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| College Town Life |
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n that peculiar heaven known as the used bookstore, Jerry Vernon sits quietly, surrounded by shelves of treasure. Rare books, old maps and antique postcards are at her fingertips.
But what does this Durham, North Carolina resident like best about living in a college town? She smiles widely: "Basketball!" So surprise.
With almost 100 colleges and universities in the Carolinas, even people who love the academic life can
let loose at a ball game.
For Mrs. Vernon, whose husband John teaches economics at Duke University, the basketball rivalry
between that school and nearby UNC-Chapel Hill is just fun.
"A college town requires, first of all, a coffee shop and a bakery," upholds Josephine Humphreys, the noted novelist from Charleston, South Carolina.
Visiting professor at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, Mrs. Humphreys has discovered the joy of walking a few blocks downtown,
where she indulges in a cup of coffee, a spinach and feta scone, and a copy of the New York Times.
Likewise, she can cross the street to campus, where she teaches fiction writing.
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verything takes two minutes. The experience is just what she needed after writing her latest book.
"When I came back to the real world, I realized I had gotten old, and I was really out of touch,"
she explains.
She couldn't have chosen a better place to reconnect than Davidson.
This small town north of Charlotte, where the historic campus rises in brick splendor,
has merged college and village. "It's been an inviting place and incredibly friendly," she notes.
"Students, faculty, staff, the guys in the post office, everyone says hello and invites you to lunch."
Teaching young people has been refreshing, and so has socializing with the two other visiting professors - a world-famous philosopher from Australia and an expert in international economics from France.
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"It's been an inviting place and incredibly friendly," she notes.
"Students, faculty, staff, the guys in the post office, everyone says hello and invites you to lunch."
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In Davidson, quaint doesn't mean quiet. Lectures, concerts and athletic events occur every day,
and citizens who aren't affiliated with the college take advantage of its offerings.
Mrs. Humphreys' husband, a retired lawyer, is auditing a class in Caribbean literature.
A Brazilian guitar quartet performed earlier. "This is an active place," she observes.
"Everybody is engaged in something." She's been so engaged she hasn't written a single word.
"I thought I was going to have so much time I'd be able to finish a novel here.
But I'm really reluctant to take time out of the experience because it's temporary."
While Josephine Humphries delights in a small town consumed by a small college,
Larry Abernathy revels in a small town consumed by a large university.
Like Davidson, Clemson, South Carolina is named for its resident school.
Mr. Abernathy liked it so much he stayed after graduation.
He earned two master's degrees, was elected to town council, and became mayor.
After 17 years leading the town, he knows he made the right decision.
"Nobody leaves Clemson," he assures, remembering how he and his roommate - who is still in Clemson -
talked about what a great place they'd found the first night of their freshman year.
"Thirty minutes after we unpacked, we took a swim at the lake with some other students.
I went home and told my girlfriend that as soon as we could, we would get married and move to Clemson
and die there."
World-class events keep things exciting. When the Eagles played a concert in
Death Valley, where the Clemson Tigers play football, Mr. Abernathy was enthralled.
There's the Shakespeare festival every spring and the August-through-May parade of sports.
His son and daughter grew up attending football games and participating in campus library programs.
As mayor, he's invited to campus events where international leaders converge.
Mayors in Europe and Asia are revered, he explains, recalling a lively discussion he had with the
then-minister of education from the then-Soviet Union.
"I think globally now. But by the same token, I can be out trout fishing in the middle of the
Chattooga River." Mr. Abernathy is a counselor and teaches at Clemson.
Conversations with fellow professors invariably are interesting, and so are those with students.
"Students keep you young and curious." Then there's the mountains-and-lake scenery.
Get a milkshake from the university's beloved dairy (it started as an agricultural school),
and take a drive. You won't be sorry.
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"That person in your yoga class might be delivering a lecture about some obscure topic tomorrow night,
followed by supper at a Thai or Indian restaurant. It's a matter of exposure."
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In a college town, May is bittersweet.
Students leave town in a profusion of loaded cars and blooming trees.
But come August, the energy returns.
And Carolina college towns start thumping with football games, band practice and pep rallies.
In university cities, you'll find alternative newspapers, used CD stores, art movie houses and sushi.
That person in your yoga class might be delivering a lecture about some obscure topic tomorrow night,
followed by supper at a Thai or Indian restaurant. It's a matter of exposure.
Though a pharmacist by education, Larry Seigler is a musician at heart.
So when Iztak Perlman performed at Eastern Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina,
he was there. And so was his daughter Nell. "She's a violinist with the school orchestra," he explains.
"If not for this university, my daughter would not have an opportunity to shake his hand and get his
autograph on her program."
As a member of ECU's Board of Visitors, Mr. Seigler has watched chancellors and vice-chancellors take leadership positions with the chamber
of commerce, Communities in Schools program and a science and technology center.
"Having a university brings high expectations for your public school systems because you have
talented and educated people here, and they demand a good educational system for their children,"
he reasons. "It causes the community to set higher goals for itself."
ECU is the third largest university in the UNC system.
Every August, about 18,000 students arrive in Greenville, a historic city of 55,000 people. Its medical school partners with the local
health care system, and the 700-bed Pitt County Memorial Hospital is the hub for care in eastern North Carolina. In total, about 4,000 people are employed by the university and health care system.
Greenville's proximity to the Pamlico River creates plenty of recreation for residents, and Seigler's family has enjoyed countless fishing and camping excursions. Throw a university in there,
and there's no excuse for boredom.
For James Jolly, less is more. The smallish town of Hartsville, South Carolina,
(10,000 population) means more time for hiking,
biking and learning about himself. As director of marketing and communications for Coker College,
he's discovered he loves dance and jazz, enough to co-found the annual "Jazz! Carolina" festival
every October. Produced by the city and college, "Jazz! Carolina" includes three main concerts
and a family festival, with children and pets marching in a parade. Such small-town happenings
bemuse Mr. Jolly, who started his career in Washington, D.C. The slower pace and contagious
friendliness has had a thawing effect. He waves to strangers, bikes to the college's Kalmia
Gardens and enjoys concerts at its new 466-seat performing arts center.
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"There are things you miss in a city, but those are the things you visit in a city.
As far as settling down and quality of life, those things aren't what make life important."
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"I've gone to more
cultural and educational things than I ever did," he says. "One reason is because I'm older
and appreciate it more, but also because it's so accessible." Lecturing to classes has been a treat.
"Indirectly you learn from the students," he believes. "I'm always amazed at their optimism.
Seeing a little bit of yourself in them is a nice surprise." But college life is always a surprise,
where everyone is involved intellectually. "Money is important but not what drives a college.
Education does," Mr. Jolly declares. He's so sold on Hartsville that his British-born fiance
is moving from London. "She agrees with me that it's a great opportunity to live in a small town.
There are things you miss in a city, but those are the things you visit in a city.
As far as settling down and quality of life, those things aren't what make life important."
Mr. Jolly remembers his life inside the Beltway. "It's a different world to get up at the
crack of dawn, sit in rush-hour traffic and repeat that process every day. A little bit of you dies.
When you live in a small town, that little bit has a chance to grow back."
He laughs, slightly embarrassed. "I sound like a Hallmark card."
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Aida Rogers has worked in newspapers, magazines, legal newsletters, and television. The USC graduate and Lexington, SC native currently is managing editor of Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina, for which she writes a column about the most popular restaurants in The Palmetto State. Call her with your favorites at 803-808-1664.
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