Senior Thesis Paper

William Tyler Grove Senior History Thesis Professor Philip Otterness December 12, 2005

The Man Known Simply as “Coach”

Warren Wilson College has a stronger identity than other similarly sized schools have. The ideals that create this identity revolve around the Triad: Academics, Work, and Service. Warren Wilson College’s ideals are intertwined with the mountains that surround and make up the campus. The students, the surrounding community, and the people who have worked and taught here have shaped this identity. As with any college, the majority of students will come for the four years, then leave. This identity is created by the men and women who shaped the lives of the students and keep on doing so today. It is the staff and faculty that are at the institution for years; they see students come and go; they are truly the keepers of the campus. One of the individuals who embodied the Warren Wilson ideal was Sam DeVries. DeVries was on campus during one of the most important periods in this school’s history: the period from the Depression to the transformation of the college into a four-year institution. The three most important principles to DeVries were work, sports and the church. During his time at the school, DeVries would convey these principles in each of

Grove, 3 the disciplines to everyone that met him. A native of Nebraska, DeVries came to the school in the fall of 1934. A story about his arrival at Warren Wilson was featured in the Owl and Spade in 1950: Just as Samuel DeVries drove into the front gate of Warren Wilson for the first time, the siren went off. He should have taken it as a sign that the college was welcoming him, as well it might. Instead he felt that the noise was almost unbearable and a second insult came when he was served hominy grits for supper. That night he decided he had had enough of Warren Wilson so he counted his money to see if he had sufficient to get home. Fortunately for the whole future of the college, it is a long way from Swannanoa to Nebraska and it takes a lot of money to get there, so Mr. DeVries had to stay here.1

DeVries was a born near the town of Hickman (pop. 478), which is located in southwest Nebraska. He attended Hickman High School and matriculated at Central College in Pella, Iowa. After two years in Pella, DeVries transferred to Nebraska Wesleyan University and received a B.A. in Education with a major in Industrial Arts in 1932. DeVries completed further graduate study at the University of Nebraska. Shortly after arriving at the Asheville farm school in1937, he married Evelyn Liesveld, who would serve as Warren Wilson College postmistress for over 20 years.2 DeVries originally came here as the football coach. His responsibilities quickly increased, as did his knowledge of the workings of the school. He spent 43 years at Warren Wilson College. DeVries said in an interview that the original job he came for at the school was football coach.3 Over the years, bringing this one person to campus would help Warren Wilson College in so many different ways.

1

Owl and Spade, (autumn 1950.) Hereafter Owl and Spade 1950. “Coach DeVries Honored”, Owl and Spade. (June 1976), 2. 3 Sam DeVries, interview by Denis Tippo, January 9, 1974. Warren Wilson College Archives. Hereafter Tippo. 2

Grove, 4 In Banker’s history of the College, Asheville Farm School actually benefited from the Depression: “(the staff) who in more prosperous time would never have come; or, if they had, would probably not have stayed.” But they stayed, during the time of the late 1920’s and early 30’s the Asheville Farm School assembled a strong leadership, which would guide the school through the next decades. During the Depression, the staff was accustomed to living with less, and, since the farm produced foodstuff and the people knew how to cooperate, no one went hungry. 4 The Superintendent of the Farm School at the time, Henry Randolph took a holistic approach based on the Dewey. The 1935 Bulletin highlighted the new “learn by doing,” stated the school’s educational philosophy. DeVries would employ this philosophy when he developed the auto shop. In 1934, Warren Wilson College did not exist as it does today. When DeVries came to the Asheville Farm School in 1934, there were 22 staff, and, in 1935, there were 157 enrolled students.5 It was a time when the staff did whatever was necessary with what skills they had, to keep the school running. At this time, the school was still under the administration of the Presbyterian Church. The Owl and Spade announced simply in its September 1934 issue “DeVries will teach in the elementary school, assist in the woodworking department, and help coach football.”6 In 1942, many changes occurred. The main two changes were the acceptance of female students and the establishment of the Warren H. Wilson Vocational College. The Presbyterian Missions’ reason for the acceptance of females on campus was that two other schools that had been female only were closed. The high school program continued as the farm school. The new vocational school was intended to be terminal, but some 4

