"THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR"

 “THE 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR”

Caroline and I are coming to the end of our 50th Anniversary Tour, and it has been a great trip!  It began on June 16 with the arrival of Susan from Baltimore, followed by David, Erin and Zoe from Salt Lake City on June 18 and Emma from Houston on June 20. We all planned and worked for the 50th celebration at the Hawkins Dining Hall at Legacy Park in Decatur on June 22.  Susan and David had organized it, and they were the emcees for it.  We had hoped for 80 or so people to attend, but we had 135 instead – yay!  The celebration began with a combo of a slide show and sound track via techno wizard Nick Downey, backed by wonderful food from Inez Giles and crew.  We had set out tables with photo albums from our wedding in 1974, as well as copies of the six books that we have written, including the latest from Nibs (“She Made A Way: Mother and Me in a Deep South World.”) People had time to visit and catch up. 

    About 3 PM, David and Susan stepped forward to get the formal program going.  It began with a video by Rev. Sandy Winter, a longtime mentor of Caroline’s and one of the officiants at our wedding in 1974.  Other videos came from Rev. Ed Loring (the other officiant at our wedding, in whose back yard we got married), Rev. Reggie Avant in Seattle, Rev. Dr. David Billings and spouse Margery Freeman, Dr. Leah Gose, and Dr. Collin and Vienna Cornell.  Speakers included a “dialogue sermon” from John and Dee Cole Vodicka, and then Christine Callier, Inez Giles, and Nick Downey.  Trivia questions were added by David and Susan, and we had fun seeing who could answer them.  One such question was “Which card game did Nibs Stroupe not invent to entertain the kids in the last hour of a 9 hour drive to Arkansas?” (Possible answers were a. Toe poker, b. Oddy Roddy, c. Blankjack, and d. Even Steven – let us know your guess!).  Then we were treated to a toast from 3 of the young women whom we had helped to raise: Bemene Baadom-Piaro, Keisha Scales Gabriel, and Patrece Giles Cunningham.  Then, of course, we scooted the tables back and had dancing – here’s the link to one of the videos of the dancing: https://www.facebook.com/whitworthg/videos/1197183134971674

    A couple of days later, Caroline, Susan and I headed out for sites related to our 50th anniversary, stopping first at Edisto Beach, South Carolina, for some fun beach time and to visit with Pat Hiott-Mason in Charleston.  I had met Caroline at Robin and Linda Williams’ wedding in Nashville in the early summer of 1973.  She lived in Atlanta, where Pat lived, and when I let Pat know that I was interested in Caroline, she became matchmaker for us (it did not take a lot of work!).  We paid homage to her and enjoyed the beach, then we drove to Norfolk, Virginia, where we had our first church as the first clergy couple in the former PCUS – we were at St. Columba Presbyterian Church. 

     It was located in a 1500 unit, low-income apartment complex, and our calling was to develop the congregation and the community ministry.  We wrote a grant for the Presbyterian Women Birthday Offering in 1978, and we were blessed to receive that.  It was a grant of $220,000 (equivalent to $800,000+ today), and we started St. Columba Ministries as an outreach to those who were caught in the grips of poverty and racism.  In the middle of that, the city of Norfolk decided to tear down the 1500 apartment units and build an industrial park.  We had many protests, and we lost the City Council vote 5-4 (the 2 Presbyterians on the Council voted against us).  Though the church closed in 1983, St. Columba Ministries continued and grew under the leadership of Alice Taylor – it still exists today under the leadership of Alicia Matthews and long-time administrator Helmi Ortiz (Helmi was there when we were at St. Columba!). 

    While in Norfolk, we showed Susan the first house that we ever bought, and we tried to find the exact spot where the church used to be.  We had a fine meal one night with former SCM members: Linda Davenport, Jonathan Davenport, Toni Fields, Alice Taylor, Carol Bayma, Sue Shepard, and Wanda Shepard Goff.  We drove to Susan’s home in Baltimore for a birthday dinner for Caroline with Glenn Ricci and Ursula Marcum, and Trustina Fabah, colleagues from Susan’s Submersive Theater troupe. We also enjoyed a visit with Bemene Baadom-Piaro, who drove over for Caroline’s birthday.  On July 4, I visited with my longtime friend Ed Loring of the Open Door Community. 

     We made a day trip to Shrewsbury, PA, to meet our friends Dave and Joyce Hess, former stalwart members at Oakhurst, and we also had a day trip to see former Oakhurster Chelsea Friauf-Evans in Silver Springs.  So, wow, a great 50th anniversary tour!  Thanks to Susan especially who served as guide, friend and driver for us, and to all who helped us celebrate!