On the third day of college, September 8, 1973, Cathy Hyde decided to arrive late to Catawba College’s freshman opening dance.
Cathy and her classmates were aware that the opening activity of the dance would have them wear bags over their heads, while the men would choose someone to dance with without seeing their face.
Cathy was not going to participate in that process, so she arrived late.
By the time she reached Peeler Crystal Lounge, the bags were gone. Tyson Frey was there. He saw Cathy and asked her to dance. She said, ”Yes.”
More than half a century later, Cathy and Tyson still tell the story the same way: they have been dancing ever since. This May, they celebrated 50 years of marriage. And, as they have done for years, part of that celebration came back to Catawba.
Their wedding anniversary falls near the end of the College’s year, and somewhere along the way, making a gift to Catawba became part of how they marked another year together. The tradition is simple, but its roots reach back to those first years on campus—to the friends they made, the professors who knew them, the chapel where they married and the place where, as teenagers, they began building a life together.
Cathy and Tyson were 18 and 17, respectively, when they met.
Cathy came to Catawba intending to study education but changed her major to business. Tyson studied religion and history. They shared a class or two, but much of what they remember about those years happened in the spaces between classes.
Both sang in the choir and participated in the Student Christian Association. Tyson also sang with the Modern Ensemble, traveling with Dr. Bond on choir tours through Florida, New England, Tennessee and elsewhere. He wrestled his freshman year under Dutch Meyer.
They remember being busy, but they found ways to be with one another.
Cathy and Tyson went to sporting events and plays and took part in the live Nativity on the chapel lawn.
In addition to her own homework, Cathy typed many of Tyson’s papers as she typed much faster. For his religion classes, she had to learn very long terms to understand and spell. Sometimes he would arrive at the dorm window with more pages to type. Tyson paid her back by taking her to the Village Inn or Pizza Hut.
Then there was Santa Claus.
Through the Student Christian Association, Tyson dressed as Santa for children at the Nazareth Children’s Home. Cathy watched him with the children and saw such tenderness with all of the kids that really touched her heart.
That helped her know she wanted to be with him.
Intwined with their memories of meeting and starting their lives together, Cathy and Tyson remember the people they met.
They remember a Catawba where it seemed possible to know nearly everyone. Their professors knew them, too—not simply as names on a class roster but as people. Faculty members were approachable, and the relationship between teacher and student did not necessarily end when class did. There was time for a conversation to continue in an office or on campus throughout the day.
Many of their friendships became lasting ones.
By 1976, the chapel had already become a familiar place. Cathy and Tyson had spent time there through the Student Christian Association, and when they decided to marry, the chapel was where they wanted the ceremony held.
On Friday, May 14, 1976, Dr. King West, one of Tyson’s professors, officiated their wedding in the Catawba chapel. Dr. Martha West lined up the bridal party and sent them, and, then, Cathy down the aisle. Both sets of parents traveled to Salisbury. Cathy’s sister served as maid of honor; the rest of the wedding party was made up of friends from Catawba.
It rained most of the day. Then, shortly before the 7:30 p.m. ceremony, it stopped, and the sun came out. Cathy and Tyson were married.
When the ceremony ended, the rain began again.
After a small reception in the student center, Cathy and Tyson left for their honeymoon in Myrtle Beach. Even that became part of a longer tradition. They still return many summers, often with their three children and their families.
Marriage did not end their time as Catawba students. They returned to campus and graduated in 1977 with honors.
Tyson went on to Lancaster Theological Seminary earning his M.Div. and later his doctorate. He had a 42-year career in full-time ministry in the United Church of Christ (UCC) serving several churches in Pennsylvania. Though retired from full-time ministry, he continues to preach almost weekly. Looking back, he describes Catawba as one of the puzzle pieces of his life.
The College’s UCC connection has remained important to him, but what he remembers most clearly is the way faith existed naturally in the lives of the people who taught him. Professors could talk about what they believed without imposing it. Faith was simply part of talking, living and sharing life with other people.
For Cathy, her education at Catawba also informed her life. After she spent time raising their children, Cathy used the skills she learned through her education and business classes when she worked for the local school district and at several local businesses. And she shared her musical talents at the churches Tyson served through singing, teaching Sunday School, and playing piano. Cathy has also written music over the years, with many pieces—including a children’s musical—being performed in churches.
And over the years, Cathy and Tyson have danced at many wedding receptions, often celebrating the unions Tyson has officiated.
For both Tyson and Cathy, their memories of their time at Catawba are inseparable from the fact that they experienced those years together.
They arrived as teenagers. They grew up together. Catawba is something they share.
While their relationship was a surprise, the quality of the education they both received while attending Catawba was not. And being graduates of Catawba is something they are proud of. They both have Catawba gear and put Catawba ornaments on their Christmas tree each year.
The campus does not look exactly as it did to the two teenagers who arrived in 1973. Cathy remembers living in Woodson and North. Tyson lived in Salisbury-Rowan and in the first Abernethy that is no longer there. They have watched familiar spaces change and new ones take their place.
They have visited over the years and have been pleased with the changes. They always visit the chapel when they are there and remember that special place.
They do not expect the College to remain frozen in the version they knew.
What they hope will endure is less visible.
They want students to continue to receive strong educations and to interact with the people teaching them. They want students to have friendships that develop into lasting relationships. They want Catawba to remain a place where young people have room to grow, to learn and to begin to understand who they are and who they want to become.
They know what college years can become because they are still living with what theirs became.
That is what sits beneath the anniversary gift.
Each May marks another year since Cathy and Tyson stood in the chapel and were married. Their gift marks it, too—an investment in the place where their own story began and in the students who are only beginning theirs.
Cathy and Tyson’s annual gift to Catawba has become a tradition, but they view the memories, education, and friendships they experienced there as gifts Catawba gave them.
Fifty years into their marriage, Cathy is glad she arrived late to that dance. She wanted to be seen for who she was. Tyson saw her clearly and asked her to dance.
They have been dancing ever since.
About Catawba College
Founded in 1851, Catawba College is a four-year, private liberal arts college located on a 276-acre campus, including a 189-acre ecological preserve, in Salisbury, N.C. Ranked as one of the best colleges in the South, Catawba is a learning community of nearly 1,400 students from 35 states and 45 nations, providing students with opportunities shaped by the Catawba Ideal: Scholarship with Character and Culture for Service. Additional information is available at catawba.edu.
