Greenbank High School - Mountain Breeze Yearbook (Greenbank, WV)

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A Brief Educational History of Green bank District The first school in the vicinity of Greenbank was erected in 1780. It was a typical pay school of that period; the fee was paid by boarding the teacher a certain length of time, according to the number of schol- ars in the school. As Greenbank became a larger place than a one-house-town, a school was erected below the town at what was then known is the Crossroads, and named after the location. The school lasted until the year 1820, and then a school was built on what is now the property of John R. Gum which was then known as Cartmill Creek. This school served the purpose of educating the pioneer children for a decade or more. As churches were built with better regard to the density of the people, the session rooms became the school houses, the session room of Liberty Church being one of the most important in Greenbank Commu- nity. The session room schools were usually taught by the pastor, and if the pastor did not teach, outside teachers would teach a term of three months for a dollar a scholar if there were as many as ten scholars. The session room schools lasted until 1842, when the Greenbank Academy was erected where the Odd Fellows Lodge Hall now stands in Greenbank. This was the first free school and was first taught by Profes- sor Benjamin Arbogast who had influenced the founding of it. The usual number attending was from sixty-five to seventy-five. This school was part of the Academy program ol the county which called for the erection of three academies: at Greenbank, Huntersville, and Hillsboro. These three buildings were of brick and were the most modern buildings in the county. Most of the people in Greenbank District sent their children to this school. These scholars boarded at Greenbank for there was no method of convey- ance from the more distant homes. When a student had finished this school he could attend Institute for a week, and then pass a test given and prepared by the County Superintendent and become qualified for a teaching position. Green- bank District had its own Board of Education at that time, so the teachers went before them to qualify for a job. But they had to have as many as two trustees of the three to sign their contract before the job was forthcoming; the salary being about sixty dollars per month. A few months after the Civil War, the building was remodeled and changed to a two-storied one and renamed the “Advanced School.tf It had ja high standard of education. The old Academy served until 1916; the last session being taught by C. E. Flynn, who later became County Superintendent. Its place was taken by the High School. In the year 1916, John W. Goodsell, President of the Board of Education, with the aid of Dr. Leland Moomau, founded the Greenbank High School with the graded school being in the same building. The first levy of money, called for enough money to build the part known a few years ago as the high school part, which extended from the front of the building to the present end of the press room. At first high school and grades were taught in the same part, but as enrollment increased, the building was extended to the beginning of the gymnasium, and a few years later the gym and the rooms above it were erected. This last was completed in 1926. Quite a dispute was aroused over the location of the building, so it was submitted to a popular vote. The main candidates for the election were Cass, Dunmore, Durbin and Greenbank, with the latter coming- in ahead with a fair majority. The first term of school opened in the fall of 1918 with a small enrollment. The first principal was W. P. Haught of Bristol, W. Va., with Miss Lucy Meredith, Margaret Hunt, and Lillian Moomau as as- sistants. The first graduate of the school in 1919 was Grace Curry, who had attended Marlinton for three years. In the year of 1920, there were five graduates: Virginia Dare Moomau, Helen Beard, Bertie Beard, Lillian Beard, and Lucille Oliver. In 1921 there were ten graduates, fifteen in 1922, fourteen in 1923, nineteen in 1924, and so on. N. Phay Taylor, the second principal, was succeeded by T. P. Harwood, who served nine years as principal. Mr. Harwood was replaced in 1931 by John Roach who served four years. In 1936, Claude A. McMillion became principal, and served until his death in the spring of 1945, when Mack Brooks, Assist- ant County Superintendent, served until the end of the term. In the fall of 1945, Mr. Virgil B. Harris of Gassaway, W. Va., became principal and he is still serving in that position. Brief Highlights: Basketball started early in the school’s history; football not until 1926—first touch- down for school made by Olen Hiner in a game with White Sulphur. In 1930, separate Vo-Ag building was constructed; the next year a bus garage. In 1936 an addition to the main building was made and steam heat installed in portion of the building, which is now equipped with electric power and most rooms are artificially lighted. In 1946 a new floor was laid in the gym, and a new heating system installed. Home Economics began about three years after the founding of the school, and the Future Homemakers Club was organized in 1930-31. In the fall of 1944, a High School Band was formed by Miss Anna Margaret John- son, then music teachei, and the music program is now being expanded by Director Roy Anderson.

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 THE CLASS OF 1948, sincerely dedicate this 1948 Mountain Breeze to our dearly beloved Alma Mater. “Dear Greenbank High School We love you, And to your colors We’ll e’er be true.”

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