Jane Tyson Hall

Image Source: News and Observer, September 26, 1971, p. 14.

Appointed in July 1949 by Governor William Kerr Scott (1896–1958), Jane Tyson Hall served on the board of trustees from 1949–1955 as East Carolina’s president, Dr. John D. Messick (1897–1993), led the school’s advance from a teachers college to a four-year liberal arts college with a rapidly growing and fully coeducational student body. Although a Pitt County native, born and raised in Greenville and an ECTC alumna, Class of 1932, Hall was apparently not as attached to her hometown and East Carolina’s increasingly male dominated culture as she was, herself, an outgrowth of an earlier period when politically empowered women prevailed on campus and envisioned for themselves professional opportunities rarely possible earlier. In 1942, Hall, after working as a stenographer in a Greenville law office, joined the News and Observer as its first female reporter and soon immersed herself in cultural developments and emerging sensibilities of the liberal, educated Piedmont region.

During Hall’s tenure as a trustee, East Carolina’s board addressed an inquiry, in 1951, regarding admission and funding for Korean students. The board responded by reference to its Jim Crow charter defining the campus as one for “young white men and women.” Hall attended this meeting and did not object. However, in 1952, Hall was absent from the board meeting which considered the possibility of offering extension classes to African American Marines at Cherry Point. The board voted not to make such offerings available and appealed to the charter in doing so. And in May 1954, Hall, then traveling in England and Scotland, did not attend the board meeting held shortly after the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision declaring segregation unconstitutional. At that meeting, the trustees attending responded to the Supreme Court’s decision by explaining that East Carolina would abide by its charter until “instructed by higher authority to do otherwise.”

While Hall’s absence from the 1952 and 1954 meetings was perhaps not meant to distance herself from the board’s reverence for the school’s charter, her reporting for the News and Observer from the same period — one article Hall published in October 1954 covered the Methodist Church’s public approval of the Supreme Court ruling — does not suggest that she would have fully supported adherence to the Jim Crow status quo, especially not in the wake of the earlier Supreme Court decision. In any event, Governor Luther Hodges (1898–1974), hardly a progressive on such issues, declined to reappoint the respected female journalist following expiration of her term in the summer of 1955.

Hall joined the N&O staff just as its journalists were joining the armed forces. Reportedly, she was “the first woman employed when the paper began to build up an all-female staff of reporters,” and thus helped launch “a new breed of reporters … [as] a newspaperman in skirts,” taking “over men’s jobs with all the determination and drive of the men” replaced.

From the start, Hall’s reporting was multifaceted and yet often focused on progressive trends such as the 1944 National Preaching Mission lecture, delivered at Memorial Auditorium, emphasizing the importance of solving “the race problem” for resolving global conflicts and tensions. She also covered the 1961 commencement ceremonies at St. Augustine College (now St. Augustine University), a private HBCU, addressing the importance of “the struggle for social justice … on thousands of fronts.” Although not a Methodist, she reported on the 1964 General Conference of the Methodist Church and its assertions that, in regard to racial issues, “the church has no choice except to perform social justice, observe the Golden Rule and do the Christian thing.”

Another theme distinguishing Hall’s work throughout her career was that of art and culture. In 1957, she received a Reid Foundation Fellowship for a year of study in Europe with a focus on art history. Hall was soon named N&O entertainment editor and then later, its art editor. Regardless of her focus, Hall received continued recognition from her colleagues in the press and prizes and awards from organizations recognizing excellence in journalism. The latter included the William T. Polk business writing award and six of the first seven Architectural Writing Awards given by the North Carolina Chapter of Architects, not to mention a number of awards from the North Carolina Press Women’s competitions.

Following Hall’s passing in 1971, age 59, the North Carolina Museum of Art established the Jane Tyson Hall Memorial Fund in her honor. Among Hall’s prolific oeuvre were a number of articles covering the museum from its “tentative beginnings to international fame.” Hall’s writings had also long championed “the work of contemporary North Carolina artists.”

Hall’s rites were held in Raleigh at the Church of the Good Shepherd before her remains were returned to Greenville for burial alongside her parents, William Lunsford (1882-1930) and Janie Hall (1885-1962) at the Cherry Hill Cemetery, near her family’s homes, first on Greene Street and then on West Fourth, during her youth.

