Eldridge and Betty Johnson have in the past, and continue in the present, to demonstrate their profoundappreciation of the unique equestrian heritage of our Horse Country. The Johnsons are nothing lessthan role models for the protection of open land in our community.

Their latest gift to The Walthour-Moss Foundation is the 15.51-acre Hunter Trials Course. In 2008, the Johnsonsgranted a conservation easement to the Foundation over that same acreage and donated to the Foundationthe 10 acres comprising the flat warm-up field adjacent to the course. This was to ensure that the Hunter TrialCourse would remain a community asset.

With this substantial gift, the Johnsons honored the long history of use of this land. For over fifty years, theHunter Trial Course property had remained an open space enjoyed by the community throughout the year toride upon, drive upon, as well as being the site of the Hunter Trials held each spring by the Moore CountyHounds. More recently, it is the locale for The Walthour-Moss Foundation Horse Country Social.

The Johnsons maintained the Hunter Trials Course and allowed community access to it for years, and, inDecember of 2008, they entrusted the care ofthe field to the Foundation through aconservation easement and gift of land.Gifting the acreage with the conservationeasement to the Foundation completes thetransfer of the entire property to theFoundation. The Walthour-Moss Foundationis honored to become the caretaker of thishistorical tract.

Our equestrian community has benefited fromthe philanthropy of Betty and EldridgeJohnson in the past. In the early 1990s, theJohnsons sold over two hundred acres in theNorth Country, the land encompassing whatis now known as Moor Meadow, to theFoundation for far less than its market value.This tract gave the Foundation an increasedpresence in the North Country.

Our entire community owes Betty andEldridge Johnson its thanks for theirphilanthropy and their role as visionaries forland conservation past and present.

Foundation NewsVOLUME 9

JULY 2013

A PUBLICATION OF THE WALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATION

TO PRESERVE OPEN LAND, TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE WILDLIFE HABITAT, AND TO OFFER A PLACE FOR EQUESTRIAN PURPOSES

ELDRIDGE AND BETTY JOHNSON GIVEHUNTER TRIALS COURSE AT QUAIL GLEN

TO THEWALTHOUR-MOSS FOUNDATION

ELDRIDGE ANDBETTY JOHNSON AT THEHUNTERTRIALSCOURSE ATQUAILGLEN

JULY 2013 PAGE 2

The adage “You can’t judge a book by its cover” appliesto Libby Evans. The more recent generation ofSouthern Pines locals knew Libby as a slightly

formidable woman who sewed Moore County Hounds colorson hunt jackets and tailored their husbands’ pants or theirdresses. Her modest cottage on East Maine Street in SouthernPines was home and shop. Her former clients may be

surprised to hear of hertremendous generosityto The Walthour-MossFoundation.

Dick Moore remembersLibby telling himduring the fundraisingcampaign for the NorthCountry that she hadleft a bequest in her willto the Foundation. Theywere good friends andenjoyed each otherscompany, but he did notforesee her level ofgenerosity.

A philanthropic heartwas not the onlysurprise Libby carefullycloaked. The last forty-two years of her life,Libby lived in SouthernPines. Friends say sherarely spoke of her past.But her long, fascinatinglife was the stuff ofnovels. From the merefacts, we know thatLibby was born toprivilege during WorldWar I, a fun-lovingyouth during theRoaring Twenties, ayoung socialite comingof age and marryingduring the GreatDepression, a matronwith small children at THE N. & G. TAYLOR COMPANY PROVIDED ROOFING FOR PHILADELPHIA

CITY HALL, THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD IN 1908LIBBY EVANS WITH ONE OF HER BELOVEDDALMATIANS

REMEMBERING ELIZABETH TAYLOR EVANS-KATIEWALSH

REMEMBERING OUR LEGACY DONORS

the start of World War II, a modern woman rebelling againstthe conformity of the fifties and relishing in the sixties. Herstory intertwines with those of the horses, dogs, andgentlemen she loved. Libby’s life experiences created a greathumanity in later life that she expressed in charitable work.

Libby Evans was born Elizabeth Harrison Taylor on March29, 1917 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Hollinshead NathanTaylor and Mary Hare Stockton Taylor. Elizabeth was theirfourth child, the baby of the family, preceded by siblingsMary Hare, Hollinshead Nathan Jr., and Richard Stockton.The family home was located in the northwest corner ofPhiladelphia, in a suburb called Chestnut Hill, one of theregion’s most beautiful and architecturally distinguishedcommunities.

