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Alderson West Virginia - A History

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Schools - Page Five

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Schools 6

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

Schools 4

By   the   school   term   in   1910   the   fine   new   building   was   ready   and,   according   to   Council   Minutes,   the   Town   Council   improved   the   street   and   sidewalks approaching   it.   In   that   day,   it   was   an   imposing   building.   Grades   one   through   nine   occupied   the   school.   Some   new   teachers   were   Marguerite   Sloan, Ella George, Blanche Hogsett, and Fay Miller.   Alderson   High   School   was   established   in   1911   as   a   four-year   high   school.   Evidently,   the   year   before,   the   ninth   grade was   the   first   class   taught   on   the   high   school   level,   and   the   Board   application   was   made   in   July   1911,   to   bring   the school   up   to   the   standards   of   a   third   class   high   school. The   first   senior   class   of Alderson   High   School   was   graduated in   1914,   nine   boys   and   four   girls.   They   were:   Walter   Bonner,   Howard   Ford,   Clarence   Hall,   Ollie   Hedrick,   Walter Grimes,   Mary   Keeney,   Pearl   Kershner,   Otto   Kessler,   Fred   Mays,   Francis   Markley,   Boyce   Miller,   Katherine   Peterson, Hobart   Smith.   H.   L.   Mattics   was   the   first   principal   of   Alderson   High   School;   Carrie   Coffman   and   Salome   Johnson were two of the teachers. The course of instruction was good by present day standards.  (Click on photo for larger view)   ln   the   meantime,   colored   children   were   receiving   instruction   instructions   in   other   schools.   The   first   colored   school   was   located,   from   what   can      be learned,   near   the   lower   railroad   crossing,   and   a   Mr.   Bundy   was   Principal.   By   1917/1918   the   colored   school   in   South Alderson   had   about   70   students. Walter   W.   Banks   was   principal,   and   Ophelia   Davis   was   a   teacher.   During   all   the   years   of   separate   instruction   of   colored   students   they   were   educated in   so-called   "separate   but   equal"   schools.   Colored   high   school   students   in   Alderson   either   went   to   the   Lewisburg   colored   high   school   or   traveled   by train to Hinton. Few colored students were graduated from high school under such a handicap.    Some   of   the   principals   of Alderson   High   School   have   been   Lewis   H.   Miller,   L.   S.   Shires,   B.   E.   Grant,   M. A.   Pyles,   Carl   G.   Eades,   H.   R.   McVey,   H. A. Yeager, E. V. Core, J. C. Bobbitt, I. L. Mitchell, and Stella Nelson. The present principal is Roy Coffman, for both the elementary and high schools.   During   the   1920’s   both   the   elementary   and   high   school   white   students   occupied   the   same   building.   Generally,   the   high   school   occupied   the   second floor   and   the   grades   used   the   basement   and   first   floor.   Those   of   us   who   attended   there   have   some   sharp   memories   of   Professor   M.   A.   Pyles,   the principal,   and   his   staff   of   teachers   who   were   generally   good.   Some   were   Carl   Eades,   Gladys   Johnson,   Drusilla   Smith,   Virginia   Monroe,   Miss   Kies, Lillian Alderson, Marjorie Craig, McNeer Baker, Rodgers McVey, and Catherine Bailey. As   early   as   1918   the   board   was   in   favor   of   expanding   the   school   plant.   Lots   were   purchased   from   W.   W.   Stephens   thus   extending   the   grounds   to Walnut Ave. Three   lots   above   this   street   were   bought   from   Mrs.   Gilbert   Miller   and   Miss   Nina   Longanacre.   In   1926   and   1927   other   land   was   purchased to   extend   the   athletic   grounds   and   provide   for   another   building. An   option   was   secured   from   the   owners   of   the Alderson   Baptist Academy   Square   but a   $20,000   bond   issue   was   defeated   and   the   High   School   was   not   located   in   this   area.   The   last   land   purchase   was   made   from   W.   R.   Jones   in   1948, completing   the   school   quadrangle.      By   the   late   twenties   new   school   buildings   had   to   be   provided   for   both   the   white   high   school   and   colored elementary   school.   The Alderson   Independent   District   had   Warne,   Tucker   and   Patterson, Architects   of   Charleston,   design   the   proposed   buildings.   J. Albert   Rigg   and   Carl   G.   Eades   gathered   data   to   decide   the   type   of   buildings   best   suited   to   the   community’s   needs.   The   Attorney   General   of   West Virginia   ruled   that   the   Board   could   float   a   $100,000.00   bond   issue,   and   on April   19,   1927,   the   election   was   held   and   608   voted   for   it   to   75   against. The colored   school   was   to   receive   $10,000.00   for   its   new   building   on   the   Monroe   side.   On   September   19,   1927,   Boone, Mason   and   Wood   of   Bluefield   were   awarded   the   contract   to   construct   the   high   school   building. Apparently,   the   total cost   of   the   high   school   building   was   $86,415.00.   In   1927   the   board   felt   the   old   building   was   inadequate   so   a   second bond   issue   was   voted   by   the   people   to   construct   a   junior-senior   high   school.   Ground   was   broken   for   the   new   high school   building   in   October,   1927,   and   the   new Alderson   High   School   building   graduated   the   class   of   1928.   (Click   on photo for larger view)  In   1933   the   County   Unit   plan   became   law,   doing   away   with   the   district,   independent,   or   other   type   of   school   board. All   county   schools   were   to   be   administered   by   the   Greenbrier   County   Board   of   Education,   Lewisburg.   The   last meeting   of Alderson   Independent   School   District   Board   was   on   June   19,   1933.   The   members   were:   J.   N. Alderson, President,   H.   Rodgers   McVey,   Secretary,   Cornelia   Alderson   Smith,   Marian   Nelson   Lobban,   Max   W.   Miller   and Everett   Warren.   The   old   Board   had   functioned   twenty   eight   years   and   it   had   an   honorable   history.   It   had   built   three schools and generally labored for the welfare of Alderson. (Click on photo for larger view)   The   Greenbrier   County   Schools   were   integrated   in   1956.   The   Supreme   Court   decision   of   1954   was   followed   by   obedience   in   Monroe   County   but   not in   Greenbrier   County.   The   National Association   For   the Advancement   of   Colored   People   took   the   Greenbrier   County   School   Board   to   Federal   Court. Ben   W.   Moore,   Judge,   United   States   District   Court,   recommended   on   January   9,   1955,   that   colored   children   be   admitted   by   transfer   to   any   school   by the   second   semester   of   the   1955/1956   school   year.   On   October   12,   1955,   the   Board   accepted   the   "recommendation"   in   both   "letter   and   spirit",   and   in the second semester of the 1955/1956 school year Alderson High School was integrated.    During   the   years Alderson   High   School   has   had   a   student   publication,   The Aldersonian .   For   thirty-eight   straight   years   the   school   has   had   a   May   Day Festival,   and   Evelyn   Jones   Smithson   was   the   First   May   Queen.   The   athletic   teams,   The Alderson   Indians ,   frequently   have   distinguished   themselves, and brought fame to Alderson in football and basketball.   The   enrollment   of   the   public   schools   in Alderson   for   the   1963/   1964   term   Was:   High   School   -   325;   Elementary   School   -   335.   There   were   thirteen   high school teachers and twelve grade school teachers during the 1963/1964 school year.   With   the   Federal   Reformatory,   Mountain   State   Christian   High   School   and Alderson   High   School,   the Alderson   community   has   three   schools   granting high school diplomas accredited by West Virginia Board of Education. 

The History of Alderson, West Virginia From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On  Alderson, West Virginia Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell