The Christmas Truce of 1914

By Paul J. Magnarella

Although World War I ranks as one of the most horrific in history, causing about 40 million casualties and up to 20 million military and civilian deaths, it also included a famous and spontaneous peaceful interlude inscribed in chronicles as the unofficial Christmas Truce of 1914.

World War I The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by a Bosnian Serb in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, plunged much of Europe into war. The Entente Powers of France, Russia and Britain stood against the Central Powers of the Austro-Hungarian, German, and Ottoman Empires. In mid-September, the German, British and French commands ordered their armies to entrench along a 475 mile Western Front that extended from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier. Four years of brutal, stalemated trench warfare followed. Most trenches were about seven feet deep and six feet wide topped by a parapet of sandbags. From there barbed wire entanglements extended into No-Man’s land. In many places the No-Man’s Land separating German and British front-line trenches was only 30 to 70 yards wide.

The elements were sometimes more debilitating than the enemy. Standing in the mud and water for days often resulted in feet becoming gangrenous. Excessive exposure to wet and cold caused nephritis, which affected the kidneys. The accumulated rubbish, urine, and excreta in the trenches negatively impacted on health. Food scraps and decaying corpses attracted huge numbers of disease-carrying rats. The unwashed men attracted lice that covered their bodies with bite marks and caused “trench fever.” Artillery bursts caused some men to experience shell shock.

Periodically, the aristocratic generals (safely lodged in the rear) ordered the mostly lower class men in the trenches to make suicidal frontal assaults on enemy trenches. Machine guns and rapid fire rifles simply mowed down attacking men in No-Man’s Land, where their bodies often remained for weeks in a decaying state. The generals never devised a sensible plan to break the cruel stalemate that trench warfare became.

On Christmas Eve the weather cleared. Rain gave way to a clear cold that froze the mud and water, making movement easier and boots and clothing drier. Having received gift packages from home, the men of both sides were in a festive mood. That evening, along the front-line, German troops sang Christmas carols. Many erected candle-lit Christmas trees on their parapets and called out season’s greetings to their enemies opposite them.

Many Entente troops responded with applause, holiday wishes, and songs of their own. Concerned, one British battalion command informed Brigade Headquarters: “Germans have illuminated their trenches, are singing songs, and are wishing us a Happy Xmas. Compliments are being exchanged, but [I] am nevertheless taking all military precautions...”

Then, an amazing series of events occurred. Along parts of the British, French and Belgian lines, men from both sides went out into No-Man’s Land unarmed to meet, shake hands and fraternize. The First Battalion Royal Irish Rifles reported Germans calling out: “If you Englishmen come out and talk to us, we won’t fire.”

Scotsmen in Flanders, the 2nd Queen’s Battalion near La Chapelle d’Armentieres, and the 2nd Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers also reported Germans singing Stille Nacht [Silent Night] and extending invitations to meet in No Man’s Land.

Christmas Day
On the morning of 25 December, the 2nd Battalion Devons reported seeing the Germans hoist a board with the words “You no fight, we no fight.” Opposite the 2nd Battalion Border Regiment, the process began with a German officer emerging from his trench waving a white flag. The 2nd Battalion Wiltshires reported men on both sides waving to each other, and then going out into No-Man’s Land to meet unarmed. After initial greetings both sides agreed to bury their dead comrades who had been laying in No-Man’s Land for weeks. Some Germans and British worked together in burial parties; a British soldier described a joint funeral service as “a sight one will never forget!” Members of the British Rifle Brigade gave the Germans wooden crosses to mark their graves.

The opposing sides exchanged food, drink, cigarettes, photographs, addresses and sincere wishes for peace. A British officer found the scene “absolutely astounding!” The troops found each other to be quite likeable. Many men felt compelled to write home about their experience. A London Rifles Brigade officer: “They [Germans] were really magnificent in the whole thing....I now have a very different opinion of the Germans.” A Scots Guard: “Some of them are very nice fellows and did not show any hatred, which makes me think they are forced to fight.”

Once No-Man’s Land had been cleared of corpses, some men found areas suitable for soccer games with improvised balls. In places, British and Germans ate Christmas dinner together, sharing whatever they had. They entertained each other with singing and instrumental music.

How It Ended
Many who participated in an informal truce hoped to continue it until New Year’s Day or beyond. But the High Commands sternly objected. A German army order dated threatened that fraternization with the enemy would be punished as high treason. A British order warned that “Officers and NCOs allowing [fraternization] would be brought before a court martial.”

In late December the High Commands ordered artillery bombardments along the front. They did the same in following years to ensure that the 1914 Christmas truce would not be repeated. Despite these measures, a few friendly encounters did occur, but on a much smaller scale than in 1914.

Soldiers Express Themselves
The Christmas truce touched the men deeply as evidenced in their letters and diaries. Various British soldiers wrote the following: “The most wonderful day on record!” “The most extraordinary celebration of Christmas any of us will ever experience!” “This experience has been the most practical demonstration I have seen of Peace on earth and goodwill towards men.” German troops wrote: “The way we spend Christmas in the trenches sounds almost like a fairy tale.” “It was a Christmas celebration in keeping with the command ‘Peace on earth’ and a memory which will stay with us always.” “Probably the most extraordinary event of the whole year—a soldier’s truce without any higher sanction by officers or generals.”

Speaking in the House of Commons in 1930, Sir H. Kingsley Wood, a former major who had served at the front in 1914 stated: “If we had been left to ourselves there would never have been another shot fired. …it was only the fact that we were being controlled by others that made it necessary for us to start trying to shoot one another again.”

Today, the Christmas Truce of 1914 is regarded as evidence of men’s natural desire for peace and friendship, even in the context of a brutal and senseless conflict. However, the 1914 Christmas Truce is not unique in history. During the early 19th century Peninsula War, British and French soldiers at times visited each other, shared rations and played cards. Periodically during the 1854-56 Crimean War French, British and Russian troops gathered around the same fire to smoke and drink together.

In the American Civil War (1861-65) Yankees and Rebels traded coffee and tobacco and peacefully fished from opposite sides of the same rivers. Throughout history, it has been rare for men fighting at close quarters not to extend friendly gestures and establish informal truces with their enemies.

Paul J. Magnarella is Director of Peace and Justice Studies, Warren Wilson College.

This commentary was distributed by PeaceVoice, a program of the Oregon Peace Institute.

Let It Snow...

Thursday morning dawned clear but by lunch we were hearing the dire warnings of incoming snow. Thursday night it began to snow, and snow, and snow. Friday morning, students began to worry whether they would be able to get off campus. The snow had started accumulating and the roads were turning to ice. As I sat in the kitchen on my dorm on campus making tea, one of my friends ran in and tossed her key to me while quickly retreating out the door explaining that she needed to leave to beat the snow and I would just have to transfer her fish and her guinea pig, which I had agreed to take care of for break, myself. I had just enough time to wish her luck on her journey before she was gone. By noon, all the campus shuttles to the airport had been cancelled for safety reasons and all of Asheville’s taxis had stopped running. Pretty much everyone left on campus was stuck there at least for the night. At 7:00 Friday night, I was just finished baking vegan chocolate peanut butter balls when I peeked outside to discover that close to a foot of snow had fallen. Knowing that at least one of my friends had not made it off campus, I wrapped up a couple of the warm cookies, put on my boots, coat, gloves and hat, and headed out into the still falling snow.

Through the snow, I could just make out a six-foot tall snowperson gracing courtyard as I walked to the Wellness dorm. Once inside, I began to strip off layers before climbing the stairs to my friend’s room. When I know she invited me inside where I discovered not only her, but three other friends. After a brief discussion of some activities we could do that night, we went down into the common room to make some hot chocolate before heading back up to her room to cuddle together and watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Two hours, and a few tears later, my friends offered to walk me back to my room.

We all bundled up again and headed out into the snow. Almost immediately we all stopped, and after a few moments of joy declared that nothing is as beautiful as Warren Wilson in the snow (except maybe Warren Wilson in the spring). Unable to stand the idea of going back inside, we decided to take a walk. As we walked, we heard cheers coming from a nearby hill, one of the steepest on campus, and it did not take long to figure out that it was a group of people with improvised sleds. We climbed the hill, slipping on the snow and ice, dodging a couple of students as they came down, and finally made it to the top. There we found about fifteen people, a mix of foreign students and at least one person from each year, with a variety of boxes, tub lids, and other items which they we zooming down the hill on screaming the whole way. We laughed as we watched a couple of students set off down the hill, hitting a snow bank and doing a 360 before continuing down. After half and hour of fun, and a couple of trips down the hill, we realized it was getting close to 11:00 and we needed to go to bed. As we gingerly walked down the hill, we ran into one of the biology professors carrying his guitar and with him his wife. They had been singing and playing guitar on one of the pastures before realizing how late it was.

When I got home, I collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up in the morning, it was still snowing and it became apparent that no one would be leaving Saturday either. Cars littered the sides of Warren Wilson Road. The only vehicle that seemed to be able to get traction was a huge tractor, driven by a student, which was working to clear the roads of snow. It wasn’t until Sunday that the roads were clear enough for the shuttles to start running again and for students to drive home. Finally, on Monday morning, the campus was as quiet as it usually is during the first week of winter break. I headed down to recycling where I am working half the week for the next two weeks to start digging out our trash pick up trucks. Smiling, I picked up a snow shovel and started winter break for real.

Victoria

Aaah

Another Semester Has Come and Gone

Aaah. The semester has unfolded as usual. December has come and another glorious semester is coming to a conclusion. Each semester is different and precious in its own way. Every semester, students are challenged with new and invigorating classes, off-the-wall service projects that help improve the life of someone else and work crews that may be a repeat from the semester before or a new one in order to explore a variety of jobs before graduation. Students work from sun up to sundown, writing lab reports, conducting research, serving food in the cafeteria, tutoring elementary school children, volunteering at food banks, tending to the cows and working with prospective students that we encourage to come to our school. When the semester unwinds to a slow and gradual stop, we can look back at the laughter, the tears, the enjoyments and the fond memories.

