Rosetta Baldwin, about 1985.
Rosetta Baldwin, about 1925
Rosetta Baldwin
The Woman Behind the School
Rosetta Cora Baldwin probably did not expect to touch the lives of so many
children and families. Born February 14, 1902 in Graham, North Carolina,
Rosetta moved with her parents to High Point at age ten. She began
teaching when she was twenty years old, and in 1942 she opened a private
school in her home. Rosetta taught for a total of seven decades before she
died in 2000. The Baldwin Chapel School’s alumni fondly recall their
impressions of “Miss Rosetta:”
“I don’t think she ever met a stranger.” Pauline
Outlaw, mother of Baldwin
School student
“I can remember to this day she had a presence about her—spiritualtype
thing. It was overwhelming; it demanded your attention.…She commanded
everything that went on around her.” Jeffrey
Faust
“She was what they call a quiet storm.” Eleanor
Wonce, friend of Rosetta
Baldwin
“She was the closest thing we had to a Martin Luther King. She wasn’t as vocal but her example was just as
strong.” Jeffrey
Faust
Teacher, Principal, and Friend
Although she disciplined her students quickly when they misbehaved, former
students recall that Rosetta’s love always shone through. She cared for her
community by babysitting, protecting abused women, and caring for
students and parents. For families on tight budgets, she reduced school
fees. She was also a member of the neighborhood association, the Burns
Hill Symphony Club. According to friend Eleanor Wonce, Rosetta Baldwin
“just believed in people.”
“It was the love and compassion that she had for the children and for the Lord.
And even the neighbors. Everybody just went to her, talked about things, and
she was willing to help everybody.’” Louise
Anderson
“She was just the sweetest lady; oh she would just hug you. She didn’t care
whose child. She loved children.” Pauline
Outlaw
"She did not replace my mother—no one could do that—but she substituted
very well…when my mom wasn’t around." Julius
Clark
“She was a nurturer, that’s what we’ll call it.’” Eleanor
Wonce
“I remember the incident one time when I was out on the playground, playing ball. I fell on my stick, and it
stabbed me in the side. And Lord, you know bleeding going on, and they wouldn’t let me pull the stick
Olga Street was renamed R.C. Baldwin Street
on August 5, 2002.
Rosetta counted Rediburger, a canned meat substitute,
among her favorite foods. She would have it and other
vegetarian foods brought in from Charlotte to be distributed
to the community.
out….And I remember Ms. Baldwin taking me to the hospital.…She stayed right there with me, talked to me
the whole time, calmed me down, you know, and everything.…Stuff like that you never forget. She was a
teacher, a principal, and a friend.” Lonnie
Butler
A Teacher's Devotion
Above all, Rosetta Baldwin is remembered for her committment to her students and to her community.
Below, Balwin's students describe that devotion. For her service, she has been honored with a street
named after her and an annual "Rosetta Baldwin Day" every November 29 in High Point.
“I remember one night when I first came into the church
Sister Baldwin was telling me about some type of
[vegetarian] meat. And I said, ‘I don’t think I’d like that.’ And
she said, ‘Oh, yes you would, Anderson.’ So she went back
there and she cut off a piece and I’m just sitting there talking
and she just stuck it in my mouth! She hadn’t fried it or
warmed it or done nothing to it. I walked off and spit that
stuff out!...She spent so much time with the children and
working that she just sliced it, [ate it], and went on with her
business. It was the best thing to her.” Louise
Anderson
“….How many people at 92 can play basketball? She
could....She would get out there and play basketball like the
rest of 'em, sure would. She was always going going, you
know, going to the nursing homes, taking the children out
during the holidays, door to door singing carols, coming to
the nursing home singing carols. There was so much she
would do. We would say, ‘Miss Rosetta, you gotta slow
down.’ She'd say, ‘No, if I gotta slow down,
that'll be the end of it.’” Janice
Clark
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