Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JULY 10-16, 2019 UCW 11 Tough but fair. ose were the words most frequently used to describe the late Bob Lewis by friends and former co-workers. Lewis, 88, was a coach, teacher and principal in New Bern before relocat- ing to Fayetteville, where he largely made his reputation locally as the principal at Seventy-First High School in the 1970s. He went on to serve in local government, elected to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and eventually rising to the chairman's seat. Larry Lancaster, who cur- rently serves on the Board of Commissioners, was an educator at roughly the same time as Lewis. Like many, he knew of Lewis' reputation. "Bob was a man of convic- tion,'' Lancaster said. "He did not shy away from controversy. Back when he was principal, it was a tough time. ere were a lot of things going on in this country and a lot of stuff that was brought to the schoolhouse door.'' Lancaster said Lewis ran a tight ship and expected both students and staff to follow the rules. "ere were no short- cuts with Bob,'' Lancaster said. "Strict, fair, but he had an eye for great people.'' A number of the people who served under Lewis during his Seventy-First days went on to become leaders in both education and politics. One of those was Alex War- ner, who was an assistant prin- cipal with Lewis and became a member of the Cumberland County Board of Education and later the North Carolina General Assembly. Warner said Lewis faced multiple challenges in his time at Seventy-First. e Vietnam War was raging, and public schools were about to be fully integrated for the first time when Lewis came to Seventy-First as principal in 1968. On top of that, the building at Seventy-First was built for about 1,100 students, Warner said. At one point during Lewis' tenure, they had 2,300 enrolled. "It was dynamite fixing to be set off by some incident,'' Warner said. Warner said Lewis had a knack for finding the good in everyone he encountered and nurtur- ing it. Lewis would frequently hold round-table discussions with his whole staff to get various opinions on problems they were dealing with, but when a decision had to be made, Lewis made it and stuck with it. "When we left the office, we were unified together because the mission was established by the boss,'' Warner said. "He was the boss, and I admire him for that.'' Gerald Patterson, another former Lewis assis- tant who went on to become principal at Seven- ty-First, said the most important thing he learned from Lewis was to stand up and be counted. Patterson said it was the strength of Lewis' lead- ership that propelled many of his protégés into administrative careers of their own. "What he gave me was the impetus to stand on my own two feet,'' Patterson said. "Don't be afraid of who might come after me. Be yourself.'' Community loses another icon by EARL VAUGHAN JR. PROFILE EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Bob Lewis, 88, was a coach, teacher and principal in New Bern before relocating to Fayetteville, where he largely made his reputation locally as the principal at Seventy-First High School in the 1970s. Carriage Tours of Olde Fayetteville, spon- sored by the Cool Spring Downtown District, offers something special to guests on Satur- day, July 13 — an exclusive inside tour of the historic St. Joseph's Episcopal Church. e church was founded in 1873 by Rev. Joseph Caldwell Huske, rector at St. John's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, and its African Ameri- can members, who constituted one-fourth of St. John's congregation at the time. e church was built in 1896, thanks to the gen- erosity of a wealthy New York philanthropist, Eva S. Cochran. at connection to New York may help explain the "Resurrection Windows" in the sanctuary made by Tiffany of New York, the only Tiffany stained-glass church windows in Fayetteville. Another New York connection is the pipe organ, which was purchased from St. John's. It was manufactured in New York in 1857 and is still in operation today. Heidi Bleazey from the Fayetteville Area Transpor- tation and Local History Museum will be on-site to give the back story on these and other features of this historical treasure in downtown Fayetteville. Because St. Joseph's is not typically open for public touring, this truly is a special opportunity. Also, on the way to and from the church, the horse and carriage will pass by many of the historic sites within the footprint of the original town founded as Cross Creek more than 250 years ago. A profes- sional tour guide will relate the fascinating true sto- ries of the people and events associated with these sites. e "limousine carriage" features comfort- able, padded seats and a canopy overhead. Because of the specialty tour of St. Joseph's, the total experience will last an hour and a half. Depar- ture times are 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and noon. Guests will meet their carriage at 222 Hay St., across from the Cameo Art House eatre. Parking should not be a problem. e Woodpeckers baseball game scheduled for that night doesn't start until 6 p.m., and parking in the nearby Frank- lin Street parking deck will be free. Like all the carriage tours, this is an excel- lent way to entertain out-of-town visitors. People in Fayetteville have used the car- riage tours to show off their city to friends and family for the past three years. A recent survey found that 40% of passengers are from out of town and, of that number, fully two- thirds are from out of state. Tickets can be purchased online at www.visitdowntownfayetteville.com or by calling the Cool Spring Downtown District office at 910-223-1089. e phone reservation system is recommended if there is any prob- lem reserving online. Even with the added experience of the St. Joseph's tour, tickets will remain at the same low price — $25 per adult, $20 with a military ID and $15 for children un- der 12. ere are only three tours, and reservations are strongly advised. Carriage ride offers rare chance to tour historic downtown church by DR. HANK PARFITT EVENT DR. HANK PARFIT, Programming Com- mittee member, Cool Spring Downtown District. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. e Aug. 13 Carriage Tours of Olde Fayetteville include an exclusive inside tour of the historic St. Joseph's Episcopal Church.