As for me, I rose every morning before eight. Shutting off my alarm clock and ridding myself of its siren-like blare, I would rub the sleep from my eyes and go about my day. After falling asleep twice in the bathroom, I would pull myself together and start my day. The mornings would open with a run to Gladfelter where I would receive a smiling welcome from the student serving food. I would then receive my gleaming bagel, rounder than any circle that any mathematician could ever draw. Then I would load up on cream cheese and gulp down a tall glass of skim milk.

The morning would then lead to classes where we had Socratic discussions and contemplated the eccentricities and complexities of this great world. Then it was off to Cowpie for lunch to see what food chocked full of life force vegetarian goodness the students had whipped together that day. The afternoon consisted of glorious hours in the Admission Office. There were of course the data entries, the appointment scheduling and the tours. But what I really loved was the mailing. Peeling the labels and placing them ever so delicately on the brochure. Stuffing envelopes with beautiful radiant green booklets, knowing that an excited prospective student would receive them. The sense of accomplishment that crosses the mind after having just finished taping 312 brochures. The wonderful feeling of diligence.

As the semester reaches the final stretch, I know I can speak for many when I say that another semester at Warren Wilson truly builds character. It would be a lie to say that it is not stressful. There’s homework, demanding jobs and service obligations. Time management is crucial. But when you stop and think about it, the days we spend balancing our life on this lovely campus with its majestic mountains, really are the best times of our lives.

Sarah

Rite of Passage

At the end of last year, I remember hearing all the upperclassmen share how towards the end of summer you would grow antsy to get back to Wilson. I can now attest to this feeling with personal experience. I was so excited to go home to Upstate New York for the summer, to see family and friends, and to take a break from school work. But as soon as I bought my ticket back to the mountainous Swannanoa, I began to feel anxious to see my friends and just be on campus.

After getting up at three in the morning to catch my flight and spending all day in airports, it was so comforting to come around the corner and see the famous red barn in the field with the large WWC in white. I then carried my heavy suitcases into my new home of Ballfield B, to bump into one of my best friends. There was a sigh of relief. It felt so right to be back, and after one day I felt like I had never left.

All summer I answered the question of, “How was your first year at school?” I always felt I wasn’t doing Wilson justice with my response of “amazing.” However, I never could think of a way to show everyone how much I’ve grown and all the experiences I’ve had since moving away from home. I have truly grown as a person, from doing my own laundry when the bin is full to experiences which have given me a different outlook on the world.

I am now comfortably in a routine, which consists of classes, work, study, meals in Cowpie with friends, more studying, and tea time in the late evenings to wind down, before more studying. It was unbelievably nice to fall back into my typical duties on the Admission Crew, answering the phone, giving tours, and catching up. However I know friends who switched from working in the Work Program Office to Farm Crew and from Admission to Plumbing. To hear their new stories of learning something new has been great!

All in all it is “amazing” to be back! And I will always consider Wilson as a home away from home.

Andrea

Days of Our Lives

7:00am
Wake up and get ready for the day


7:30
Walk to breakfast and take in the beautiful Valley


8:00
Lifestyles of Nonviolence class


9:30
Go down to the river to collect and identify arthropods during Field and Natural History class


11:00
East Asian Civilizations class


12:30
Lunch at Cowpie, the vegan café while listening to the old-time string band


1:00
Work at the Office of Admission- entering data, giving tours, and talking on the phone


5:00
Make dinner in the kitchen with the folks in my dorm


6:00
Attend a movie viewing for my US History from 1945 course


7:30
Take a short hike on campus


8:30
Homework and Studying


11:00pm
Fall asleep while watching the “Planet Earth” series

Cait

Oh Lord, Kumbayah

It sounds like the lead up to a pretty good punch line: “What do you get when you send a Warren Wilson student to Maine to work at an all-girls Bible camp for the summer?” But this year, and for the past two years, I have left the Swannanoa valley to come up to New England Camp Cedarbrook. It may seem like a strange combination to you, but to me, it makes perfect sense. One of my favorite things about going to WWC is being exposed to so many new kinds of people and so many different ways of life (see also: reiki, firespinning, biodynamic agriculture, slam poetry, and raw-foodism), and learning how to be open to that. When I come to camp, I'm doing the same thing: being around people who seem very dissimilar, and learning how to look for what we have in common.

This summer, I am working joyfully alongside people who question evolution, who march in pro-life rallies, who have bumper stickers for the Marines on their cars and who proudly voted for McCain/Palin. And we all get along great. That's what being in community is about, right?

When I'm here at camp, I get to do things like teach Bible studies about compost (just like the worms decompose table scraps and turn them into rich soil, Jesus takes our icky bits and turns them into opportunities for growth) and explain how turning off the lights and buying local food is taking care of God's creation. And, what's more, I get to challenge myself, my campers, and the other staff to look beyond our stereotypes and knee-jerk reactions and learn how to live in vibrant community with one another.

