What's Guilfordiana???

GUILFORDIANA
[gil-ford-ee-AH-nuh]: 

anything related to the unique history, traditions, legends and lore of Guilford College

Display of various sports memorabilia over the years, Hege Library, Guilford campus. 
The inspiration for this site.  
(Photo is my own.)

The Blogger:
Derek H. DeBank
B.A./A.B. (Artium Baccalaureus) History; Minor, Communications
Guilford College, Class of 1996


I have a deep, abiding love for my Alma Mater, Guilford College.  But truth be told, it wasn't always that way.  Although I enjoyed my time there, it wasn't until later in life that I began to really appreciate the College and had a yen to delve into all of the stories, history, legends and lore, the trivia and minutia that make Guilford, well...Guilford.  Back in the college daze, I had a full-time class load and several part-time jobs, an internship and my thesis.  I was too busy to fully appreciate the unique history and traditions of the people that came before.  Only when I became older and graduation became a distant memory did I want to record, in detail, all the little things that characterize Guilford, that "Eden in the wilderness."

As the years pass and the school, like so many others, changes rapidly to keep up with the times, some of the memories and traditions of Guilford are fading.  A number of tenured professors and staff have retired, and several have sadly passed on.  As such, we are losing some of the most knowledgeable historians and stewards of the institution.

The school itself has never been in better shape. Our future for the immediate term, and beyond, is secure. Enrollment is larger than ever. Millions of dollars have been spent to upgrade our facilities and technologies.
The Quaker Testimonies that have guided us for 179 years are still intact and utilized every day, to provide students with a challenging, sound education from one of the premier four-year liberal arts colleges in the country.

But, we have lost icons, and with them, the memory of and reasons for our traditions.  There are less people who know the answer to: "Did runaway slaves really hide in our woods?"..."What are the true Guilford school
colors?"..."What's our fight song?"..."Why do professors
like to teach class on the quad?"..."What's the deal with the cowbells at football games?"..."Is Dana Auditorium really haunted?"


As a History major, I appreciate that kind of minutia and want this blog to be a source of answers for those types of questions. This blog will be a work in progress and will evolve, hopefully with positive feedback from anyone associated with the school, as well as visitors and guests.  If you have a useful, positive comment, please speak up!  Collaboration will make this site better and more robust.

I also hope to eventually link up to the school's various web properties and point links back in their direction.  Perhaps this blog can be a resource and a hub for alumni and current students who are just curious about some of the awesomely quirky things about Guilford.  This blog is not a memorial to my ego; it's an ode to my love of the College, its history and traditions. Guilfordiana won't reflect a chronological format, rather posts submitted randomly, when memory or interest nudges me to write.  (That, and it will take quite awhile to sift through almost 200 years of Guilford College history!)

Guilfordiana will refer to a variety of sources:  retired and active faculty, staff, and alumni; The Quaker (yearbooks); The Guilfordian (newspaper); web properties such as Guilford.edu, GuilfordQuakers.com, and GoQuakers.com; retired professor, Quaker historian (and honorary Guilford alum), Max Carter; my own memories and experiences, and several published histories of the college, including Dorothy Gilbert's, Guilford: A Quaker College (published in 1937), and retired professor of history (and my former faculty advisor), Alexander Stoesen's, Guilford College: On the Strength of 150 Years (published in 1987).

Many of the pictures/images/icons on this blog are courtesy of and are the property of Guilford College and will be labeled as such.  Some pics are by others and will be properly noted, as well as pictures I have taken on my own.  Any and all icons, brandmarks, and logos related to Guilford College are registered trademarks of the school and can not be used for commercial purposes.  Blah blah, legal jargon...in other words, all original works will be credited to the copyright holder, and don't misuse the logos.

Now, let's talk about Guilford...

(Photos above: I took the first pic. Dad took the second during my graduation. The third and fourth pics are from The Quaker and The Guilfordian.)

"DISCLAIMERS"

All photos and logos depicted at this site should be regarded as being the property of the respective blogger or the College. If you want to use these images in ANY commercial sense, you must obtain permission from the college, not from this web site. Permission is NOT granted to use these images in any commercial sense. 

IMAGES (DENOTED BY "IMAGES VIA...Photos by...courtesy of...") ARE READILY AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS PLACES ON THE INTERNET AND BELIEVED TO BE IN PUBLIC DOMAIN. IMAGES POSTED ARE BELIEVED TO BE POSTED WITHIN MY RIGHTS ACCORDING TO THE U.S. COPYRIGHT FAIR USE ACT (TITLE 17, U.S. CODE). NO PART OF THIS SITE, OR ANY OF THE CONTENT CONTAINED HEREIN, MAY BE USED OR REPRODUCED IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER(S).

© Derek DeBank and Guilfordiana, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Derek DeBank and Guilfordiana with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.