by Carlos Diaz

In 1934 Emma Lee Aderholdt, a senior in the home economics program, alongside assistants from the home economics program would sketch a map depicting the school in a birds eye view. The map had multiple purposes behind it, the first and main one to fund a scholarship for the Home Economics Program.¹The map was drawn in a manner that would give students a way to reminisce over their time at the school showing us the impact that these assistants had on the map each bringing their unique perspectives.The map features many illustrations each having its own story behind it, while giving us insight into events happening on campus at the time.The map with its many illustrations also gives us a further look into campus life and historical events occurring on campus at the time. The map, despite not mentioning the WPA[Works Progress Administration] and its many counterparts,highlights the massive impact that the New Deal had on campus during and even after Aderholdt’s time. The golf course was built using federal funds, new tennis courts were built alongside a bowling alley under the outdoor gym.²The Alumnae house also on the map by Aderholdt would not have been completed so soon without the PWA[Public Works Administration] loans and help constructing the house. The map by Aderholdt shows the legacy of the WPA[Works Progress Administration]  and the New Deal with many of the buildings on campus being renovated even after Aderholdt’s map, such as helping the library organize the old catalog, adding a new dining hall in the cafeteria also featured on Aderholdt’s map. Despite no direct mention of the WPA and its counterparts on the map drawn by Aderholdt,we can still see the presence of the federal government on campus. 

Emma Aderholdt was not only a home economics student, but also an excellent artist having a talent for art giving us insight as to why she was the one who drew the map. In 1934 Aderholdt competed in a  textile competition finishing in third place³. Looking more into her background we can find out that she was part of the education club and french club.⁴These clubs would have given her new viewpoints which would have surely influenced the viewpoints on the map. Looking deeper into Aderholdt after her time at the school we can see that she became a home economics and art teacher⁵. Further analysis of Aderholdt and her time at the school shows us why she was the one who drew the map, as well as this it gives us insight into the quality of the map and why the illustrations are on the map. 

Looking into the map we can see how current events influenced Aderholdt and her assistant that helped illustrate the map,we can start to see more about the history and life on campus in the 30. Looking at the illustrations on the map we can start to see more about college life on campus, We can see some of the hazing towards freshmen in the map as it depicts freshmen being forced to clean and wash the Mciver statue, we can also see student culture on campus on the map with the botany club being depicted, as well as many sporting events, festivals, and even a P.J party on the Quad. The map has little details that also show us a different part of student culture such as the two students kissing on a bench, something that was surely discouraged on campus. As well as this we can start to see the expansion and the repairs of the campus at the time with repairs being highlighted near the Kirland dorm. We can also see the golf course, the log cabin, the tennis courts, and the Alumnae house all of which were built by New Deal programs like the WPA and the CWA [Civil Works Administration]. The federal government programs can be seen all throughout the map despite not being directly mentioned by Aderholdt or her assistants. Looking into some of these illustrations we can start to see why some of the illustrations were removed from the 1935 map. 

Both the 1934 map by Aderholdt, as well as the 1935 map found in the Carolinian may appear to be similar in nature. Both have the same foundation being Aderholdt’s 1934 map and are bird’s eyes view maps. Looking further into these maps however we can start to notice some major difference between the maps. The main difference between the two maps being the lack of illustrations found in the 1934 map by Aderholdt and the border missing in the 1935 map. The border depicts the ways that students traveled to the school starting off with horseback going to horse-drawn carriages, cars, trains, boats, and ending with aeroplanes. The 1935, although being the same map as the 1934 version, has some drastic changes. The 1935 map gives us insight into the importance of the 1934 map. 

The second map found in the 1935 Carolinian shows us the importance of 1934 because of the way it was used again, rather than being a one and done it was chosen to be presented in the 1935 yearbook of the school. The 1935 yearbook staff led by Bet Nelson and Betty Allardice⁶ chose to have the map on the front cover of the yearbook, a massive publication for the school. They could have put anything else on the front cover of the yearbook, yet they chose to add a student made map of the school showing the impact that the map had on the campus as a whole. Even though the map is different and does lose some of the life behind it with the illustrations, many of which bring life to the map and help understand and label many of the buildings, as well as the border being gone.The original map drawn by Aderholdt in 1934 is still there, just in a different color showing the impact that the mad had in not being a one and done, rather being repurposed in a different manner. The 2 maps have similar purposes but they fill it in different roles relating to what they were trying to accomplish. The original map made by Aderholdt not only gives us a more in depth look at campus, but also gives us a look at current historical events influencing the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina. 

