From left, graduates Anessa Williams of Creedmoor, Juanita Rogers of Oxford, retired instructor Constance Lue of Oxford, graduates Doris Constantine of Warrenton, Jessie Boyd of Macon, Donna Bryan Spears of Oxford, Melissa Ritchie of Oxford and instructor Dr. B.K. McCloud of Oxford, seen here at Magnolia Manor in Warrenton as their tea party and graduation was set to begin. (VGCC photo)
Vance-Granville Community College recently celebrated the graduation of students from the fourteenth edition of a class called “Let’s Have an Afternoon Tea,” while also celebrating the woman who created the unique class.
The class held its final meeting and graduation ceremony in October with an afternoon tea party planned and carried out by the students at Magnolia Manor Plantation Bed and Breakfast in Warrenton. Graduates included Anessa Williams of Creedmoor, Juanita Rogers, Donna Bryan Spears and Melissa Ritchie, all of Oxford, Jessie Boyd of Macon, and Doris Constantine of Warrenton.
Among the special guests was Constance “Connie” Lue of Oxford, who established the course and has taught it at VGCC since 2006 but has now retired from the role. She handed off teaching duties to Dr. B.K. McCloud of Oxford, a graduate of the course and a retired professor of education.
Lue has been fascinated with formal teas since she was a teenager and went on to study under tea expert Jane Pettigrew in Great Britain. She has shared her love of the beverage and of English style with her children and friends, and then created a course on afternoon teas at an adult learning center in Virginia Beach, where she taught for five years. After Lue and her late husband, Rex, moved to Granville County to be closer to family, she brought the class to VGCC, where it has proven to be just as popular as it had been in Virginia. “It’s been a labor of love,” Lue reflected.
She emphasized that the course is not just about tea. “The main things are civility, good manners and etiquette, which people really want to recapture in today’s fast-paced world, but sometimes don’t know about,” Lue said. She always recommends to those who are interested the book “Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct” by P. M. Forni.
Lue, who has called herself the “Southern Tea Lady” and founded both the Virginia Tea Society and the Old North State Tea Society, is quite the resource herself. She wrote an extensive manual for students in the VGCC class, with recipes for tea time, tips on flower arranging, and a section on etiquette. VGCC Dean of Continuing Education Dale Fey, a guest at the recent tea, commented that it ought to be published. McCloud added that the tea classes and the two tea societies she founded, both of which continue to be active organizations, constitute a lasting legacy of Lue’s dedication and creativity.
Other special guests at Magnolia Manor included Granville County commissioner Ed Mims, Creedmoor city commission Del Mims, VGCC Personal Enrichment coordinator Gail Clark, and Lue’s daughter, Dee Pinnell of Palmer Springs, Va. Carolyn Spain was on hand to represent the Old North State Tea Society and invited the graduates to become members.
Attendees dined on an elegant menu of savories, scones, sweets, harvest apple cake and, perhaps most importantly, Darjeeling and Fruits D’Alsace teas by Harney & Sons.
For information about future tea classes, contact Gail Clark at (252) 738-3300 or ped@vgcc.edu.