See? Not so different from Wilson after all (well, except for the strict ban on skinnydipping up here. The lazy Swannanoa River will be waiting for me in August).

Can I get an “Amen”?

Lindsay

Why We Work - well, at least one reason...

It’s the middle of June and I have been working on Admission Crew for roughly four weeks now. One of the great advantages of working at WWC in the summer is getting paid every two weeks. My plan is to save some extra money for the fall semester, so I can actually go out to eat every once and a while. I made the mistake of coming to school last semester with not more than five dollars in my bank account. Not that having money is a big concern here, it is just nice to be able to go out on occasion. At least WWC pays a good bit more than minimum wage for the summer work. With a forty hour a week contract, I should have some spending money as well. On top of it all, WWC makes it easy for students to take off however many weeks they want for vacation time. I could easily spend a month in Nova Scotia, and then come back and work the rest of the summer with this set up! I guess I am enjoying working on this crew too much to take that much time off.

Thankfully, today was payday, another five hundred dollars towards my savings. Right? Not exactly. A wrench was thrown into my plans to save up, when I got a call from a friend who was planning a trip by herself to New York City. Convincing me to join her did not take much. I thought about my little savings account, and decided, what am I saving for anyway; Greasy pizza from Chow Time, the local delivery place? No, I need to put my money towards new experiences, not more junk. So I dished out two hundred dollars for a round trip ticket to NYC. Luckily, the cost of the ticket was not even half of one of my paychecks. The real cost will come when I get there, gazing around at tons of museums and subways. The adventure will definitely be worth it. I have never been to NYC, and I have never been that far north. It’s going to be a one hundred and eighty degree turn around from the mountains of Appalachia but I think I need to experience the big city. Not to mention I’ll be there for the Forth of July celebration. City lights, and fireworks here I come!

Jenn

The Last Supper

Ah, to be less than a week away from graduating. It is exciting, terrifying, and wonderful all at the same time. One of the many senior events of the final two weeks is the senior dinner, a delicious meal orchestrated by the President and his wife and shared with fellow seniors, professors, and staff alike. As if graduating weren’t nostalgic enough, do all of my professors have to dote on me so? Carol Howard, whom I mentioned in a previous blog as a brunette bombshell and professor of English here at WWC, saw us driving up to the dinner and waited outside of the door so that she could be sure to sit with “her students” at the dinner.

Unfortunately, Gary Hawkins, head of the creative writing department, and David Mycoff, head of the English department, did not plan so well, and we had quickly run out of space at our table, forcing them to find seats elsewhere. Carol and I discussed future plans as well as landmark college experiences over my beef filet and her portobello mushroom. Warren Gaughan, head of the music department, came over to chat, and I invited him to a post-graduation get-together at my house. He just said, “I’m invited? YES!” And I told him all about the two bands that will be performing at the party.

Following dinner, the Warren Wilson College Chorale serenaded us with everything from world music to a Bob Dylan cover. As I sipped my coffee, Mycoff took advantage of a seat vacated by my roommate, Tori, and sat down next to me. I slyly opened with “How’s your semester wrapping up?” as a casual lead in to ask if he had read my thesis yet and, if so, what he had thought of it. I dropped the question, and he told me that my forty pages about AIDS Drama was one of the best theses he has read. As he stood up to leave, he added: “And I don’t just mean out of this year’s work.” I have been on cloud 9 since that conversation and will continue floating until May 16th around 10:00 or so.

RH

No Rest for The Weary

At this point in the school year, students are realizing that there are, in fact, only a couple days left in this academic year.

Right now Wilson students are in the midst of writing final papers, preparing for exams, and reviewing all the information they’ve absorbed over the semester. In addition to all the academic work at hand, Wilson students are still putting in fifteen hours a week on their work crews. That’s right, our students are not graced with a week free of classes, let alone work. Our cows still need to be rotated on our pastures and the bathrooms in Gladfelter still need to be cleaned.

But, you know what?

That’s what makes our school and students so distinct. Outside of a college setting, the world won’t hold still when stuff starts pilling up. The same holds true here at Wilson.

LM

One Down, Three To Go

It’s funny to think how just ten months ago I was completely ignorant to the entire idea of college life. I remember thinking to myself, as I packed my final belongings into the van the night before our 14-hour journey from New York to North Carolina, that everything was going to be different from now on. All the websites say that once you leave for college your relationship between everyone at home changes, not necessarily for the worse. Then when we pulled out of the drive way the next morning I remember thinking that this is going to be my last trip down my driveway and then NY for a long time. I have always traveled and loved being away from home, but this time is different, I was going to a chapter in my life. It was a bittersweet goodbye.

I remember pulling off of Warren Wilson Road onto campus for orientation week. I remember being nervous, excited, scared, and ready all at the same time as my parents, sister, and I began to unload the van and carry my things up to the third floor of Sunderland. How we opened the door to see white walls, a bed, desk, and wardrobe, and my mother not being able to believe that she was going to leave me in such a hospital looking room. Everything is such a blur for the next week.

