CHARLES DAVIS

Charles: So it’s been an easy transition and it really has felt like home since we pulled into the driveway the first time. You tour this home and it really feels like a museum and you begin to wonder what’s its going to feel like to live in a museum. So I was a little worried about that would be like: but I think there are a couple of things that have really helped: 1. We have private corridors apart from the private space of the house. So we were able to take that and bring our own furniture in and so it really feels like that’s our home.

            I went to William and Mary, and the house itself is modeled after the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg so to me that could have been another reason why it felt like coming home because I spent so much time at the Governor’s Palace. We actually went and studied in the gardens a lot while we were there. So that’s been kind of neat.

 

Anne: what is your favorite part of the house?

 

Charles: My favorite part of the house is the widows walk. So getting your exercise going up to the roof, up there you can see Paris Mountain. In the winter when the leaves are off, you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains and it’s a great place to see a sunset any time of the year.

 

Anne: Do you play an integral role in the entertainment side of the house?

 

Charles: I do. That’s one of the fun things about being First Gentleman, and being the first First Gentleman nobody really knows what the First Gentleman should be doing. So I kind of get to define that role. And one of the fun things has been doing the entertaining in the house. We have the freshman come over during orientation and the seniors come over in the spring – so that’s fun. But we also have trustees events here. We had a dinner here in October by the pool which was really nice. We just had the 50th and 55th class receptions here over homecoming. We had two in one day so that’s not normal but it was a fun time tot see those special alum’s come back and see some of campus and White Oaks. With that entertaining  I’m usually involved with working with caterers to make sure the menu for the food looks good. Flower in the garden lots of time I’ll get those and do the arrangements for the table and that sort of thing. So its just whatever we need to get done and making the event memorable for those who are coming.

 

Anne: I know you have some big projects coming up, could you tell me about that?

 

Charles: We do have some projects coming up. You know one of the first things I did when I got here was walk around and see what’s here in the house and what kind of condition things were in. It’s a wonderful place, and it’s pretty much like it was when Mrs. Daniel’s left it to Furman in ‘92, however I hear a bunch of cleaning has taken place since then. In terms of furnishing: the soft goods, the curtains, the bedspreads are up on second floor, and its all original from what she had done. So if you look closely, some it is really beginning to show age and showing fading, some deterioration of fabric. So I have a committee of 3 ladies that is sort of in charge of the interior when we need to do things. So I had them over for lunch, and they toured and I  showed them some things I had noticed.  I think sometimes a fresh set of eyes looking at things can bring a new perspective. So we walked around and looked at some things and decided we probably do need to do a little refurbishing and refreshing of some thing in the house. So we are starting to think about that. A couple of big projects we have going: In January we are going to start building a carport because we don’t have any covered parking, that can be a problem when its raining and Elizabeth is having to go out and get ready for events on campus and that sort of thing. The other thing I had them look at: the house was built in 1957 and that means the wiring was built in 1957. And I didn’t want to be the one to flip the light switch and start a fire from faulty wiring. Not that we’ve had any indication that that’s the case but I thought it certainly deserved looking at. So the plan is for next summer that well begin looking a rewiring the central part of the house so we can bring it up to today’s electrical codes.

            It’s [the rose garden] completely full of roses, so those are spectacular in rose season. It’s always spectacular to have those coming in the house –from the looks and the smell. The other one is the Lynn Kohrt garden, which has more perennials and vegetables. Beautiful peonies that bloom in spring, Jeff plants tulips in the spring, shasta daisies that come back every year, and dahlias are the main cutting flowers we have in there right now. We have blueberries, which have been great for the past two summers. We eat a lot of blueberry cobblers and muffins. We’ve got raspberries and blackberries in there as well and then we’ll plant green beans, squash, cucumbers, and lettuce.

 

Anne: Do you have any other hobbies or interests that have developed on behalf of moving to White Oaks?
 

Charles: Knowing more about he history of the house is something  I have been interested in.  I think with White Oaks being the presidents home it is an important part of Furman. Whether on or off campus, the president’s home can be the center of a lot of activity for the University. I think it illustrate a sense of philanthropy: it wasn’t built for Furman and yet was given to Furman along with all its furnishings. It sort of anchors people to see what philanthropy can do for a university.

            For me, it’s a treasure. I don’t think there are many universities in the country that have a president’s home like this. Therefore I think it’s important that we are keeping it up to the stand it deserves to be kept.

            With White Oaks I see myself as a caretaker. We have Jeff Drye who takes care of the outside, and we have Tonnyah who keeps the inside clean, but I guess I sort of see myself as the big picture caretaker to make sure we are doing what we need to do. As far as role of First Gentleman of Furman, first and foremost is to support Elizabeth as president. So taking care of things at the house so she doesn’t have to worry about that – and being a representative of Furman and getting Furman story out so people know what a special place Furman is.