LOUISE PETTUS PRESERVED HISTORY OF WINTHROP, LOCAL AREA


Winthrop lost one of its beloved daughters on Aug. 15 with the passing of Louise Pettus ’46.


Known as a consummate scholar and researcher, she taught her students and others that understanding history was vital to understanding the present. The Archives at Winthrop bears her name and houses her papers and professional research, as well as many collections that Pettus gave or helped Winthrop acquire.


“Louise will be missed by all of us who knew and loved her and by those who have benefitted from her teaching and exhaustive, comprehensive research,” said Gina Price White ’83, director of archives and special collections of the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections.


Pettus started teaching at Winthrop in 1967 and joined the faculty full time in 1968. She taught in both the College of Education and in the history department in the College of Arts and Sciences, until her retirement in 1989.


Colleagues praised her legacy at a Sept. 2 on-campus memorial service.


Bob Gorman, a retired professor who was head of reference at Dacus Library, called Pettus a pioneer who gained confidence after running her family’s cotton gin in the Indian Land area of Lancaster County after her father passed.


Pettus contributed more than $550,000 to Winthrop in her lifetime, of which $500,000 went to Archives. An estate gift will double that amount.


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“Louise will be missed by all of us who knew and loved her and by those who have benefitted from her teaching.”


Gina Price White ’83 director of archives and special collections


Winthrop named its Archives and Special Collections for Pettus in 2006, particularly because she performed a masterful job in chronicling the institution’s past and this region’s rich history.


A key part of Pettus’ work was relating the stories of the Piedmont where she grew up.


Fellow historian and History Professor Eddie Lee ’83 said during Pettus’ memorial service that she understood the achievements, as well as the trials and tribulations, of the region where she was born, and the textile villages that dotted the region. “She was a daughter of the Catawba River,” he said.


Memorial gifts may be made to the Winthrop University Foundation for the Historical Preservation Fund (1613), 701 Oakland Ave., Rock Hill, SC 29733.


Please contact University Advancement at 803/323-2275 or giving@winthrop.edu for assistance.


ANNE CLOSE’S LEGACY LIVES ON THROUGH SCHOLARS


Current and former Close Scholars joined in grieving the Aug. 20 passing of Anne Springs Close.


For those living in York County, one of Close’s most visible contributions was the 2,100-acre greenway in Fort Mill, which bears her name. The space, which opened in 1995 near the North Carolina border, contains lakes, trails for hiking, biking, kayaking and horseback riding.


Close’s legacy at Winthrop is the founding of the Close Scholars program, which was created in the late 1990s. The initial gift was a leadership contribution during Winthrop’s first fundraising campaign. The first full group of Close Scholars graduated in 2003, and to date, 93 scholars have completed the program.


Senior Martin Jackson of Rock Hill found Close to be an amazing, down-to-earth woman. “She was a figure of greatness that improved this area in ways that just make me want to work just as hard,” he said. “Without Mrs. Close, my college career would have been so very different.”


As part of the program, Close Scholars volunteer 112 hours per semester and have contributed an estimat- ed total of 83,328 service hours.


Close met all of the scholars and learned something special about each one. Winthrop officials said that because Close was diagnosed with macular degener- ation, she could no longer read each scholar’s profile.


“However, before every dinner or get-together, she would memorize each scholar’s name, hometown, ma- jor and volunteer site – so that she could connect with


the scholars on a personal level,” said Ashley Isreal, the Close Scholars’ program manager.


In 2019, Winthrop received a new pledge for the pro- gram’s 20th anniversary: one from the Springs Close Foundation to increase the annual scholarship award from $2,500 to $5,000 per academic year.


In addition, the Springsteen Foundation, funded by Close’s son, Derek Springsteen Close, provided funds to start an international scholar experience. The first trip took place in 2019, and $50,000 in additional funds were allocated for 2021-22.


Close learned her sense of community spirit from her father, who owned seven cotton mills in four towns. “She was a grand lady without being grand,” remem- bered Ann Evans ’76, ’78, who is the archivist and curator for the Springs/Close Family Archives. “She learned from her father to be a caring person and shared it with her children. They have that same giving spirit.”


To learn more about the Close Scholars program, please visit www.winthrop.edu/student-affairs/ close-scholars.


“She was a figure of greatness that improved this area in ways that just make me want to work just as hard.”


Martin Jackson Senior, political science major, Close Scholar


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