Beth Mitchell

Elizabeth Webster "Beth" 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.

Beth Mitchell
Born
Elizabeth Webster Mitchell

(1972-10-07)October 7, 1972
Greensboro, North Carolina
DiedMarch 20, 1998(1998-03-20) (aged 25)
Stoneville, North Carolina
Resting placeStoneville Municipal Cemetery
EducationDalton L. McMichael High School
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro
OccupationTeacher, dancer
RelativesJ.J. Webster (great-grandfather)
John Ray Webster (granduncle)
Jeff Webster (cousin)

Biography

Mitchell was born on October 7, 1972 in Greensboro, North Carolina to Worth Mitchell and Nancy Lee King.[1][2] Her maternal great-grandfather was the politician and businessman James Jefferson Webster. She was a grandniece of Captain John Ray Webster and a first cousin once-removed of checkers player Jeff Webster.[3] 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.[4][5] On her mother's side she also descends from the Robertson family, a colonial Virginian family, through her great-great grandmother Margaret Hurt Robertson.[5][6] Through her Robertson ancestry, she was also a relative of mathematician Ione Grogan.[5]

Mitchell began dancing Carolina shag, a form of swing dance, when she was nine years old.[1] As a teenager she became a competitive shag dancer and, at the age of fifteen, she joined the National Shaggers Association.[1] Mitchell attended Dalton L. McMichael High School, where she was a member of the cheerleading squad.[7] In 1990 she made the All-Star Cheerleading Squad for the 42nd Annual East-West All-Star Games in Greensboro.[8][9] 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.

Upon graduating from college, Mitchell worked as a third grade teacher at Stoneville Elementary School in Stoneville, North Carolina.[10][11] She continued to compete in the non-professional shag circuit, including in two national championships.[1] Mitchell was the Non-Pro Champion of the National Shag Dancing Championship.[12] She and her dance partner, Brad Kinard, won the championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1998.[13][14]

Death
The F3 Stoneville, North Carolina, tornado crossing US Highway 220, and entering the town of Stoneville.

Mitchell died on March 20, 1998, a week after she won the National Shag Dancing Championship.[14][2] She and her mother were driving in their car when an F3 tornado hit Stoneville. Their car was thrown against the Claybrook Car Dealership as the building collapsed.[11] Mitchell's mother was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Mitchell died on the scene from the impact.[15] She was one of two people in Stoneville killed during the 1998 Gainesville-Stoneville tornado outbreak.[13][10][2]

Mitchell is buried at Stoneville Municipal Cemetery.[16]

Legacy

After her death, the Beth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship was founded.[12][17] The scholarship, organized through the National Shag Dance Championships, is awarded to National Shag Dance contestants who are planning to attend college.[18][19][20] A dance competition named after her, the Beth Mitchell Memorial Shag Dance Competition, is held annually in Greensboro.[12][21][22]

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.[23][24]

In 2002 she was added to the Beach Shaggers National Hall of Fame's Keepers Of The Dance.[25][1] She is also listed in Shag Atlanta's memorial.[26]

References
  1. "Beth Mitchell - 2002" (PDF). Keepers of the Dance. Beach Shaggers National Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  2. Banks, Margaret Moffett (September 22, 1998). "Six months after the Stoneville tornado, Nancy Mitchell continues to grieve for her daughter. Slowly she is getting better". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  3. King, Nancy Webster (1983). "James Jefferson Webster". The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company. p. 676. ISBN 0-89459-212-2.
  4. King, Nancy Webster (1983). "George Irving - Jane McDonald". The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company. pp. 314, 315, 316. ISBN 0-89459-212-2.
  5. Anderson, Francis I. (1980). Anderson & Irving of Rockingham County, N.C. Cox & Bryan of Onslow County, N.C. and Related Families. Wendell, North Carolina: Avera Press. p. 36.
  6. Robertson, Pocahontas and Her Descendants, 40-41
  7. "ALL-STAR CHEERLEADERS". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. July 24, 1990. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. Welborn, Jane (July 24, 1990). "ENTHUSIASM PAYS OFF ON SIDELINES, TOO". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. "ALL-STAR CHEERLEADERS". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. July 21, 1990.
  10. Silvers, Janson (March 20, 2018). "Deadly F3 Tornado Slams Stoneville, Other Parts Rockingham Co". WFMY-TV. Greensboro, North Carolina: CBS. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  11. Smith, Heather J. (March 16, 2008). "Ten years on, Stoneville tornado still brings vivid memories". The News & Advance. Kelly Mirt. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  12. "A.C.S.C MEETING MINUTES 2019 MID-WINTER WORKSHOP – OD RESORT BALLROOM" (PDF). ShagDance. Association of Carolina Shag Clubs. January 19, 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  13. Hoekstra, Dave (January 30, 2005). "North Myrtle Beach" (PDF). davehoekstra.com. Dave Hoekstra. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  14. Chilton, Eric (January 9, 2020). "A Shag Competition This Weekend In The Triad". WFMY-TV. Greensboro, North Carolina: CBS. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  15. Fedchenko, Vera (March 30, 1998). "TORNADO DEMOLISHES DEALERSHIP". Tire Business. Crain Communications. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  16. "Stoneville municipal cemetery, Rockingham Co. NC". US Gen Web Archives. The USGenWeb Project. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  17. "Beth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship". Shag Nationals. National Shag Dance Championships. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  18. Bell, Josh (March 4, 2015). "National Shag Dance Championships in Myrtle Beach SC". Myrtle Beach Online. Myrtle Beach Life. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  19. Miller, Renata (November 5, 2015). "Shagging with the Stars to return to North Myrtle Beach". WFMB. NBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  20. "NATIONAL SHAG DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS". GovServ. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  21. "Beth Mitchell Charity Mixed Doubles". Competitive Shaggers. Competitive Shaggers Association. January 11, 2020.
  22. "SHAGLIGHT" (PDF). Winston-Salem Shag Club. Winston-Salem Shag Club. December 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  23. "Friendship Park". Stoneville. Town of Stoneville, North Carolina. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  24. Hunt, Gerri (August 29, 2018). "Mural to honor tornado victims, town history". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  25. "Meet the Keepers of the Dance". Keepers of the Dance. Beach Shaggers National Hall of Fame. 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  26. "In Memory of These Dancers who have Passed Away". ShagAtlanta. ShagAtlanta. 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
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