1928 - Alderson High School - 1968
Alderson Baptist Academy - 1924
Tom Dameron
Thanks
to
the
generous
gift
from
Sara
Lobban
(AHS
Class
of
1954
I
think)
we
have
a
copy
of
The
Boardwalk
1924.
This
book
will
insure
that
those
of
us
who
are
interested
in
the
history
of
our
beloved
community may be further enlightened.
Volume
One
of
The
Boardwalk
was
published
in
1924
by
the
students
of
The
Alderson
Baptist
Academy.
I
cannot
be
sure
however
due
to
the
continued
financial
hardship
that
plagued
the
school
during
its
existence
it
may
be
the
only
publication
that
was
produced
by
this
institution.
This
publication
will
be
on
permanent
display
at
the
Alderson
Depot
so
if
you
are
interested
in
history
please
stop
by
and
look.
It’s
really interesting!
The
publication
is
special
in
many
respects,
not
the
least
of
which
is
the
inclusion
of
several
Alderson
folks
who
had
a
profound
impact
on
the
lives
of
many
who
may
be
reading
this
material.
This
work
includes
the
names
and
photos
of
those
students
in
the
first
two
years
of
college.
(The
academy
was
a
Junior
College
therefore
only
two
years.).
The
senior
class
of
the
high
school
are
also
included
with
names
and
photographs.
Included
below
are
the
names
and
description
of
both
students
and
faculty
that
had
a
special
meaning
for
the
Alderson
Community.
There
may
be
some
that
I
have
missed
to
recognize.
For
this,
I
am
very
sorry;
however,
I
would
appreciate
hearing
from
any
of
you
about
someone
missed,
and
I
will
prepare
a
follow-on
article
as
I
receive
your
input.
Discovery
of
“The
Boardwalk”
offers
Aldersonian
readers
some
insight
on
how
our
newspaper
came
to
be
named
“The
Aldersonian.”
You
will
notice
that
Ms.
Stella
Nelson
was
the
faculty
advisor
of
The
Boardwalk
staff.
The
school
newspaper
at
ABA
was
named
“The
Aldersonian.”
In
that
Ms.
Nelson
was
a
key
figure
at
both
ABA
and
Alderson
High
School
it
would
not
be
a
“reach”
to
conclude
that
she
was
an
influence
on
picking
the
name
for
our
newspaper
at
AHS.
While
it
is
difficult
to
say
for
sure
that
was
the
case
there
seems
to
be
a
strong
correlation
between
the
two
publications. Tom Dameron (
Click on photos for larger view
)
Miss
Stella
Mae
Nelson:
Miss
Nelson
was
a
Mathematics
teacher,
a
graduate
of
Concord
Normal,
University
of
West
Virginia.
She
was
the
sponsor
of
The
Boardwalk
Staff and she was recognized as follows:
“In
appreciation
of
our
sponsor,
who
laughs
when
we
laugh
and
cries
when
we
cry:
whose
smiles,
encouragement
and
love
have
guided
‘her
children’
over
the
rough,
rugged
paths
of
the
past
four
years.
She
has
instilled
within
us
that
ambition
to
win
out
over
our
difficulties.
Tho’
we
may
wander
far
from
A.
B.
A.,
we
shall
never
forget
the
help and inspiration we have received from our sponsor.”
Mayme
Alderson
Haynes:
Ms.
Haynes
was
Domestic
Science
teacher,
a
graduate
of
Marshall
College,
Boston School of Domestic Science. I am unsure of Ms. Haynes line in the Alderson Family.
Mrs.
Elah
Eades
Pugh:
Mrs.
Pugh
was
a
piano
teacher,
a
graduate
of
Woman’s
College
of
Richmond.
She
was
a
member
of
the
Eades
family
who
where
always
engaged
in
community
and
educational
activities.
She
married
into
the
Pugh
family
who
were
also
a
highly
respected
family
in
Alderson.
Many
of
you
will
remember
Rutter
Pugh
who
worked
at
the
post
office
for
many
years
and
was a wonderful pianist.
Blanch
A.
Skaggs:
Blanch
was
a
member
of
the
College
sophomore
class.
She
was
the
Secretary
of
Student
Body
Association.
Most
of
knew
Blanch
as
“Hawks”
a
teacher
and
librarian at AHS.
“For she was just that quiet kind who nature never varies”.
Mary
Ruth
Andrews:
Was
a
college
freshman.
She
was
a
lifelong
Alderson
resident,
(she
moved
to
Alderson
with
her
parents
just
before
entering
the
second
grade),
a
teacher
at
AHS
for
several
years
and
she
was
also
on
the
girls’
basketball
team.
The
photograph
enclosed
herein
places
her
as
second
from
the
right
of
the
photo.
AMAZINGLY,
the
lady
on
the
far
left
is
Miss
Nelson.
The
caption
under
the
photo
reads
in
part
“The
season
of
’23
was
launched
with
an
abundance
of
pep,
not
only
on
the
part
of
the
prospective
stars,
but
that
of
Miss
Nelson,
our
new
and
enthusiastic
coach.
To
her
was
due
much
of
the
credit
for
the
unusually
successful
season
which
followed.”
As
an
author’s
note,
the
last
person
on
earth
that
I
would
ever
guess
as
the
coach
was
our
beloved
Miss.
Nelson.
