Ferrum College - Beacon Yearbook (Ferrum, VA)

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1 - sm .,: aw W I . - ,. H w --:H fx iw H ,W H NH if A J I, u L ,, x . ei. ,X W E 'H' we Qs A Fw w w : . f. , ig M ig' gym Our first president, Dr. Beckham, talks with our present president, Dr. Arthur ' In tl1e eariiesfgbeginliing. n N Y, M H ' 1 Y Y :SL ,X , ,, ,X M N M M H H ur , , .' ' N' -'M N W iii ' ' H ' ' ' w Y. 355: -'ggi Brzeaking stone for the builgiing, of Beckh:-ini Hall. ' :ill Kfxi ' Y V . K ' ' f' , A J. , , 4' ' mm ,Q W ,, H 'W in ' H Of the first maples that were planted on Ferrums campus has been cut--Pro- gress? '? ? we ,mx uufi M5 --an ,M If 5 if Vx N V! It took everybody's help to make Ferrum.

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W MARCHE o Ferrum Junior College was conceived in the minds and hearts of dedicated churchmen and was born out of the struggle of the years. In its infancy, despite all the hardships they encountered, Virginia Methodists began their untiring efforts to establish an institution of higher learning. Ferrum was founded fifty years ago as a mountain mission project of the Virginia Methodist An- nual Conference and the Woman's Missionary Society. The school's mission was to provide both ele- mentary and secondary education in a Christian atmosphere for the children of southwest Virginia. It was estimated at that time that 10,000 children in the region and 4,000 in Franklin County alone, were receiving no formal education whatsoever. Dr. Benjamin M. Beckham, Presiding Elder of the Danville District of the Virginia Methodist Con- ference, was greatly interested in the building of this mountain school. It was decided to build a school to be located at Ferrum. Dr. Beckham became the principal of the school in November 1913. In September 1914, Ferrum Training School opened its doors in these mountains of Virginia. There was one unfinished building on the grounds, Wesley Hall, and the parsonage. No student was prepared for a higher grade than first year high school, only 99 students were en- rolled during the entire session, and many said that no school could live on the liberal terms offered the students, and that the whole enterprise was but a dream of the principal, and would soon come to naught. The most ardent friends of the school did not dream that Ferrum would ever be a college, nor did they desire that it should. The school's success was immediate. When the trustees held their annual meeting in the spring of 1926, however, they had under their con- trol propertythat had cost over three hundred thousand dollars, and instead of one small school building they had the main school at Ferrum, and in addition six branch schools located in remote sections in the mountains far fromthe railroads, and where there were neither public schools nor churches for the most part, with a total enrollment of nearly '700 students in all. Now, the question arose, Shall we make Ferrum aJunior College? After long and earnest consideration, they unanimously answered this ques- tion in the affirmative. But it was deemed best to move slowly and cautiously, and beyond announcing at Commencement that one year of college work would be offered for the session of 1926-27, the authorities made no effort whatever to secure students. It was determined however, that the work of the college, like that of the high school, should be the finest quality, and courses were provided for, all of strictly college level. The students whose names appear as college students in 1926 decidedto take the college course, and shall ever be remembered as the charter students of Ferrum's College Department, and their names are so recorded in our archives. In this respect they enjoy a distinction that no other Ferrum students ever have enjoyed or ever can. We shall always remember them with peculiar pleasure and pride. There were sixteen of these students, who became the first college class at Ferrum in 1926. Ferrum closed its elementary department in 1923, its branch schools in the thirties, and its second- ary department in 1955. Dedicated men andwomen overcame almost insurmountable hardships to pass their torch of Christian education from hand to hand for this century. Though at times, the arms that held the torch grew weak, their strength was lifted to newer heights. Today the light of a dream shines forth. Fifty years after the mission project began, Ferrum still continues its record of progress. Ferrum has become the largest junior college in Virginia and the largest such Methodist-related institution in the United States. The Beacon salutes the present, past, and future torch-bearers of this institution. It tells of our college, and is proud of its heritage, its Methodist foundation, and its men and women who bore our yes- terdays to mold our tomorrows. ..ff 68 I 0

