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Touch
of Gray - January / February 2002
Women
in Politics and War - The Untold Stories
Dining Services whips up variety of
theme meals
What's in a name?
Sherman Lee, Expert in Far Eastern Art
Women
in Politics and War - The Untold Stories
Fresh
off the press from the Chapel Hill Press is a fascinating
new book, 352 pages long, entitled "Orchids in the Icebox".
"It’s the story of Bertha Adkins and other influential
women in the Eisenhower administration", the author,
Winifred Helmes explains. The book is a first-hand account
of the inner workings and dynamics of the nation’s political
power structure during the 1950’s and 1960’s and
the increasing role of women in public life. Winifred played
a big part in those events. She has been a resident of Carolina
Meadows since 1998.
There’s
Ike on the cover of the book, with his broad smile, chatting
with Bertha Adkins, his newly appointed Undersecretary of
the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1958, the
first woman ever to serve as Under Secretary in any department
of government. Winifred was Bertha’s life-long friend
and co-worker and she figured that the story of her life deserved
to be told.
"The
emergence of women as a political power was perhaps never
more evident than in 1952 when armies of Republican women
across the country delivered 54% of the vote to General Eisenhower
to win the presidency", Winifred recalls.
When
Winifred moved into her comfortable third floor apartment
in Building Four of Carolina Meadows the typed text of her
proposed book was 850 pages long and she saw little hope of
publishing it and was about to shred it. Her neighbor, Betty
McMahan, retired scientist and Carolina Meadows’ favorite
illustrator, was fascinated by the story of these emerging
women politicos and pressed her to have it published. Winifred
finally sent the manuscript to the Chapel Hill Press in April
2001. With the aid of an unusually skillful and industrious
editor, Stephanie Greene, the book was published last December
and makes fascinating reading.
Why
the title "Orchids in the Icebox" you might ask?
Bertha Adkins, a former college dean, began her political
career in Maryland as a political volunteer. She set out to
organize Republican women, county by county, a difficult job
in a heavily Democratic State. The period from 1940 to 1969
saw more and more women attending political meetings wearing
hats and gloves. Usually, they bestowed corsages on their
speakers. As Winifred tells the story – and she and Bertha
roomed together at that time – Bertha received so many
corsages during her years of organizing that the refrigerator
was always full of them. When there were too many they were
thrown out. As Winifred recalls, Bertha loved the tributes
but would have preferred contributions to a scholarship fund
instead of the flowers!
But
there is even more to the story of Winifred Helmes. She phoned
me one afternoon recently. "A friend tells me you might
be interested in books written by women who lived through
the Civil War," she said. "I have an interesting
collection of books you might enjoy."
More
books have been published about the Civil War than about any
other time in history, they tell us. We read of battles and
of men in the field but we rarely hear of the lives of people
behind the scenes. What happened to the women left behind
when the men went off to battle? How did those women make
do with shortages, often living under siege and occupation?
Winifred, a longtime professor of history, collected these
nine rare volumes written round the end of the eighteenth
century by these women and now would like to share them with
others.
These
are indeed fascinating stories on these more than three thousand
yellowing pages, mostly based on handwritten diaries kept
during those turbulent War years by ladies in Virginia, Alabama,
South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Washington, DC. What
was it like in blockaded Alabama, making one’s own cotton
thread, clothing, baskets and buttons and planting new crops
for food in place of cotton? Letters from the battlefields,
how doctors practiced surgery under wartime conditions, flags
and seals and battle songs of the Confederacy, nursing the
sick and wounded, life in occupied New Orleans, plantation
life as armies moved through, seeing Lincoln inaugurated in
the White House – all are described in these firsthand
recollections.
What
will happen to Winifred’s Civil War book collection?
All of her professional library from her teaching career has
already been donated to the library of a private secondary
school in Salisbury, Maryland. What about these nine books
by women? Dick Ballard, president of the Carolina Meadows
Residents Association and an authority on rare books, suggests
that Winifred might consider offering them to the Wilson Round
Library at UNC-Chapel Hill to add to their unrivaled collection
of literature of the South. "I am sure Charlie McNamara,
the Curator of Rare Books at Wilson Round would be most interested,"
notes Dick.
Winifred,
now approaching ninety years of age, was renowned in academia
and active in women’s affairs all her life. She earned
her doctorate in history from the University of Minnesota
and for many years served on the faculty of Salisbury State
in Maryland. But like her lifelong friend, Bertha Adkins,
she was also a leader in Republican politics and women’s
movements in government service.
She
served on the executive staff of AAUW, the Association of
University Women and went to work for the Federal Government
in the fifties as Assistant Director of the Women’s Bureau
in the Department of Labor. Se was Professor of History at
Salisbury University and authored a biography of one of Minnesota’s
most popular governors, John A. Johnson". She also edited,"Noted
Maryland Women," and has written and spoken widely over
the years on women’s issues.