Life was awkward for the first month or so as we were all finding our friends and our place here on campus. It was especially awkward between my roommate and I, learning about each other and trying not to step on each other’s feet. Audrey and I have come a long way since our first meeting. Now we are best friends who stay up for hours in bed just talking. I have grown confident with my classes and the college all together.

I know I have changed since coming to college, but all for the better. I have a better idea of what I want in life. I have life long friends. I know myself better. The beginning was difficult, but it was so worth it to get to where I am now. So it is hard to believe that a year full of memories is exactly that…memories. Now I have to look to the future and a new year next fall.

AL

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

This semester has been a rough one both academically and physically. In addition to taking an intensive course load, including chemistry, I have been dealing with some health issues. Over the course of about a month, I have had two serious bouts of tonsillitis that landed me in the hospital. My plan was the same all along, to hold out until summer and have surgery at home after the semester was completed. When the second round of tonsillitis stopped responding to antibiotics, my doctor advised me to have my tonsils removed immediately to avoid a systemic infection. He also advised that I discontinue my school and class work as the medication I would be receiving after surgery would impede my ability to focus.

I was devastated. There was only five weeks left! The last thing that I wanted to do was withdraw from school and delay my graduation. So, with withdrawing out of the question, I called the dean of students, Cathy Kramer. Cathy calmed me down and we created a plan that allowed me to remain a Wilson student while I dealt with my medical concerns. I dropped chemistry as I would not be able to attend enough labs to satisfy the course. Each of my other professors met with me individually to discuss my coursework. They offered to meet with me in their own free time to fill me in on the material that I had missed. Everyone accommodated me to the fullest. When I was recovering, I received “get well” calls and emails from both my professors and supervisors.

Finally, I am left in aw of Wilson again. Never have I felt such a part of a community. It is situations like these that make me grateful that I call this tiny mountain school my home.
-CC

P.S. I have returned to work and I will be completing my classes in the next two weeks without my tonsils!

Work Day - Breakfast

Usually, when students are interacting with Landscaping supervisor Tom LaMuraglia, he’s wearing a green flannel shirt, a Leatherman on his hip, and a cap on his head. He holds a walkie-talkie in one hand and a forever-ringing cell phone in the other. He has motor oil on his finger tips, grass clippings on his shins. If Tom had a motto, it would be, "eat, drink, landscape, and be merry."

Today, Tom is relatively clean, sporting a white t-shirt and a fresh pair of Carharts. But that doesn’t mean he’s not working hard. He moves around his kitchen with his chin to his chest, beating vats of raw eggs, sculpting mounds of sausage patties, looking up only momentarily to give a hearty welcome and a slap on the back to every student that enters his front door.

In the living room, past and present members of the Landscaping, Tree and Blacksmith Crews mingle about, happily drunk on the smell of what’s about to come out of the kitchen. It’s 8:30 in the morning, and Tom’s house is packed. He’s just the kind of guy that can pull 50 college students out of bed that early in the morning for a meal that most of them aren’t even accustomed to eating anymore. No one’s complaining about the early call time today though.

After breakfast we play bocce ball in the pasture behind Tom’s house, Scrabble around his sofa and Jenga on the dining room table. The Tree Crew pops in a CD of 80’s pop songs with techno remixes. A dance party ensues around the Scrabble players, who must shout to be heard: "Europe is a proper noun, but I’ll let it slide!"

This is the most fun I’ve had before noon in a long time. God bless Work Day.

Christopher Biddle '11

"Start small, go slow, but go.”

My life as a Warren Wilson College student is about to end. On Saturday, May 16, 2009 (short 4 weeks from now), I will graduate from this fine educational institution with a degree in Outdoor Leadership Studies. Whoa.

I transferred to Wilson from Hood College, which is another small, liberal arts college in Frederick, Maryland. Hood was my fallback school, and when the college I had my heart set on fell through with financial aid, I realized that I needed to fall back. It was not a good fit. I won’t sit here and complain, but basically, students at Hood are not focused on the community as a whole and I had a difficult time making friends, despite my best efforts. I found solace in the art club (which was made up of mostly commuter students) and in the knowledge that I was not going to stay an entire four years.

During spring break of my first year, I looked at schools in California and in the fall of my sophomore year I looked at schools in Vermont. I decided that I was somewhat interested in majoring in Gender Studies at Burlington College in Vermont. On Christmas Eve, however, I was talking to a friend who had graduated from Wilson in ’05, and she said something about how she had never heard of another school where students could work on a farm or graduate with an Outdoor Leadership degree. I got excited; I decided right then that I wanted to go to Warren Wilson College to major in this Outdoor Leadership thing. So, having never visited the school, I applied two weeks before the spring semester started, was accepted a week later, and three days before orientation I drove on down south with my mom to find out what this place was all about.