Sources

• “Art Editor for Raleigh Paper, Jane Hall, Dies.” Rocky Mount Telegram. September 26, 1971. P. 2.
• Craven, Charles. “Byways of the News.” News and Observer. September 27, 1971. P. 28.
• “East Carolina College Board of Trustees minutes, May 17, 1952.” University Archives # UA01.01.01.01.04. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/10264
• “East Carolina College Board of Trustees Minutes, May 22, 1954.” University Archives # UA01.01.01.01.04. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/10268
• “East Carolina College Board of Trustees minutes, November 20, 1951.” University Archives # UA01.01.01.01.04. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/10266
• “ECC Alumni Plan Banquet.” News and Observer. October 15, 1954. P. 17.
• “ECC Trustees Hold Meet.” News and Observer. August 23, 1954. P. 5.
• “Governor Fills Two More Boards.” Statesville Record and Landmark. July 8, 1955. P. 10.
• Hall, Jane. “80,000 Crowd State Fair, Exposition Heads Declare.” News and Observer. October 21, 1948. P. 1.
• Hall, Jane. “Actual Hardships of Living in Trailers Offset by Neighborliness Born of Enforced Intimacy.” News and Observer. January 26, 1947. Sect. IV, p. 1. Also see Teresa Leonard, “Trailers were homes to student vets.” News and Observer eEdition. August 10, 2016. https://www.newsobserver.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/past-times/article94652342.html
• Hall, Jane. “Eight N. C. Buildings Nominated.” News and Observer. July 12, 1970. P. 6.
• Hall, Jane. “Freedom’s Threats Cited as M’Carthyism and Lies.” News and Observer. March 1, 1955. Pp. 1, 3.
• Jane Hall. “Hall Marks: Engineer Takes Up Computer Art.” News and Observer. September 5, 1971. Sect. V, p. 5.
• Jane Hall. “Hall Marks: Painting Echoes Lusty London.” News and Observer. September 20, 1970. Sect. V, p. 6.
• Hall, Jane. “Humber’s Critics Routed As Society Reelects Him.” News and Observer. December 1, 1960. Pp. 1, 2.
• Hall, Jane. “India Offers Acid Test of World Relations.” News and Observer. February 1, 1944. P. 8.
• Hall, Jane. “Jane’s Journey: Flower Vendor Likes His Leisurely Life.” News and Observer. May 25, 1954. P. 12.
• Hall, Jane. “Jane’s Journey: London Theatrical Season in Full Bloom.” News and Observer. May 2, 1954. Sect. III, p. 9.
• Hall, Jane. “Jane’s Journey: Queen’s Dressmaker Never Wanted to Design Clothes.” News and Observer. May 13, 1954. Pp. 13, 15.
• Hall, Jane. “Jane’s Journey: Tower of London Shrouds History of Ages.” News and Observer. April 25, 1954. Sect. III, p. 2.
• Hall, Jane. “Life in China Leads to Novel, By Raleigh Woman.” News and Observer. November 23, 1954. P. 12.
• Hall, Jane. “Methodist Delegates Approve Court’s Segregation Decision.” News and Observer. October 31, 1954. P. 1
• Hall, Jane. “Methodists Discuss Mixing.” News and Observer. January 17, 1964. P. 17.
• Hall, Jane. “Names in N. C.: Monroe.” News and Observer. September 22, 1963. P. 16.
• Hall, Jane. “Names in N. C.: Oriental.” News and Observer. April 29, 1962. P. 20.
• Hall, Jane. “Outdoor Theatres Bring Movies into Your Car.” News and Observer. July 24, 1949. Sect. IV, p. 1. Also see, Teresa Leonard, “Drive-ins were come-as-you-are entertainment.” News and Observer eEdition. March 15, 2023. https://www.newsobserver.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/past-times/article36218106.html
• Hall, Jane. “Preacher Collects Pencils as Hobby.” News and Observer. May 8, 1949. Sect. IV, p. 2.
• Hall, Jane. “‘Queen’ Crowned at Festival Ball.” News and Observer. April 11, 1948. P. 1.
• Hall, Jane. “Raleigh Audience Hears Atom Talk: World Government, World Law Termed Only Answers to Atom Bomb.” News and Observer. January 20, 1950. P. 1.
• Hall, Jane. “Speaker Advises Actions on Rights: Raleigh Institute Told Any Civil Rights Reforms Must be Federal.” News and Observer. January 25, 1949. P. 1.
• Hall, Jane. “State to Open Civil War Exhibit.” News and Observer. August 15, 1948. Sect. IV, p. 6.
• Hall, Jane. “Study of Confederate Leaders.” News and Observer. January 12, 1947. Sect. IV, p. 5.
• Hall, Jane. “Tar Heel of Week: George Bireline: Winner of Top Prizes for Art.” News and Observer. December 20, 1964. Sect. III, p. 3.
• Hall, Jane. “Tar Heel of Week: Philip Ogilvie: Heads State Library.” News and Observer. May 5, 1968. Sect. III, p. 2.
• Hall, Jane. “Williams Cites Need for U.S. Leadership.” News and Observer. May 23, 1961. P. 26.
• “Here’s Governor Scott’s ‘Team’: Record is Set in Job Filling.” News and Observer. July 4, 1949. P. 14.
• “Jane Hall, Raleigh Arts Editor.” Charlotte Observer. September 26, 1971. P. 4.
• “Memorial Fund Set Up.” News and Observer. October 6, 1971. P. 20.
• Morrison, Bill. “Art Editor’s Tastes Were Catholic.” News and Observer. September 28, 1971. P. 8.
• “Museum Fund Honors Late Art Editor.” Charlotte Observer. October 14, 1971. P. 13.
• “N&O Art Editor, Jane Hall, Dies.” News and Observer. September 26, 1971. P. 14.
• Records of the Chancellor: Records of John Decatur Messick, 1947-1959. “Box 6: Hall, Jane, Member of the Board of Trustees, 1949-1952.” University Archives # UA02-05. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/UA02-05?q=John%20D.%20Messick%20Paper
• “State Presswomen: Dotty Cameron, Jane Hall Win Awards in Press Contest.” News and Observer. March 14, 1954. Sect. III, p. 2.
• “Top Writing Award Won by Jane Hall.” News and Observer. January 23, 1965. Pp. 1, 2.
• “Two Are Honored in Exhibit Dedication.” Durham Morning Herald. December 5, 1971. P. 14D.
• “Veteran Newspaperwoman Rites Held Saturday.” Robesonian. September 27, 1971. P. 2.

Related Materials

Image Source: Tecoan, 1932, p. 56. Senior class picture. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15337

Image Source: Tecoan, 1931, p. 93. Junior class picture. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15336

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