DONOR FIRST PERSON
( H.G. Jones )
S
ixty-three years after my graduation from Appalachian, the memories remain vivid: the first night in the original wooden Newland Hall, still furnished with double beds; standing beside President B.B. Dougherty as we watched his beloved Watauga Academy burn to the ground, his tears reflected by the flames; arising at 4:30 a.m. to edit The Appalachian; relieving Coach E.C. Duggins of two history classes so he could devote his spring session to football practice; being given the opportunity, only two years after graduation, to reinvigorate a virtually dormant alumni association; and being invited back in 1971 to speak and receive Appalachian’s first Distinguished Alumni Award. These and many other memories—subliminal as my life became consumed in a career of teaching, librarianship, and historical administration—were revived when, some time after the golden anniversary of my Class of 1949, I was invited to join Appalachian’s Library Advisory Board. I had known personally most of the earlier librarians—especially “Miss Emma” Moore, Leonard (“Bill”) Eury, and Allie Austin Hodgin—and I soon recognized the vigor of Dr. Mary Reichel, whose leadership has now been crowned by the magnificent Belk Library and Information Commons. Membership on the board has provided excuses for more and more return trips to Boone, each one reminding me of how much Appalachian has given to me, the only member of my family to reach high school, not to mention college. Sitting with fellow board members, however, brings a reminder that libraries cannot survive on the contribution of time and sentiment alone. Having attended or taught at eleven colleges and universities and founded my own special nonprofit organization (the North Caroliniana Society), my charities—from a pension based on a retired state employee’s salary—are necessarily limited. Each modest contribution, however, when added with thousands of others, helps fill gaps between state appropriations, tuition, and the needs of the library. Furthermore, I get the satisfaction of continuing, even in retirement, to support the mission for which my career has been spent—the preservation of materials documenting my native state of North Carolina. Finally, the mere fact that Dr. Reichel, her administrative staff, and visitors to the Conference Room and Special Collections walk through the “H.G. Jones Reading Lounge” each day provides more than food for the ego; it is a reminder that after sixty-three years I am still a member of the Appalachian family. H. G. Jones Class of 1949, ASTC 3
H.G. Jones