Beth Mitchell
{{short description|American shag dancer (1972-1998)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Beth Mitchell
| image = Beth Webster Mitchell.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Mitchell in 1997
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1972|10|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Greensboro, North Carolina
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|3|20|1972|10|7|mf=y}}
| death_place = Stoneville, North Carolina
| resting_place = Stoneville Municipal Cemetery
| birth_name = Elizabeth Webster Mitchell
| education = Dalton L. McMichael High School
| alma_mater = University of North Carolina at Greensboro
| occupation = Teacher, dancer
| relatives = J.J. Webster (great-grandfather)
John Ray Webster (granduncle)
Jeff Webster (cousin)
}}
Elizabeth Webster Mitchell (October 7, 1972 – March 20, 1998) was an American educator and competitive shag dancer. In 1998 she won the National Shag Dance Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Mitchell was killed during the 1998 Gainesville–Stoneville tornado outbreak a week after she won the championship. She was posthumously inducted into the Beach Shaggers National Hall of Fame's Keepers Of The Dance in 2002.
Early life and family
Mitchell was born on October 7, 1972, in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Worth Mitchell and Nancy Lee King. She was a great-granddaughter of the politician and businessman James Jefferson Webster, a grandniece of Captain John Ray Webster, and a cousin of checkers player Jeff Webster.{{cite encyclopedia| last= King| first= Nancy Webster| title = James Jefferson Webster| encyclopedia = The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983| date = 1983| publisher = Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company| location = Winston-Salem, North Carolina|page=676| isbn = 0-89459-212-2}} Through her mother she is descended from Scottish emigrants George Irving and Jane McDonald, who came to the United States in 1834 from Closeburn, Dumfriesshire aboard the Hector.{{cite encyclopedia| last= King| first= Nancy Webster| title = George Irving - Jane McDonald| encyclopedia = The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983| date = 1983 | publisher = Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company| location = Winston-Salem, North Carolina| pages=314, 315, 316| isbn = 0-89459-212-2}}{{cite book| last = Anderson| first = Francis I.| title = Anderson & Irving of Rockingham County, N.C. Cox & Bryan of Onslow County, N.C. and Related Families| publisher = Avera Press| date = 1980| location = Wendell, North Carolina| pages = 36}} She descended maternally from the Robertson family, a colonial Virginian family, through her great-great grandmother Margaret Hurt Robertson.Robertson, Pocahontas and Her Descendants, 40-41 Through her Robertson ancestry, she was also a relative of mathematician Ione Grogan.
Education and dance training
Mitchell began dancing Carolina shag, a form of swing dance, when she was nine years old. As a teenager she became a competitive shag dancer and, at the age of fifteen, she joined the National Shaggers Association. Mitchell attended Dalton L. McMichael High School, where she was a member of the cheerleading squad.{{cite news| title = ALL-STAR CHEERLEADERS| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = July 24, 1990| url = https://www.greensboro.com/all-star-cheerleaders/article_980e9f48-2607-5666-9a0a-0636b818832e.html| access-date = 6 April 2020}} In 1990 she made the All-Star Cheerleading Squad for the 42nd Annual East-West All-Star Games in Greensboro.{{cite news| last = Welborn| first = Jane| title = ENTHUSIASM PAYS OFF ON SIDELINES, TOO| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = July 24, 1990| url = https://www.greensboro.com/enthusiasm-pays-off-on-sidelines-too/article_eceee724-9349-5902-a532-92b2278d7140.html| access-date = 6 April 2020}}{{cite news| title = ALL-STAR CHEERLEADERS| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = July 21, 1990| url = https://www.greensboro.com/all-star-cheerleaders/article_e919ce57-1d61-5ba8-984d-3f9f36999b3d.html}} After high school, Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega.
Career
Upon graduating from college, Mitchell worked as a third grade teacher at Stoneville Elementary School in Stoneville, North Carolina. She continued to compete in the non-professional shag circuit, including in two national championships. Mitchell was the Non-Pro Champion of the National Shag Dancing Championship.{{cite web| url = http://www.shagdance.com/adobe/acsc_minutes/MW2019Minutes.pdf| title = A.C.S.C MEETING MINUTES 2019 MID-WINTER WORKSHOP – OD RESORT BALLROOM| date = January 19, 2019| website = ShagDance| publisher = Association of Carolina Shag Clubs| access-date = 6 April 2020}} She and her dance partner, Brad Kinard, won the championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1998.{{cite web| url = http://www.davehoekstra.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/myrtle_beach_sc.pdf| title = North Myrtle Beach| last = Hoekstra| first = Dave| date = January 30, 2005| website = davehoekstra.com| publisher = Dave Hoekstra| access-date = 6 April 2020}}
Death
