Barney Black, C'66 from Charlotte, recently attended the Summer Seminar and is following the chicken story. He owns the former "Stirling" house in Sewanee, has "a vital interest in Lease Committee decisions" and supports me on the chicken issue. I hope he won't mind if I take one of his comments out of context for a minute ... he thinks I'm "brilliant"!Barney wrote with the following story from his college days at Sewanee...
"There is actually a precedent for the "no fowl" rule in Sewanee history.
When Alexander Guerry was Vice Chancellor of the University, Miss Amy Brooks Eggleston and her husband "Egg" Eggleston had a beloved pet rooster named General Lee who lived alone in a coop in their back yard.
Every day at the crack of dawn, as roosters are supposed to do, General Lee would crow loudly, not once but multiple times. Vice Chancellor Guerry lived a few doors down the street within easy ear shot of General Lee's coop. General Lee's crowing would awaken Vice Chancellor Guerry every morning long before the VC was ready to awaken.
After several years of this, Mr. Guerry had endured all of General Lee's crowing he could tolerate, at which point the VC informed Miss Amy and "Egg" of his annoyance and told them that General Lee would have to be euthanized. "Egg" complied with the VC's request and decapitated General Lee. Being a very practical fellow, "Egg" served General Lee up as the entree at his and Miss Amy's next Sunday dinner. When "Egg" told Miss Amy that General Lee was the bird in the platter on the dinner table, Miss Amy was horrified at General Lee's fate. Miss Amy left the table and took refuge at Miss Polly Kirby-Smith's house leaving "Egg" to feast alone. Miss Polly was Miss Amy's sister. Anyway, after that all lived happily ever after except for General Lee, of course.
When I was a student at Sewanee, I roomed at Miss Polly's house on University Avenue. Miss Amy was a frequent visitor and also a dear friend of mine. By then "Egg" was residing in the cemetery. Miss Amy told the story of General Lee and the VC many times, never without sadness in her voice.
Most things at Sewanee have their roots in tradition."
Please keep in mind that I only have hens now - no roosters.
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1 comment:
Thank you so much for this post! Miss Amy was actually my grandmother!! I am sure she is laughing so hard, where she and "Egg" are, at the memory of her dear General Lee!!!!
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