Speaking
of Presidents in the White House, Winifred has her own treasured
recollections of President Eisenhower. When Adkins was named
Undersecretary of the Department of Health, Education and
Welfare, Winifred was appointed as her special assistant.
She and her new boss were invited to the White House for dinner.
This was Winifred’s first time ever in the private quarters.
Before
dinner, Mamie Eisenhower spoke to her and Winifred commented
how much this first ever visit to the White House second floor
meant to her particularly as a historian. "Then we must
certainly show you around," Mamie commented. Mrs. Eisenhower
called the President over and he personally escorted her on
a tour of the private quarters.
She
has many other wonderful memories of her years in public service.
There were governmental visits to Finland and to Russia. She
visited China in 1977 as a member of a national delegation
of women leaders – one of the earliest such visits there.
Winifred
was diagnosed with macular degeneration some years ago and
was warned that her sight would eventually get much worse.
Soon after she arrived at Carolina Meadows she found that
though she could still identify people and objects she could
no longer read. Like many other visually impaired people she
has made the hard adjustment. Of course she is an avid TV
fan and like the rest of us spent many hours watching CNN
during those terrible weeks in September.
To
find out what’s happening on campus and what meals are
being served in the Dining Room she watches the Carolina Meadows
In-House TV programming on Channel Seven where a voice-over
is provided for the benefit of visually impaired residents.
Once
a week Winifred is visited in her apartment by one of 28 student
volunteers working with Chapel Hill’s "A Helping
Hand". This is a nonprofit organization offering quality
homemaker services to senior citizens and the disabled. It
is the largest nonprofit group in Orange County providing
service to seniors. The volunteer reads to her, and provides
companionship in many ways. "’A Helping Hand’
is a wonderful group," Winifred comments. "The volunteers
are mostly graduate and undergraduate students from UNC who
enjoy working with those of us who are disabled in one way
or another. The fees are very reasonable and are based on
one’s ability to pay. And well worth it," she added.
"I am so pleased with the young people who read to me
that I would like everyone in Carolina Meadows to know the
help they can get from these wonderful volunteers."
-- Des Reilly, Resident
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Dining
Services whips up variety of theme meals
Whether the sound of a violin, a guitar
or a strolling troubadour greets them, diners at Carolina
Meadows have become quite prepared for entertainment as well
as a variety of international foods at Theme Nights in the
dining room – sometimes expanded into the even larger
auditorium.
The
November 14 Toulouse-Lautrec Celebration was the latest in
a series of Theme Nights that have included a Tuscany (Italian)
Night, a Greek Festival, Imperial Russian Dinner and a celebration
of the British Queen Mother’s 100th birthday.
With
the assistance of Craig Reed, the executive chef, and Peter
Hofmann, the service manager, Mark Maxwell, director of Dining
Services, delights in the enthusiastic response of residents
to these arrangements.
"We
look forward," Maxwell says, "so every opportunity
to come up with appropriate entrees or desserts, many we’ve
never tried before, all in keeping with these special themes."
The
Tuscany Night menu included (among many Italian dishes) arugula
and radicchio salad; braised pork loin with parmesan, rosemary
and artichokes; gnocchi with pesto; ricotta and peach mousse.
The guest tenor sang arias from Verdi and Puccini and led
diners in familiar folk songs.
At
the Greek Festival a family of Greek musicians played folk
music and led residents in line dancing around the Dining
Room. Lamb kabobs, carved gyros and baklava were on the menu.
Perhaps
the most detailed celebration was that for the Queen Mother’s
100th birthday – Aug. 4, 2000. The large breakfront in
the Club Center displayed memorabilia from the marriage and
reign of the queen and her husband, King George VI. Dinner
included roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, rack of lamb,
English trifle and Royal Birthday Cake.
Travel
posters, the Union Jack and banners were everywhere. Afterward,
in the auditorium, English war bride Margaret Wharton spoke
of wartime in Britain; and the BBC video of the Queen’s
90th birthday celebration was shown.
Dick
Ballard, president of the Carolina Meadows Residents Association,
was the prime mover for the 100th birthday party, contributing
ideas and exhibits for this and for the Russian and French
theme nights to follow. His letter to the Queen Mother, offering
congratulations and describing the local celebration, drew
an immediate reply of appreciation from Her Majesty.
The
Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at the N.C. Museum of Art was
the inspiration for the November 14th theme night at Carolina
Meadows. The French dinner began with a hospitality station
in the Club Center lobby, where savory crepes and apple cider
were served. The tri-colors decorated the dining room. Entrees
included beef pot au feu; veal daube; and haddock, scallops
and shrimp in a calvados buerre blanc, all accompanied by
French wines. A museum curator presented a slide show on Toulouse-Lautrec’s
career. Not to be overlooked are the many special events originating
with the Dining Services staff and dwelling on distinctly
American themes.