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'13,-, ,Q - ur, '-W?----f .I L A -A ff , ' ., ' I S 'I CHOOL ARRIS S THE BRANCH SCHOOLS HARRIS SCHOOL IN FLOYD COUNTY Among the noble women who helped us in the dif- ficult day, enduring many privations and hardships for the love they had for the work, was Miss Alice White, of Isle of Wight County. It was decided to go to the very top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, twenty-nine hundred feet above sea level, and build another school. Miss White went and superintended the putting up of this building. We have a beautiful structure at this point, and it has been a great blessing to the community. Some of the finest students we have had at Ferrum have come to us from the Harris School. This building was erected in 1917. NOWLIN'S MILL SCHOOL The building at Nolin's Mill is a two-story struc- ture, withtwo school rooms connected by folding doors below, and several rooms above in which the teachers live. This plan was found to be well adapted to our needs and While some enlargements and improvements have been made in the other buildings to the architec- ture has not materially changed. WILSON SCHOOL After spending one year at Harris Miss White was sent to Pole Bridge where a third school was built. Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Wilson of Crew, Va. gave fifteen hundred dollars for the purpose of putting up this build- ing, which bears their name, and which was erected during the great world war, in 1918. Under ordinary conditions this building could have been erected in a few months but so great were the difficulties of many kinds, including indifference and even opposition, that it took a year and a half to get it finished. TRINITY SCHOOL AT MOUNTAIN VIEW This school was built in 1918 on the very top of the Blue Ridge mountains, and is located about five miles from Harris School. The Sunday school of Trinity Church, Newport News, gave about 351,700.00 with which to put up this building and the' school is named after this church. This school was built for contract, and was put up promptly, and is an excellent building. HEIDELBACH SCHOOL In the fall of 1921 Mr. F. S. Heidelbach, of Danville Va., who with his wife, has given us so many beautiful book cases for our library, made us another splendid gift of a thousand dollars with which to build a school near Dodson in Patrice County. The people of the com- munity added about S600.00 to this, and this building was put up in 1922. ROSE RIVER SCHOOL During the year 1922 a site of four acres was do- nated by Mr. Benton Richards of Richardsville, in Mad- ison County, Va. Here was built the Rose River School similar to those other branch schools. The needs here were just as great. , ,wvqrvf . 1-a NOW - 'ff it , . LIN'S MILL SCHOOL ,- -'1,f3'.i.Pa:i.. H Y ?n5,,,tP - - - . 'f'5'r -Y --V f,.:,45f9ff,.v ' 1 , , ,, , Q 1- A '?f4sy?Qtj'f9,'3 Ulf'-'2e.p.y NAT - 12 ' :ff f '.::'2 W- l i 1 X: QMS 4' -2' Lf ff? - I 5 '- ' 1 V Tri ' :AP-' fag-Q 2 A 'Q Q--H ..f jf Nr -if'-nf' ,,?--su. Lgy I uf' X I ll ' at I uf., ggvx. TJ N. Ihr it J Ez L 1+ Ui 1 Ki Jing, 1, fr' Hsin V C' ,, J, K., ,. an 'ierm 4 ef?-if WILSON SCHOOL .4-...mv i . ,,., 21 I b -saw ., I 751:33 'fl 3' 4 h . 9-lm .1-11:5 if ' -' tT '.- Q. ' 'S 14. 3, ,. l 1 ,, I 1.1, .... M , - gf. 1 ez. V su. Hair: l 1 , - :ff .,l - . 37 . . - 3 - P I - K. .7 ,Q ,gk 5 -wg., . . f.'-. FE gEf...' 3 , ' f ' It ,g,..-:,.'gfii W S f T vt I ., X V-- f Nl ' '- Q ff? liitkl' u- , 'f.ff1-3f'- 8 Qt: ,T ,xl -A ' Q pl -1 hgh .1-gf. -A--V-,1:.5f,,5.Q W I '--:er f -5. . 5 , mi- 1 -IQQ , 41 I ' ,'Q'1 .:af sf- Frfifixifl- , 'gag T , - - . , ' Q5 '--. -Ia Li -I , -fig ei 5 , es-ri W if--'Q L, If 5:2 I it 2,2115 ,t.,E:s- ' at I ,- lx I , lj- 'ff . 41 -jf 41.1, . - . .Tig 3035, my , ,,,, half? ,gf - i.a,r..kn, , Y 4. X 3335: 'T' ii ' if -4 133-1 2 X wing, ' . . f'1 ' :' s.,1 , fl: . , Fl,l?T,,i. ,I-. .-: f f rs' X ,k,3f' ,f' , ,- I, . fs 4-,Fl ,:,:.3Ei3,i.,'i , . M . .. f Y L . - ,, .fg.,..i': , . ,sf-ru' gil -',f:ugf, .h ,- -,.,.1u Je ' , 'p - 1 .. ' Aj'Qf.fu,iifz. ' ici?-d'f j 4: H 1-'S 1 .s2'-? 5f :?,?15, , ' - , 7 .' +3 L, . -in afgjlh , ' zf ' o ' i' v-mg Q . V ' ,+I t - T x-6 1 -I vc I -I-1-I,-wg wnjl ' . ' Ng., - 'fi ,. .ff-iarafff cf K -,K fu 1' Au- , - '- ' TRINITY SCHOOL 7. up f fa ., Ein: ij '-,gy I.. . F .- 15:5 5, 4 HARRIS SCHOOL