Last week, I felt I heard the whispers of our 22nd President General, when I walked in her footsteps, toured the historic structures she recreated and recalled her memory at her graveside. Thanks to an invitation from the members of the vibrant Richard Dobbs Spaight Chapter of No. Carolina, I was privileged to join them for their centennial celebration, which included a rededication of the grave of their most illustrious member, Gertrude Sprague Carraway, President General from 1953 to 1956.
Miss Carraway was born (and died 96 years later) in her family home in charming New Bern, No. Carolina. Graduating as her high school class valedictorian in 1912, she attended North Carolina State University and began her career as a secondary school English teacher. She soon turned her talents to writing and editing, ultimately becoming a correspondent for the Associated Press and assigned to cover such stories as the Hoover-Smith presidential campaign.