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Yadkin College, Part II

By Linda H. Barnette

In 1861 the school opened as Yadkin College with 80 boarding students but was interrupted by the Civil War. After the war, it soon became a degree-granting institution, and in 1878 admitted female students for the first time, thus becoming one of the early coed schools in this area.

Families in the community offered room and board in their homes to the ladies, which they had not generally done for the men.

The school flourished during the period from 1871-1883. A second building was built, new teachers were hired, and enrollment grew. Students were offered a classical education, including Greek, Latin, logic, math, science, and English literature.  Public speaking was encouraged, and there was an active debate team.

After several successful years, the college was hurt by the financial panic of the 1890s and would have closed but for several local men of means who kept it afloat. Students who completed their studies there were considered qualified to be admitted to the junior classes at many 4-year-institutions.

Time and circumstance change almost everything, and so Yadkin College closed for good in 1924. Public education became popular, and accessible high schools limited the need for a private school in that area. In addition, the Methodist Protestant denomination switched their support to High Point College, which was in a much better location for the lifestyle of that time.

In reading through the names of the boarding students, I discovered the names of several of my Grandfather Hartley’s uncles as well as several other well-known names from those days. There are also several familiar Davie County names on the list as students could travel to the college via the Fulton Ferry.

One of the old buildings still stands photo above), and Frances Brooks took me and my friend Gloria Anderson to see it. The picture below that I made that day shows the way the building looks today as it still stands on property owned by the Greene family.

Things change; history remains.

My Oh So Gooey Beginning

By Stephanie Williams Dean

As a kid, indulging in candy was my earliest foodie delight –candy bars, in particular. A friend once told me, “I remember you crawling on the floor begging for a candy bar.” Well, thanks for sharing that tiny tidbit of my food history – just another reason that sometimes my cakes fail. Picturing myself crawling around Mama’s feet begging for candy –certainly wiped out any illustrious notion of an acclaimed culinary snob. Such was my non-noteworthy beginning. And I won’t sugarcoat it – my launch as Suzy Homemaker in the kitchen was what it was. But later a reprise came when Santa brought me an Easy Bake Oven, giving rise to my candy quest.

Mama didn’t keep lots of sweets in the house – except for the stash at the top of her bedroom closet. There, she kept hidden a personal stash of ooey, gooey candy bars. But she was only kidding herself – of course, we knew where those Goo Goos, Pay Days, and Caravelle Bars were.  But we knew better than to touch her treats – that closet was a no-snoop zone. So, if I must blame my sweet Mama for something – surely, it’s her fault that I don’t like to share candy at the movies.

Of interest is that to this day – I still love candy bars. And so much so that at the time, I named my horses candy bar names when born. Based on their “Paint” colors – milk chocolate, dark chocolate, marshmallow, caramel, and nougat – their names were Carolina Candy Bar, Goo Goo Cluster Bar, Hershey’s Bar None, and Hustler’s Hundred Grand Bar.  I took great delight when naming them.

And today, I’m still suckered in by pie, cake, and ice cream recipes that include chunked candies and chocolate bar pieces. I guess it’s just that little taste of added decadence.

It should come as no surprise that a favorite holiday is the one all about candy – Halloween.  When you were a kid, do you remember separating the candy bars from the cheap candy? Yep. Fess up. See – I wasn’t the only one. A candy bar was the crème de la crème of treats.

Back then, Mamma put out full-sized candy bars for trick-or-treaters. I could never say that she was cheap or stingy – Mama was the most generous person. Instead of a bite-sized sample – we handed out full-sized Goo Goo Cluster Bars and Hershey’s with Almond Bars – the ultimate treats.

We were raised on Nashville’s classic, peanut, Goo Goo – a luscious, clustered mound of freshly roasted peanuts, marshmallows, nougat, and caramel – all covered in premium milk chocolate. Made in my hometown by the Standard Candy Company, the year was 1912 when the renegade bars were concocted in a large copper kettle. Not only was the unconventional round shape a novel idea, but Goo Goo was the first candy bar to have multiple ingredients instead of only one.

The candy company has come a long way since earlier days. After several changes in ownership and acquisitions, the company also makes the famous “Stuckey” pecan roll and King Leo stick candy, in addition to Goo Goos.

So if you travel to Nashville, be sure to go downtown and visit Goo Goo Chocolate Co. It’s iconic Nashville – and “you’re not Nashville unless you’ve eaten a Goo Goo.”