Piedmont High School - Summit Yearbook (Lawndale, NC)

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10 Piedmont High School efficiency till it is now generally recognized as one of the strongest preparatory schools in the State. It has nineteen years of steady growth behind it, a large patronage and many friends in the present, and glorious possibilities for the future. Our water cannot be surpassed. At a distance of about a quarter of a mile from the school buildings is a fine, large spring of pure, sparkling water, affording more than twelve gallons per minute. This water is piped to us by means of an electric pump. A tank of fifteen thousand gallons capacity, standing on a steel tower more than fifty feet high, gives us the best means of fighting fire. With this and with electric lights, with no danger of exploding lamps nor deadly fumes of gas in our dormitories, with buildings of only two stories in front, we feel that we have less to fear from fire than ever before. At a distance of not more than four hundred yards from the school are springs of health-giving sulphur-lithia and chaly¬ beate water. Situated on the top of a majestic hill sloping in every direc¬ tion, thus giving perfect natural drainage; commanding a magnificent view of hills, vales, grassy, undulating plains, and of the Blue Ridge in the distance; shaded by a forest of stately oaks; enlivened by the music of rippling water; with excellent drinking water and air free from the taint of malaria, nature has made this an ideal spot for an educational institu¬ tion of a high order. But what has man done towards per¬ fecting it? He has given us daily communication with all the world by telephone and telegraph, a railroad within a mile of the school, electric lights, water-works, dormitories ade¬ quately furnished, large recitation rooms fitted with patent desks of the most approved pattern, and last, but not least, by his efforts as instruments in God’s hands we are unpolluted by bar-rooms, gambling dens and other moral dangers of town and city life, which too often blight the lives of boys from Christian homes and blast the hopes of their dearest friends. We are nearly one-half mile from Lawndale; thus we have

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Lawndale, North Carolina 9 ment of music, the business school, the primary department and an auditorium fitted with raised seats and modern stage scenery. Its seating capacity is about nine hundred. The Waters’ Library building was completed at the beginning of the last session. This building, by the bequest of Miss Nancy Waters, was erected in memory of her brother, Capt. A. G. Waters, who was a brave Confederate soldier killed in the battle of Gains Mill, near Richmond, Va., June 27, 1862. The building, thirty by thirty-six, two stories, built of pressed brick, the smallest but the finest of our buildings, adorns the crest of the hill. It is a fit monument for one who gave life for native land—more appropriate by far than glistening marble or lofty granite. On the evening of February the fifteenth, 1913, when the majority of the boys were attending church in Lawndale, fire broke out in Newton Hall, and in spite of the water-works and heroic efforts on the part of those present, the building could not be saved as it was too far gone when discovered. There was some insurance and the hall was duplicated by the open¬ ing of the next session. May the seventeenth, 1911, the last day of Commencement, after an inspiring address by Hon. T. W. Bickett, Major H. F. Schenck, President of the Board of Trustees, presented the needs of the School to the audience, and asked for five thou¬ sand dollars to pay off the existing indebtedness, to paint the buildings and to install water-works. A wave of enthusiasm, such as is seldom seen when the people are asked for money, passed over the audience. Wealthy men, boys and girls work¬ ing their way through school, women and children, all caught the spirit of the hour. More than six thousand dollars was raised. The thanks of the school are due to the friends of the institution whose loyalty and liberality have made it pos¬ sible for us to take another step forward in the march of V progress. Piedmont is not dead. Piedmont is no longer in its in- Fancy. PIEDMONT IS NOT AN EXPERIMENT. From small beginnings, through toil ar.d sacrifice, it has ripened in

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Lawndai North Carolina ii the advantage of the village with the perfect quiet of rural life so necessary to sustained mental effort. Sunday Schools and Churches Two flourishing Sunday Schools are within easy reach of us. The Baptists have regular appointments for preaching at New Bethel and Lawndale. The Methodists hold regular services at the latter place. The Presbyterians also hold serv¬ ices at Lawndale, but at irregular intervals. These churches are only a good walk from the scho . All students are re¬ quired to attend at least one of these churches and Sunday Schools. Students are required to attend daily roll-call which consists of singing, reading the Scriptures, and of prayer. At these services occasional short talks will be made by the Prin¬ cipal and others, for the purpose of encouraging the students and inciting them to higher ideals and nobler efforts. A well organized Young Men’s. Christian Association is well attended. Two prayer meetings are held each week by the students, one by the girls and the other by the boys. These services are voluntary, and while no one is forced to go, they are largely attended and a spirit of devotion is shown that is pleasant to witness. Cant is discouraged; but it has been the constant effort of the management of Piedmont High School to inculcate a spirit of reverence for God and veneration for holy things. The school is distinctly Christian, but it is not denominational.