Remember Bill Edwards?
Charlotte Magazine|September 2017

The wild adventures of a long-lost Davidson classmate

Jen Tota McGivney
Remember Bill Edwards?

IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK, you can find a grave on Davidson College’s grounds. Campus maps don’t reveal its location, but here’s a tip: Go to Hobart Park, a quiet enclave tucked into trees near the stadium. Look across from the stone replace and near the picnic tables. You may have to hunt a bit under trees and clear away leaves, but you’ll find it: the tombstone of William Davidson Edwards.

It’s a lovely spot for an afternoon of rest, but an unlikely choice for an eternity of it. Then again, everything about Bill Edwards was unexpected. Davidson College Bulletin, the alumni magazine, reveals Bill’s story, update by update, in the class notes. He was a Davidson grad, class of 1953. He became a real estate investor, married a Playboy bunny, sailed the world, and died under mysterious circumstances in China. Something about the drug trade.

Adding to the mystery is this: Bill Edwards isn’t buried here. Bill Edwards isn’t even dead.

Bill Edwards, after all, never lived.

You can blame Mike Myers for this. Mike was a ’53 alum (a real one) with a literary bent. At Davidson, Mike was an English major, the editor of three publications, and a member of the literary society. After graduation, he offered to collect classmates’ updates for the Bulletin. They failed to impress Mike, however. Another marriage. Another promotion. Another baby. Typical. Uninspired. Boring. So in October 1963, Mike snuck in an update about a classmate who never existed.

“Remember Bill Edwards?” Mike wrote in that fall’s Bulletin. “He writes he’s still a bachelor, has just put his savings into a ‘valueless chunk of land near the Metuchen, N. J. airport with no roads within three miles.’ No reason; he’s just always wanted to own some land and this area was ‘so noisy it was cheap.’”

Denne historien er fra September 2017-utgaven av Charlotte Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 2017-utgaven av Charlotte Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA CHARLOTTE MAGAZINESe alt
‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'
Charlotte Magazine

‘This Is How We're Going to Make Your Child Better'

Pediatric neurosurgery is technically and emotionally complex—and traditionally dominated by men. As Novant’s first female pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Erin Kiehna Richardson has had to learn the intricacies of a demanding field and battle sexism along the way

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021
The Dumbledore of CMC
Charlotte Magazine

The Dumbledore of CMC

A surgery resident wrote a series of children’s books and created a special kind of medical magic

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2021
LGBTQ HB2+5
Charlotte Magazine

LGBTQ HB2+5

Five years after the furor of House Bill 2, the LGBTQ community—in Charlotte, in North Carolina, and across much of the nation—fights attacks on new fronts

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2021
Oh, Snap!
Charlotte Magazine

Oh, Snap!

New ‘selfie museum’ in Concord celebrates the 1990s

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2021
ALLISON LATOS
Charlotte Magazine

ALLISON LATOS

The WSOC anchor on her hard trek from one episode of loss and grief to another—and the meaning of resilience

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2021
GOOD HEALTH
Charlotte Magazine

GOOD HEALTH

For years, Charlotte has been one of the largest American cities that lacked a four-year medical school. The health care professionals who finally made it happen overcame a series of setbacks, false starts, and failures, and they plan to use their clean slate to create a new kind of community asset

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021
Summer Partee
Charlotte Magazine

Summer Partee

From woodwork to retail, the kindergarten teacher-turned-designer has learned how to do it herself

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
Uptown or Downtown?
Charlotte Magazine

Uptown or Downtown?

Archives illuminate how long we’ve argued over the perennial question

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN
Charlotte Magazine

NOW OPEN NOVEL ITALIAN

Paul Verica brings a simpler version of the city’s hottest food trend to NoDa

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021
TOP DOCTORS 2021
Charlotte Magazine

TOP DOCTORS 2021

The annual list you can't without

time-read
10+ mins  |
July 2021