Celebrating the history of Blue Ridge School

A dream! A vision! A school for the mountain children, not just for academic knowledge but practical knowledge too. It will change the whole community" This paraphrase is Rev. George Pickett Mayo's dream of the Blue Ridge Industrial School. The image of the Blue Ridge Industrial School in Rev. Mayo's mind was about to come to pass. Mayo saw the need shortly after arriving at Mission Home. There were a large number of children not attending school in the mountains and hollows. And some of their parents could neither read nor write. What a waste of young and old minds!!
How did George Mayo's background, his education and his spirituality bring him to this conclusion? Just one of the mysteries of George Mayo was how he came to go to Richmond, Va. to study and apprentice under Dr. R. A. Goodwin. The accepted theory was his mother was concerned about "the dangers of marriage." Mayo was mostly home-schooled up to this time. He did well in Richmond under Dr. Goodwin and received a scholarship to Roanoke College. After graduation from Roanoke Mayo received another scholarship and attended Princeton University where received his masters degree. Onward and upward Mayo goes to the Virginia Episcopal Seminary and graduates in 1902. He was ordained a deacon shortly after. It is the common practice in the Episcopal Church to ordain first as a deacon and if all goes well to ordain as a priest one year later. Dr. Goodwin did ordain Mayo the following year and was a staunch supporter of Mayo's work in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Something needs to be said about George Mayo's personality and drive to succeed whatever the odds.
Miss Turner in her Chronicle of Blue Ridge School describes him as ..."the character and personality of George Mayo himself calls for pause and consideration. A consciousness of inner power and of one's ability to achieve an end frequently results in egotism and intolerance. In Dr. Mayo's case it did nothing of the kind. It led, rather, to complete absorption in the work he was carrying on, to the exclusion of any thought of self or personal gain. One who initiates and carries forward a unique and difficult work like the founding and building up of Blue Ridge School must meet such obstacles and be almost unaware of them that Dr. Mayo's great strength lay." He was a very positive man, a tall and handsome man who had a "charisma and charm" that was matched by no other. He had the ability to make people want to help him, even follow him. And soon after hearing him speak, find ways and other people to help also. Elizabeth Norfleet in her book Blue Ridge School said: “He was practical and persuasive enough to make people listen to more than they wanted to hear about his work with mountain children in Virginia. The personal magnetism of the man fixed their attention and touched their hearts."
Mayo was not just a persuasive man but one who put on a pair of overalls and boots with his clerical collar and went to work. He dug, hauled lumber, sawed and hammered to get the work done. This is not to say he was very skilled at what he was doing. His wife, Patty said of his building "We can never forget the cunning back bedroom Mr. Mayo added in such a hurry that the connecting flashing was not watertight where it joined the old building. Once we spent half the night under umbrellas! ...We stretched a sheet across the ceiling...When it rained, the sheet collected the water which poured it off into a spout." His carpentry skills were not his best asset.
Mayo was a born crusader with a strong belief in his educational dream of a school for the children of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was an excellent administrator, enthusiastic and positive about his work and goals. He seemed to radiate strength and security. He was not judgmental but fair. One of his associates said "he made us account for every nickel and dime." Yet with all these abilities his associates also described him as "plain as an old shoe." If it sounds like he was a "saint," he probably was or very close.
Rev. Mayo arrived fresh out of Virginia Episcopal Seminary in 1902. By 1903 Rev. Mayo was in charge of 5 missions and 90 children in schools. He was at Mission Home and Mayo was paid $125.00 a quarter for his work in 1904. The year of 1905 brought about a significant of events that would mold Blue Ridge forever. Rev. Mayo goes to Philadelphia to secure the services of two graduates from Deaconess Training School. Miss Bertha Lawrence and Miss Proffe accepted the call. They came to Mission Home and later Miss Lawrence had a visit from her widowed sister Mrs. Harriette(nicknamed Patty) Squier. Patty Squier and George Mayo fell in love and later were married in Yonkers, New York.