It was, without a doubt, the best decision (and the riskiest!) I have ever made. I love going to school here. I have met people who have changed my life (including the daughter of Maura Bussiere, who I know is reading this blog), learned things about the world and myself, and experienced things I don’t think I would have had I attended a different school. I fell in love with the mountains of western North Carolina, which I not only see every day while on campus, but also lived in for 48 days during a North Carolina Outward Bound Course. I know the town of Asheville and its many splendors, my favorite of which are the Sisters McMullen Cupcake Corner and the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. I met Rue McClanahan, a star of my favorite TV show (The Golden Girls), at a local bookstore. I have also found a great tattoo artist, which is a mixed blessing because it means that now I’ll have to come back to Asheville every time I want a tattoo. And, most importantly, I know that I will do something worthwhile with my life because I came to Warren Wilson College.

I realize now that all of that gushy “Go forth young man/woman” graduation crap is not actually gushy crap. I’m starting to feel nervous and excited about starting my life as a college graduate, and all of the stuff I rolled my eyes at before I’m starting to relate to. This is when I’m supposed to start becoming a real person, and that’s a little scary. I’ll have to do things like pay for health insurance and my cell phone and try to make friends outside of a school setting and try to be a good person and contribute positive things to the world. It’s a lot to think about! Luckily, I don’t have to become an adult all at once, and I have my whole life to get things right. One of my favorite professors, Dr. Marty O’Keefe, says something that I like a lot: “Start small, go slow, but go.” And that’s what I intend to do, to go.

Laurel

I woke up at 6:15 on Easter morning to bundle up, since it was below freezing at that time, and walk to the Formal Gardens here at Warren Wilson College for the Easter Sunrise Service. I walked over with fellow early-riser from my dorm and met some friends at the Garden. There were some chairs set up, and standing room in the back. People were bundled up with hats, scarves, and mittens holding bulletins awaiting the sunrise. My good friend had gotten up extra early that morning to bake bisuits to share with others at the service, and they sure hit the spot – warm and delicious. We stood outside as the sun painted the sky various shades of pink and orange and the birds woke up from their slumber and began chirping above us. We prayed together, sang together, and even danced together a little bit as we welcomed the sun and the warmth and celebrated.

For many, Easter is a very special time and Warren Wilson does an excellent job making it special for those who cannot be at home with their families. While many students were able to go home for the weekend, many of us were still at school and were happy to have a lovely service to go to that morning. Leah McCullough, the new Spiritual Life Director, lead the service and it was an excellent opportunity to meet her. She lead a wonderful service and we were all happy to be awake and celebrating together.

After the service we all walked back to our dorm rooms to warm up our frozen feet and hands before continuing our days.

Adrianne

So Long

One of the graduation requirements is to write a Senior Letter, a reflection on the years spent learning, working, serving, and living at Warren Wilson. It can be pretty much anything that you want it to be, but it is supposed to incorporate each branch of the triad specifically and the ways that the triad influenced your college experience as a whole. As a graduating senior, I thought it might be helpful, to those of you considering WWC for your college experience, to post some excerpts from my letter in hopes that it will effectively convey what a wonderful education I have received here.

Senior Letter (Excerpts)
Major: English Literature with Honors
Minor: Vocal Music

To The Faculty and Staff of Warren Wilson College:

This is an interesting assignment for me, and I feel as though I have had a lot of practice explaining my college experience as a result of working on the Admission Crew for nearly two years. In fact, it may be difficult for me to identify the negative aspects of my Warren Wilson experience because I am so used to having to explain every piece of Wilson life in a positive light to sometimes skeptical parents. I guess my point is that in having to think of a positive spin for everything about WWC, I have grown to appreciate things that I might not otherwise. In the eyes, expressions, and questions of people seeing our community for the first time, my love for this place is constantly rejuvenated.

Another area of personal growth that is a direct result of my work on the crew is that I am an infinitely more confident person than when I first came to school four years ago. Assuming the role of tour guide has allowed me to overcome some self-consciousness and to show my best side. I get to be funny, knowledgeable, intelligent, and captivating all at the same time, and I get paid for it! I cannot express the importance of meaningful work in my life. I know that the friendships that I’ve forged with fellow crewmembers, admission staff, and my Scrabble buddy, Marge, will last as long as we all do. As for academics, I could not be happier that I chose to major in English. I think that it is one of the strongest departments on campus, filled with brilliant, engaging professors. I particularly enjoyed any Carol Howard class that I took. Anyone who can make Restoration Literature bearable has got to be a great teacher.

Aside from the classes within my major, there have been a few notable ones that I’ve really appreciated. Lynn Pohl’s history course was one of the most challenging classes I took. I avoided philosophy like the plague until I accidentally took a political philosophy class, disguised by the alluring title Law and Order in Film and Literature. I got to reread things that I had totally written off in high school and see films that I might have never seen otherwise. I got to sing with the jazz band and play Betty the prostitute in The Threepenny Opera for course credit. I went and ate Indonesian food at Siti’s house at the end of my very first semester with my peer group. I traveled to London with Mycoff and Sharon, saw lots-o-plays, and drank lots-o-Guinness. I then flew to Belfast, Northern Ireland to visit Jemma, a student who was studying abroad at Wilson, after my course formerly known as Worldwide was over.

