A “Sunshiner” Recalls
Colonel Fred A. Olds
And so do at least 300.000 wilier Tar
Keels whom he took sight-seeing in
The Capital.
IS if B ANKS ARENDELL
I was one of two or three dozen
Raleigh children of grade school age
in my neighborhood who by express
invitation congregated at the home of
Colonel Frederick A. Olds every Fri¬
day night, Here we were served with
cookies, lemonade and exciting tales
about the trips of Boojum Snark, a
flying animal, and his youthful friends.
We lived from Friday to Friday for
that privilege. 1 believe our beloved
Colonel Olds did a lot of character¬
molding without ever being aware of it.
Every summer Colonel Olds took a
hundred or more young people, girls
and boys, on a ten-day trip from Ra¬
leigh to the beach at Beaufort, N. C.
The trip of some hundred and fifty-
miles was made by train. At Beaufort,
large dormitories were provided with
cots for girls and boys in separate
places, with lady chaperones for the
girls. The Colonel chaperoned the
boys. Meals were served to the whole
group together. The total cost for this
outing per person was Ten Dollars,
including transportation, three meals
a day, swimming, fishing and oc¬
casional sailboat trips across the sound
to the ocean at Atlantic Beach.
Colonel Olds called this group “Sun-
shiners,’’ 1 was fortunate enough to be
one of them some sixty years ago.
Blowing Rock to Asheville
Occasionally in the summer Colonel
Olds took a smaller group of older boys
on a tramp through the mountains of
Western North Carolina. 1 went on one
of these trips in the company of two
others — Dudley Robbins and Frank
Brown. We carried our toilet articles
and extra clothes rolled up in packs on
our backs. We w'ent by train from
Raleigh to Hickory and from there by
car to Blowing Rock, w'here the hike
began.
We started walking on Sunday, We
passed a small white church about
church time and the Colonel said:
“Wait, boys. Let’s go in here.” No
service was being held that day, so we
had the building to ourselves. Colonel
Olds, being of a deeply religious na¬
ture, gave us a brief sermon and led us
in prayer. From Blowing Rock we
headed toward Asheville one hundred
or more miles away. Our schedule
called for about twenty miles of walk¬
ing a day.
At the end of the first day we
reached Grandfather Mountain, where
we spent the night at the home of some
of Colonel Olds’ friends. The second
night we spent with some of his friends
at Linville Falls. And so on into Ashe¬
ville, where at the end of the hike we
spent two or three days and nights with
other friends of his. After a week or ten
days, we caught the train back to
Raleigh. All along the hike the Colonel
regaled us with interesting stories about
that section and its people, all of which
he knew better than any man alive.
Historical Collection
North Carolina history and children
were the chief loves of Colonel Olds.
Nor were the children of his home
town of Raleigh the only beneficiaries
of his love and everyday activities.
According to the publication "Raleigh,
Capital of North Carolina,” American
Guide Series (Page 97): “The Hall of
History was established in 1902 when
the State provided quarters in the old
Agriculture Building for the collection
that Colonel Fred A. Olds (d, 1935)
had begun assembling about 1887. . . .
At the time of his retirement in 1934,
Colonel Olds had accumulated about
20,000 items. He was appointed a
Colonel on the staff of Governor
Vance in 1877. While a resident of
Raleigh he was engaged in newspaper
and Chamber of Commerce work,
formed youth organizations, and was
the author of county histories and other
Most North Corolinions will probably remember
Cal. Olds as an older mart than this.' — (Phala
courtesy N. C. Museum af History.)
historical material. He is said to have
escorted at least 300,000 persons on
sightseeing tours around Raleigh. . .
In a highly complimentary article in
The State (July 15, 1933), under the
title “80 Years Old — Still Hard at
Work," the editor had this to say,
partly quoting the Colonel:
Tours of Capital
“ ‘If I have any hobby or recreation,
it is my work. ... I am happiest when 1
can add to the wonderful collection of
North Carolina historical relics we al¬
ready have, and when I am with one of
the many groups of school children
which 1 have been conducting on tours
of their State Capita! for so many
years.’
“The Colonel surrounded by a large
number of well-behaved but visibly
excited children, has for years been a
familiar sight in and around the Capi¬
tol. He personally conducts them
through all the State Department build¬
ings, sees to their personal comfort and
enjoyment, and, before they leave Ra¬
leigh, carries them to the office of the
Governor, where the Cliief Executive
gives the youngsters something to talk
about for many days by genially greet¬
ing them and delivering a brief, in¬
formal speech.
“He began his news work in 1872
on the old Raleigh News, later becom¬
ing City Editor of the Raleigh News
and Observer, . . ,
“The Colonel was born October 12,
1853, and his first home was at Hills¬
boro. Following the death of his mother
in 1864, he was taken into the house of
an aunt, and attended a private school
THE STATE, July 1, 1968
13
