By Sherman Shifflett
Ferrum Junior College football coach, Hank Norton, often referred to his football players as “Dawgs.” For some of the guys on the team, that nickname was well deserved. One time a player was injured during a scrimmage, and coach Norton turned to a manager and directed him to “Drag that ‘dawg’ off the field.”
Coach Norton had a pet dog, Chief, and I don’t recall a single practice that Chief missed during my time at Ferrum, 1962-64. Chief was a German Shepard-Collie mix, and coach brought Chief to Ferrum from Powhatan when he became head coach. Chief was our mascot, and at least one year was in our team picture.
Stray dogs roamed Ferrum’s campus, and students would bring scraps from the cafeteria to feed them. We provided water, too. One morning I walked out of my dorm, John Wesley Hall, and saw a Beagle trotting across the grassy area in front of the old chapel wearing a jockstrap. He didn’t seem uncomfortable with it. Another time I saw another mutt in the same area – a dog with lots of white on his sides. Someone had taken some black spray paint and sprayed “FJC” on either side.
One spring day I was in a basement class, Roberts’ Hall, I think. The weather was fairly warm, and we raised the windows. The windows sills were only 6″-8″ above ground level. Two dogs were chasing each other on the front lawn. round and round in circles. They took turns chasing each other. Suddenly, the lead dog made a beeline straight for our window. Really booking. When the lead dog got within a few feet of the window, he made sharp U-turn and headed back in the opposite direction. Despite a valiant attempt, the second dog could not make the U-turn and tumbled into the classroom, along with dirt and leaves. It was Dr. Fox’s Psychology class, and she took it in stride.
A hound mix (mostly hound) showed up at John Wesley Hall. He was scrawny and not wearing a collar. The Wesley boys nurtured him back to health. One day I walked into a dorm room in John Wesley Hall, on the first floor, and the student there put his index finger to his lips and said “S-h-h-h-h-h-h.” Initially, I did not know what he was referring to and then looked over and saw the hound sound asleep on the bottom bunk bed. From that day on, the hound slept in that room.
One of the students in that dorm room became very attached to the hound. The hound followed him all over campus. I had a class with that particular guy, and the hound followed him to class one day. Halfway through the class, I looked over and both the student and hound were asleep. When the student when home for the summer, he took the hound with him.
Yes, we had some “dawgs” at Ferrum, and not all of them had four legs.