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The Essence of UNC in Photographs
by Charly Mann
1940/41 UNC Cheerleaders. Charlie Nelson at the top of the pyramnid. The girls are left, Jeannie Connel; right, Jane Rumsey. the guys are Frank Alspaugh Johyyn Feuchtenbueger. George Coxhead, Herschel Snuggs, and Tom Avera.
G. B. Lamm (Greyard Byrne) was a man who had the eye and talent for capturing the beauty and spirit that resided on the University of North Carolina campus between 1936 to 1940. He came from the small town of Maxton, NC not far from the South Carolina border at the height of the Depression with just enough money from his family to pay tuition. He paid for everything else, including room and board, as a photographer, selling photos to both the Charlotte Observer and Greensboro News-Record. He also contributed his pictures to the following UNC publications: The Daily Tar Heel, the Yackety-Yack, the fabulous humor magazine Tar 'an Feathers, and the short-lived and controversial parody magazine The Buccaneer.
UNC coeds prepare for biggest dance of 1939 with Glenn Miller Orchestra
As you can see from this sampling of his photographs Lamm's skill rivals that of many of most highly regarded 20th century's professional photographers and is certainly the best to come out of Chapel Hill in that era.
UNC men's track and field members jump over hurdles from 1941. This would be a difficult shot even for an experienced photographer today with the best equipment.
G.B. Lamm died at the age 89 on Jan. 3, 2008. He was a devoted Tarheel throughout his life, and proudly attended meeting of the alumni who had graduated from the University at least 50 years earlier.
He served as a photographer in the Army during World War II recording aerial bombing missions in the South Pacific, and the horrors of war in Europe.
G.B. Lamm's favorite UNC coed model "Frenchie" at Battle Seat in front of Gimghoul Castle 1939. This photo was taken on a very cold winter day.
Quintessential male UNC students in front of Graham Memorial 1939. It is hard to believe this was standard student attire at one time, and this was at the height of the Depression.
Lamm planned to become a professional photographer, but soon after returning from the war in 1945 he married his high-school sweetheart Virginia Todd, and he began a 37 year career as a principal. He was a principal in Lilesville, Peachland, Creedmore, Biscoe, and 24 years at the Ellerbe School.
Photography continued to be a hobby and passion for Lamm for the rest of life.
UNC coeds at Old West Dorm in 1941. I thought Spencer was the only female dorm at that time, but perhaps Old West went coed at the beginning of World War II.
UNC students in front of Mangum Dorm 1939. This is where G.B. Lamm stayed during most of his years at Carolina.
All of these photos have been provided by Beth Lamm Richardson, G.B. Lamm's daughter.
To enjoy more of G.B. Lamm's incredible photographs of the University of North Carolina between 1937 and 1941 go to the following website maintained by Terry Richardson.
http://nicebigman.com/lamm.htm
In the next few months we plan to do at least two more pieces featuring the works of this very gifted photographer.
Comments:
Charlie Nelson
3:40 PM Sat 6/5/2010
That is me, Charlie Nelson at the top of the pyramnid. The girls are left, Jeannie Connel; right, Jane Rumsey. the guys are Frank Alspaugh Johyyn Feuchtenbueger. George Coxhead, Herschel Snuggs, and Tom Avera. Tha is th cheerleader squad for 1940/41 school year. My addess is 67 Davisson Dr. , Durham, N.C. 27705 E-mail is charlienelson@nc.rr.com. TGelephone 919-384-2109. I would like to hear from anyone in school at that time. Go Heels!
Charly Mann
8:59 AM Thu 2/11/2010
I think that is a fair comment Dameataus. Unfortunately I only have one photo from this photographer of a black person, and I was not certain it was taken in Chapel Hill.
I welcome photos of people of all races from Chapel Hill, and I have several more articles planned on the black experience in Chapel Hill history.
