By Will Bumgarner and Avery Ehrman

Editors-in-Chief

    As the weather warms up and Spring approaches, students make a final push to     A century of storytelling within the hallowed halls of R.J. Reynolds High School calls for commemoration. While they are now dwindling in sum, the Pines for which our namesake hails stand firm atop Silver Hill. Over 1000 bright-eyed and curious journalists have left their marks on our historical newspaper, all of whom have shaped what the Pine Whispers is today.

    In the fall of 1924, a desire to report on the school’s comings and goings blossomed into an official school publication staff. 

    “The selection of the name of our newspaper created much interest, especially because we desired to choose a name suggested by one of the students. A prize of ten dollars was offered to the student who suggested the best name. A committee of faculty members selected three out of the hundreds of names mentioned and presented them to the student body. The best three were ‘The Acropolis’. ‘The Student Life’. And ‘Pine Whispers’” Pine Whispers (November 1924)

    Inspired by the pine trees that grace our historic campus, the name “Pine Whispers” was selected by an overwhelming majority. The pine trees symbolize the reporters who observe and uncover everything happening at RJR, while the whispers reflect the stories and news circulating throughout the school.

    “No pupil can see or hear as much of our activities as these pines, and now their whispers will grow a little louder so that in the future, no student will be ignorant of the accomplishments of her school and classmates.” Pine Whispers (November 1924).

    Once the name was appointed to the paper, the next task was finding a staff of well-rounded, determined students. Initially, the class was only open to upperclassmen, but later on, a contest was held for students of any grade to join. The contest required participants to submit at least two of the following pieces: an open forum (expressing a point of view of anyone in the school), an editorial piece, or a write-up of any school event. After the staff was chosen, writers were given story assignments regularly, ensuring no event or topic was left out.

    A unique aspect of these early decades of RJR publications was the school’s very own print shop. At the time, it was one of the most impressive shops in the region and one of the few sizable school print shops in the Southeast. This allowed both the yearbooks and newspapers to be produced from start to finish, all under the same roof, and provided students with the opportunity to become skilled in print productions through the various classes the shop offered.

    Over the past hundred years, nearly 1000 editions have been produced throughout various printing cycles. Fluctuating anywhere from five papers per year to over twenty. Each edition covers various topics, such as notable alumni, accomplishments in both arts and athletics, and current national events.

    “Definitely, the biggest [story] that stands out was when Stuart Scott (ESPN broadcaster and RJR Alum) died,” former Pine Whispers advisor Steve Hanf said. “I sent out an email to all of my newspaper kids and was like, ‘Hey, this is something we need to write about.’ One of my seniors that year, James Tatter, said he had heard of a meetup that people were having to honor Stuart in memory, which just blew up our website. There was an ESPN Twitter account that retweeted the one story. I remember being in the classroom that day, just like watching our analytics with different accounts; it was remarkable.”

    Hanf was the paper’s advisor from 2011 to 2014, and while his time at the paper may have been limited, his impact is long-lasting.

    “I just really loved the camaraderie of the newsroom,” Hanf said. “I was still touched by several of the kids from that graduating class of 2015 who will recall things like ‘Cafe 210,’ as they called it because they would never go anywhere else for lunch. Just the cool storytelling that we did because we did a lot of really important and fun stories.”

    2021 graduate and former Pine Whispers Editor-in-Chief Laura Doughton spent many years on staff and is now graduating from the University of South Carolina. 

    “Pine Whispers pushed me out of my comfort zone and got me comfortable talking to people I didn’t know,” Doughton said. “This is such an important skill in everyday life, and it’s particularly important in college and academia.” 

    The RJR newspaper room has hosted hundreds of hours of dedicated journalism, whether brainstorming, writing, editing, or designing. Room 210 has become a home for many students over the years.

    “I think student journalism was very much a source of community when I was in high school, it was a way to be connected with like-minded people who were curious and interested in the world around them,” former Editor-in-Chief and Class of 2015 graduate Emma Gillett said. “It was also a great way to be introduced to folks who were different than me in terms of people on staff and also people we were interviewing.”

    For decades, Pine Whispers has served as a notable aspect of our community, highlighting not only our school’s accomplishments but the city as a whole. 

    “I really enjoyed getting to cover Reynolds sports,” Class of 2001 grad Hayes Wauford said. “Especially our back-to-back basketball state championships my junior and senior years! It was a great group of players and coaches. I was also able to write a monthly piece for the Winston-Salem Journal representing RJR, which I loved!”

    With the rise in social media and online news sources, the field of print journalism is slowly slipping away. Viewed throughout society as an archaic and inefficient source of information, the industry must work to preserve such a cherished art.   

    “I think we just have to be really flexible and definitely give our audience some of what they want,” Hanf said. “It’s important to just make sure that you’re always adapting and not doing stuff just because that’s the way it’s always been done. Many legacy media people are finding out the hard way, and that’s not a good way to stay in business. High school papers especially should always hold on to that print tradition as long as possible because there is something special about holding that paper in your hands or holding that yearbook in your hands.”

    Many students can attest to the memorable moments of holding a paper that was printed over thirty years ago, as room 210 has hundreds of archives saved. Older editions, however, are safely kept in the North Carolina room at the Downtown Winston-Salem Public Library. There is so much to be learned from our history, not only when it comes to our mistakes but also when preserving the art and creativity of which our world has begun to lose sight. 

    “It is our hope that both publications will continue to grow in beauty, power, and usefulness.” The Black and Gold (Spring 1926).

   The Pine Whispers is committed to preserving the art of publications while adapting in the ways we see best fit to bring about another century of excellence in journalism here at RJR, and we hope that it continues to grow as an integral aspect of the school’s student body.

    “Everyone should be interested in the school publications, for they are the works of the students themselves.” Pine Whispers (December 1924). “They are records of our high school life, which we will be glad to have and look over when we have graduated.”