Not
to be overlooked are the many special events originating with
the Dining Services staff and dwelling on distinctly American
themes.
Patriotic
occasions – Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day
– are usually begun with a morning sports festival, culminating
in a noontime Cook-out Brunch (served in the dining room).
Super hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, corn-on-the-cob,
and all the other delights of family celebrations are available
in abundance at these timely buffets.
As
American reaffirmed their commitment to their nation and to
one another following the disaster of September 11, the Club
Center Dining Room opened up for an All-American Dinner on
October 25. The menu featured foods associated with all parts
of our nation: lobster salad, Chicago-style beef stew, North
Carolina grouper, smoked brisket with Texas-style barbecue
sauce, Memphis baked beans, Washington apple pie, Florida
key lime pie, New York cheese cake, Georgia peach cobbler,
etc.
A
Dixieland band provided the ambiance for this thrilling event,
the musicians parading through the dining hall at the end,
playing Sousa marches and bringing scores of residents to
their feet, clapping and marching to the beat.
Twice
there have been seafood themes with unusual foods and serving
arrangements. An ice carving of a fishing boat held the entrees
for the "Gone Fishing" event. On another occasion,
a real boat was the center of attention for diners.
Now
being planned are an Ottoman Empire (Turkey) event in May
and a United Nations dinner in the fall. -- John Banks, Resident
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What's
in a name?
Betty McMahan, emeritus professor
of biology and Carolina Meadows favorite cartoonist and illustrator,
has just taken off on another six-week freighter trip between
North America and Australia and New Zealand. It’s her
sixth trip and she has been looking forward to it all year.
Before she left she heard news from Holland that a Dutch scientist
had named a less-than-an-inch long insect in the genus Salyavata
after her.
It
all began twenty years ago when Betty was studying insects
in the Costa Rican rainforest. She found this tiny bug which
attacks termites and wrote about it in "Natural History"
magazine. Last year Betty received a letter from Leiden asking
if she still had any specimens of the insect she had described.
Sure enough she did and she sent specimens to Holland. Her
specimens turned out to be a new species and so it was given
the name Salyavata mcmahanae in her honor.
This
is not exactly the first time this happened, Betty tells us.
Her other "namesake" is a tiny beetle that she found
living with termites in Venezuela many years ago. California
State University scientists named that one Neophilotermes
mcmahanae.
*****
Bobbie
Wilkerson and Maury Hahn and their families have
been good friends for many years. Both are now widowed and
each has three children as well as grandchildren. At a University
of Michigan reunion last fall Bobbie and Maury decided to
tie the knot. Bobbie returned to Carolina Meadows to tell
her friends that she was now Mrs. Maury Hahn and that they
would be spending some of their time in Michigan and some
of it here in Carolina Meadows. Bobbie’s friends in the
MeadowSingers greeted her at the next rehearsal with a special
rendition of "Taking A Chance on Love". She was
a featured soloist in the MeadowSingers Winter Wonderland
concert here and in the Senior Center last month using her
new married name. -- Des Reilly, Resident
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Sherman
Lee, Expert in Far Eastern Art
Sherman
Lee, universally recognized expert in Far Eastern Art, has
found a new way to have fun in his retirement at Carolina
Meadows. He has taken up golf. The nine-hole course just outside
his door has offered a challenge he finds enjoyable. He practices
on his own and enters the weekly Saturday tournaments as often
as he can. He is frequently among the winners.
Sherman
had a distinguished career in art. He was born in Seattle,
Washington, eighty-four years ago. His father's job in government
service took the family to Washington, DC, where Sherman studied
at American University and earned a BA and an MA in American
Art History.
He
met Ruth Ward, a fellow student at American University, whom
he married at his grandmother's suggestion, even though they
were sixteen and seventeen years old at the time. They were
married in 1938 at St. Alban's Church (next to the National
Cathedral) in Washington, DC.
The
couple continued their studies at American University, where
Sherman earned his first Ph.D. degree with a dissertation
on "An American Water Color Survey." He also painted
an oil entitled "Gum & Gas" which still hangs
in the Phillips Gallery there.
Further
studies at the Universities of Michigan and Western Reserve
in 1941 gave Sherman his first exposure to Oriental Art. He
also earned a second Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Western Reserve.
A special addition to the family in 1941 was their first daughter,
Katherine.
When
Sherman began his career as curator at the Detroit Institute
of Decorative Arts, World War Two was under way, and in 1943
he enlisted in the Navy. He became an assistant navigator
aboard an attack transport ship, which at war's end was docked
at Tangsa Harbor in China. His captain allowed Sherman three
days leave to visit Peking and buy gifts for the ship's families
with $35.00 of his and other officers' collective funds. He
arrived by train in Peking and found a room at the Wagon Lit
Hotel. He hired a rickshaw for three days to visit the Imperial
Palace, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, and Antiques Row
Lu Li Chang, to spend his $35.00.
