Playwright Describes Teasure Hunt through History
by Kate Prichard

The former MHC theatre arts professor created the musical for the school's sesquicentennial celebration. It is based on the real people and events of the 1890-91 academic year.

Jones found the main outline for the story in the book, From These Stones by John Angus McLeod. The book covers the college's history from 1856 to 1967.

"There was one story that was particularly interesting to me because the protagonist was a woman," said Jones. "In 1890, women had so little voice in anything. And to think that it was possible that a woman was very instrumental in helping to save this college from going under was amazing to me. What was she like? Who was she?….It became like a detective story. Who knew her? Where would I find information?"

He went on a search for information and found himself in Helen McMaster's hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, where he himself had grown up. "I already knew about her because her family is a famous family in Columbia. Her father was the founder of the public school system in Columbia."

There he uncovered old scrapbooks and letters belonging to Helen and her family that helped him unearth details about her true story.

In the time span that Jones' story depicts, Mars Hill was struggling just to stay in existence. "The school had no money," Jones said. "It was hard to keep it going."

Helen, one of the few women in that era with a college degree, challenged the all-male board of trustees to hire a college president who had actually graduated from college. They did, hiring Thomas Hufham, a young man in his early twenties, just graduated from Wake Forest College. He in turn brought in John E. White, also a young Wake Forest graduate.

"So," said Jones, "you've got a pretty young woman who stood up and told the trustees how to run things. And guess who comes on the scene: a very handsome young man, who was a former athlete. John White was on the first football team at Wake Forest. He graduated in 1890. He was a scholar, an orator, a debate person, handsome as all get-out. And you've got a young woman, a young man, so you've got to have a romance! So the story becomes Helen and John's story."

The romance is fictionalized. But many other details are not. This college was quite a different place in 1890. At a college that now values athletics, it is hard to believe that in those days ball games were strictly forbidden on campus. White got permission from the trustees to establish the school's first sports team, bringing baseball to campus. He was also the first person to introduce the curve ball to the area.

In athletics and in academics, the three main characters were bold enough to step in and make changes, says Jones. "These are people who believe strongly about things and they're not afraid to say it."

Jones' treasure hunt for school history also led him to modern-day connections with his characters' relatives. In his search, he made contact with the godson of Helen McMaster, two grandchildren of John White, and the great granddaughter of Thomas Hufham. These relatives and friends were instrumental in helping Jones find the information he needed. They all planned to be in attendance at the October 7 premier to see their ancestors' stories come to life.

Jones contributed further to the history of his characters when his contact with Hufham's great granddaughter brought up the state of Hufham's grave. Hufham is buried in Hickory North Carolina, where he had served as mayor. John McLeod's book mentions that by 1966 the grave marker was too defaced for the death date to be legible. Jones learned that by 2006 there was no marker there at all. He drew attention to the problem and as a result, a new tombstone was made and dedicated in a ceremony on September 17 of this year.

Jones feels that there's "something in Mars Hill that's very special. It brings people back." After teaching here for 26 years, writing the musical Treasures is Jones' way of giving back to a school that has given him a wealth of experiences.

The title comes from the book of Matthew in the Bible. The scripture says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." However, Jones says, "It has more meanings than just the biblical thing…What you're going to take away from here as a student, [is a] whole kitbag of treasures-your friendships, your education, the experiences you had here; you'll never forget those. Throughout your whole life you will have all these treasures that you'll have with you on some level."

Reader Comment:

Cynthia Farlow, Sophomore, 10/7/2006, 10:40 a.m. The play was great and Mr. Jones is a genius to have captured the struggles of the past and present in only a few hours. Great job on the article Kate.

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