Banker, 24. Asheville Farm School 1894-1942, Box 8, Warren Wilson College Archives. 6 Owl and Spade, September 1934. 5

Grove, 5 students would transfer to four-year institutions. At the farm school it was not a matter of accumulating credit, it was whether the student was deemed to be ready to graduate. In the spring of the year, students who believed their academic and social records warranted a diploma wrote a letter to that effect to the faculty.7 Rodney Lytle, who has worked for Warren Wilson College since his graduation in 1971 and worked under DeVries, describes him as “a tall robust man, not an inch of fat on him. He had strong weathered hands. His voice was rough and rugged. When he was happy working he always had a smile on his face.”8 Another college employee, who has been with the college the majority of the past 50 years, is Bev Ohler. She recalled that he was strapping man who “brought those Midwest values and ethics to the job.”9 DeVries would display these ethics in his life, and teach them to others. His true love, along with football, was working with machines. “I’ve always been interested in machinery," he remarked. “At first we farmed with horses, you know,” he noted, “but later there were tractors and trucks to maintain.” DeVries and Bernhard Laursen, who was the Farm manager then, worked together, with Coach repairing and maintaining much of the farm equipment and heavy machinery.10 DeVries founded the auto shop in 1938. He had suggested the founding of the shop to the Superintendent, Randolph, and the shop was immediately established. DeVries was appointed the director because of his former education at an auto tractor school. The shop would work on any vehicles, whether they were owned by the school or by individuals. Because money was always in short supply, the shop would purchase

7

Banker, 48. Rodney Lytle, interviewed by author, Swannanoa, North Carolina, 15 November 2005. Hereafter Lytle. 9 Bev Ohler, Swannanoa, North Carolina, 11 November 2005. Hereafter Ohler. 10 Owl and Spade, Winter 1986. 8

Grove, 6 vehicles from around the area that needed work and would fix them and sell them locally. DeVries would use the money that was earned to purchase equipment for the shop.11 With the establishment of the Junior College in 1942, the auto shop became an integral part of the vocational education. This meant that the requirements for working in the shop were more rigorous than they had been previously. The shop also would move to a new location in 1942, the basement of the newly built Spidel. 12 The Owl and Spade announced the new graduation requirements for the shop. Coach DeVries announced new graduation requirements for the auto mechanics class this week. Although this is not an entirely new idea, it is the first time it has been used at our school Two mechanics from Asheville and one from another nearby town will give tests, both oral and written. The class will probably go to Asheville for the test. The mechanics will be free to ask any questions they wish about cars and trucks. The grades will be determined by two things- grades on the test given by the mechanics and the actual work done by the student. Any first or second year student who feels he knows enough is free to take the tests.

These graduation requirements for the shop demonstrate how meticulous and demanding the vocational program was under DeVries. A description of the auto shop from the work guide of 1947 described how the auto shop under DeVries would work: Auto mechanics students interested in auto mechanics would apply to work on Mr. DeVries' crew. At first they would do mostly jobs of the campus crew, but as Mr. DeVries could estimate their fitness, they could be brought inside and work on jobs coming to the auto-shop. Mr. DeVries has long wanted a program which would provide more latitude for time, so that he could keep a crew on a particular car until the job was finished. His crew would be somewhat larger in order to absorb those who want auto mechanics experience.13

The experiences of whether the student was in the high school or junior college program would be different but would compliment each other and allow both to gain knowledge about the subject. 11

Owl and Spade, Fall 1942. Hereafter Fall 1942. Fall 1942. 13 Arthur Bannerman Records, Box 34, Warren Wilson College Archives. 12

