Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier features editor

Cammie Wilks, Campus Carrier asst. features editor

On Christmas of 2019, when the Daughters of Berry made their annual trek to the College Chapel to decorate Martha Berry’s grave, they noticed a multitude of graves on the other side of the chapel that had rarely been given attention. To recognize these individuals, they began making efforts to decorate these other graves each Christmas season, and in September of 2022 they launched a project that would seek to change the perception of this historic site. They founded the Berry College Chapel Cemetery Committee, with the goal of honoring and recognizing all 41 people who had been buried at the Chapel. While this project is finally concluding, the past two years have been filled with many challenges and victories as the committee has worked to uncover the history of those buried here.

The Daughters of Berry are a group of female alumni founded in 1939 by Martha Berry who strive to preserve the history and legacy of the college. They work various projects to conserve Berry’s history, from decorating gravesites to hosting a legacy dinner each year. 

“It was formed with the idea that the Daughters would create a museum,” Committee Chairman Susan Bandy (70C) said. “So, the Daughters are really responsible for creating the Martha Berry museum, which was built in 1972.”

The Daughters are currently in the process of publishing “Beneath the Chapel Lawn: A Commemoration of the Berry College Chapel Cemetery.” Their book gives a biography of each individual buried at the chapel, summarizing who they were and how they impacted Berry. The committee, including Nancy Ratcliffe (77C), the book’s editor, wrote it so they could spread awareness and provide a story for every single person buried at the Chapel.

“Students don’t know anyone is buried there except Martha Berry, and if weren’t for all those people buried at the other side of the chapel that helped Martha Berry, the college might not be what it is today,” Ratcliffe said. “They were so instrumental in academics and work life. They were people who often came to Berry as students and stayed due to their commitment to the school.”

The committee did extensive research, using online obituaries and websites like “Find-A-Grave” to discover more about the accomplishments and lives of those buried at the chapel. They also used resources directly from Berry to discover the untold stories of how Berry was impacted by the people buried at the chapel. The committee conducted research by using old yearbooks and issues of the Southern Highlander, Berry’s discontinued magazine publication. The committee members spent a lot of time searching the archives for information, and Bandy especially spent a lot of time there. 

“It was sort of a joke that if we didn’t see her for a few days, she was always in the Berry Archives,” Ratcliffe said.  

Since beginning their research, the Daughters of Berry have received information about people that led them in many different directions, which included speaking to some of the families and ensuring the accuracy of their information. 

“We had to do the research, of course,” Bandy said. “We had to find photographs of these people, scan them and get them into the documentation.” 

The individuals who are buried at the chapel are not just any Berry alumni, but are people who played vital roles in the development of the college. According to Bandy, there were very specific requirements to be buried here: They must have been involved with the school while Martha Berry was alive and employed by the school for at least 10 years. 

Martha Freeman (1844-1951) was the second person and the only African American to be buried at the chapel. Freeman was a formerly enslaved person and was later a servant in Berry’s home, and she became a close friend and confidant to Martha Berry. 

“Even after Martha Berry’s death, she continued her involvement in Berry right up until her last days,” Ratcliffe said. 

Outside of the burial sites, there are also plaques to commemorate the lives of Garland Martin Dickey (1922-1982) and Ouida Blanche Word Dickey (1928-2019) who were heavily involved in the development of the college. A graduate of Berry, Garland Dickey returned to the school after serving in World War II. He reestablished the athletic program, served as the athletic director and the head of the physical education department for many years, and is credited with making the Vikings the school mascot. After graduating from Berry, Ouida Dickey worked in Berry’s Department of Business Administration before later becoming a professor of business and the dean of academic services. She was also the first woman at Berry to receive tenure. 

These are just a few who are commemorated at the chapel. Berry has a rich history that is discussed to this day, yet most of the chatter consists primarily of the college’s founder Martha Berry. Buried deep into the archives, you will find that the Berry legacy not only comes from Martha, but from the colleagues and administrators she surrounded herself with. Remembering those permanently residing at the chapel is important for the sake of preserving Berry’s history for years to come. 

“We are at the point where we need to preserve Berry’s history for the next generation,” Ratcliffe said.