Cemetery Chronicles

Cemetery Chronicles is a series on the honored inhabitants of Clemson’s Woodland Cemetery, better known as Cemetery Hill. See our collection of Chronicles here. For more information about the cemetery’s historical value, contact Matt Dunbar at tigeray@alumni.clemson.edu

To support its preservation and research, you can make a secure gift online and designate it for the “Cemetery Hill Preservation Fund.”

Spring 2008 — Vol. 61, No. 2

Ol’ Sweets

We lovingly refer to our kin as Tiger, Sweet Stuff, Shan-Tan, Hoss, Princess, Young ’Un, Ba, KK, Bloss, Lil’ Tiger and New Tiger just like my grandfather W. Cecil Godley did. Then of course, there is Bride, his beloved Alice.

Winter 2008— Vol. 61, No. 1

The General

Known affectionately as “the General,” Bob Jones ’30 served his alma mater for 47 years while serving his country and raising a family. Throughout his life, his outstanding moral character was a model to countless student athletes, soldiers and others.

Fall 2007— Vol. 60, No. 4

A Gentleman's Gentleman

When Ken Vickery set foot on the Clemson campus in 1934, he had no idea where his path would take him. The Great Depression was devastating the South, and college was a privilege that many could not afford.

Summer 2007— Vol. 60, No. 3

Silent Soldiers

Military service is certainly nothing new to Clemson. From the Spanish American War to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Clemson has produced more than its fair share of soldiers. West Point and Texas A&M are the only institutions to turn out more officers during WWII.

Spring 2007— Vol. 60, No. 2

Mr. B — Setting Records

He may not be as well-known as some of the other greats of Clemson University, but he was one of the pillars of the school. His name was Bob Bradley, but most folks knew him affectionately as Mr. B.

Winter 2007— Vol. 60, No. 1

Someone in These Hills

One of the names that passes through the consciousness of many Clemson people when they think of those who gave selflessly to serve Clemson University is the name of the man who penned those words, Joe Sherman, former public relations and alumni director.

Fall 2006— Vol. 59, No. 4

The 'Brain Coach'

It’s no secret that Vickery Hall has been a crucial factor in the record-setting performances of Clemson student athletes in recent years. Since Vickery Hall opened in 1991 as the first facility solely dedicated to student-athlete enrichment, its programs have been widely recognized and emulated by other athletic departments across the country. But long before there was a Vickery Hall, Clemson was already a leader among its peers in supporting and advising student athletes off the field. That’s because Clemson was fortunate enough to have Col. Rick Robbins.

Summer 2006— Vol. 59, No. 3

Classroom Like No Other

In one of Clemson’s “smartest” classrooms, oaks replace walls, monuments replace computers and chirping birds replace grinding chalk. The lectures focus on service, honor and dedication. Teachers include names like Riggs, Sikes and Howard. And education is all about examples set by Clemson’s rich heritage of learners, leaders and legends.

Spring 2006— Vol. 59, No. 2

Experiment Station Pioneer

By Mason W. King ’00, ’01, M ’05
In an early section of his will, Thomas Green Clemson expressed “a great sympathy” for the farmers of South Carolina and acknowledged “the difficulties with which they have had to contend in their efforts to establish the business of agriculture upon a prosperous basis.”

Winter 2006— Vol. 59, No. 1

‘Fabulous Entrepreneur’

By Ernest M. “Whitey” Lander Jr., Emeritus Alumni Distinguished Professor of History
As a boy growing up in Calhoun Falls in the 1920s, I often heard my father speak of Patrick Calhoun … youngest son of Andrew Pickens and Margaret Green Calhoun, and grandson of John C. Calhoun … born at Fort Hill on March 21, 1856.

Fall 2005— Vol. 58, No. 4

Protecting the unmarked

By Angela Snyder Nixon ’99, M ’01
Clemson’s Woodland Cemetery is home to many well-recognized people with familiar names in Clemson’s history — from Walter Riggs to Walter Sikes. For a long time, there has been speculation that the cemetery might also be the resting place of some largely unrecognized people in Fort Hill’s history — African American slaves.

Summer 2005— Vol. 58, No. 3

Plowboy to President

By Brian Eyink
In the face of state budget cuts and economic hardship, a determined, visionary leader emerged to forge a stronger Clemson, better equipped to address South Carolina’s needs. This situation sounds familiar today with President Jim Barker at the helm, but Clemson has been there before. Under the leadership of President E.W. Sikes, Clemson College emerged from the Great Depression not just intact, but better positioned to serve the state as a “high seminary of learning.”