Hollinshead, Libby’s father, attended the University ofPennsylvania, was president of N. & G. Taylor Company,manufacturers of tin plate. Advertising “Old Style” brand of‘redipped’ leaded roofing; the tin plate company had been inLibby’s father’s family since 1810. N. & G. Taylor Companyprovided the roofing for the tallest building in the world in1908, and the tallest in Philadelphia until 1932, thePhiladelphia City Hall, towering to 548 feet.

Tin plate was also important for household goods and vitalfor the U. S. war effort during World War I.

JULY 2013 PAGE 3

Libby’s father and motherapplied for passports in 1922stating that they were to sail tothe British Isles on the S. S.Olympia. They returned to theU.S. on the Aquitania. A photo ofMary and Hollinshead N. Taylorstanding in front of Versailles,France documents their trip.

By 1926, Libby’s family hadpurchased an estate in Bethlehem,Pennsylvania. The HagleyMuseum and Library contains anaerial showing a grand three-story mansion with acreage andbarns. A nine-year old Libby in1926 was surely introduced tohorses and developed the passionfor equestrian sports thatdominated her later life.

The writings of F. Scott Fitzgeraldcaught the mood of the Jazz Age.

Libby’s older sister Mary came ofage in the 1920s. One can imaginean eleven-year old Libby watching her with rapt attention,listening to her music, mimicking her style. The young Libbymust have loved the idea of romance because the adult Libbywas always a romantic. Friends who knew her later in liferemember that she admired attractive men, excelled at flirting,and was an intriguing dinner partner.

After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, on October29, 1929, the stock market crashed, and America entered theGreat Depression. Businesses and industry were affected byloss of capitol in either the crash or the bank closures resultingfrom the crash. Even by the late 1930s, the U. S. economy wasextremely bad. This was the decade in while Libby grew froma teen to a young woman.

Libby’s family was probably reduced in circumstance duringthe Depression, as were most Americans. The 1930 censusrecords have the Hollinshead N. Taylor family living inAbington, Pennsylvania, another suburban area ofPhiladelphia. Whereas the 1920 census listed five servants,servants are not listed, and the household includes two malelodgers, one from Virginia, the other from Austria.

Libby was 17 years old when she made her debut in 1934. By1935, she was living in Wayne, Pennsylvania (near Radnor),married to Arthur Morton Wilson, Jr. In 1937, her first sonwas born, John Lewis Wilson. Libby was only 20 years old.

Seven years her senior, her new husband, Arthur Morton

Wilson Jr., was born January 3,1910 in Haverford, Pennsylvania.He was the son of Arthur M.Wilson and Emily P. Wilson ofLower Merion, Pennsylvania.

Arthur was certainly a handsomeman, but the marriage did nottake. Although divorce was notprevalent in the 1930s, the stigmaof divorce was mitigated and the“divorcee” publicly glamorizedin America by the publicityromanticizing twice-divorcedAmerican socialite WallisSimpson. Edward VIII abdicatedthe throne of England in 1935 tomarry her in 1937. The Duke andDuchess of Windsor were toutedas the love story of the century.Young people of the day couldeasily conclude from theirexample that romantic love wasmore important than duty.Certainly the instability of theDepression years could notcombat that notion.

Although children of divorced families ordinarily remainedin the mother’s care, Libby was anything but ordinary.Libby’s three-year-old son John Lewis Wilson lived with hisfather, stepmother and an English nanny in Lower Merion. Itis easy to imagine that Arthur’s older, more settledpersonality and conservative profession could be as dull asdiapers to the romantic twenty-year-old Libby.

Although her passion for her husband Arthur died, herpassion for horses and equestrians survived. In the late 1930s,Libby’s name was linked to Sidney Holloway Hirst, also fromHaverford. Sidney was an acquaintance of Richard, Libby’sbrother, and perhaps a friend of the young married couple.His pedigree certainly seemed a match on paper for Libby’s.Sidney was the youngest son of William L. Hirst and MarionHirst. In 1920, Sidney lived with his parents, two olderbrothers, Anthony and William, and four servants.

Sidney’s interests matched Libby’s as well. At the age of 17,he was an award-winning steeplechase rider.

In many ways, the Depression years of the 1930s constituteda golden age of American steeplechasing. Seeking distractionand gaiety from the desperate, the social set followed the raceswith obsessive enthusiasm. One can imagine Libby relishingthe high drama of the races and after parties.