Grove, 7 Norm Propst, who started as DeVries’ assistant in 1968, remembers what quality stood out to him. “It seems that he could come up with anything in his auto shop. He spent a lot of time in his auto shop. There were a lot of things that he would just make, weld it together down at the shop and make it, that would work. I guess that is just the way most of us did it.” Rodney Lytle added Coach was a jack-of-all-trades. He even built his own house. For most of his tenure at Warren Wilson, DeVries was in charge of the Campus Crew, or Coach’s Crew, which consisted of Carpentry, Bus Drivers, Heavy Equipment Operators and Truck Drivers, Auto Shop, and Painters and Lab Assistants. The group that was most important to DeVries was always the Auto Shop.14 The maintenance crew had a wide variety of responsibilities varying from maintaining and repairing vehicles, collecting trash from dormitories, repairing campus roads, and completing general “handy-man” projects. This crew epitomized Mr. DeVries’ “learn by doing” philosophy.15 Denis Tippo, a Warren Wilson College student asked in an interview in 1974 if there was a philosophy of the school; DeVries reply was to “learn by doing.” “I think this is more or less self-explanatory… a combination of theory and practical work which even today applies equally as well.” In another section of the interview DeVries remarked about how the school’s vocational part worked in his years at the school. “In certain areas there were classes in theory. Auto Mechanics was offered as a vocational subject, and we had classes in agriculture. And we would try as we will be doing tomorrow- we have a clutch job coming in on a certain vehicle. The night prior to that the textbooks would be given on that particular subject and he would read and study with a purpose in mind, 14

Norm Propst, interviewed by author, Swannanoa, North Carolina, November 14, 2005. Hereafter Propst. Warren Wilson College Description of jobs, April 6, 1976 Work Program Records Box 4, Folder 3, Warren Wilson College Archives. Hereafter Jobs of 1976. 15

Grove, 8 knowing that tomorrow he had to put into practice that he read. To me, that is a good learning process.”16 This exemplified the Dewey philosophy brought by Superintendent Randolph. Another crew that Mr. DeVries was listed as supervising was the “stream beautification” crew, whose job it was to clean up with Swannanoa so that it could be used for recreational purposes. The duties included picking up litter, working and cooperating with the maintenance crew, and helping the landscape crew use their manpower to haul out trash. The crew description noted that working on the river helped educate students about environmental awareness and how they could improve their environment.17 There were a thousand and one odd jobs for which DeVries’ amazing mechanical skills were appropriate. DeVries and Bernhard Laursen salvaged old St. Clair dormitory and turned it first into a dormitory for women when the institution became co-ed in 1942 and then a guesthouse. He got hold of a secondhand road scraper and improved the surface of the unpaved campus roads, which were often a cause for turned ankles. There was almost no campus lighting in those days, so the students carried a flashlight at night with the hope that they could avoid stumbling on sand and river rock hauled up from the flood plain of the Swannanoa River. Paving did not commence until 1944.18 DeVries was a member of the Building Committee throughout that body’s existence and helped mightily to build the new chapel. His crews hauled fieldstone from several Bee Tree Valley farms as they had hauled rock in for Dorland House, Shepard and Ashbrook Cottages in 1955-56 off Four Brothers Mountain. He and his crew were 16

Tippo. Jobs of 1976. 18 Jensen, 33. 17

Grove, 9 instrumental in the construction of the college chapel.19 There was not much that Coach wasn’t ready to tackle. He continued to be a fund of practical knowledge and a driver to get jobs done.20 Norm Propst remembers how DeVries would work on the campus during his time. “Sam was an entrepreneur; he had interesting ways of getting income for the college. And a lot of times to generate money for his department, he would buy a piece of equipment from the surplus store. We would use it on campus for a project than sell it for a profit. We kept everything; coach was real big on reusing stuff.” These actions show an ingenuity that helped the school to do more projects but save money in the process. These ideas were in a way the precursor to recycling. At the time DeVries did it for financial reasons, while today we recycle because of our commitment to helping the environment. DeVries was appointed head of the work program and was responsible for the smooth running of all the work crews. He was untiring in his efforts, had a quiet humor and complete integrity. The Owl and Spade in 1958 reported that “He sets a high standard for himself and his boys and they are justly proud of even the slightest word of praise from him.”21 Joseph Lenz, a Warren Wilson College senior, interviewed DeVries about the work program in 1971. Lenz told of the changes that occurred in the work program during DeVries tenure as head of the Work Program Office, which he held while he continued to be in charge of the campus crew. DeVries told Lenz that before 1959, crew assignments were handled through the Dean’s offices. DeVries said, “in 1959, a major shift occurred with the creation of the Work Council. It was meant to make the program 19

