James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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»- — J .. BEVERLEY PEARCE EDITOR NORA JANE ROBERTS BUSINESS MANAGER DR. CRYSTAL THEODORE MISS SARA ANDERSON FACULTY ADVISORS

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THE 1958 VOLUME XUX PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF MADISON COLLEGE HARRISONBURG. VA.

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FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS I IIK I!)M pri ' sidi ' iil 111 Iho senidr class, with a pick and a fi iir-leaf clover in her hands, lirolu ' the ;rrinnul fur Hiin ' isi n Hall. The ceremony continued when the vice-president sho t ' li ' il I hi- i ' ii ' sl scoDp of t ' arlh. IHK oiirnerslone was laid for Spotswood Hall immediately prior to the commencement exercises oC 1916. Masonic Rites were held, as was true of all earlier cornerstone ceremonies. rlFTY YEARS AGO this .spring, on March 14, 1908, the General Assembly of Virginia provided for the establishment of the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, Virginia. A year and a half later, on September 28, the first session of the school began. It consisted of a forty-two acre campus and three buildings — an academic building. a dormitory, and a farm house which was on the property when it was acquired. Instruction was begun with a faculty of fifteen under the able and dedicated leadership of President .Julian A. Burruss. The minimum entrance requirement in 1909 was completion of the seventh gi ' ade or its etiui ' alent. Girls could come to Harrisonburg for all or part of their high-school work and could complete a two-year course beyond the hi ' jh-school level. Completion of the two years of post high-school work carried with it receipt of the highest diploma offered by the Normal School, the full diploma. As a pioneer in Virginia, the Normal School em- phasized and developed vocational education for young women. After nine years of growth and expansion, the Household Arts Department became the Depart- ment of H mie Economics. F ' or the following twenty years. Hari ' isonburg was the center for home economics training in Virginia, and this departmeiit remains one of the stronge.st in the South. The Rural Arts program, instituted in 1910, at- tracted much attention in Virginia as well as other parts of the country. The State Normal and Industrial School for Women h.nd the fii ' st rui ' al school super ' isor in Virginia and one of the first in the United States. Traveling by horse and buggy in all kinds of weather. Normal School students obsei ' ved and taught in the •schools of Rockingham County. Raiiidly academic standards were raised and high school courses eliminated. In 1914 the name of the school was changed to the State Normal School for W.imen at Harrisonburg. Two years later, the (Jeneral Assembly authorized the offering of a four-year college coin ' se leading to the bachelor of science degree. This degree was first awarded in .June. 191!), to nine students. Dr. Burruss left Harrisonburg in 1919 to assume the presidency of V.P.I, and for the next thirty years progress and growth continued under the efficient and untiring leadership of the late Dr. Samuel P. Duke. Another milestone was reached in 1921 when the Nirmal School became the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. This signified that only work on the college level was being offered. Students were being graduated with degrees in elementary and secondary education and in home economics. In 1925, the camjius appeared barren along side the unpaved highway. The newly erected Sheldon Hall served as an academic building with an auditorium located up- stairs. The fii-st campus radio was put in this auditorium and made available to the students.