She
was
always
the
emphasis
of
decorum,
firmness,
polite
etc.
and
in
the
graduation
picture
of
1955
as
well
as
other
classes
for
which
she
was
sponsor,
she
was
wearing
gloves,
a
habit that had disappeared even then. I am so impressed. Way to go Miss Nelson!!!
Pearl
Viola
Dameron
Was
a
college
freshman.
She
married
Mr.
Bob
Johnson
of
Princeton,
a
West
Virginia
State
Policeman
who
died
tragically
in
1937
leaving
Pearl,
a
widow,
at
the
age
of
29.
Ms.
Johnson
began
teaching
second
grade
in
Alderson
in
1942
or
1943).
For
those
who
graduated
in
the
class
of
1955
you
were
in
her
first
class
as
a
teacher
in
Alderson.
She
had
taught
second
grade
in
White
Sulphur
Springs
for
a
few
years
prior
to
that.
Pearl
was
my
aunt
and
I
miss
her
to
this
day.
As
a
note
she
and
Mary
Ruth
Andrews
became
best
friends
when
Mary
Ruth
began
school
in
Alderson
in
the
second
grade
along
with
Pearl.
They
remained
as
very
good
friend
for
their
entire
lives.
In
the
days
when
the
Pearl
and
Mary
Ruth
were
in
the
second
grade
the
desks
were
made
for
two
students
at
each
desk.
Mary
Ruth
told
a
story
at
Pearls
80th
birthday
party
which
goes
like
this:
“I
entered
second
grade
and
on
my
first
day
our
teacher
introduced
me
to
the
class,
and
I
was
assigned
a
seat
next
to
Pearl.
She
did
not
speak,
nor
did
we
engage
in
any
conversation.
This
went
on
for
several
days
until
finally
we
became
friends
and
then
best
friends.
When
I
became
comfortable
about
asking
Pearl
questions
I
asked
‘Pearl
when
I
first
got
here
you
hardly
spoke
and
you
were
that
way
for
a
few
days,
may
I
ask
why?
I
am
confused
because
you
are
so
nice.’
Mary
Ruth
explained
Pear’s
answer
as
follows:
“My
mother
told
me
that
I
should
never
speak
to
strangers!”
That
funny story stayed with those two ladies as their secret for most of their lives.
Ella
Kathleen
Mahood
and
Marjorie
Rebecca
Smith:
Were
both
college
freshmen,
and
both
from
Alderson.
Unfortunately,
I
do
not
have
much
information
on
Kathleen
and
Marjorie
in
that
they
did
not
return
to
Alderson
after
their
college
years;
however,
I
am
very
familiar
with
their
families
as
I
suspect
many
of
you
will
be.
Kathleen
Mahood
was
the
daughter
of
Dr.
Mahood
who
practiced
medicine
in
Alderson
for
many
years.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
Dr
Mahood
delivered
me
as
a
new
resident
of
the
town
in
1937.
He
and
Mrs.
Mahood
always
visited
their
daughter
Kathleen
during
the
Christmas
Holiday.
They
usually
left
a
few
days
before
Christmas
for
North
Carolina
and
returned
after
Christmas.
An
article
in
the
Alderson
paper
read
that
Mrs.
Mahood
would
go
alone
on
the
trip
and
would
be
joined
after
“a
new
citizen
was
born”
during
that
time.
I
feel
lucky
that
Dr
Mahood
was
so
true
to
his
job.
He
delivered
me
on
December
21
and
then
went
to his daughter’s home for the holiday.
In
addition
to
my
thanks
to
Sara
I
would
like
to
include
what
I
think
to
be
accurate
about
the
original
owner
of
the
book.
On
the
inside
cover
is
hand
written
(suggesting
ownership)
Charles
Lewis
Lobban
Alderson,
WV
April
18,
1924.
Unfortunately,
the
high
school
classes
(except
the
senior
class)
omitted
the
names
of
the
students.
I
believe
Charles
(Sara’s
and
Charlie’s)
dad
was
in
one
of
classes
whose
names
were
not
included.
I
may
have
missed
it
however
pictures
of
all
the
classes
are
in
the
book,
but
those
lower
classes
not
identified
by
individual.
If
someone
recognizes
anyone
please
let
me
know.
So
many
of
the
names
that
are
included
are
familiar
as
Alderson
names;
however,
I
could
not
match
up
the
name
with
some
event, place or relative of those folks I know.
To
all
of
you
who
read
this
I
hope
you
enjoy
it
and
that
you
will
stop
by
the
Depot
over
the
4th
to
see
the
book
and
read
pages
that
may
be
of
interest.
To
those
of
you
whose
families
I
have
overlooked
please
forgive
me
–
it
was
not
intentional.
Please
contact
me
with
corrections
etc.,
more
information
etc.
that
you
may have.
More Photos From The Booklet
Note:
This
is
not
the
complete
content
of
the
publication
.
It
is
the
understanding
that
the
complete
booklet
will
be
photographed,
page
by
page,
and
the
Aldersonian
has
request
a
copy
of
each
page
so
it
can
be
viewed
in
it’s
entirety
on
this
site.
In
case
you
missed
it
at
the
Depot
Museum,
hopefully
we
can
give
the
“far
away
folks”
the
chance
to
see
this
antique
publication.
Document
history.
If
we
don’t,
who
will?_The
editor
Photos Relevant To The Alderson Baptist Academy