On
his discharge from the Navy in 1946, he was offered a job
by Dick Fuller, President of the Seattle Art Museum. But he
had another offer from Howard Hollis, Curator of Asian Art
at the Cleveland Museum. Hollis had been named head of the
Arts and Monuments section at the headquarters of the Supreme
Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific. He planned
to go to Japan to inventory all objects in Japanese temples
and see that temples and their contents were properly repaired
and protected. Sherman signed on as Hollis' assistant and
spent two years in post-war Japan. He arranged for exhibitions
in restored buildings, for instance at the Tokyo National
Museum displaying Cambodian sculpture and at the Hakutsyru
Museum showing important Japanese art. It was an exceptional
learning period for him, as he was given complete access to
all of the Japanese Arts.
While
Sherman served in the Navy, Ruth returned to Weaversville,
North Carolina, near Asheville, to stay with her parents.
In 1946, she joined Sherman in Japan. They formed some lasting
friendships among his Japanese colleagues. A memorable event
in 1947 was the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth.
At
the end of their two-year stay in Japan, Sherman took a month's
leave to visit India and enrich his knowledge of that area.
The family returned to Seattle, Washington, where Dick Fuller
and his mother started and financed the Museum's Western and
Oriental collections. Their gift of five million dollars to
build its collections allowed Sherman to buy ten pieces.
The
Cleveland Museum offered Sherman a job in 1952 where he stayed
until 1983, building the collections through dealers and auctions
and making one or two trips a year to Europe and the Orient.
He was the Director of the Cleveland Museum for 25 years.
He encouraged the Museum to present exhibitions as educational
opportunities.
This
was a time of museum growth throughout the United States and
Cleveland's Museum was well funded. A thirty-five million-dollar
bequest by Leonard Hanna caused the Museum Board to evaluate
"where they were" and "where they wanted to
go." As a result, half of the bequest was designated
to be spent for paintings, ten per cent on ancient art, ten
per cent on oriental art, ten per cent on textiles and twenty
per cent on American and modern art.
Many
additional works of monumental art flowed into the Museum
as a result of this bequest. The number of exhibitions was
increased to at least one year and joint courses were established
with the University. "To build a fine museum, "
Sherman says, "it takes only three things: first, the
right donor; second the right money and third the right director
and curator."
Through
the years and still today serious collectors, such as Willard
Clark in California, John Rockefeller III for the Asia Society
of New York, Joe D. Price in Oklahoma and Gilbert and Clara
Yager of Chapel Hill have asked Sherman Lee for advice and
guidance. Museums in Kansas City, Kansas, Omaha, Nebraska,
Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas as well as UNC's Ackland
Museum here in Chapel Hill have also sought his wise counsel.
When
he retired from the Cleveland Museum, Ruth persuaded him to
move to her native North Carolina and Chapel Hill in particular
because three of their four children were in the area. At
the time Katherine was a curator at the Ackland where she
benefited from her father's advice in setting up the Yager
Room of Oriental Art. Later she moved to the Museum in Richmond,
Virginia, and followed in her father's footsteps as Director
of the Cleveland Museum. Margaret is a teacher in the Chapel
Hill School system. Liz is a curator at the Museum in San
Antonio, Texas, and their son, Tom, works in computers in
Raleigh.
Sherman
and Ruth bought a home in Chapel Hill, added to it, and designed
and built both a rock and moss garden. Ruth shared her knowledge
of Japanese gardens by lecturing and showing slides she collected
when living in Japan. She was also a leading member of the
Rock Garden Society.
Sherman
has taught courses at both UNC and Duke in Chinese Art, Japanese
Painting and Far Eastern Art. He wrote an important book,
a History of Far Eastern Art, which is now in its fifth edition.
This is a uniquely integrated general introduction to its
field, as well as a basic reference for advanced scholars.
Among
the many exhibits for which he was curator was the 1492-1992
Columbus Exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington,
D.C. His Five Thousand Years of Chinese Art at the Guggenheim
in New York required three trips to China and considerable
cooperation from the Chinese Government.
Recognition
of the Lees' many years of friendship and guidance to Elizabeth
and Willard Clark as they built their extensive Japanese art
collection came when they named their Institute in Hanford,
California, the Clark Center for Japanese Art, in Honor of
Ruth and Sherman Lee.
His
worldwide influence in the field of Far Eastern Art is truly
impressive. We are grateful to him for his knowledge, his
"eye" and his unfailing generosity in sharing his
talents. We wish Sherman and Ruth many pleasant hours with
Harry, their 12 year old West Highlander, walking the trails
at Carolina Meadows and playing golf too! --Betty Kent, Resident
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