My Namesake

I was named after my great aunt China Kola Lavender. I never gave much thought to why I was named after her until I had decided Appalachian was the only college I was adamant about attending. It turns out I was named after an incredible alumni of Appalachian who was well ahead of her time.

It is believed that China was born in 1899 but her date of birth and what's known of her early years were lost in a house fire. China and my grandfather were able to save all the children and were left to help raise their 10 siblings on their own. In her life she was a waitress, a weaver, a cook, and a shipyard worker, but her true love was teaching. China was a born nurturer. Raising her siblings she taught them manners and stressed the importance of learning. China had decided at 15 to extend her audience to children in school. At that time you only had to take a test to be a certified teacher. When she handed her test into the proctor after completing it in what he thought was too short of time she was told not to worry because she could come back when she was older. She would not have to come back. She made a perfect score on the test thus beginning a teaching career that would span half a century. She began teaching in a one room schoolhouse in Wilkes County. While she taught school she attended Appalachian Teachers College. China received her bachelors degree in 1932. She recognized that teaching went beyond the classroom and often took her children outside to study birds, animals, and plants. “We didn't have the teaching aids then that we have now, but we had all the wonders of nature around us, and nature is a wonderful teacher” China expressed in an interview. Her students collected medicinal herbs which they sold to local pharmaceutical companies to earn money for school supplies. She taught at many places including Cambridge Elementary, Rich Mountain School, and Green Valley Elementary. In the late 50s China moved to Titusville, Florida just so she could teach a few...