The map documents the student life at the time and work done by the New Deal administrations all over the map despite not being mentioned once. We can start seeing this when we look further into illustrations like the students kissing on campus, or the students having a slumber party on the quad. Historically however we can start to learn more about the impact of programs that originated from the depression like the WPA,CWA, and the PWA. We can start seeing the impact that they had all over campus with the golf course which was built by the CWA.⁷The log cabin which was built by the WPA, and the many repairs and refurbishments which the PWA helped with such as Kirland which is found on the map. We can see more of the impact with the tennis courts which were refurbished with loans given by the CWA.⁸ The PWA and WPA also helped with giving out loans for the Alumnae house.⁹Throughout campus no matter where you look you can find a building that was influenced in some way by the Depression and New Deal administrations.The golf course and the library, two completely separate entities, were both helped in some way by the New Deal. 

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The Great Depression initiated a destruction of the American economy, millions lost their jobs as a result of the depression, The Women’s College of University of North Carolina however was able to thrive under the depression. Only a few years after the start of the depression in 1932 3,600 banks had closed, only making the situation worse.¹⁰ To counteract the depression the President at the time Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated the Works Program Administration, the WPA along with the many branches of the WPA were brought in order to counteract the depression and help America.¹¹ WPA under Roosevelt’s orders worked to refurbish American towns and construct new buildings. The WPA for example built a collection of over 22,000 images for the Index of American Design¹², as well as building over 25 Art centers from 1935-36 across the South¹³. Colleges were also massively affected with the depression with enrollment rates and students struggling to pay for school. The Women’s College of The University of North Carolina was no different, suffering from the impact of the depression as well with drastic budget cuts happening from 1929-1934.¹⁴Amy McCandles notes the impact that the depression had on colleges in the South especially those who relied on state support “ these examples indicate, women’s colleges that had small endowments and relied on tuition fees or state appropriations to fund their programs were particularly hard hit by the Great Depression. A 1932 study of enrollment at thirty one women’s colleges throughout the nation revealed a large drop in enrollment in every region of the country except the Middle Atlantic states. The enrollment at women’s colleges in the South declined 7.8 percent between 1930 and 1932”.¹⁵Looking at the enrollment rates at the school we can find a decrease in enrollment from 1930-1934 we can see a decrease of 160 students from 1930-31 to then a decrease of 1,120 student enrollment¹⁶. Despite this the school and the students were able to push through it. Clara Byrd’s in her study of graduates tells us the way the Alumni were dealing with the depression “In her study Miss Byrd found that unemployment had seemed to have no direct connection with last year’s graduates, and that the graduates are rep-resented in a wide variety of fields”.¹⁷ Emma Aderholdt herself was found in this study being a teacher in Greensboro at the time. Students on campus were also dealing with the depression better than most with the student newspaper noting how the students were dealing with the depression “The students at N C. college, however, are not daunted by his prolonged visit. They flaunt a check in the old man’s face and dash off to Mr. Forney’s office for hard cash”.¹⁸ Despite the Great Depression impacting many colleges at the time the University was still able to thrive and even expand at the time of the greatest stress. 

The Works Program Administration and its branches helped around many other campuses around the country.The WPA gave massive money grants in order to renovate buildings around the country, at the University of North Carolina, PWA funds were used to help construct a physical education building and four women’s dormitories.¹⁹ The PWA and its branches also helped universities offering over 70 million in loans between 1933 and 1936.²⁰ As well as this by 1936 federal support offered 8.8 percent of higher education funding, almost twice the level of the decade before it.²¹ At the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina this was no different with massive loans impacting and helping with the building and renovating of campus. The library is a prime example of the small but important work done by the PWA. The PWA under Olive Webster helped retype the old catalog at the school²², over the span of four years from 1937-1941 alphabeting and filing a total of 104,854 cards.²³The New Deal administrations also helped in building the new golf-course which is easily found on the map, a project that totaled to 15,000 dollars at the time.²⁴ They also helped with repairs to many of the buildings found on campus, something we can see on the Kirkland Dormitory on the map, with the workers surely being CWA workers, the repair of many of the dormitories is mentioned in the student newspaper at the time “The dormitories, too, will come in for their share of improvement. Roofs will be painted, interiors done over, and needed repairs made”.²⁵The CWA loans were also used for general repairs of the campus with new sidewalks and steps being built, as well as the Auditorium being refurbished. Most of the campus was helped by the federal government, however the building that had the most impact was the Alumni house. 

