Joyce H. Caldwell to Charles W. Chesnutt, 24 March 1931
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W. Va. State College
Institute, W. Va1
March 24, 1931
Mr. Charles W. Chestnutt
1646 Union Trust Bldg
Cleveland, Ohio.
My dear Mr. Chestnutt,
Some time ago, we wrote you relative to your coming to the campus on April 26. Since that time, we have heard nothing from you. It is highly important that we get your final word on the subject as our campus calendar is nearing completion.2
May we hear from you at once?
Very sincerely yours, Joyce H. Caldwell Pres. of Literary ClubCorrespondent: Joyce H. Caldwell (b. 1910), the student president of the Literary Club at West Virginia State College (later University), graduated in May of 1931 and returned to her home state of North Carolina to become a schoolteacher.
1. West Virginia State College (now University) is a historically Black land-grant university founded in 1891 in Institute, West Virginia, as the West Virginia Colored Institute. Initially focused on teacher preparation and vocational training, it began to offer college degrees in 1915. [back]
2. In late 1930, Chesnutt agreed to give a reading to the Literary Club of West Virginia State College, a student organization. In 1930 and 1931, the club discussed nine Black authors and their works. Upon Chesnutt's request, they offered to pay his travel expenses. After initial confusion about the date, the visit was planned for January 30, 1931, but Chesnutt suddenly became ill; on January 31, 1931, Chesnutt's daughter Helen informed the Club's president, Joyce Caldwell, about the last-minute cancellation. An attempt to reschedule the reading for April 1931 came to nothing. [back]