After all of those great experiences, my life is currently consumed by two things: my thesis and photography. I cannot thank Ron B. and Carol enough for assisting me with what still seems to me a monumental undertaking (only 11 and ¾ pages to go!). I have really enjoyed reading all of these great plays as well as my discussions with Ron and Carol. I am especially thankful that their support allowed me to pursue a topic that I really wanted to do, AIDS Drama, despite the fact that I am working with plays that the majority of the English faculty have neither read nor heard of. As for photography, I just wish that I had started my first semester. I took Photo I because I was in two upper-level English courses, one of which was my senior honors course, and I really felt that I needed a different kind of work to stay sane through it all. I have found my artistic niche in photography, which is equally process-driven and creative. One thing that I have learned through photography is that if you act like you are supposed to be somewhere, people generally buy it. A Nikon SLR can provide access to people and places that you wouldn’t believe. It was through photography that I truly got to know downtown Asheville, fully explored this place. Eric Baden has also taught me to strive for my personal best and will usually accept nothing less.

Aside from Academics and Work, the Service-Learning aspect of the Triad has also been a valuable part of my college experience.

…second semester of my freshman year, I found the perfect service project for me. I have been attending games night at Presbyterian Homes for Children for over three years now, and I am still as terrible at sports as when I began. Fortunately, being good is not really the point; in fact, I think the kids like that I suck so much (it makes them look good). Sometimes the kids will talk about things or seek counsel from me, but more often they just want to have fun. I think that my continued presence there makes more of a difference than any individual conversation or bit of advice given ever could. Now, some of the kids who were wee freshman, when we were also, are getting ready to graduate high school.

As for my future plans, I know that I want to stay in Asheville. This place is my home. Other than that, I have no future plans, and my well-rounded liberal arts experience has given me the strength and confidence to know that not knowing exactly is okay.

RH

Tut Tut

I had the pleasure to join a small group of Archaeology Crew students on a trip to Atlanta, GA, last month. We were on our way to see the King Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center. After four hours of sitting on a bus with fifteen other students and David Moore, archaeology professor and trusty crew supervisor, we arrived before the gate into the exhibit.

First, we watched a 3D video of all the Pharaohs leading up to King Tut himself. I do not know who can complain when beautiful gold jewelry and statues feel only to be an arm length away. Then I had the amazing opportunity to walk through the exhibit where fifty objects from King Tut’s tomb were displayed beautifully behind a thin sheet of glass. We gazed upon statues that were made hundreds of years BC. The part that left me in the most awe was the fact that everything looked like it was made yesterday. If I had not been at such a legitimate place, I would have never believed the plaques reading that the object were from 1355 BCE. One statue left me speechless, and it was not exactly for the stature either. For below the statue was a piece of rock with the sketch of the statue in what looked to be pencil. It was so well preserved! It is very difficult to explain the overwhelming feeling of awe that I felt as I walked though all the rooms adorned with priceless processions of Pharaohs.

After we all were dragged away from the beauties that were kept in the dimly lit rooms, we were off to the High Museum of Art. It was here that we were witness to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th Century: China’s Terracotta Army. Numerous Soldiers in the exhibit once guarded Emperor Qin’s burial complex. Over 7,000 soldiers are still standing underground and only a select 1,000 have surfaced for the world to see. What I found very interesting was the fact that the tomb itself has yet to be excavated for archaeologists want to wait until improvements in conservation and preservation are made before they remove the objects with the utmost care.

So how does someone from Admissions get the opportunity to go on a trip with the Archaeology department? Connections. I just so conveniently had a friend on the Archaeology crew who knew I would be interested in such an adventure and invited me along. This was an unforgettable experience and I was extremely fortunate to be apart of it.

Andrea

Ski NC?

Last month, I went skiing with a couple of friends at a hill that was just an hour away from Warren Wilson. Yes, you understood me correctly, I went skiing in North Carolina! We left after class, drove an hour, and there we were, at a latitude of 35°56'. Along the way, we feasted on home baked baguettes and almond butter, which stuck to our ribs, filling us up nicely. Upon our arrival at the foot of the hill, it was snowing and minus 17 °C to boot! I was totally duped; it felt like I was actually at a latitude of 46°67'. Beautiful skiing weather, I thought

Mark and I rented gear while Sean had his snowboard with him, which he keeps packed away in his room somewhere on the third floor of Ballfield C. We skied until our muscles were too cold and our fingertips and toes too cold to know that they still existed. Was it probable that the particles in my toes would theoretically turn into a wave when I wasn’t rubbing them furiously, trying to increase blood flow to my toe. Is the uncertainty principle active at the bases of NC ski hills?

After returning our gear, we found our way back to the car. Driving home, Mark dozed off in the backseat, recovering from a hardcore night where he trained his muscles to keep him upright while fixed to several layers of fiberglass while gliding on a snowy incline. Sean drove us home with his mildly frostbitten fingertips. We returned home, exhausted, looking forward to the next time we could hit the slopes in the beautiful state of North Carolina.

