First Hill Rules!

by Steve Gallup

New rooms and new roomies.

Between the first year of classes ('80-'81) and the second academic year ('81-'82), there was a complete rearrangement of the living quarters at the School of Science and Math. New dormitory wings were renovated to accommodate an entirely new class of juniors -- a doubling of the student body. And rooms in the two biggest dormitories of the first class year were also reassigned.

Boys were moved from Wyche House to Hill House or to two of the floors in the (newly christened) "Bryan" Building. Girls were moved from Hill House to Wyche  House or the remodeled Valinda Beall Pavilion. (Boys living on the third floor of the Main Building were the only students who had the option of staying put.) About 150 new 11th grade students were being thrown into the mix. Sometime in May of 1981 there was a dash for choosing new roommates and signing up for premium dorm rooms. Room size, location, and bathroom water pressure were high on the list of considerations.

Some of the newly promoted seniors chose to stay in one of the dorms on the north side of campus (Hill House or Wyche House), with it's slightly more woodsy, traditional vibe.  Some chose to move into the renovated wings of the former hospital (Bryan and Beall), where there was a more urban aesthetic, like living in a high-rise apartment.  But everyone moved, and nearly everyone had new roommates to boot.

Despite this rearrangement... or, perhaps, because of it... hall pride and allegiance began to surge. Each dorm seemed to cultivate it's own brand of loyalty. Newly arriving juniors were welcomed to their rooms on the dormitory floor as if they were joining an exclusive club or circle. When meeting a new student for the first time, the most common question (after, "Where are you from?") was, "So, what hall are you on?"

Of course it wasn't just the building, or it's location that mattered. It was the collection of juveniles, living in close proximity, struggling to measure up to expectations, that mattered. We were there to support and/or torture one another. We became like family -- perhaps closer than family. We hung out together, played ping pong together, listened to record albums together, studied together, and played pranks on one another.

Early in the art class of 1981, Joe Liles taught screen-printing, and within weeks posters and t-shirts were being mass produced, frequently extolling the virtues or superiority of one hall or another. Today, my t-shirt is neatly folded and stored in a pile of other keepsake apparel on the top shelf of my bedroom closet.  It says, "First Hill Rules".

The contest for superiority.

Somewhere in the middle of my senior year, while living on the first floor of Hill House, we decided that we should plan an event to demonstrate our true quality. We decided to throw a party of some sort -- an invitation only event -- not only to enjoy... but also to demonstrate our greatness.  We had grandiose dreams to start with -- a black tie event... or a gala -- but in the end we agreed to hold a traditional cookout, somewhere off campus, and invite a chosen few of our friends and mentors.

Pretty quickly, it became apparent that, besides getting the necessary permissions and approvals, we would actually have to raise some funds to pay for food and supplies.  This was the topic of discussion at a full-fledged hall meeting -- all of us squeezing into our overstuffed recreational area. In retrospect, that hall meeting may have been one of the only times when our hall really got together, hashing out the nuts and bolts of our planned extravaganza.

In the end, we did the one thing that we all knew how to do to raise money. We held a car wash. Some time in early Spring, in 1982, we got some hoses... and buckets... and soap... and we set up a car wash in the faculty parking lot at the back of Wyche House. Mostly by word of mouth... surprisingly... a phalanx of cars began driving in for a lather and rinse, of somewhat questionable quality. After a few hours of working, playing, and directing one another, our "treasurer" proudly displayed the fruit of our efforts -- a handful of paper bills -- enough to prepare in earnest -- to finance a cookout.

Somewhere along the line I volunteered to create an invitation (shown below). I had them printed at a business in Cameron Village, in Raleigh -- my hometown. I still have the bag with the business logo on front. It might have been one of the first times I felt the weight of  responsibility of doing something for "the greater good".

The First Hill Cookout.

So each student on our hall was allowed to send either one or two invitations for the cookout. I no longer remember how many were allowed, or who I invited. But, at the time, it was thrilling, first, to plan, and then, to bring to fruition, such an exclusive engagement.

Although the invitation indicates that the cookout was to be on the Eno River (north of campus), it ended up being held at Wrightwood Park, on Anderson Street, about one mile south of the Sarah Duke Gardens (and south of campus).  Wrightwood Park was so small, that from the street, you would think it was only a baseball field, but the park itself actually ran up into the woods on a hill above the baseball diamond, and was a lovely enclave for our party.

We went through the traditional fuss of bringing things to grill -- fixin's, and refreshments. One of us oversaw the cooking, and pretty soon grilled, conspicuously non-cafeteria food was served, to be consumed on paper plates and picnic tables. 

The day was warm and sunny, but it was shady under the tall pines. 

We were fat and happy after waiting for dinner, and we shuffled off to play on the playground. 

Eventually w struck up a game of softball way down on the baseball field. 

We talked with our guests - teachers and friends (mostly girls), and we did virtually nothing.

It was blissful.

The cookout was held only five weeks before our commencement exercises in June of 1982. Our graduation was a much, much bigger production -- held at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on Duke's campus, and followed by a picnic and gathering on the lawn outside the main entrance to the Bryan Building at NCSSM.

But for a few hours in a small park in the middle of Durham... in the magical month of May... a small cadre of young men from "1st Hill" shared the fruit of their planning and labor with the people at school that they loved and respected the most -- a feast of food and a celebration of hall pride.