Woodward Academy - Phoenix Yearbook (College Park, GA)

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iWOODWARDi T he Front Gate is perhaps the most recognized structure of the Academy. Over the years it has symbol- ized the stability and honor associated with the history of our institution. Interestingly, the Front Gate has not always existed in the same form it docs today. Photo- graphs in early yearbooks indicate that a simple iron fence connecting two brick pillars was the first predeces- sor of the Front Gate. The Senior Class of 1929-30 honored the Academy with the second Front Gate which closely resembles the structure of today. In 1935, the Senior Class presented the Academy with a cast eagle which had a seven foot wingspread and weighed over eight hundred pounds. The gift was a memorial to facul- ty member Sergeant A.T.Johnson who has suddenly died in October of 1934. The eagle was erected on top of the archway over the entrance to the campus, but because of the great weight of the eagle, it was neces- sary to raze the second Front Gate and construct a third gate similar in appearance to the present structure. The only real change between the 1935 edition and the current gate is that, in the late sixties, the entrance and exit ways were moved from under the arch to either side of it, and the passage way under the archway was per- manently blocked with an iron fence. - f inm Sfm tti In the late 1800 ' s, College Park, then called Manchester, was just being laid out. Citizens of the town felt the need for a strong academic program for young men; a military school seemed the best option. Some influencial townspeople located a large tract of land, bought it, and built Founder ' s Hall to house Southern Military Academy. The school operated for about three years until a se- vere small-pox epidemic caused the school to close. Founder ' s Hall remained unused for several years. Colonel John Charles Woodward was then Superintendent of Schools at Newnan, Georgia. In 1900, eight influencial citizens contacted Wood- ward about moving to College Park to re-establish a school. After considerable thought, Woodward decided to make the move. Later that year, he founded Georgia Military Academy on the first school ' s grounds. Today, Woodward Academy continues to per- petuate those principles established by its founders: opportunity for each student, a stuc- I tured, disciplined atmosphere, the pursuit of aca- I demic excellence, a regard for moral rightness and I integrity, and the love of country. 14 WOODWARD TRIVIA

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Relationships! RELATIONSHIPS 13

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iTRIVIAi r Oix times in the Academy ' s history a marching unit and the band engulfed Washington, D.C. to help bring in a new Presi- dent of the United States of America. In the photo above, the Academy ' s cadets are shown participating in the 1961 Inau- gral Parade of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Georgia Military cadets have also marched in the parades for Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Eisenhower, and Johnson. 1907 1920 1928 1937 1950 1964 1965 1967 1969 1971 1972 1973 1975 1978 1979 Trivia Briefs First dance held at GMA First Senior Dance Georgia Military Academy became the first school to offer a course in aviation First year that girls served ais GMA cheerleaders They were called the Red Peppers and were from Commercial High School. GMA organized its first wrestling team. GMA admitted its first coeds Susan Brewster and Elizabeth Alden Davis were GMA ' s first female graduates First graduating class under the name of Woodward Academy Woodward Academy, in this year, first allowed female resident students. Girl ' s athletics begun. First service club started at Woodward. First Super-Goober Day held First time female faculty members marched with male faculty members in processionals Seventy-fifth anniversity of the Academy First resident student, Virginia Serrato, elected Woodward Homecoming Queen First graduating class to have members who attended The Busey School First off-campus Junior-Senior Prom W hile there are many memorials on our cam- pus, perhaps none is so overlooked as the com- memorated rifle pit in the front of Brewster Hall. That monument marks what was once a line of Confederate Fortifications built for the defense of Atlanta during the Civil War. It was this line that was broken by Sherman when he captured Atlanta on his march to the sea. The monument stands a silent witness of the war which swept over our land in the 1860 ' s. The stone marker was erected on the campus by the Daughters of the Confederacy to commemorate the events that took place during the War Between the States. The marker reads: Site of Atlanta Breast Works and Rifle Pits used for the Defense of Atlanta during the Battle July 1864 erected by Robert Edward Lee Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy Another of the interesting markers on the cam- pus is the Korean War Monument. Given by the Class of ' 61, it honors those alumni who lost their lives in the Korean War. WOODWARD TRIVlA 15