"Sam DeVries" Owl and Spade. (Fall 1991), 5. Jensen, 33. 21 Sam H. DeVries Owl and Spade (Autumn 1954), 4. 20

Grove, 10 more democratic, help develop leadership, and improve communication.” This process to change the work program was decided after much deliberation by the school body. The end result was the work council, which was comprised of eight students, and two staff members and headed by Mr. DeVries.22 Another function of the work council is “to confer with the student whose attitude is unsatisfactory.” This student could be fired or recive low work grades. “These students would normally have to have appeared before the Work Council to be interrogated by Mr. DeVries.” The interesting part of the Work Council was that until the fall of 1970, the case was interpreted from the crew supervisor’s point of view, unless the student could prove otherwise. No attempt was made before the fall of 1970 to find out what the problem was from the student’s view point.”23 The meanings of the work program have changed over the years. At one time the skills learned could possibly be tools to use to find a job; this was mainly during the time when it was a high school and junior college. Warren Wilson College, in the last years of DeVries tenure, had changed fundamentally, especially with regard to the work program. The school’s main focus was on the academics with work taking a second place. The students who were graduating were not looking to go necessarily into the automotive mechanics fields but were gaining knowledge that would be practical in life. In 1974, during the Tippo interview DeVries said, “A student today comes primarily with the purpose of getting knowledge, I believe, where his hands would not be essential in his livelihood and that wasn’t true back in those days. They came with a better use of their hands and as a result weren’t afraid of work because they thought that 22

Joseph A. Lenz, "A Progressive Approach to the Work Program", Senior Thesis, Warren Wilson College, (1971), 10-20. Hereafter Lenz. 23 Lenz

Grove, 11 is what they would be doing with the rest of their lives; whereas today they say, I came for an education, and in their minds the only educated person is the one who gets it out of the book.”24 This shows a change in the philosophy of the work program, this is not a vocational school anymore. What is the work programs’ responsibility with the school being a four-year institution? DeVries was a mentor to many students who respected him. Lytle remembers that DeVries never had kids, but he would adopt students in a way. “I lost my father. When I graduated and got a job here, he was my initial supervisor.” When reflecting on the people who worked here at the time Lytle remembers “they did not have a time clock or go out on lavish vacations. They had a commitment, a covenant to the school because they used their time, their talent, and their treasure. Part of the treasure was they did not have these lavish salaries. They worked for menial funds. They were able to put pennies together. In his mind this was really a different place, so he was really grounded in the church. It goes far beyond an eight-hour workday. His students described him as a good man who, if you crossed him, could get quite interesting. He was a scary kind of guy, many people viewed him as this.”25 The Church was another important part of DeVries life; he was a very active Elder member of the Presbyterian Church. Bev Ohler remembers, “he tried very hard to live his faith.” She also recalled coming to church those early mornings and seeing DeVries outside alone shoveling the snow off the sidewalks before the service.26 Church attendance for students was mandatory until 1971. Lytle believes that “To DeVries, this job was a covenant. It was not just a job; he was here because of the church. Back in 24

Tippo. Lytle. 26 Ohler. 25

Grove, 12 those days these people were almost like volunteers in Mission; his ministry for this place was to help develop the ethics of work.”27 This idea of what was important shows the dedication and the strength of the church during this time. DeVries was known as Coach for a reason. On the court or field, another ethic became apparent. Propst also described DeVries humility in sports. If Warren Wilson was leading, they would not just drive up the score to make the other team look bad. That was not the point of the game. If the school was winning that was good.28 Lytle remembers how Coach did not put up with losing and would not be happy with the teams of today. 29 This ethic showed how education was not simply in the classroom, and that an ethic could be developed through competition on the court. A pamphlet for farm school field day on October 26, 1935 showed that the coaches for the farm school were Arthur Bannerman and DeVries. In an interview with the Owl and Spade, DeVries remarked about his time as coach. “The teams, “Varsity and PeeWees”- they were often the smaller guys,” DeVries noted – often traveled to local schools such as Asheville School and Christ School for games. “We had to get there in the truck,” Coach recalled. “No Busses then!” Football was Coach’s sport, and he recalled the fellows who used to be on the team. “I was 21 or 22 at the time and there were guys who were 28 on the team! They were men who came here.”30 Richard Rogers, who attended from 1936-40, wrote in a note to DeVries on the announcement of his retirement describing the “Unbeaten Pee Wee basketball team of 1938”.31.

