To celebrate Wake Forest University’s homecoming, we start with a question about the Demon Deacon.
Q: What does the Wake Forest Demon Deacon’s plunger stand for?
B.S.
Answer: The origin of the plunger seen in some illustrations of the Demon Deacon dates back to Bill Shepherd, a 1960 Wake Forest graduate who performed as the Deacon for three years while he was a student.
“He was known at the university and throughout Winston-Salem for his plunger twirling atop the goal posts in the late 1950s,” according to The Little Black Book, a reference book published by Wake Forest University about the school’s history. “According to newspaper clippings in the university archives, the plunger was the crowd’s favorite Deacon antic. The mascot would twirl the ‘plumber’s friend’ like a baton and swing it to the chants of the crowd.”
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Dressed in a scissor-tail coat and a high silk hat, Shepherd would use the plunger as a weapon—especially against the Duke Blue Devil and his pitchfork—and do various stunts, including sticking it to things such as a Carolina license plate. Some of his predecessors had carried walking sticks, umbrellas or canes.
Shepherd also used the plunger when he was the mascot of the Red Birds, a local pro baseball team, in the late 1950s.
Q: I went to the IRS office on Westbrook Plaza Drive and it was closed. I called the local number and the greeting said that the office is at 251 N. Main St. Has the Westbrook Plaza office closed for good?
J.E.
Answer: The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center for the Triad is now in the Federal Building at 251 N. Main St., suite 800 in downtown Winston-Salem.
Richard Dawson, a spokesman for the IRS, said that other IRS offices in Winston-Salem and Greensboro are not open and he was not aware of any plans to reopen those offices.
Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“Please note that sometimes the Winston-Salem TAC office in the Federal building is closed on certain dates. For example, it was closed Sept. 15 and 16.
“If a taxpayer needs to visit a TAC, the best thing to do is to call 844-545-5640 and make an appointment. This will guarantee the TAC is open upon arrival.” Dawson said.
Q: I haven’t seen Christina Evans, anchor, in a while on WXII. Has she left the station?
D.M.
Answer: Evans is still with WXII, according to Michelle Butt, the president and general manager of the station.
“Christina had an unexpected death in the family. She is taking time to help her family thru the loss,” Butt said.
Q: I’m downsizing and have a lot of books I would like to give away. What groups around here will take used books?
H.R.
Answer: There are a couple of options.
Sam Matthews, the executive director of The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, said that his agency is accepting donations for their 2023 book sale which will be held next May.
The center is at 1700 Ebert St., Winston-Salem. For more information, call 336-748-0217.
Also, many Forsyth County Public Library branches have friends of the library groups that take donations for book sales to support the branch.
Contact a branch to see if they are currently taking donations.