Piedmont High School - Summit Yearbook (Lawndale, NC)

Page 17 text:

LAWNDALE, NORTH CAROLINA 9 mar ble or lofty granite. In this building there is a library, a reading room, and the Emersonian Literary Society hall for girls. Not even a brief history of Piedmont High School would be complete without grateful mention of the lamented Mr. Thos. J. Ramsaur who, probably, was first to conceive the idea of making Piedmont strong enough for the needs of anyone and reasonable enough in price for everyone earnestly seeking educational ad¬ vantages and the late Maj. H. F. Schenck whose heart and soul and master mind was devoted to Piedmont and to the ideals for which it stands. He was heard to say that while he had never received a penny from the school in the way of financial dividends he had never invested money in anything that pleased him better than the money he had invested in Piedmont High School. Piedmont, once the adopted child of the Kings Mountain As¬ sociation, for many years a private, non-sectarian, Christian school, then for three years a private preparatory school aided by the state and now a full fledged state high school with better equipment, a larger faculty and with a glorious history of more than a quarter of a century of achievement behind it, has bright visions of what may still be accomplished for God and humanity. Through varying fortunes the school has never deserted the ideals of its founders nor has it disappointed those who were friends in the privations, hardships and heroic struggles of its early his¬ tory. IT HAS BEEN AND WILL BE THE CONSTANT EFFORT OF PIEDMONT HIGH SCHOOL TO INCULCATE A SPIRIT OF REVERENCE FOR GOD AND HOLY THINGS. PIEDMONT IS NOT AN EXPERIMENT. From small be¬ ginnings, through toil and sacrifice, it has ripened in efficiency till it is now generally recognized as one of the .strongest preparatory schools in the state. It has twenty-nine years of steady growth behind it, a large patronage and many friends in the present, and wonderful 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

Page 16 text:

PIERIAN HALL

Page 18 text:

10 PIEDMONT HIGH SCHOOL minute. The 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 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 is a spring of health-giving sulphur-lithia water. Situated on top of a majestic hill, sloping in every direction, 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; enliven¬ ed 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 institution of high order. But what has man done toward perfecting it? He has given us daily com¬ munication with all the world by telephone and telegraph, a railroad within a mile of the school, electric lights, water-works, dormitories adequately 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 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 the ad¬ vantage of the village with the perfect quiet of rural life so neces¬ sary to sustained mental effort.