Wheeler House: Past, Present, Future

After nearly three decades, Wheeler House is again the official residence of the president of William Carey University. WCU President Dr. Ben Burnett made it official on Feb. 12 as he and his wife, Denice, welcomed friends and supporters from the community to a dedication ceremony and open house.

“I hope people will say that I honored the past, but pointed toward the future because the best is yet to come,” Burnett said.

“My family wants to live right here at William Carey University and be a part of the campus culture. It’s our on-campus home, but it’s your house, too – and you are welcome here. Together, we’ll build memories for our students, alumni, faculty, and staff.”

Wheeler House was built in 1962. Over the winter, a small army of people worked to renovate the structure, refinish floors, paint walls and trim, select furnishings, and choose art for the home from the university’s collections.

Dr. Burnett and his wife, Denice, moved in a week before the dedication.

The past

The ceremony included thoughts from Dr. Myron Noonkester, dean of the WCU School of Arts & Letters. The son of WCU’s longest-serving president, Dr. Ralph Noonkester, he grew up in Wheeler House.

Noonkester described a mostly idyllic childhood in the 1960s, though not without worry about the school’s finances and the Civil Rights Movement. Alumna Vermester Bester, one of the first black students admitted after Carey voluntarily de-segregated in 1965, was in attendance.

“The most dramatic moment in the house occurred in 1966. The previous year, my father had convinced his board of trustees to admit African-American students. There was local resistance of course, but no violence – an accomplishment in Jim Crow Mississippi. But we had been experiencing telephone harassment. Our number was listed, so it was easy to make threats and hang up,” Noonkester said.

“When the Klan murdered the great voting rights activist Vernon Dahmer Sr., my father, who was president of the Hattiesburg Chamber of Commerce, led a very public campaign to raise money to rebuild the Dahmer home. One night, he and mother awakened me, my sister and my grandmother. Out in the front yard was a more extreme form of harassment, a burning cross, a message from the Klan – we’re going to get you.”

Dr. Ralph Noonkester would later help bring Mr. Dahmer’s murderers to justice. In 2012, Vernon Dahmer Jr. was a pall-bearer at his funeral.

Dr. Myron Noonkester didn’t feel well on the day of the dedication, so his written memories about Wheeler House were delivered by Tim Matheny, WCU chair of Theatre & Communication.

The present

Burnett thanked local people and businesses who supported the project with financial contributions, donations of needed materials, and in-kind labor.

“In a tight budget year, generous supporters made it possible to complete this renovation without dipping into the operating budget. This project was 100 percent supported by donations, starting with our late president emeritus, Dr. Tommy King,” Burnett said.

“This is not the first time the community had stepped forward to help William Carey University with financial support, but also in-kind donations and the gift of their expertise.”

In her remarks, Denice Burnett thanked two people who partnered with her on Wheeler House’s interior – Lindsey Harris of Anderson Design Center, who helped choose furniture and fixtures, and Chatham Kemp, chair of the WCU Art Department, who curated a selection of pieces for the home from the university’s collections. Those works included two by WCU art majors – Cameron Morris and Simon Alvarez.

WCU alumni and retiree Barbara Hamilton and Dr. Virginia Angelico Tatum helped with financial contributions and donations for the first floor – where a room is now named in Hamilton’s honor.

Here’s a look at people who helped make the renovation of Wheeler House a success:

• Dr. and Mrs. Tommy King
• Dr. Virginia Angelico Tatum
• Dr. Barbara Hamilton
• Ronnie Cockayne, MMI Dining
• Wayne Ross, Commercial Stationery
• Chris Hudson, Hanco Corporation
• Economy Supply
• WCU Facilities Department
• Anderson Design Center
• Elliott Homes
• WCU Art Department
• Myra Meade
• Martina Sciolino