Rawlings Institute - Hits and Bits Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

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Professor of Greek and Latin. And there were girls in those days who studied Greek and took away their diplomas when they left school. Crawford Toy, now a distinguished professor in Harvard, one of the great universities of the world, and Dr. A. B. Brown, once a professor in Richmond College, of colossal intellect, one of the greatest teachers of this age, were there. There were others, as Thompson, Hiden, Holliday, and Louthan, none of whom were lesser lights. The first two professors, Hart and Harris, finished their work, and left behind a record unsur- passed. A It has always been a pleasant thought to the writer that she was privileged to belong to the first class in English ever taught in the South. It was organized here by Mr. Hart, a recognized master of good English. What he wrote was eagerly scanned. He was authority on English and Literature. It was a rare treat to be a pupil of his, as it was of l.'rofessors Harris, Brown, and the others. It was a bright galaxy of teachers. TH E CURRICU LUM. When one considers the course of study mapped out here, it is apparent that it was more of a college than it claimed to be. The authors studied in the Senior Class in Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics were Cousin, Jouffroy, Locke, and Sir William Hamilton. In Latin, Cicero, Virgil, Sallust, Horace, and Tacitus, and in Mathematics, the course extended to Calculus, and it was often taken from the love of it. But alas! the school was doomed to meet reverses. Possibly the aim was too high. It was best suited to graduates of other schools, and there were not enough of them to keep it going. It was ahead of its age. To secure M. A.'s of the University as teachers required more income than could come from a people only waking to see the possibilities of the higher education of women. A DISTINGUISIIED S'l'liDEN'l'. There have been many that have gone out from this school who reflected honor upon their Alma Mater, but perhaps the class of '61 bears the highest distinction in having as one of its members Miss Lottie Moon, one of the most cultured and consecrated of all missionaries of the Foreign Board. U She sailed for China soon after she took her degree, bidding adieu to the attractions of home and surroundings. Her name is a familiar one to Southern Baptists, and she is greatly honored by themf' ITS NEW HOME. The school moved into its present quarters--the new building- about '62, It was then the solitary house on the square, occupy- ing a most commanding position--out of town. When we used to pass on our way to .Earrish's Spring, the trysting place of the girls and students, it was an old field. Money was literally poured out here in the beginning. lt was my privilege to visit here once just befbre the war closed. All seemed happy in their enlarged position. But it was not long before this school, like so many others, suffered from the desolation that had been wrought on the homes of Virginia's yeomanry. iVhere could they get money to educate their daughters with, their property having been swept

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THE ALBEMARLE FE IALE INSTIT TE. HAT honored old preacher, Rev. Joseph H. NValker, whose - useful life extended overalmost the wholeof the nineteenth century, used to say that he was the father ofthe Baptist Institute in Charlottesville. He said that when he went there to be pastor he noticed that every Sunday morning a party of' girls would go away from the Sunday School after the lesson was ended. On inquiry he found that the principal of' their school required them to attend his church, although they belonged to Baptist families. He said he called his brethren together and told them that the Baptists must have a school of their own. They were fortunate in finding in their midst an accomplished teacher, Mr. S. H. NVyriek, who for a number of years conducted a board- ing school ot' considerable merit. It enjoyed a wo1'thy patronage and did good work. Out ot' the loins of this school sprang the A LBEMA RL E FEMA LE INS'1'I'I'UTI'I. In a cabinet in the Museum of Richmond College, is a valued relic. It is a scrap of paper, yellow with age, that was rescued several years ago from a bag of' old papers belonging to the attorney for the trustees ot' this school. The paper contains the signatures of' the founders-those who thought and planned for this institution-who bore its burdens and rejoiced in its triumphs, and who deserve to be remembered. They were lVm. P. Farish, J. T. Randolph, Jolm A. Broadus, A. E. Dickenson, and Jolm H. Bibb. It contains also the receipt fbr 351,031 paid by Treas- urer Bibb to John H. Timberlake, Geo. L. Peyton witness, for the old Monticello Hotel, its first home, and is dated January 7, 1857. In the founding of' this institution the great Dr. Broadus, then a young man, was the moving spirit. XVhen he went to the University as Chaplain, he was succeeded by Dr. Dickenson. He took this work and pushed it with his characteristic zeal. The Charlottesville church has always had noble spirits in its member- ship, and there were many who contributed their portion, but it is nevertheless true that that big-souled Baptist-, William P. Parish, by his prineely inunificence, made it possible for these young ministers to carry out the cherished wish of their hearts in the opening ofan institution that quickly went to the top, and flour- ished for more than a decade under the same principal. It had no superior, and scarcely a peer in its faculty or in its curriculum. Coming to this school as I did in '59, two years after its doors were opened, I saw it in all the glow of its young aspiring lite, and felt the impact of' its expansive forces, and the throb off' its great heart. The fact has been proved often and again, that a school to do its best work must be f'ull of hope and ot' confidence in its own powers. 'rn H If'At 'UL'l'Y. Such a faculty as they had! Nearly all ot' them were distin- guished graduates of' the University, selected by Dr. Broadus, some his class-mates, as John Hart, Principal, H. H. Harris,