Mitchell died on March 20, 1998, a week after she won the National Shag Dancing Championship.{{cite news| last = Chilton| first = Eric| title = A Shag Competition This Weekend In The Triad| newspaper = WFMY-TV| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = CBS| date = January 9, 2020| url = https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/features/shag-competition-raises-money-scholarship-beth-mitchell/83-7bd93f3f-ffcc-41f0-8fd8-8d28c5dcfbd9| access-date = 6 April 2020}} She and her mother were driving in their car when an F3 tornado hit Stoneville. Their car was thrown against the Claybrook Tire Shop as the building collapsed.{{cite news| last = Smith| first = Heather J.| title = Ten years on, Stoneville tornado still brings vivid memories| newspaper = The News & Advance| publisher = Kelly Mirt| date = March 16, 2008| url = https://www.newsadvance.com/archives/ten-years-on-stoneville-tornado-still-brings-vivid-memories/article_154c6db5-c952-5191-aedc-1b3f4a34f4c3.html| access-date = 6 April 2020}} Mitchell's mother was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Mitchell died on the scene from the impact.{{cite news| last = Fedchenko| first = Vera| title = TORNADO DEMOLISHES DEALERSHIP| newspaper = Tire Business| publisher = Crain Communications| date = March 30, 1998| url = https://www.tirebusiness.com/article/19980330/ISSUE/303309980/tornado-demolishes-dealership?=&CSAuthResp=1:473548341978179:52284:7:24:approved:1B883B55862C449F426C217674E31461&template=printart| access-date = 6 April 2020}} She was one of two people in Stoneville killed during the 1998 Gainesville-Stoneville tornado outbreak.{{cite news| last = Silvers| first = Janson| title = Deadly F3 Tornado Slams Stoneville, Other Parts Rockingham Co.| newspaper = WFMY-TV| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = CBS| date = March 20, 2018| url = https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/march-20-1998-deadly-f3-tornado-slams-stoneville-other-parts-rockingham-co/83-530495322| access-date = 6 April 2020}}{{cite news| last = Banks| first = Margaret Moffett| title = Six months after the Stoneville tornado, Nancy Mitchell continues to grieve for her daughter. Slowly she is getting better.| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = September 22, 1998| url = https://www.greensboro.com/six-months-after-the-stoneville-tornado-nancy-mitchell-continues-to/article_22828f7c-4234-5149-be89-e0c7a552cc5a.html| access-date = 6 April 2020}}
Mitchell is buried at Stoneville Municipal Cemetery.{{cite web| url = http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/rockingham/cemeteries/stonevil.txt| title = Stoneville municipal cemetery, Rockingham Co. NC| website = US Gen Web Archives| publisher = The USGenWeb Project.| access-date = 6 April 2020}}
Legacy
File:Fountain in Friendship Park, Stoneville.jpg
After her death, the Beth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship was founded.{{cite web| url = http://www.shagnationals.com/scholarship-info| title = Beth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship| website = Shag Nationals| publisher = National Shag Dance Championships| access-date = 6 April 2020}} The scholarship, organized through the National Shag Dance Championships, is awarded to National Shag Dance contestants who are planning to attend college.{{cite web| url = https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/life/things-to-do/article224166365.html| title = National Shag Dance Championships in Myrtle Beach SC| last = Bell| first = Josh| date = March 4, 2015| website = Myrtle Beach Online| publisher = Myrtle Beach Life| access-date = 6 April 2020}}{{cite news| last = Miller| first = Renata| title = Shagging with the Stars to return to North Myrtle Beach| newspaper = WFMB| publisher = NBC News| date = November 5, 2015| url = https://www.wmbfnews.com/story/30447397/shagging-with-the-stars-to-return-to-north-myrtle-beach/| access-date = 6 April 2020}}{{cite web| url = https://www.govserv.org/US/Myrtle-Beach/123757037650752/National-Shag-Dance-Championships| title = NATIONAL SHAG DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS| website = GovServ| access-date = 6 April 2020}} A dance competition named after her, the Beth Mitchell Memorial Shag Dance Competition, is held annually in Greensboro.{{cite web| url = https://competitiveshaggers.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/81455070_10216677451309478_1247939903614877696_n.jpg| title = Beth Mitchell Charity Mixed Doubles| date = January 11, 2020| website = Competitive Shaggers| publisher = Competitive Shaggers Association}}{{cite web| url = https://www.winstonsalemshagclub.com/uploads/8/6/3/7/8637374/wssc_newsletter_december_2019.pdf| title = SHAGLIGHT| date = December 2019| website = Winston-Salem Shag Club| access-date = 6 April 2020}}
Friendship Park in downtown Stoneville was built as a memorial to Mitchell and Powell Hickman, a local farmer who was also killed by the 1998 tornado.{{cite web| url = https://www.town.stoneville.nc.us/your-government/friendship-park/| title = Friendship Park| website = Stoneville| publisher = Town of Stoneville, North Carolina| access-date = 6 April 2020}}{{cite news| last = Hunt| first = Gerri| title = Mural to honor tornado victims, town history| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = August 29, 2018| url = https://www.greensboro.com/rockingham_now/news/mural-to-honor-tornado-victims-town-history/article_aeafdb5a-ab8a-11e8-96ac-37cbf44e3905.html| access-date = 6 April 2020}}
In 2002 she was added to the Beach Shaggers National Hall of Fame's Keepers Of The Dance.{{cite web| url = http://www.keepersofthedance.com/meetthekeepers.html| title = Meet the Keepers of the Dance| date = 2015| website = Keepers of the Dance| publisher = Beach Shaggers National Hall of Fame| access-date = 6 April 2020}}{{cite web| url = http://www.keepersofthedance.com/2002_Beth_Mitchell.pdf| title = Beth Mitchell - 2002| website = Keepers of the Dance| publisher = Beach Shaggers National Hall Of Fame| access-date = 6 April 2020}} She is also listed in Shag Atlanta's memorial.{{cite web| url = http://www.shagatlanta.com/eternal.html| title = In Memory of These Dancers who have Passed Away| date = 2012| website = ShagAtlanta| access-date = 6 April 2020}}
References
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Category:20th-century American educators
Category:20th-century American dancers
Category:American female dancers
Category:American people of Scottish descent
Category:Schoolteachers from North Carolina
Category:20th-century American women educators
Category:American swing dancers
Category:Dancers from North Carolina
Category:People from Greensboro, North Carolina