In 1936, William Davis graduated from Berea College. In 1956 he and his late wife Lucille, who also attended Berea, had a daughter they named Geena.
While many proud parents can envision their new-born growing up to become president someday, the Davis’ little girl grew up to play a president on TV.
At age 49, Geena Davis, who won an Oscar for role in the 1988 film “The Accidental Tourist,” became the star of “Commander in Chief,” playing the role of America’s first woman president. She garnered a Golden Globe for this most recent role.
When Commander in Chief first appeared on Sept. 27 last year, it had the highest viewership for any TV show to debut on a Tuesday night, according to Wikipedia.com. It remained the top-rated Tuesday night show until “American Idol” bumped it from the top spot.
Davis, who had previously attended alumni events with her parents, tried to shun the limelight during her Berea visit. That’s a bit difficult for a celebrity who stands six feet tall when she visits a small town.
Wearing a baseball cap, large sunglasses and a casual white pants outfit, Davis asked not to be photographed Saturday afternoon as she and her father toured a display of antique tools in the Berea College industrial technology building. One does not disobey the Commander in Chief, even if she only plays one on TV.
Saturday evening, Davis was elegantly outfitted in a white summer dress and smiled graciously as she accompanied her father to Berea’s alumni awards banquet in the old Seabury Gymnasium.
Just two nights before, according to the Washington Post, Davis was in Washington, D.C., attending a women-only gala at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for the visiting president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet.
Davis was given the honor of introducing Bachelet, the first woman to be president of a major country in the Americas. New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who many speculate will be a candidate for president in 2008, spoke at the event sponsored by “The White House Project.”
According to the Post, many other notable U.S. women were in attendance. They included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, outed ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame.
In addition to her visits to Berea, Davis spent some time in Kentucky when she filmed the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”
At the Saturday night awards banquet, Berea College presented Distinguished Alumni Award to Dr. Harry Stambaugh, a surgeon and founder of Kentucky’s first burn center, and Dr. H.H. Cheng, an agronomist and professor at Washington State University and more recently the University of Minnesota. William Edward White of Somerset was honored with the Alumni Association’s Loyalty Award,.
Saturday morning in the Berea Alumni Building, artist Alfredo Escobar unveiled a colorful 20-foot long mural depicting the college’s 150-year history.
Escobar, a native of Chile who is married to Berea graduate Jennifer Rose, was commissioned to create the mural after members of the Berea College community were impressed with a mural he did for the city of Berea. That artwork hangs in the Acton Folk Center on Jefferson Street.
Some 70 Berea students, many of them from other countries, assisted Escobar in painting the mural. Many other students, as well as faculty, suggested changes or addition to the work, he said.
Escobar said the mural’s design and his work generally is influenced by Spanish artist Salvador Dali and Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.
Painted mostly in bright colors, the mural includes each of Berea’s eight presidents. It also depicts significant events, symbols and themes associated with the school.
Clusters of red bricks are scattered throughout the mural are intended as a “unifying theme,” Escobar said. “They symbolize Berea’s strong foundation.”
While Escobar said he hoped most symbols in the mural would be self explanatory, he was happy to explain some which may appear vague or could be subject to multiple interpretations.
The number “1” is prominent in the mural. While most Berea alumni who studied the mural Saturday morning thought it stood for the numerous No. 1 rankings that Berea has received from U.S. News and World Report magazine, Escobar wanted it to represent all of the Berea graduates who were the first in their families to attend college.
A melting ice cube near the end of the mural stands for “being and becoming,” the theme which current Berea President Larry Shinn has adopted for his presidency, Escobar said.
“Energy melts ice, and it becomes water,” Escobar explained. Additional energy transforms water into steam, he pointed out.
At the murals top right corner is a Internet page symbol which normally directs the view to click in order to see the next page.
“We have entered the information age, and that’s the era in which the next page of Berea’s story will be written,” Escobar said.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.
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