Thies Auditorium was one of the first buildings on campus to be named, and it remains one of the most often used facilities by the greater Latin community. No other space brings people together, in a variety of ways, quite like the auditorium. 

But we never just call it “the auditorium.” Almost everyone simply calls it “Thies.” 

Thies plays host to Convocation, Honors and Awards, Cum Laude Society inductions, Back to School nights, grade level meetings, College Counseling sessions, countless theatre productions, musical concerts and performances, recitals, rehearsals, assemblies of all sorts, guest speakers and performers, faculty meetings, student panels… the list goes on. 

 

It is named for the Thies family — specifically for Frank and Janet Thies — who were among the founding members of Charlotte Latin School. Mr. Thies was the school’s first board chair. Their regal portrait hangs in the foyer, commissioned just for that place and purpose, and their last name graces the handsome brick facade.

 

But people. We’ve been doing it wrong!

It’s pronounced like “peace.” This was recently explained to me. Not “peas.”

It’s teece. 

Not tease.

Thies.

Have the Thieses simply exhausted their efforts in correcting us? 

Frank and Janet’s five children Trey ’78, Mary Janet ’79, Boyce ’81, Lawton ’84, and Charles ’90 all attended Latin. Their granddaughters Caroline ’07 and Mary Padgett ’11 Hawkins attended Latin. And Powers ’32 and Frances ’35 Thies are in our Lower School today. That’s a lot of years of Thies students. The least we could do is say it correctly. This is not an admonition, but rather a challenge. A happy campaign.

All together now: “Teece.”  Like PEACE.