Alumni Award to Durham Principal
This article describes Baxter Ridhenhour, receipient of the 1958 Alumni Award. It discusses all that he did for ECC and what he has done for other schools. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: "Alumni Award to Durham Principal," Daily Reflector, May 17, 1958.
Baxter R. Ridenhour, principal of the Club Boulevard School in Durham, N.C., received here this morning the 1958 Award presented by the East Carolina College Alumni Association to a graduate whose work for the college and the association and in other fields of service has been outstanding.
Ridenhour is the nineteenth recipient of the annual award, which has been made to twelve women and seven men who are graduates of East Carolina College.
Twice a graduate of East Carolina, Mr. Ridenhour received the bachelor of arts degree, with a major in science and the social studies in 1938. Returning to the college for graduate work, he received in 1948 the master of arts in school administration.
Before entering East Carolina, he was graduated from Cooleemee High School and from Rutherford Junior College. During his student days at East Carolina, he was a three-letterman, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He was also president of the Men's Student Government Association.
He began his career in education as a teacher and athletic coach at Mangum High School in Durham County, where he remained for four years. For the next eight years he was in Burlington, N.C. There he was a member of the faculty and director of athletics in the senior high school and served later as principal of the Maple Avenue school. He returned to Durham in 1950 to become principal of Club Boulevard School, one of the city's newest and largest elementary schools.
In civic affairs, Ridenhour has been a member of Civitian clubs in both Burlington and Durham and has served as president of each. During 1957-1958 he has been lieutenant governor of Zone 5 of the North Carolina District CivitanInternational and has been named as assistant to the District Governor of Civitan for next year.
He was chairman of the Durham Inter-Club Council during his term as Civitan president. He is a member of the Durham Parent-Teacher Council and of the official board of Trininty MethodistChurch in Durham. In addition, he is serving as member of the Board of Directors of Boys Home, Inc., of North Carolina at Whiteville.
As an alumnus of East Carolina College, Ridenhouse has engaged in a number of varied activities connected with the institution. He is a life member of the college Alumni Association. He has been president of the Burlington chapter and a director of the Raleigh-Durham District of the organization. During 1955-1957 he was president of the East Carolina College Alumni Assocation.
During his term as president, interest in scholarship tuitions was advanced among alumni and a program of contributions of books to the Joyner Memorial Library as the college was initated under the project of Friends of the Leader.
