Southern Part of Heaven [1]

Southern Part of Heaven

by Jerry Leath Mills, 2006

[3]The "Southern Part of Heaven" is a phrase coined by author William Meade Prince [4] in 1950 for the title of his volume of reminiscences of growing up in Chapel Hill. Prince was drawing on an old, probably apocryphal anecdote about a Dr. Kluttz, a Franklin Street store owner in the early years of the twentieth century. As Prince relates it, Kluttz, on his deathbed, inquires of his Presbyterian [5] minister, Parson Moss, what heaven is like, and Moss replies: "Dr. Kluttz, I believe Heaven must be a lot like Chapel Hill in the spring."

Prince's title has long held the status of a beloved cliché in Chapel Hill and continues to be cited in both promotional and sarcastic contexts. An example of the latter is a suggestion, not infrequently made, that in light of Chapel Hill's and the greater Research Triangle [6]'s development, population growth, and demographic change in recent years, the label should be emended to the "Southern Part of New Jersey."

References:

William Meade Prince, The Southern Part of Heaven (1950).

James Vickers, Chapel Hill: An Illustrated History (1985).

Additional Resources:

"Southern Part of Heaven." Preservation Society of Chapel Hill. January 19, 2012. http://chapelhillpreservation.com/2012/southern-part-of-heaven/ [7] (accessed September 18, 2012).

Image Credits:

"Williiam-Meade-Prince-The-Southern-Part-of-Heaven.png." "AOTUS: Collector in Chief: What I'm Reading." The National Archives. http://blogs.archives.gov/aotus/?page_id=314 [3](accessed September 18, 2012).

Subjects:

Post War 20th Century (1946-2000) [8]

Places [9]

Slogans, slang, and sayings [10]

UNC Press [11]

Authors:

Mills, Jerry Leath [12]

Origin - location:

Chapel Hill [13]

From:

Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. [14]

1 January 2006 | Mills, Jerry Leath