Shetland Society

About the Society

Recognizing WCU Faculty and Staff donors at all levels, the Shetland Society is named in honor of the cart and Shetland ponies that WCU and then Chancellor AC Reynolds purchased in 1912 to haul supplies back and forth from Sylva to campus.

The pulled cart was used during the Craft Revival of Western North Carolina (1890s - 1940s) by local craftspeople, and was essential for sharing their work.

The Shetland Society celebrates the employees who work hard for WCU and the University’s role to deliver goods to our student body and the greater community, the Shetland Society serves as a symbol of innovation, dedication and a driving force—traits that our Faculty and Staff exemplify through their generosity.

“It is not always plain going in such mountain journeys….We traveled by railroads, in coaches, and in the engineer’s cab; driving in motors; in rough wagons, and light carts and buggies; riding divers horses and mules, and, when all other ways failed, taking the “footpath way.”  - Frances Goodrich, Pioneer of the Craft Revival

Impact Benefits:

Donor Benefits

• Specialized thank you cards and welcome packet
• Annual social event for members, featuring a cart and ponies as a celebration of hard work

• Collectible decal, symbolic of weaving the past with the future
• Specialized donor gifts featuring customized local crafts for Shetland Society members only

Thank you to all our Shetland Society Members!