Biographical Text
Assistant Professor Emerita of Librarianship. Mary Alice Huff (December 3, 1916-), was born in Willington in McCormick County, South Carolina. She is the daughter of J.W. and Alice B. Huff, both natives of Greenville County, South Carolina. Her late parents were childhood sweethearts and both attended colleges-her father graduated from Furman University and her mother graduated from Winthrop College. Miss Huff had three siblings: J.W. Huff, Jr., who lives in Greenville, South Carolina, and who also graduated from Furman University; Mrs. Ray Jarvis, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and, William Bramlett Huff, who while a junior at North Carolina State University volunteered for the United States Army, and was killed on Okinawa. Both her father and late brother William shared Miss Huffs interest in writing poetry. J.W. Huff, Sr., taught Latin and served as Registrar at Mars Hill College for 30 years. Alice B. Huff, in her late years, worked at the Mars Hill Branch of the Madison County Public Library for over 20 years before her death in 1983, at age 92 1/2. Miss Huff received her junior college diploma from Mars Hill College (1934-36), and later attended the Mars Hill division of Mars Hill-Meredith-Wake Forest summer school in the summer of 1936. She then entered Limestone College (1936-38) where she majored in English and education and earned her A.B. degree. While she was at Limestone she had her first poems published in the Lantern, the school newspaper-literary publication. Mary Alice Huff served in Locust, North Carolina as a teacher for third- and fourth-graders in the Locust Elementary School (1938-39). She then attended the George Peabody College for Teachers (now a part of Vanderbilt University-1939-40) where she was awarded the B.S. in library science. She worked as an assistant librarian at Mars Hill College during the summer and fall of 1940. In 1941 she moved to Shawsville, Virginia where she worked both as a librarian and as a teacher at Shawsville High School (1941-42). In 1942 Mary Alice Huff was appointed to the position of cataloger in the Appalachian State Teachers College (now Appalachian State University) library. Miss Huff increased, significantly, the volume of original cataloging undertaken in the Appalachian State University library. While at Appalachian, Miss Huff had to adapt to the many changes which occurred concerning the location and the system of the cataloging department. For her first 10 years she did all the cataloging duties, with one student assistant to letter the call numbers on the books. Then came an increased number of students and faculty and an increased book budget and the D.D. Dougherty Library underwent its first expansion. Miss Huff found herself in a new office, with two assistants, several student assistants, and herself with the title "Head of Cataloging." When the present library was built she had an office to herself and all the assistants, clerical workers and student assistants stayed busy in a big room around her. Then came cataloging by computer and a whole new era for the catalog department. Soon the new library needed enlarging and cataloging was moved back to the old library (which had been remodeled again and was being occupied by Military Science and various other departments) for the duration. For a year new books and re-cataloged books were wheeled by book carts from there to the library and old books were carried to the temporary quarters for re-cataloging. At last new quarters were ready and her area was moved back, computer and all, to one side of a huge room on the back of the building. The order department had the other side of the room. The whole thing was to be known as Technical Services. The serials department (formerly called "periodicals"), also part of technical services, was housed out by the reference stacks. Each department head has her/his own office (and phone) as did the technical services supervisor. There was a room for the computer (soon there were two) and a phone there as well as another phone for each of the departments. Truly, in Miss Huff's tenure at ASU there had been many changes, not only in her places of work and system of work, but in the entire school, including the name of the school, from Appalachian State Teachers College to Appalachian State University. Several of her sketches and paintings of scenes on the campus are of places and things no longer there--a snow scene of old Lovill Dorm, a lovely flower garden between old Lovill and old White Hall, and a view of the fir trees as seen through the open front doors of D.D. Dougherty Library (the tops of the trees were in plain view)--that was 40 years ago! On April 10,1968 Mary Alice served as an official representative for Appalachian State University at the inauguration of President John Carl McCollister, Jr. of Limestone College. In 1982 she served as faculty chief marshal at commencement. She worked with all three of the head librarians who worked from the time of the opening of the university to the time of her retirement: Mrs. Emma H. Moore, Mr. Leonard Eury, and Mr. Richard Barker. She also worked with all four presidents/chancellors: Dr. B.B. Dougherty, Dr. W.H. Plemmons, Dr. Herbert W. Wey, and Dr. John E. Thomas. As her retirement neared, she worked late almost every night and some weekends to catalog as much as possible before it was time to leave. Miss Huff played an active part in the activities of the First Baptist Church of Boone. She taught Sunday school for the nine-year old girls in the Junior Department and also served as secretary for the Intermediate Department of Sunday school. Miss Huff was affiliated with the North Carolina Library Association, the Western North Carolina Library Association, and the Southeastern Library Association. Miss Huff retired at the end of the 1981 -82 academic year, completing forty years of service to Appalachian State University. In a letter to Miss Huff from Cratis Williams on the occasion of her retirement. Dr. Williams wrote the following: "In terms of service to the University, you have the longest tenure in the academic staff, 40 years. You have served under every chief administrator in the institution's history from Dr. Dougherty to Chancellor Thomas, and you have worked for every head librarian ASU has ever had. You came in the fall of 1942 to a little college with an enrollment of 650 and a library with 10 or 12 thousand volumes in it in a remote town with a population of about 1600. You have seen the college grow into a university with an enrollment of 10,000 and the village grow into a little city with a population of 12,000. You helped the library grow from a barely adequate little facility to an imposing structure that houses nearly a half million items. You have seen the faculty grow from about 35 members in 1942 to one of nearly 600 members in 1982. You have given us a lifetime of dedicated service and support. You fully deserve a retirement dinner and the coming together of friends and associates to do honor to you personally and to your long period of service to the institution and the community." With the aid of Bob Snead, the cataloging department of the library arranged a special helicopter ride around Boone for Miss Huff in honor of her retirement. Upon retirement, she moved to Mars Hill to live with and take care of her mother (deceased June 7, 1983) as well as to start a new life and new career. During retirement, she is devoting time to gardening, including starting a new orchard, reading (especially histories of counties), old-fashioned rug hooking, and trying out new recipes. She is also enjoying visits from her family whenever possible. Sources: Appalachian State University files and personal correspondence. - Dr. Richard D. Howe and Miss J. Beth Carlton
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