Massanutten Military Academy - Adjutant Yearbook (Woodstock, VA)

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The Qffmdemic' Tear inefeenjbrgf MA-IIBR GUY A. BENcHoFi' C0l71I71ll7IdH7Il HH academic year at lVIassanutten Military .Academy is conducted on a basis of three terms. It has been found, from practical experience, that this affords a more natural division to the work of the year, permitting the pupils to take examina- tions before the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays. During these periods, in addition to the military program described in another section of this book, the average student carries a schedule of four courses, the more gifted, one of five. This curriculum has a twofold objective. It aims to prepare boys adequately for future study and to train them competently for life. These are, of course, not mutually exclusive objectives, for each supplements the other. To a part of the student body, education received here must be of a termi- nal nature. Since, however, these are to be con- tinually surrounded by opportunities for further intellectual development Ceven though this is not to be achieved through college attendancel, the school, while preparing boys for living does not neglect the fundamentals of disinterested learning. On the other hand, as those who are expecting to complete further training are to be subjected con- stantly to the necessities of everyday living, the Academy attempts to acquaint the student with the facts and experiences of the practical world. To these ends, courses are offered in the Aca- demic Department leading to the fulfillment of the FRANiu.YN S. REARDON Dean requirement for college entrance and in the Com- mercial Department to a sound appreciation of business principles. The major emphasis of the former course is a comprehension of the traditional ideas of the past with discussions of their applica- tions to the needs and hopes of the future. With this idea in mind, the process of education becomes significant. History, the unending story of the rise and fall of cultures, serves to acquaint the student with the data ofmankind's ascent from the simplicities of early beginnings to the complex- ity of modern life. The student combines with this, during his four years of training, the pursuit of the Sciences. He is first taught the rudiments of the Natural Sciences through a course in General Science, stressing the classification of useful knowl- edge and an introduction to the scientific method. To this is added, in subsequent years, the more intensive study of those branches of Science which have cogently affected the modern scene: Biology, Physics and Chemistry. To make provision for the logical and exacting process of reasoning and a thorough and careful training of the mind, the curriculum gives a fore- most place to mathematical studies, including Al- gebra through Quadratics, Plane and Solid Geom- etry and Trigonometry. As further tools for under- standing the matrix from which our culture devel- oped, the study of Latin, French, Spanish and

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for buildings, but to find students, set standards, direct activities and comprehend all of the problems that naturally go with an expanding institution. Lantz Hall was erected in 1909, Sperry Hall in 1915, The Virginia Lee Harrison Gymnasium in 1924, the annex to Lantz Hall, equally as large as Lantz Hall, in 1927, and the Thomas Harrison Swimming Pool in 1928. Each of these buildings is well constructed. There was a plan from the very beginning, and step by step that plan is being achieved. From an original boarding school attendance of ten boys, it has grown to an enrollment of one hun- dred and thirty boarders and thirty day students. This does not seem remarkable in itself, unless you know the story, which shows that each year indi- cated an increasing strength and an advance upon the previous year. The original campus of live acres has grown to twenty acres. It has been landscaped and athletic fields have been built to take care of the student body in sports and recreations. Shrubbery has been planted and each year the campus becomes a greater delight to those who live oh it and visit it. Sufiicient land has been purchased to take care of the future, and all of the activities that would be required in the set-up for a two hundred boy board- ing school. All of the buildings were erected with that idea in mind. Sperry Dining Hall will care for two hundred, the Auditorium will seat two hun- dred and fifty, the Gymnasium and Swimming Pool are spacious and were built for the two hun- dred boy school. Even the central heating plant was installed sufficiently large to take care of the proposed new building, which will complete the picture. Up to this time the task has been that of a pio- neer, and now Massanutten faces a new era. Dr. Benchoff had long had in mind to develop a camp in the Massanutten Mountains, or along the Shen- andoah River somewhere nearby, which would serve as a retreat for camping expeditions. Herein lies another interesting story in which one of the famous seven river bends of the Shenandoah River was obtained through gift and purchase. During the past six years we have been watching the growth of Camp Lupton, which carries out the idea of outdoor life and recreation, and all who see it are delighted with the equipment and the environment. It has splendid possibilities, which will be developed in the coming year. This, in brief, is the story of Massanutten. A good elder had left a thousand dollars to the village pastors which was their sole asset when they de- cided to purchase the Riddleberger property for a school. That gift has been matched by many other similar gifts, larger and smaller. The alumni have been especially devoted to the school, as indicated by the fact that one of them gave us our dining room, and another our gymnasium, swimming pool and a good lift on the farm. You have heard us talk for a long while about the proposed new dormitory and administration building. It will make room for seventy-five more students and four more teachers. lt will have other features which are greatly needed for the comfort of patrons and alumni. Students, friends, benefactors are all asking when will we have the new dormitory? This is the big question that faces us now. The answer is that if Massanutten has accumulated all of this property in thirty or more years, starting with practically nothing, our faith leads us to believe that the new building will be realized in the near future. Other paragraphs in this book speak of our achievements in our activities. Many people have wondered Why we have risen to such high position in the secondary field of education, with graduates in over thirty colleges and universities and with a reputation that is enviable. It is because the Spirit of Massanuttenn arouses loyalty and affec- tion, without which very few successes in life are accomplished. You can't live at Massanutten without catching this spirit. And then there is something about Virginia and the Shenandoah Val- ley which support the enterprise. The Massanut- ten life offers a happy experience to the boys who enter her halls.