27

Lytle. Propst. 29 Lytle. 30 Tippo. 31 Richard Rogers, letter to Sam DeVries, 16 August 1976. Sam DeVries Papers, Warren Wilson College Archives. 28

Grove, 13 One incident Lytle recalls was when DeVries was coaching Alma Shippy, the first African American man to attend Warren Wilson College. It was a rare incident that broke DeVries down; he let off that façade of strength and became a man. “He told me that the time that hurt him the most was when he had to tell Alma that he could not take him over to a local all white school, because they did not allow blacks on their campus.” Out of all the time he had been coaching, this incident hurt DeVries the most because that he could not bring Shippy with the team. “Coach told the President that when the team would come here (to WWC) that he would be playing.” The reason for not trying to exploit this situation was that the school they were competing against was a prospective institution that students might matriculate to and Warren Wilson College did not want to end this relationship.”32 In August 1976, the alumni affairs office at Warren Wilson College sent out a letter inviting former students and staff to write special memories of Sam DeVries to be displayed at homecoming. The binders are full of touching memories from the students and faculty who interacted with Mr. and Mrs. DeVries. These are just some of the quotes from the book, which has at least a hundred entries from people all over the country. They include letters from businessmen who had learned their ethics of hard work from DeVries, and who graciously appreciated him for teaching them skills that they continued to use in their jobs. Some people highlight working for DeVries, some just refer to him as their “Coach.” The difference today between the Farm School then and the four-year college of today is evident in some of the letters sent to DeVries on his retirement. “Some of the fellows had girlfriends at the old Dorland-Bell school at Hot Springs. One Saturday four 32

Lytle.

Grove, 14 of us had heavy date at Dorland and no transportation and again Coach came through and let us borrow his Model A Ford and we made our dates on time.” 33 Other remarks were just as colorful and really show the man that DeVries was. “I always regretted that I didn’t take the auto mechanics class you had for girls. Woman’s liberation of the 40’s.”34 Everyone remarked about how glad they were to have known “Coach”. Some quotes were short but really tell it as it was “Coach DeVries, he can fix anything.”35 Ben Holden, who was president of Warren Wilson College at the time, gave a beautiful recollection of the DeVries’ time at the College: You have given your hearts and souls to this place, to say nothing of the professional quality of work you have produced, where it had been postmistressing, coaching, teaching a variety of subjects, directing the work program, or supervising the boiler room, electrical work or auto mechanic program. You have gone far beyond the call of duty in helping to make life just that much more pleasant for everyone on campus. There is no way to thank you both adequately for being the great citizen and the Christian human being you are. You are an inspiration to everyone here, as well as the graduates who have gone forth from the farm school and warren Wilson. Would that we might all be able to measure up to the two of you

Adeeb Saayer, an international student who would settle in Norcross, Georgia, wrote a letter in the retirement binder that described an interaction between him and DeVries. This description shows how important relationships were with all the students on campus. Our first impression of Mr. DeVries was quite different then the man he turned out to be. At the beginning we thought he was quiet and gruff. Adeeb even thought he was prejudiced against Arabs. Because of this Adeeb wrote Mr. Devries a long letter asking why this was so. Mr. Devries was kind enough to call Adeeb to his office right away and fully assure him that his thoughts were totally wrong. With much gratitude Adeeb remembers that incident to this day. We found him to be a warm and gracious man. 36

33

Jake Rector, letter to Sam DeVries, No Date Listed. Sam DeVries Papers, Warren Wilson College Archives. 34 Hazel Dellinger, letter to Sam DeVries, 11 August 1976. Sam DeVries Papers, Warren Wilson College Archives. 35 E.G. Bierhaus Jr., letter to Sam DeVries, no date. Sam DeVries Papers, Warren Wilson College Archives. 36 Adeeb Sayer, letter to Sam DeVries, no date. Sam DeVries Papers, Warren Wilson College Archives.