Throughout the 1930s, newspapers recorded Sidney’s racing

ELIZABETHHARRISON TAYLOR, CIRCA 1935

JULY 2013 PAGE 4

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: THE TAYLORCHILDREN WITH THEIR MOTHER CIRCA 1923. THE YOUNGEST, LIBBY, BOTTOM LEFT; HOLLINSHEAD ANDMARY TAYLORAT VERSAILLES; THE TAYLOR FAMILY ESTATE, BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA. NOTE THE STABLES LOCATED BEHIND THE HOUSE; LIBBY’S FIRST HUSBAND,ARTHURWILSON; AND LIBBY’S FATHER, HOLLINSHEAD TAYLOR

Photo Courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library

JULY 2013 PAGE 5

victories. He could easily beconsidered a social celebrityof the racing set. On April 28,1935 the newspaper, “TheDay” has a photo of SidneyH. Hirst, with the caption‘Perfect One Point Landing.’Described as a “gentlemanrider,” meaning he rode hisown horses, at My Lady’sManor Point to PointSteeplechase for theMaryland Hunt Cup.Apparently his horse wentdown during the race. Thepicture is Sidney, one foot justout of the stirrup, the otherleaping dramatically to aperfect landing, on his feetwithout injury.

Sidney must have proved anirresistibly dashing figurenext to the more staid ArthurWilson. After John Lewis was born, sometime in 1938 or 1939,Libby and Sidney married and settled into Lower Merion ina rented home.

Stockton Hirst was born to the couple on September 19, 1940,a few months before the United States entered World War II.His sister Sydney was born November 19, 1942.

Six months later, Libby had sufficiently recovered fromchildbirth to participate in the social swirl of the MarylandJockey Club at Pimlico. The three-story layer cake Victorianstructure was the social hub for the equestrian set. Besides itsdining rooms, the clubhouse also offered exquisite parlorswhere people could socialize between races and third-floorquarters for trainers to stay overnight.

“The Clearfield Progress” reported on May 19, 1943, “Withwomen wearing overalls and taking jobs, these fair onesdidn’t consider it unusual to don silks and ride in Pimlicoraces.” Mrs. Sidney Hirst is the third of nine women picturedin racing silks. Although this race may have been a wartimepublicity stunt, it proves that Libby was more than a wife ofa steeplechase jockey; she was an exceptional rider in her ownright.

Where was Sidney during the war? There is no militaryrecord of a Sidney Holloway Hirst with his birthday. Hisgrandparents were German, living in Germany. Transatlantictravel records in the 1930, record several crossings for SidneyH. Hirst, presumably to visit his grandparents. A 1943newspaper story lists Sidney Hirst as an attendee at a charityevent raising money for war bonds. At thirty-nine years of

age he may have beenconsidered too old to race orto fight. Hearsay has Sidneydying young, but as yet noobituary has been found. Thestory of their life togetherbeyond the recorded facts isburied with them.

It is also not known whenLibby met Charles Bechler“Bud” Evans. Born in 1921,however, he was 21 when heenlisted in the U. S. Armyduring World War II.

A June 5, 1952, “CheshireTimes” article states that Budand another young manhosted a stag party, andRichard Taylor, Libby’s olderbrother, attended the event.So it is possible that Libbymet Bud through Richard. If

not through Richard, it is likely that Bud caught her eye at thenumerous horse shows, foxhunts, or equestrian events inPennsylvania following the war.

Bud grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and roderacehorse and jumpers in his youth. By the time his name wasconnected with Libby’s, he was in his thirties and recognizedas an accomplished horseman. He rode at top shows likeDevon. Bud was also very active with Mr. Stewart’s CheshireFox Hounds of Unionville, Pennsylvania.

Sometime after 1955, Libby dropped the “Hirst” and assumed“Evans.” Libby and Bud became a couple. They owned asmall farm outside of Unionville, and participated in the localequestrian activities.

Tiffany Teeter remembers Bud and Libby from the horseshows they frequented on weekends during the late 1950s andearly 1960s. Bud was a very well respected rider who showedhis own horses in the jumpers. They worked as a team; Libbywould do the braiding and flat the horses before he rode inthe class. While most trainers bring a horse along to sell, Budand Libby’s horses were rarely put up for sale. One famoushorse that Bud did sell stands out. Bud was given a formerrodeo horse in payment for a bill. He trained him and soldthe horse to a couple of trainers who brought him to NealShapiro. Neal named the horse Uncle Max. The formerCowtown castoff became the 1961 Professional Horse ShowAssociation Horse-of-the-Year, ridden by Neal Shapiro. UncleMax went on to serve on the 1964 U.S. Equestrian Team.

