Who's Who In America

In a history of this kind it is not possible to write even a short biography of many local well-known, able and worthwhile people. Alderson has had its share and many of her sons and daughters have distinguished themselves. These people deserve more recognition than a short sketch. However, their fame and achievements can not be recounted here. The following people have appeared in Wh0’s Who in America, and short biographies of them have been used.

For three years, 1926-1929, Dr. Judson Allen Tolman, Ph.D., was President of Alderson Junior College. He was a well known educator before coming to Alderson and while in Alderson, the Junior College had its greatest enrollment.

Another former Alderson resident of distinction was Ira B. Bush. He was an educator and had been Superintendent of Schools in several school systems before coming to Alderson as President of Armstrong College for about three years in the mid-thirties. He was a former member of the West Virginia Board of Education, and had been President of West Virginia Teachers Association. Dr. Bush died in 1935.

Another famous educator and minister who will long be remembered in Alderson was Dr. Walter S. Dunlop. He was born in Ayreshire, Scotland in 1878, came to the United States in 1901 and earned his D. D. degree in 1929. Dr. Dunlop was the pastor of Old Greenbrier Baptist Church. Dr. Dunlop was a small, distinguished gentleman with a great personality. He was an eloquent speaker with the rare ability of dominating an audience. He was a scholar who could quote poetry in a forceful way. Before coming to Alderson in 1929 he had been pastor of churches in Pennsylvania and Washington.

Dr. Dunlop was the last President of Alderson Junior College, and the first of Alderson-Broaddus, from 1932-1936. He then reentered the ministry and later became Vice President of American Baptist Publications Society. He died in 1941.

Helen Hironimus came to Alderson as one of the first members of the staff of the Federal Industrial Institution for Women, under Dr. Mary B. Harris. She had an L.L.B. degree from Washington College of Law. She was Assistant Warden at the local prison from 1929-39. She became Warden in May 1941. She retired in August 1949.

Lewis Edgar Johnson, for years one of Alderson’s most prominent leaders, was born in Monroe County in 1860. From 1909 to 1948 he was President of the First National Bank which he helped organize. For 21 years L. E. Johnson was a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Another famous woman who lived in Alderson in "The Cedars", was Ruth Bryan Owen Rohde. She was the daughter of William Jennings Bryan, and she had a distinguished career. During her life- time she was a writer, lecturer, Congresswoman, war nurse, University teacher and diplomat.

Mrs. Rohde was born in Illinois in 1885 and her father moved the family to Nebraska where Ruth grew up.

Her second husband, Major Reginald Owen of the British Army, became an invalid. To support the family Ruth Bryan Owen became a lecturer and had great success after World War I. She taught public speaking at the University of Miami in 1926-28, and ran successfully for Congress from Florida in 1929. She served as a Congresswoman until 1933. President Franklin D. Roosevelt then ap- pointed her as the Nation’s first woman diplomat, Minister to Denmark, until 1936 when she married Captain Borge Rohde of Denmark. She resigned as Minister, returned to the United States, and again became a lecturer and writer.

In 1939, the Rohdes bought "The Cedars", remodeled and repaired it, and made it an Alderson landmark. In June, 1939, the Rohdes had a house warming. Mrs. Rohdes wrote a poem for the occasion. The first verse was:

"I have crossed the oceans oe’r,
And traveled with a will,
But always I was longing for
A white house oh a hill."

The Rohdes lived at the Cedars for several years and knew a great many Alderson people.

On July 27, 1954, Ruth Bryan Rohde died of a heart attack in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The "white house on a hill", The Cedars, is now the fine home of Mr. and Mrs. A. W. McThenia. Since they acquired it, additional improvements have been made.

One of Alderson’s most illustrious native sons was Eldridge Campbell. He was born in Alderson December 1, 1901, the son of Dr. Eldridge H. and Bessie Spessard Campbell. Dr. Campbell was a well known physician and he and Mrs. Campbell were members of prominent Monroe families. Eldridge went to the University of Virginia, and while there, won a Rhodes Scholarship. He went to Balliol College, Oxford, on the scholarship in 1925.

After he returned to the United States, he received his M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1927. He was on the faculty of Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, as a professor of surgery from 1934-1956.

Eldridge Campbell was a Colonel, Medical Corps, U. S. Army from 1942—46. He was Surgeon General in Japan and Korea in 1952.

Eldridge Campbell, scholar, surgeon, professor, soldier, was decorated and honored more times than can be listed. Two honors are indicative of his greatness. He was decorated with the Legion of Merit, and he was a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery.

Dr. Campbell married Eleanor Brown, the daughter of a great Johns Hopkins doctor, Thomas R. Brown. He died December 15, 1956. His sister Elizabeth, Mrs. Carl Bivens, lives in Alderson.

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The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV
Used by permission - November 18, 2008