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German, with an appreciation of their respective cultures, is undertaken. ln the classical curriculum the study of English is required throughout the four years. The em- phasis of this course is under three main divisions. Grammar is taught to emphasize exactness of speech, rhetoric to train the pupil in the acquisi- tion of a personal style, by which he may ade- quately and forcefully give expression to his under- standing, and appreciation, of the knowledge gained in other courses. Both of these are supple- mented by reading and discussions of the classics of the linglish speaking peoples which, in addition to a comprehension of the ideas expressed, affords a historical survey of the development of English literature. lt is hoped and believed that by organizing the academic curriculum on these lines that the first of the major emphases expressed above Lthat of ade- quately preparing students for future studyl may be best accomplished. Divisions into departments are necessary since they have been found, from ex- perience, to be the best way to impart knowledge methodically. The danger to be avoided lies in the fact that these subjects may never be correlated or systematized into any intelligible organization. At Massanutten the effort is made to bring the experi- ence of education into a viral unity. The curriculum of the Commercial Department aims to provide a thorough training for those who shall engage in the business world at the conclu- sion of their studies here. lt comprises courses in the following subjects: Typewriting, Shorthand, Bookkeeping and l.aw, English, Spelling and Arithmetic with emphasis on their commercial aspects. Wlhen the essentials of the subjects are grasped, the work is carried forward largely by the project method and the student is surrounded as much as possible with the same situations as would prevail in a business oflice. Thus is sustained the practical aspect of business life and the mastery of skills are subject to constant and thorough training. Since the subject matter of any course can never be more attractive than the character of those to whom is entrusted the high calling of imparting it, the Academy is especially cautious in selecting its personnel. Rach instructor is chosen because he combines a sympathetic and understanding nature with a thorough mastery of his subject. lfor this reason, the educational process becomes a mutual project in which the pupil is lead by one whose experience and character amply lit him to be a leader of youth. The academic year of Igxqqaio showed an enroll- ment of 162 pupils, lat in the Academic Depart- ment and 21 in the Commercial. The former com- C07lff7ZIl6ff 071 page 16 lf,-XCl'l.TY Rmr Rm: lkjft to rrghtl: Capt. I.. lf. Glunt, Capt. R. Bencholf, Capt. B. Lambert, Major YV. T. Brundick, Major lf. NY. Urimmcr Capt. Cecil Nl. Nevxcorn, l.ieut. W. bl. Reilley, Major G, A. Benchoff. Frau! Rv-rr: Mr. A. Field, Mr. A. Keancy, Mr. l.. X, Nagnifico, Dean lf S Reardon, Mr. R. YY. Porsche, Mr. lf. lf. Palmer, Mr. l.. lfouts, Mr. U. 0'Neal.