The year is 1907, January to be exact. The Southern Churchman reports at a meeting of the Board of the Archdeaconry, Rev. Mayo "spoke of his scheme for an industrial school in connection with his mountain work." The Board then authorized Mayo to visit other existing industrial schools to gain further information and knowledge. Mayo was thoroughly convinced that an industrial school teaching the practical and academic side of education was the only way to approach education for the children of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Miss Bessie Turner said it best when she compared the birth of Blue Ridge and Abraham Lincoln!! " They (Blue Ridge and Abraham Lincoln) were both born in a log cabin." This log cabin was actually on the first 148 acres purchased from Thomas and Frances Snow for the School. Miss Turner described the log cabin in "Our Mountain Work", "The old cabin was no palace. In fact it was not even adequate or exactly comfortable, and I'm not entirely certain that it was quaint-...It was a kind of patchwork affair, with a porch that sagged and a roof that leaked and walls that, I suppose, did something entirely out of the ordinary; it is hard to say what." The farm was located at the foot of Powell's Gap near Bacon Hollow. By the end of the year 1909, the School had acquired some 400 acres.
Now it was time to build the urgently needed buildings, Neve Hall was the first building to be built and the School moved into Neve on Jan. 10, 1910 before it was completed. There was no water in the Hall. It was hand carried up from the spring. There was no electricity; they used kerosene lamps. The furniture was so sparse that short pieces of logs with smooth tops and bottoms were used for seating.
Richmond Hall was the next building on the scene. Completed about 1912, it first consisted of only two rooms but later had four additional rooms attached to it. Dr. & Mrs. Mayo moved into Richmond Hall, freeing up more classroom. The Rectory was completed in 1913 and in 1914 four rooms were added to the Rectory to house the new principal's family. A Refectory containing a dining room, kitchen and the housekeeper's room was erected followed by the boy's dormitory and the infirmary. The cannery and clothing bureau, though smaller than most of the buildings, were built next. These two buildings brought much convenience and help to the staff. The clothing bureau, referred to as the "Glory Hole" by Mayo's daughter, was a wonderful help to many. The original clothing bureau stood where the Mayo Hall was later built. It was moved to where the Gibson Memorial Chapel now stands. The amazing thing about the clothing bureau was the way it was managed by Mrs. Patty Mayo. Mrs. Mayo who taught Art in New York was a natural to run this bureau. She took an interest in how each customer could rework a garment, combine garments, their best colors, etc. The prices were so reasonable that the community was able to purchase needed items for their children and themselves. The school also benefited by using some of the garments for plays, staff bought gifts for each other plus the money collected was turned over to the school treasury. The contributions by the various support groups were especially helpful because they sent in gently worn and still stylish items. The community started to use the clothing bureau as a gathering spot to see and catch up with their neighbors
Probably one frustrating aspect of the development of Blue Ridge Industrial School was the road conditions or the lack thereof. The roads were not much more than mere trails. The roads were full of potholes and often as not mud holes. The road conditions affected future construction, recreation and general transportation. Getting construction materials onto the grounds was often a very real problem but slowly the materials did arrive. Recreation was affected to the point that all recreation was homemade. Plays, recitations and athletics were devised by both the students and the staff. Mayo continued to buy acreage as he could raise money and today Blue Ridge School is located on 751 beautiful acres.
It was on the first farm and in the "log cabin," the first pupil, a female, Lonie Walton (age 12) came to be educated. Thus, the educating of the mountain children of Greene County by Blue Ridge Industrial School had begun. The first boarding students were approximately nine females
One of the first school catalogues stated the aim of the school was "to give boys and girls of limited means the opportunity to become practical and efficient men and women, able to meet the demands of life in its more difficult aspects." Early success of the School was probably due to the staff's personal investment into the life of the School. It actually was the genuine love for the mountain people and the mountain people eventually returning that love. The mountain people were a little slow in responding but when they did they whole-heartedly invested themselves in the life of the School. The School became a social center for the entire community which included celebrations of holidays. These celebrations, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas gave the Blue Ridge students an opportunity to display some of their various handcrafts.
And Blue Ridge was patriotic! The year was 1917 and World War I was in full swing. Miss Bessie Turner reported "Blue Ridge became a center for the patriotic activities of the community. It led the way in Red Cross work and in promoting the sale of war-savings stamps.
Dr. Mayo was in New York in 1918, "to shake a plum tree", when he received a wire that disaster had struck Blue Ridge School...... to be continued.
This article is the first in a series exploring the history of Blue Ridge School. The series will run throughout 2009, as the school celebrates its centennial. The author, Nancy Morris, is a longstanding local resident, author and historian.