes. Something should be done to counteract this… I’ve gotten a kick from Molly’s witty reports on work progress. She draws a good picture of the program with all its trials and tribulations. That work is no longer considered voluntary but is soon realistically as an absolute necessity, is a forward stop; though I wonder if it affects the spirit of the work. The headway that the Community has made toward self-sufficiency- milk, vegetables, et al- is proving the earliest theories, and it is to be commended…..”
Corporal Doughton Cramer writes from England: “I am extremely happy to be in England. It is a beautiful country….. and appears far more peaceful than America. The food and camp here are much better than any place I have been in in the United States. I feel like a different person as the weather is much more civilized. I can’t wait until I get some free time so I can visit some of the places I have always wanted to see. I hope we stay in England to satisfy my romantic historical heart. I can see a brightly clad knight behind every stone wall…..”
Private Claude Montoux writes from the University of Illinois: “My army career consists mainly of a series of transfers from one station to the next. It began up-state New York, and, covered, besides 3 or 4 posts in that state, some fields in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Alabama….. and here I am now in Illinois. It includes interesting experiences as well as very dull ones. Probably the most happy moment of my army life. As well as civilian life, was my marriage to Virginia Kirk of Rochester, New York. It happened while I was stationed in the band at Keesler Field, Mississippi…. She is now staying with my mother in New York….. The rather dull part of the Army as far as I am concerned is my continuous and entirely vain application for a commission….. The College Bulletin is a source of great interest and healthy reminiscence to me. Also, every time I read it, I feel worse about keeping in touch with all my friends at and from the College….. As far as I am concerned, there is still no school or college equal to BMC in most respects…..”
Claude Stroller writes from Fort Warden in Washington: “It was a relief to hear that B.M.C. came through the latest crises. It is surprising how often I think of Black Mountain. I find that my views about the College have not undergone the usual mystical changes. I still see it as the only decent form of education, and I still long terribly to return….. My furlough comes this month and I expect to be in New York the week of September 19…..
WITH 1942-43 STUDENTS:
EXCERPTS FROM RECENT LETTERS:
*pencil marks in margin that read “Should be omitted!” with lines drawn around the following paragraph
Gisela Kronenberg Gisela Kronenberg writes from Cincinnati: “There’s a little progress to report along the lines of my possible appointment to the Neuropsychiatric Institute. The other day I had a letter.. informing me that the approval by the University seems certain, but the O.K. from the State Alienist must still be obtained. Should everything come off as I hope for, I would be a research assistant in psychology… I am getting well along in Proust’s ‘Within a Budding Grove’, catching up on my American History and Civics for my citizenship (my application is on file, now), starting a collection of Dwight Fisk records, knitting a sweater- the first major work along that line since my grammar school days-, and making myself more or less useful around the house and the community. The pollen seems to have a fatal attraction for me, or maybe it’s vice versa; in any case I sneeze, sniggle, and choke my way through the months of August and September….
Bob Marden writes from Maxwell Field in Alabama: “The days here at Maxwell have been a continuous blur, with every one in a hell of a hurry- there are occasional periods of darkness, during part of which we sloop. The intensity of study, and amount of material we have to digest are staggering at first. Only code and air- plane identifications are entirely new; both are very interesting- a challenge to the reactions….. I rather enjoy the strict discipline here- at least most of what we do seems purposeful, which has seldom been true up to now. Life is all order- a little too much at times. I like it, until I’m forced into it….. Our days are long- 4:30 A.M to 9:00 P.M, with very few breaks, literally often less than an hour a day…”
Piscitello Bruno Piscitello writes from Texas: “I assure you that.. I still think B.M.C. is really something worth fighting for. The psychiatrist who interviewed me spent several minutes extra asking about B.M.C. A surprising number of boys are very much interested and soon to know quite a bit about the school….. Aurora and I are going to be married as soon as she gets here which will be in a few days or a week a week at most…. I almost met Dyke Corbet on this field. I missing seeing him by twenty-four hours… When I went to his barrack to see him, he had been shipped out the day before- I was pretty disappointed. Duke is a pre-aviation cadet and has been sent to college for five months of pre-flight training.