The WPA was crucial in helping build the Alumnae house, a process that would have taken longer without their help giving out two massive loans,one of 31,000 ²⁶and another one a loan of 39,000 in order to build the Alumnae house²⁷, as well as this the PWA also gave the labor to build the Alumnae house. The Alumnae house is circled in Aderholdt’s map despite not being built yet construction was a struggle for the school before the help from the WPA. Allen Trelease discusses the issues in building the Alumnae house “By the early 1930s about 53,000 dollars had been collected for the Alumnae House. Most of it was invested in Greensboro city bonds which presently lost much of their value as the city was forced into default. Yet it was the depression, paradoxically, that opened the way to federal government money that finally brought the building to completion”.²⁸Although not noticeable from first glance of the map, the work and loans from the WPA were crucial in helping complete the Alumnae house. The WPA, although not directly mentioned by Aderholdt, directly impacted many of the buildings on the map.  

The New Deal and the Depression were crucial in helping the campus grow despite the damages it faced at the start of the Depression. Even after the time of the map the impact of the WPA was felt on campus with Dr.Kiester the professor of economics saying “The way to continue the prosperity of the war after the war, when there would no longer be defense spending, would be to have—continue things or recreate new things similar to those 

Depression era agencies like the WPA [Works Project Administration] and the PWA [Public Works Administration]²⁹”. The map by Aderholdt upon close reading shows us the impact and legacy left by the WPA on campus to this day with the Alumnae house being in the same place where it was once built.  

Bibliography 

Primary Sources: 

Barker,Mary,Glorious Girls Not Daunted by Prolonged Visit of Old Man Depression On Campus,The Carolinian[1932],March 10,1932. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

   This article from the Student Newspaper was Written by Mary Barker the editor and student at the time. The article discusses how students were dealing with the old man depression at the time, with Barker discussing how Miss Forney was collecting checks from 600-1200 dollars a day. The article discusses how students are dealing well with the depression backing up my points on the school blooming despite the global depression occurring. 

Bulletin of the North Carolina College for Women, Vol. XVIII No. 3.Greensboro, NC:North Carolina College for Women, 1932. 

This Catalogue from the school shows data from that year’s time, as well as this having all the students and faculty in the school at the time. This is important to my project because it has enrollment rates which I used in tangent with other Southern schools enrollment rates and the ways they dropped.    

Cataloger to Mrs. Oliver Webster. February 18,1937. Works Progress Administration Library Project. 1.  Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

The letter, although not from the time period of the map, discusses important work done by the PWA in order to revise the library which is shown in Aderholdt’s map. Although not from the time period it still shows us the importance of the PWA work on campus to a different degree rather than just building and financing buildings. The letter discusses a job to revise the library  and retype the old catalog.  

Dudley, Mary, Pine Needles(Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina,1934),Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Pine Needles served as the student yearbook at the time, we can see student organizations as well as pictures from life on campus at the time. We can also find Emma Lee Aderholdt in her final year as a student noting her clubs and activities. This is important to my paper because it discusses Aderholdt herself and her background as a student. 

Foy, Missy, Oral History Interview With Eleanor Dare Taylor Kennedy, Walter Clinton Jackson Library, Digital Greensboro, February 2, 1997. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

This Oral Interview is conducted by Missy Foy with Eleanor Kennedy, a former student at the school. The interview entails Kennedy going through her time at the school, as well as her life growing up. This is important to my paper because Kennedy experienced the later end of the WPA, as well as mentioning how professors saw the work done by the New Deal organizations. 

 Kernodle,Frances, Home Economic News, The Carolinian[1934], May 4,1934.Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Frances Kernodles was the editor at the time for the Carolinian. In this article it entails a home economics competition that occurred in Raleigh at the time. Within it she entails the winners and an exposition which occurred after the competition. This is important to my project because Emma Aderholdt took place in this competition, finishing in third place. This is important because it shows Aderholdt’s talent for art. 

Kernodle,Margaret, Civil Works Administration Furnishes Money for Repairs and Improvements, The Carolinian [1935], December 14,1933. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

This article by Margaret Kernodle, the editor for the Carolinian at the time discusses the newly formed Civil Works Administration and the way its impacting campus. Within the article she discusses how the CWA is giving out loans to the school which will be used to refurbish and repair the campus. This is important to my project because it shows the work done by the New Deal Administrations on the school, as well as this on the map we can find workers repairing the Kirkland dorm which would have surely been CWA workers. 

The North Carolina College for Women: The thirty-ninth session.Greensboro,NC:North Carolina College for Women,1931. 

This Catalogue from the school shows data from that year’s time, as well as this having all the students and faculty in the school at the time. This is important to my project because it has enrollment rates which I used in tangent with other Southern schools enrollment rates and the ways they dropped. The enrollment rates are at the highest in this year, although still having a decline from other years showing the impact the depression had on enrollment.   

The Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina: The forty-second session. Greensboro,NC:North Carolina College for Women,1934. 

This Catalogue from the school shows data from that year’s time, as well as this having all the students and faculty in the school at the time. This is important to my project because it has enrollment rates which I used in tangent with other Southern schools enrollment rates and the ways they dropped. The enrollment rates are at the lowest in this year showing the impact that the depression had on the school. 

Yates,Elizabeth, Alumnae Building will be finished in Spring, The Carolinian[1935],Digital Greensboro, September 27,1935. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries. 

Elizabeth Yates was the editor in chief at the time who wrote the article. The article entails the finishing of the Alumni building in Spring of 1936 showing us the time frame of the building as well as why it wasn’t present on the map. It also entails the loans given by the PWA being 39,000 as well as the building of the Alumni house being done by the PWA as well. It relates to the map by Aderholdt because the Alumni building is highlighted on the map despite not being built yet. As well as this it shows the work the PWA did in order to help the school build the Alumni house, as it would have taken much longer without the PWA’s help. 

Wells, Mary, Miss Bird Makes Study of 1934 Graduates, The Carolinian [1935], January 11, 1935. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Mary Wells was the editorial in chief at the time of the article. She would graduate in 1935. The article above discusses the impact of the depression, specifically on graduates from the school. Throughout Miss Bird’s findings we can see the impact or lack thereof of the depression. This is important to my project because it discusses the impact that the depression had on specifically students from the school and how they are dealing with the depression. 

 Wells, Mary, Committee Awards Building Contract,The Carolinian [1934], Digital Greensboro, December 7,1934. Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries.  

Mary Wellen was the editorial in chief at the time the article was written she would graduate in 1935 as a new editor in chief was hired in 1935.The article discusses three contracts given and paid for by the pwa in order to fund and build the Alumnae house on campus, as well as this it discusses the layout of the future Alumnae house. This is important to my project because it discusses the work done for by the PWA and the new deal in order to build the alumnae house.The Alumnae house is circled on the 1934 map by Aderholdt showing the importance of the house to the campus. 

Works Progress Administration Library Project. 1.  Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

This paper catalogs the amount of cards re-typed and filed by the PWA in their project at the library from 1937-1941. The cards add up to a staggering amount of 104,854. The project was headed by Mrs. Olive Webster in tangent with Delorias Langston. 

Secondary Sources: 

El-Khawas, Elaine, The Impact of Economic Crises on American Universities. Journal of The Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education, Vol 23. No.2 (September,2011):27-40. 

This article by Elaine El-Khawas examines the impact that economic crises had on America such as the Great Depression, the 1980s slump, and the two world wars. He discusses the impact that the Great Depression had on Higher Education looking and analyzing data such as enrollment rates as well as universities closed during the time. He discusses the budget cuts that many public universities faced, as well as the ways the New Deal helped public universities. This relates to my project because it discusses the New-Deal more importantly however the WPA and the work from the federal government in order to fund and help public institutions such as the Woman’s College of North Carolina. 

Taylor, Nick.  American-made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR put the nation to work. New York: Bantam Book, 2008. 

This book by Nick Taylor examines the impact of the WPA in giving jobs to homeless men and women. It also discusses the memory left behind by the WPA with many of the public roads, businesses, and schools. The book also however discusses some of the controversy behind the WPA and some of the failures from the WPA. This relates to my project because the book discusses the WPA in giving jobs to people, relating to the log cabin on campus. As well as this it discusses the memory and help the WPA gave to many college buildings such as the library, the Alumni house, or the log house.  

McCandless, Amy T. The past in the present: women’s higher education in the twentieth-century American South. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press, 1999.  

This book by Amy McCandless discusses women and higher education in the 19th century. It goes through cultural and educational changes in the time period going from the 1900s to the present. The book depicts the changes education faced in the turn after the civil war and the impact of world events on education in the South such as World at War 1 or the Great Depression. This relates to my project because it discusses Southern women’s education giving us an insight to the map and some of the experiences Aderholdt may have had, as well as giving us a look into how the Great Depression impacted schools in the South and the work done to counteract the depression by programs like WPA.  

Other sources: 

Trelease, Allen. Making North Carolina Literate: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro from Normal School to Metropolitan University. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004. 

This book examines the history of the University of North Carolina through its history. The book follows a chronological order starting off with the early days of the school discussing the impact of the school as a women’s institution. Eventually leading to the modern version of the school and discussing the impact the school had in education. This is important to my project because he discusses the impact of the pwa/wpa in building and renovating buildings to the school. These buildings are all found on the map in some way.