She and Bud bought a dry cleaning business that catered to

CHARLES “BUD” EVANS ABOARD, ANY TIME, RIDGELYHORSESHOW, RIDGELY, MARYLAND, 1956

JULY 2013 PAGE 6

the horsey set in Unionville.They tailored, cleaned andrepaired riding clothes,breeches jackets and washedand repaired horse blanketsat the end of the season.

Marshall Glass patronized theEvans’s Dry Cleaners in thelate 1950s and remembersMrs. Evans in that capacity.

In the later 1960s, Nick Ellis,then a young jockey,remembers taking his ridingbreeches to their business forcleaning and repair. He saidthat Mrs. Evans was the only“older” woman who eversaid to him “If I were thirtyyears younger, I would reallygo for you.” She told him thatshe “loved men” and shekissed him. A startled Nicknever forgot it and wassurprised to meet her again many years later in SouthernPines.

In the 1960s Richard W. Atkinson, a professional horsemanand trainer from Pennsylvania first brought Libby and Budto foxhunt with Moore County Hounds in Southern Pines.Like many who arrive from the North, they fell in love withthe sprawling pine forest and welcoming community.

In 1968, Libby and Bud sold their Pennsylvania farm, retiredfrom the dry cleaning business and moved to Southern Pineswhere they bought a farm at 227 Den Road from Sandy Wolfe.Bud boarded and trained horses for his livelihood. Libbyexpanded her sewing business. They both immersedthemselves in the Southern Pines equestrian life.

Libby loved foxhunting. From Pennsylvania, she brought herleopard appaloosa stallion named Tijuana Taxi that shehunted with the Moore County Hounds. She was known to“lark” (go out of her way to jump fences) on the way homefrom the hunt. Later, she hunted a horse named Brandy thatwas awarded the Moore County Hounds Field HunterChallenge Trophy in 1976. Mary Ellen, a grey mare, took careof Libby in later years. Throughout their life together, Budtrained and cared for her able mounts.

Recognizing the importance of open space for foxhunting,Bud volunteered to help Pappy Moss take care of the land.Mike Russell remembers that Bud was one of the few peoplePappy trusted to mow the trails and repair the crossings inwhat is now The Walthour-Moss Foundation. Bud died a

friend to the Foundation in2004. His reputation as anotable equestrian washonored in The Chronicle ofthe Horse upon his death.

After Libby and Bud soldtheir farm, she did not ride orfoxhunt, but she remainedvery active in the social life ofthe hunt community,attending every huntbreakfast and supporting itsactivities. She was Secretaryof the Moore County HoundsHunter Trials from 1985-1990.Even late into her 70s she wasin charge of program sales forthe Hunter Trials. She wasalso a member of theSouthern Pines Driving Cluband volunteered at TheCarolina Horse Park in the1990s.

An active social life and parties were very important to Libby,so much so that a trip to Devon was cut short so that Libbycould attend a dinner party in Southern Pines with, at Libby’sinsistence, a trip home at eighty to ninety miles per hour.

Libby was interested in the world and loved to travel. Shewas unflappable in the face of adversity. Edie Overlyremembers a river-rafting trip with Libby and others in theNorth Carolina mountains that went awry. The raft tippedon a bolder dumping everyone into the river. All came upexcept Libby who was trapped, submerged under the raft.After a few terrifying minutes for her companions, she brokefree, surfaced and calmly said, “Well, that was a nuisance.”

Libby was blessed with excellent health. She outlived all threeof her children and her husbands. She had a divine figure andwas religious about keeping it.

Locals remember her daughter Sydney, who was married atLibby and Bud’s farm on Den Road in Southern Pines. Shepredeceased her mother, dying at her home in Florida in 1997,and the eighty-year-old Libby made the trip to Florida to saygoodbye.

Stockton was probably the best known by Libby’s friends inSouthern Pines. He worked in Africa as a safari guide formore than a decade. A picture documenting Libby’s visit toAfrica depicts Libby in front of the fireplace in Stockton’shome. His mother’s childhood portrait hangs above themantel.

LIBBY ABOARD TIJUANA TAXI, CIRCA 1970

JULY 2013 PAGE 7

Stockton returned to the United Statesbecause of political unrest in Africa. He livedbriefly with his mother at her home on EastMaine Avenue before moving to anapartment near the May Street Market. EdieOverly traveled to Antarctica with Stocky andLibby. She remembers them as verycompatible, continuously playing Scrabble,completing puzzles, doing crosswords andreading. Stockton Hirst died at his home inSouthern Pines in 2005 at the age of sixty-four.