Sagan Irene Sagan writes from Forest Hills, Long Island that she has registered at Queens College for the Fall Term as a “non-matriculated” student- “two bio courses, finishing my physics, and then something else, other philosophy or music.” She intends to return to Lake Eden after Christmas. “For the past two weeks I have worked for Warner Brothers as a clerk in the contract department.”
BMC COMMUNITY BULLETIN- SUMMER BULLETIN #14- Page Five
Tankersley Jackie Tankersley writes from the WAVES in Madison, Wisconsin: “I’ve been here more than a month now and feel pretty well adjusted to radio and all its complexities.. There is little time for anything but work- and wonderful week ends when one tries to forget work. I keep saying that I am going to do more reading, but as yet I haven’t been inside the excellent university library…. Well, Cynthia has done it! I’ve had two letters from her in a week, full of questions about the WAVES. She reports at Hunter in two days….. I’m so glad I picked this kind of work and was lucky enough to be sent to Madison. Next to Black Mountain it is the best place to be right now.”
THE MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN SEMINAR
New Addresses:
R. Alvarez de Toledo
3240 Cambridge Avenue
New York, 63, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Vishniak
228 Lindon Avenue
Ithaca, New York
Excerpts from Recent Letters:
Oliver Freud writes from Williamsburg, Virginia: “We cannot yet tell very much about our new life in William in Mary, but the first impressions are very pleasant. I began at once my work in the Physics Laboratory where help was mostly needed. We have here a Training Unit of about 500 young soldiers. They are divided into sections of 21 and 23 boys, and I have to instruct two of these sections daily. Probably I shall start lecturing soon to two classes, one in Mathematics and one in Physics. My wife has attended some interesting lectures on American Literature; she felt well prepared for them by Mr. Kurtz’s class….. We are living for the moment, in a nice corner room in one of the campus dormitories, but at the beginning of the fall semester, September 27, we shall have to move, we don’t yet know where…..”
Mr. Henry Leonard writes from Cincinnati: “We are back in the United States from Canada where we went for immigration purposes. After some difficulty we succeeded in getting our papers. Now we are applying for First Papers, the second stop toward becoming real American Citizens. It’s still a long way off; but since our arrival in the United States we have found so much hospitality, even affection, we trust everything will come to a happy end…..”
Mrs. Henry Leonard writes from Cincinnati: “…..We read about the fire with the utmost compassion. I hope that the insurance will prevent it from being a big financial loss and that the skill of your students will make something rise out of the ashes in real Black Mountain style….. Today was my first day at the College the very busy registration day….”
FORMER TEACHERS:
New Addresses:
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Mangold
Manrique de Zuniga, 130
Mexico, D.F.
Lieutenant Bedford Thurman
S.P.A.A.F.
Lubbock Field, Texas
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS:
Joe J. King has been appointed Chief of the New Group Services Section, a combination of the Cooperative Section and the Farm Security Administration Water
BMC COMMUNITY BULLETIN- SUMMER BULLETIN #14- Page Six
Facility in Portland, Oregon. He is also serving as a public referee on some of the employer-union dispute cases of the West Coast Lumber Commission, which is a part of the War Labor Board. Joe writes from Portland: “Irma, my wife… had only been married three weeks when she landed at the College… We now have two daughters, aged 2 ½ years.”
IN THE MAIL:
Mrs. Rebecca Mangold
293 South El Mollina Street
Pasadena, 5, California
Mr. and Mrs. Eric Werner
The Hebrew Union College
Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mrs. Anna D. Jamieson writes from Newton Centre, Massachusetts: “It is too bad that a successful summer should end with a fire and added financial and practical problems. B.M.C. is a phoenix rising from every challenge….. All good wishes for a big and fine start for the winter term, a good big enrollment of high quality… sufficient man power to carry on your kitchen and farm work and cooperative zest amongst your whole community.”
Mrs. Helen Lounsbury writes from her summer cottage at Highlands, North Carolina: “I shall be returning to Lake Eden soon… The Bulletin is much appreciated. That Bulletin has become a necessity!”
Mrs. Rebecca Mangold writes from California: “I haven’t much to write about, because the heat has kept me in a state of inertia- and I have been nowhere and have done only the necessary things. I got the College Bulletins and find them most interesting…. Roman got a short furlough and came to California, so I got to see him a couple of times. He was looking fine…..”
Mr. and Mrs. Eric Werner write from Cincinnati: “We are now settled in our old home again, and our first letter goes to you. The weeks we spent in the Black Mountain in the Community of the College of the College were of the finest and most impressive we have had in the five years of our American residence. True, we have seen a lot of social gatherings, conventions, organizations, which were in every respect more glamorous, and glittering than anything Black Mountain could offer. But the spirit we found there, the healthy atmosphere of sophistication mixed with “roughing it”, the splendid social conscious, the real neighborly spirit, the life together and for each other, all this gave us a thousand times more than the best pep talk for democracy put to work. And it does work- with all its material and psychological handicaps inherent to any uncompromising enterprise. In addition, we had very interesting company and peace, when we wanted it. In a word, it was a wonderful sojourn.”
GOOD NEWS:
Jack Lipsey has returned to Lake Eden and is back at his post in the kitchen. He gained eight pounds while he was away, in Atlanta, Georgia.
COMMUNITY WORK REPORT FOR WORK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 6:
The floors of the Stone Cottage were refinished and four truck loads of the Orrs’ furniture were moved into the Stone Cottage from Black Dwarf. Thirty-eight beds and accompanying furniture were cleaned and set up in Black Dwarf, Meadows Inn and North Lodge to accommodate to the sixty-five delegates to the Textile Conference who began to arrive at the end of the week.
BMC COMMUNITY BULLETIN- SUMMER BULLETIN #14- Page Seven
The Gate House was cleaned, then prepared as a day-time lounge for the kitchen people who are rooming at Blue Ridge during the two conference weeks. The Study Building sun-deck and the Dining Room table tops were painted.
On the farm the silage settled nine feet, so on Monday and Tuesday the silo was filled again. The silage corn field was plowed, spread with lime and fertilizer, and mowed with alfalfa. A third of the soy bean hay was cut and stacked in the field on drying racks; to do this the haying crew worked by moonlight until 11:00 o’clock on Saturday night. Our production, brought to the kitchen during the week, consisted of: two bushels of tomatoes, two bushels of potatoes, six dozens of eggs, fifteen pounds of butter, four hundred and twelve pounds of butter, four hundred and twelve pounds of home-grown beef and three hundred and thirty-six quarts of milk.
The week was warm the first two days and cold the rest and continued unseasonably dry.
MAC WOOD
COLLEGE GUESTS:
Benjamin Swalon, a member of the Music Department at the University of North Carolina and Director of the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra.
GIFTS:
The Student Campaign totals to date $1075.75.
The Art Beck Campaign, which began in January, is still going on.
During the summer the College received about a hundred more books, more than a thousand mounted photographs and nearly eight hundred lantern slides.
The main recent donors are: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University.
Through the gift of one donor the Architectural Section of the Library could be enlarged to twenty volumes on the History of Architecture.
THATCHER Mr. Thatcher of Tryson, North Carolina has given to the College Library a year’s subscription to The Saturday Review of Literature.
AGENDA FOR THE WEDNESDAY MEETING:
Discussion of the Summer Quarter Work of the Students and the Work Campers.
FIRST REPORT ON FIRE LOSS:
Many people responded to the loss by fire of the servants’ building and all its contents, by sending cash donations and gifts to help the colored staff recoup to some extent their losses of personal property.
Their net losses, not covered by insurance, total about $1300.00. Cash gifts and pledges to date amount to $115.00. The College has received from the insurance company, $2250.00 for the building and $250 for the furnishings. This is less than one half what it would cost to re-build and re-furnish it.
We hope to begin the construction of the new building soon; but, because of the lack of funds, it will probably be necessary to limit the size to half the size of the original building.
