Fall 2023 HSNC Meeting, Reidsville, NC

Our Fall 2023 meeting will be held on 29 September in Reidsville at the Main Street United Methodist Church at 221 South Main Street. The Executive Council will meet at 1:30 pm and a social hour for members and the public will follow at 2:30 pm. The occasion and afternoon program for the Society is indeed a special one- the unveiling of the State Historical Marker for Chief Justice Susie Sharp. The program is scheduled to begin across the street from the church at 3:30 PM (Note the change in our traditional meeting time of 4 PM.)

Susie Sharp (1907-1996), who was a resident of Reidsville for most of her life, was the first woman appointed judge on the Superior Court and the Supreme Court. The unveiling of the marker will be overseen by representatives of the State Highway Historical Marker Program of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. As a trailblazing jurist in more ways than one, Judge Sharp was the subject of a widely acclaimed biography by attorney and HSNC member Anna Ragland Hayes in 2008, Without Precedent (UNC Press). Ms. Hayes has graciously accepted our invitation to be our keynoter after the unveiling. Following her remarks, Former HSNC president Justice Willis Whichard, who also served on the Supreme Court, will moderate a panel discussion of former clerks and colleagues of Judge Sharp and will take questions from the audience.

Following the panel discussion, the Society, along with invited guests, will proceed to the church fellowship hall for a TRADITIONAL meal prepared by the same local barbecue restaurant (Short Sugar’s) that prepared food for the rallies that Judge Sharp and her party sponsored back in the 1940s and 1950s. (Sorry, absolutely NO chit’lins or alcohol!)

The Agenda

• 1:30 pm: Executive Council Meeting (Main Street Church Fellowship Hall)
• 2:30 pm: Social Hour (Church Lawn- weather permitting, otherwise Fellowship Hall)
• 3:30 pm: Unveiling of historical marker, intersection of Main and Lindsey streets.
• 4:00 pm (Church Sanctuary) Welcome, recognition of guests and announcements, Greg
  Taylor, HSNC President presiding
• 4:15 pm- Keynote speaker, Anna Ragland Hayes, biographer of Judge Sharp
• 4:45 pm-: Panel Discussion: “Susie Sharp on the Supreme Court”- Hon. Willis Whichard, Ret. Associate Justice, Moderator
• 5:45 pm: Dinner (Fellowship Hall), HSNC Members and Guests, Reservations only
• 6:45 pm: Evening Session (Fellowship Hall)
  • Memoir for Dr. Damon Hickey…………………….. Dr. Sarah Thuesen
  • Business Meeting: Elections of Constitution and Bylaws, new members, officers, rubric for Edmonds-Gavins Award and announcement of recipient of the Lefler Award and the Outstanding Teacher of North Carolina History Award.
  • Presidential Address- Dr. Greg Taylor
  • Recognition of New President and Adjournment

Dinner Reservations

Members are asked to let us know NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 18th if they wish to make reservations for dinner. Send your RSVPs to Michael Perdue at
history6557@yahoo.com. The cost will be $20.00 per person. Checks for dinner may be sent to our Treasurer, Jason Tomberlin, Wilson Special Collections Library, UNC; CB 3948, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.

The menu will consist of barbecue and fried chicken with a vegetarian option, prepared by Short Sugar’s Barbecue of Reidsville which provided meals for political rallies for Judge Sharp and her party in the 1940s-1960s. Members may also bring their checks to the meeting and can also be coupled with dues payments if need be.