Libby’s Hirst children died childless. JohnLewis Wilson, Arthur’s son, also predeceasedhis mother, dying in 2003 at the age of sixty-six. He had two children, Marci and John,and two grandchildren, Greyson and Aiden.Libby remained in contact with hergrandchildren, particularly Marci who visitedher in Southern Pines. Wendy Smithson saysthat Marci’s son Greyson was “the apple ofLibby’s eye.” Her appreciation for ahandsome young man never wavered.

Libby was also in contact with a niece, KateHall from Philadelphia, daughter of her sisterMary and a nephew the Rev. Hollinshead T.Knight. Until Libby’s funeral, the relativeshad no knowledge of the existence of theothers. Libby compartmentalized her ownlife and saw no reason to mix up the players.To friends in Southern Pines, she opened thewindow to her innermost feelings a crack, no further. She wasan unsentimental woman, of the moment, determined to greeteach day.

Perhaps the wisdom gained from the complications of a longlife fostered her great humanity in later years for people lessfortunate. She was instrumental in the creation of what isnow known as the Sandhills Coalition in Southern Pines thatprovided temporary assistance for people who neededclothing or food.

As part of the family selection committee for Habitat forHumanity, Libby spent countless hours of her time listeningto stories and evaluating the need of applicants. Sam Walkerremembers her as a star in that capacity. He found her tirelessand excellent at her job. “She always had a heart for theworking poor.”

Libby also spent many hours volunteering at the EmmanuelEpiscopal Church Thrift Shop. Although she could havebought elsewhere, Libby also purchased her clothes andhousehold goods secondhand stores like the church thriftshop. When questioned, she replied. “My mother was amiser. I’m just like her.” Like many people who lived through

the Great Depression, Libby saved andscrimped even when assets were available.

However, she was generous with her timeto those in need. On a trip organized by theEpiscopal Church, Libby traveled to Haiti ather own expense to teach sewing skills toHaitians.

In later life, dogs were her family. She hada series of Dalmatians that were beautifullymannered. Libby walked her dog every day,and, when incapacitated by old age, shewould take her Dalmatian to the open landaround Fox Box, where she let the dog looseto run. Libby followed as best she couldwith her walker.

Libby was selective in her personalrelationships, and if Libby was your friend,you could count on her. She once loaned afriend the down payment for a home.

Affectionately nicknamed “Lady SandSpur” by her Southern Pines women friendsfor her occasionally prickly demeanor,Libby enjoyed their company everyThursday for the ladies luncheon at MayStreet Market, where they celebrated her90th birthday.

She passed away May 25, 2010 at PenickVillage. Her nephew, the Rev. Hollinshead T. Knight,presided over the funeral at Emmanuel Episcopal Church inSouthern Pines. Wendy Smithson remembers a joyouscelebration of Libby’s life, with funny uncensored stories thatsurviving relatives told about Libby. That formidable facadeof hers hid a generous heart that beat steadily for the people,horses and dogs she cared for. She had a reverence for lifeand a great love of the land.

Elizabeth Taylor Evans’ ashes were scattered by her familymembers amongst the graves of her equestrian friends inHilltop Cemetery and throughout the sandy trails of TheWalthour-Moss Foundation. She is part of the land shevalued. The Walthour-Moss Foundation will unveil a plaquein her memory at a dedication event on October 20, 2013.

This article on Libby Evans is the second in a series of articleshonoring Legacy Donors to The Walthour-Moss Foundation.Their gifts helped to pay for land purchased in the NorthCounty. We are forever grateful for their generosity. Ourcommunity is the beneficiary of their philanthropy.

LIBBY, STANDING IN FRONT OF HER

CHILDHOOD PORTRAIT, WHILE VISITINGHER SON STOCKTON IN AFRICA

The Walthour-Moss Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation.

For more information, please contact Landon Russell at 910-695-7811or via email at director@walthour-moss.org or logon to our website atwww.walthour-moss.org.

Save the Da te !Save the Da te !

The Second Annual Horse Country Social

Sunday, September 15, 2013Noon to 3:00 PM

The Walthour-Moss Foundation

Hunter Trials Course

at Quail Glen

Old Mail Road, Southern Pines

Tickets are $35 per adult and $15 perchild under 12. Reserve your tickets

beginning August 1, 2013

Save the Dates!Save the Dates!

Bushwhacker ClubFall Work Days

September 8

September 22

October 13

To volunteer, please email Landon Russell atdirector@walthour-moss.org or

call 910-695-7811

The Walthour-Moss Foundation

Post Office Box 978

Southern Pines, NC 28388