Lora

From Dining to Admissions, “What did I get myself into?”

I could feel the butterflies multiplying in my stomach the morning of my first day at my brand new job. I had no idea what to expect and the mystery of it all just overwhelmed me. As I walked into the Admissions building on Triad Day of this semester I reconsidered just going back to Dining Services, to where I feel comfortable. I walked into the conference room where the rest of the crew was already sitting, already thinking that I should have come early. Everyone in the room had a wide smile across their face and were at ease, for they were already friends. Thankfully, work that day was cut short for Triad Day, giving me another day to compose myself before I delved deep into “God only knows what.”

Over the next few days I started to get the hang of what it meant to be on Admissions Crew. I even got a nickname within two hours of being with my new crew family. I was told that if I ever had a question that I should just ask anyone… and I do. Everyone was more than happy to answer all my questions about whether “I should recycle that” or “what exactly goes in the infamous GenPac?” By having to ask so many questions I feel more and more comfortable with office life.

I do have to admit to the fact that once I knew what my job entailed, I was terrified of the phone. Answering it, looking at it, listening to it ring, all these miniscule actions that had never worried me before, grew large. However after avoiding getting near one of the two phones for over a week in fear of having to answer it, I did one morning. I may have had verbal dyslexia the entire time and didn’t know the answer, but I felt so happy that I had picked up that inanimate object. After that I was just so ecstatic and now I will gladly sit next to one of the phones and answer it. The phone is no problem of mine any longer!

Having devoted my first semester at Wilson to Gladfelter, office jobs are much different. I no longer have to pick out cake batter from my hair or worry about wearing black and turning my shirt white with flour. My hands stay clean (I suppose except for what germs made it to the phone handle) and I actually know everyone by name. I feel I did my freshman duty by working on Dining, but now I am off to Admissions.

The point of my blurb about my first week on a new crew is that a little nerves are okay. However, time will cure anything and even widen your own comfort zone. The Warren Wilson Work Program is an amazing opportunity to learn new skills and overcome new fears. I am very grateful for the chance to be a part of the Admissions Crew. Now I need to stop writing for the phone just rang… and I am comfortably sitting closest to the ringing box connected to the wall.

Andrea

Oatmeal

There are two things you should know about me: first, I can keep track of maybe two things in my life, and I lose everything else. Second, I love oatmeal, but loathe raisins. Keep these facts in mind; they will come up later.

This semester, the locks on all of the dormitory doors changed from a keypad (press 2, then 6, then try to press 5 and 7 at the same time while also balancing your biology book, that delicious package of cookies your dad sent, and the cellphone on which you’re talking to your boyfriend in New York who may or may not be breaking up with you) to a card swipe system. Everyone was issued shiny new school IDs with a little patch of magic in them. It took a couple of weeks for the faithful locksmith crew to change over all the doors, and when they finally did, it meant we had to have our IDs with us all the time in order to get into our dorms. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth (and propping of doors) as people struggled to remember their IDs. The silver lining to all of this? The little note that the locksmith crew left on all of the doors, explaining how to wave our card in front of the card reader so that the light would flash green. It was signed, “With Love, The Locksmiths.” And you know what? I think they meant it. I think it WAS done with love. And that’s why I’m a fan of the work program. It means that the people who are changing the locks on our doors, and making our pancakes, and photocopying our final exams, and mopping our floors and pruning our trees and fixing the waterless urinals, are our friends, which makes more of a difference than you’d think.

This morning, after having lost my ID for a day and a half, I finally found it and got to go the dining hall like a whole person (if you don’t have your ID, you have to print out a temporary meal ticket, and the cafeteria manager scoffs at you). Before I could say anything to Emilene, who is the breakfast server at Cowpie (the vegetarian and vegan dining hall), she said, “I know, I know, it has raisins in it, I’m sorry.” She then proceeded to explain how she thinks of me every time she makes oatmeal, and—without me saying anything—went to amazingly painstaking lengths to scoop me a bowl of oatmeal that was one-hundred-percent raisin free.

That’s what I call love.

Lindsay

Locks of Love

If you had taken a tour with me in the past two years, you may remember that I was the girl with the long, brown, curly hair. As of this past Friday, however, I am an entirely new woman. I cut fifteen inches of my hair and donated it to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair while undergoing chemotherapy. Although now when I reach back to twist my hair into a ponytail and get a fist-full of nothing, I am slowly getting used to my new do.

You may be aware of the Service Learning requirement at Warren Wilson, 100 hours of community service to graduate. Unfortunately, inches of hair, pints of blood, and ounces of love cannot be converted into service hours. Thus, when a WWC student gives these immeasurable objects, it is simply for the benefit of others. Through the Service Learning Program at WWC, I have learned to give others what I can afford to give without reward or incentive. I have completed my requirement of 100 hours for a while now, and I continue to attend games night at Presbyterian Homes. Whether it be hair, time, or love, I have learned to love the simplest act of giving to others.

Rachel