Dameataus Brown
8:07 AM Thu 2/11/2010
there are no black people
Susie Clark
4:04 PM Thu 11/19/2009
What an uplifting photographer! I wish he had made a career of taking pictures of Chapel Hill and UNC.
Todd Harrison
5:20 PM Wed 11/18/2009
The maturity and sophistication of the students is evident in these photos. I hope some of these people are still alive to enjoy them.
Carson Webb
1:14 PM Wed 11/18/2009
My mother attended UNC from 1940 to 1944. When I visit her over Thanksgiving I will show her these pictures. I am sure they will delight her and bring back many great memories.
Chapel Hill is located on a hill whose only distinguishing feature in the 18th century was a small chapel on top called New Hope Chapel. This church was built in 1752 and is currently the location of The Carolina Inn. The town was founded in 1819, and chartered in 1851.
What is it that binds us to this place as to no other? It is not the well or the bell or the stone walls. or the crisp October nights. No, our love for this place is based upon the fact that it is as it was meant to be, The University of the People.
-- Charles Kuralt
Dark Side of the Hill -- Pink Floyd, the creators of the most popular album in history, Dark Side of the Moon, took the second half of their name from Floyd Council, a Chapel Hill native, and great blues singer and guitarist. He once belonged to a group called "The Chapel Hillbillies".
Check out Charly Mann's other website:
Oklahoma Birds and Butterflies
http://oklahomabirdsandbutterflies.com
Oklahoma Birds and Butterflies
http://oklahomabirdsandbutterflies.com
There would probably be no Chapel Hill if the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees in 1793 had not chosen land across from New Hope Chapel for the location of the university. By 1800 there were about 100 people living in thirty houses surrounding the campus.
The University North Carolina's first student was Hinton James, who enrolled in February, 1795. There is now a dormitory on the campus named in his honor.
The University of North Carolina was closed from 1870 to 1875 because of lack of state funding.
William Ackland left his art collection and $1.25 million to Duke University in 1940 on the condition that he would be buried in the art museum that the University was to build with his bequest. Duke rejected this condition even though members of the Duke Family are buried in Duke Chapel. What followed was a long and acrimonious legal battle between Ackland relatives who now wanted the inheritance, Rollins College, and the University of North Carolina, each attempting to receive the funds. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and in 1949 UNC was awarded the money for the museum. Ackland is buried near the museum's entrance. When the museum first opened, in the early sixties, there were rumors that his remains were leaking out of the mausoleum.
The official name of the Arboretum on the University of North Carolina campus is the Coker Arboretum. It is named after Dr. William Cocker, the University's first botany professor. It occupies a little more than five acres. It was founded in 1903.
Chapel Hill's main street has always been called Franklin Street. It was named after Benjamin Franklin in the early 1790s.
Chapel Hill High School and Chapel Hill Junior High were on Franklin Street in the same location as University Square until the mid 1960s.
The Colonial Drug Store at 450 West Franklin Street was owned and operated by John Carswell. It was famous for a fresh-squeezed carbonated orange beverage called a "Big O". In the early 1970s, I managed the Record and Tape Center next door, and must have had over 100 of those drinks. The Colonial Drug Store closed in 1996.
Sutton's Drugstore, which opened in 1923, has one of the last soda fountains in the South. It is one of the few businesses remaining on Franklin Street that was in operation when I was growing up in the 1950s.
Future President Gerald Ford lived in Chapel Hill twice. First when he was 24, in 1938, he took a law couse in summer school at UNC. He lived in the Carr Building, which was a law school dormitory. At the same time, Richard Nixon, the man he served under as Vice President, was attending law school at Duke. In 1942, Ford returned to Chapel Hill to attend the U.S. Navy's Pre-Flight School training program. He lived in a rental house on Hidden Hills Drive.
The hurdler on the right is Warren Mengle '42.
Jane Rumsey was the firsst girl cheerleader at Carolina, and Jeannie Connes the second. Note the long skirts. We were not allowed to touch the girls in our acrobatic stunts.