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from them as by a cyclone? Mr. Hart left the school and opened a smaller one in Staunton. Mr. Rawlings and M1'. Dickinson became principals at different times, and with great odds against them, resurrected the institution and did valuable work. IN cor.. rnvronts oI.D norm.. The old Monticello with its grey exterior, and its long dark corridors, had rather a prison-like appearance, but within it was instinct with lite. It had many windows behind which the girls would peer into the streets below when home-sickness overtook them. And then the old dining room over which the tall Black Ben presided ! No knight was ever courtlier than he. He rang that bell as if hc thought it would resound down the corridors ot' time. One ot' the most attractive places in the house was the room of the Art teacher in the farthest end of the annex. The walls XVCl'C literally covered with pictures, and a cheery welcome awaited those who called. The name of' the teacher was Mrs. Emily C. Grubb, who lives at present in Norfolk with her son, who was a little boy then. She was English, had come over in a sailing vessel when a girl, and had been a governess in Gen. Lee' s family. She speaks lovingly ot' her life at the old Albemarle Institute. The second year ot' my course, '60-'61, the rude alarms ot' war sounded the call to arms. There was much excitement in the town, troops passing to and fro on the train. And when there was to be speaking by distinguished speakers, the classes were dismissed to allow us to go. It was difficult to keep the school together. A few went home. A Miss Alden, teacher from New England, said to be of' the John Alden family, went home and was never heard from at sehool again. OUTLOOK I-'OR THE FUTUIQE. Not being familiar with this period, others must write the his- tory ot' it. The Baptists appreciate the gift made by Mr. Raw- lings, which made it possible for the school to live again on a per- manent basis. NVould that his example might incite others ! And to Dr. Tribble, the present able principal, too much praise cannot be given for his self-sacrificing labor for the school. In throwing himself into the breach he has saved a plant that is capable of g1'eat possibilities. One thing that commends this school, is, that it does not pretend to be what it is not. So many of' the colleges of the South would do better if they were called institutes. It does better work really than it claims to do. Happy for situation, too, is this Rawlings Institute. I-Iere ill the town that was the first to be called the Athens ot'Americag to be so near a great University-under its very eaves, where one can catch the inspiration that comes from a community of' students working on the hidden secrets of science and philosophy, is a rare privilege. It is an education to know and appreciate that wonderful work ri of' art, lhe School of Athens, the conception of Raphael, at whose shrine all artists bow. IVell do I remember the first time I saw and studied it. I don't think I was moved any more when in later years I looked on the originals in their home in the old country. That first look opened a new world and made me long for another. GREETINGS. Alumnae ofthe old Albemarle Institute: I greet you wherever you are. Nearly four decades have passed, and our hair is silveringg but I've no doubt your hearts beat as loyal to-day as when you received your degree. ' Alumnae of the Rawlings : I greet you as sisters-half'-sisters--it may be, but as children ot' a common mother. Let us join hands and hearts and seek to uphold the interests ot' the institution that has given us our honors. To the youngest ot' the Alumnae, the class ot' 1902-eongratm lations! QIHNNIE SNEAD HATCHER.