Grove, 15 Warren Wilson College was a very diverse place compared to other schools of similar size. This was due to the extensive recruitment by the Presbyterian Mission of students from all over the world. This made the school a unique and progressive place. Upon the announcement of the retirement of DeVries, the newly built physical education center was dedicated in his honor. This building was a practical monument to all the time that DeVries had spent at Warren Wilson College. “Coach has been known to many generations of students for his constant willingness to help solve a great variety of problems.”37 The boys who worked with DeVries as a coach, teacher, or boss are men now, but they can remember a man who was sometimes humorous, sometimes temperamental, but always fair.38 An appreciation of Sam DeVries described him as “Through all the things which he does shines what he is a fine Christian gentleman with a quiet warmth of friendliness, a gentle humor, and a deep sincerity.”39 DeVries was described by the late Dean of Warren Wilson College, Henry Jensen, as “a man for all kinds of emergencies.”40 Samuel DeVries passed away after a long battle with cancer in 1991. In my opinion he embodies the Warren Wilson Ideal. He arrived at Warren Wilson College in fall of 1934 and would eventually retire in 1977. DeVries helped get the school aimed in direction it continues to move today. From leading the work program from 1959 to 1970, to leading his campus crew and especially his auto shop, to coaching football, basketball and baseball, DeVries helped shape the Asheville Farm School and then Warren Wilson

37

“Coach DeVries Honored” Owl and Spade. (June 1976). 2. “Coach” Owl and Spade. (Winter 1986), 23. 39 Owl and Spade 1950. 40 Jensen, 33. 38

Grove, 16 College. He left his mark everywhere. This is a man who everyone on campus can look up to. He provides a role model for what this school is really all about.

Grove, 17 Bibliography

Asheville Farm School Records 1894- 1942, Box 8, Warren Wilson College Archives. Banker, Mark T., Toward Frontiers Yet Unknown: A 90th anniversary history of Warren Wilson College 1884-1984. (Swannanoa NC: Warren Wilson College). “Dedicated to Sam and Evelyn DeVries” Ole Lady (1958) 2. Sam DeVries, interview by Denis Tippo, 9 January 1974. Warren Wilson College Archives, Work Program Box 5, Folder 20. Henry W. Jensen, A history of Warren Wilson College: on the occasion of the college's eightieth anniversary. (Swannanoa, NC: Warren Wilson College Press, 1974), 33. Joseph A. Lenz, "A Progressive Approach to the Work Program"(Senior Thesis, Warren Wilson College, 1971), 10-20. Warren Wilson College Description of jobs from April 6, 1976 Work Program Records Box 4, Folder 3, Warren Wilson College Archives.

Owl and Spade articles “Auto Shop”, (September, 1942) “Sam H. DeVries, An Appreciation” (Autumn 1950) 9. Sam H. DeVries (Autumn 1954) 4. “Coach DeVries Honored” (June 1976) 2. “Coach” (Winter 1986), 23. “Sam DeVries" (Fall 1991), 5.

Grove, 18

Personal Interviews conducted by the author Rodney Lytle, Swannanoa, North Carolina, 15 November 2005. Bev Ohler, Swannanoa, North Carolina, 11 November 2005. Norm Propst, Swannanoa, North Carolina, 14 November 2005. Tom Showalter, Swannanoa, North Carolina, 11 November 2005.

Retirement Binder, Sam DeVries Papers, Warren Wilson College Archive E.G. Bierhaus Jr., letter to Sam DeVries, no date. Hazel Dellinger, letter to Sam DeVries, 11 August 1976. Reuben Holden, letter to Sam DeVries, 9 October 1976. Jake Rector, letter to Sam DeVries, no date. Richard Rogers, letter to Sam DeVries, 16 August 1976. Adeeb Saayer, letter to Sam DeVries, no date.