Annie Moore Cherry (September 21, 1891 – February 1, 1976) was an American professor, author, and playwright. She had multiple roles in education and put together a play for Halifax County schools in 1921, titled ''The Spirit of The Roanoke - A Pageant of Halifax County History''

Early life and education career

Cherry was born in Martin County to William Rodney and Elizabeth Eleanor Moore Cherry, spending most of her childhood in Hobgood and Scotland Neck. She graduated from

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

, when it was known as the State Normal and Industrial School in 1912. In 1927, she earned a master of arts degree in education from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where she later completed graduate work along with

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. Cherry started teaching in

Dunn, North Carolina Dunn is the largest city of Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,263 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 9,718 in 2018. It is the anchor city of the Dunn Micropolitan Area, population 114,678 (2010 census), which ...

, and stayed there for four years. She was briefly the rural elementary school supervisor in Harnett County. From 1918 to 1933, Cherry was a rural elementary school supervisor in Halifax County, with her being the first person to have that role full-time. In 1947, she was one of only six women presidents of North Carolina Education Association, with her being the third one. Later, she was a researcher with the

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and an education professor at Flora MacDonald College. Cherry taught summer school at

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Cherry was a part of

Delta Kappa Gamma Delta Kappa Gamma () is a professional society for women educators. History The society was founded on May 11, 1929, at the Faculty Women’s Club at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas. The idea was conceived by Annie Webb Blanton, member of ...

which is for women educators.

Writing career

Cherry, while she was the rural school supervisor of Halifax County, planned a play that included multiple school groups. Each group was assigned the tasks of finding costumes for the pageant and learning about their past in Halifax County. The pageant, titled ''The Spirit of The Roanoke - A Pageant of Halifax County History'', was performed in Weldon on May 6, 1921. Cherry wrote an article about the pageant in the Scotland Neck newspaper ''The Commonwealth''. She wrote many bulletins about school supervision.

Death

Cherry died on February 1, 1976, at 84 years old. The service was held at Enfield United Methodist Church. She was buried at Trinity Episcopal Church Cemetery, located in Scotland Neck.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry, Annie Moore 1891 births 1976 deaths American women dramatists and playwrights American women educators 20th-century American women 20th-century American people