Spring 2005— Vol. 58, No. 2

Beloved First Lady

by Rita Bolt Barker ’01
On the occasion of Clemson’s 50th anniversary of coeducation, it seems fitting to celebrate the life of one of the school’s most beloved women, former first lady Margaret Bradley Poole.

Winter 2005— Vol. 58, No. 1

A Tale of Her Own

by Nancy R. Martin ’99, M ’01
Service. Character. Loyalty. Love. Of such ideals was built the spirit of one of Clemson’s most dear and endearing daughters. Her written Tales of Tigertown are well-known and beloved, but her own tale is one that should be told with as much fond recollection and celebration.

Fall 2004— Vol. 57, No. 4

‘Little Joe’ Joseph Everett Hunter

by Tom Hunter ’68
I’ve often wondered if my grandfather knew what he was starting when he stepped off the train at the Calhoun station that fall day in 1892. As a member of Clemson’s first graduating class in 1896, Joseph Hunter represented the first generation of Hunter Clemson men (and later, Hunter women), a tradition that has stretched over a century. After graduating, he tried his hand at teaching in the public schools, but his heart was always at Clemson. In 1901, he returned to Clemson to teach mathematics, a labor of love that he continued for the next 47 years.

Summer 2004— Vol. 57, No. 3

The Future of Our Past

"As President of Clemson University, I feel I have been given a sacred trust — the obligation to lead our community into the future while preserving and honoring our past. There is no place in which this sacred trust is more tangible than Woodland Cemetery, more commonly known as Cemetery Hill."— James F. Barker

Spring 2004— Vol. 57, No. 2

Lever’s great act

by Sam Parsons ’02, M ’04
Teaching. Research. Public service. These pursuits are the pillars of Clemson’s mission as a land-grant university. When Thomas Green Clemson willed his property to South Carolina for the establishment of a “high seminary of learning” in 1889, the teaching and research components of that mission had already been established by federal legislation.

Winter 2004— Vol. 57, No. 1

Master Teacher

by Mary Frances Ross '04
Among the legendary voices in Clemson's history, few speak so clearly as that of beloved English professor John Dewey Lane. His influence still resounds today on the campus where he devoted his life's work, and many seasoned alumni recall his name in admiration.

Fall 2003— Vol. 56, No. 4

The ‘Lord’ Giveth

by Hazel Collings Poe
In the early part of the 20th century, the cadets of Clemson College, not intimidated by their strict military regime, bestowed nicknames on their professors. Some were "Wee Willie" Klugh, "Misery" Holmes, "Monk" Godfrey and "Jughead" Harris. One of the more memorable nicknames belonged to "Lord" Collings, an immaculate dresser and confident professor. One story has it that while he was walking across campus one day, a young man remarked, "There goes Professor Collings. He looks just like an English Lord!" The nickname stuck.

Summer 2003— Vol. 56, No. 3

Building Engineers — E.L. Clarke, 1879-1977

by Will Spink ’04
In the student lounge at Lowry Hall, civil engineering students study, chat and relax beneath the portrait of a bespectacled professor who paved the way for their successes over half a century ago. The man in the portrait and the namesake for that student lounge is Elwyn Lorenzo Clarke, head of Clemson’s civil engineering department from 1921 to 1951.

Spring 2003— Vol. 56, No. 2

An Orator and a Teache — D.W. Daniel, 1867-1961

by Anne-Ross Cornwell ’03
Every Friday afternoon in a one-room schoolhouse in Laurens County, students hurriedly assembled for their weekly oratory program. An audience overflowing with teachers, trustees and peers created an intimidating atmosphere. One student in particular — D.W. Daniel — dreaded the event.

Winter 2003— Vol. 56, No. 1

‘Rube ’— Rupert H. Fike, 1887-1956

by Joseph Godsey ’04
Anyone familiar with the last 60 years of Clemson history will likely recognize the bedrock significance of names like Walter T. Cox, R.C. Edwards, Frank Howard and R.R. “Red” Ritchie. Imagine then, the influence and respect that one man must have wielded for that quartet of Clemson legends to serve as the pallbearers at his funeral. Such a man was Rupert Howard Fike.