Celebrating the history of Blue Ridge School

George Mayo was living his dream-a school in the place where it was desperately needed. It wasn't just any school but a school that taught both practical and academic skill s - The Blue Ridge Industrial School.
The year is 1918 and Rev. Mayo is in New York when he receives a wire that a disaster has occurred at Blue Ridge School.
Rev. Mayo had gone to New York to see his old friends, Mr. & Mrs. George G. Battle. The Battles were instrumental in helping to form the New York Auxiliary. This committee had donated funds to the school since 1910 and Rev. Mayo is there again to solicit funds for the school.
The date is January 31, 1918 and Rev. Mayo receives a wire: A disaster has struck Blue Ridge!! Richards Hall, the second building to be constructed at the school has burned to the ground! This was the main building for Blue Ridge housing dormitories, a 200-seat auditorium, five classrooms and a library. Mayo's answer was predictable and immediate: "Never mind, I'll build another!" In the food cellar of this building was fifty to seventy-five bushels of potatoes and two thousand cans of fruits and vegetables. The financial loss was great. The building was underinsured, so only about two-thirds of the loss was covered.
While the loss of Richards Hall (also referred to as Recitation Hall) was great, there were many buildings on the campus at the time. A new infirmary was donated by Lady Astor's sister, Mrs. Reginald Brooks. The Richmond Committee formed in 1909 donated money to start the school and later built The Rectory in 1919. To the credit of all of the staff, only one day of school was missed. Quickly arrangements were made to have classes elsewhere and children were dispersed to other dormitory housing. Miss Bessie Turner tells of being assigned "a corner of the kitchen to teach." Mayo's spirit cheered the staff on and in four months time the first students to graduate did so on a hillside. The two graduates, Miss Bannie Morris, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Morris, and Miss Evalyn Morris, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Austin Morris, left their Blue Ridge home to begin a new life.
The "Deaconess" Bertha Lawrence -- the head worker and teacher at Mission Home who came over to Blue Ridge -- met and married Blake Tyler Newton. The Newtons moved to Richmond in 1913. She left her two sisters there to assist Mr. Mayo. Miss Margaret Lawrence was in charge of the nursing department. She took a correspondence course in home nursing so that she would be equipped to minister to the sick in the neighborhood. She went to their homes in all kinds of weather, tended the sick, delivered babies, treated accidents and burns, etc. The younger sister, Miss Katherine Lawrence, had such a strong love for children -- and especially for the children of the little Haneytown Mission where she went regularly.
Blue Ridge had become the center of the social life for many of the local residents. They met when their children were in various school events. They used the cannery in the fall and the clothing bureau year round. The community had become incorporated into the life of Blue Ridge as well. The great flu epidemic hit, and, miraculously, nobody at the School got it. Classes were suspended so that the students could volunteer to help the neighbors who were ill or in the armed forces. It was a great learning experience for the agricultural students.
The work on the rebuilding of Recitation Hall was slow in the beginning. Materials and labor were so scarce and expensive after the First World War that Rev. Mayo decided to invest the money in Liberty Bonds. The need for the replacement building was so great that he began the first section of a 250-seat auditorium.
Rev. Mayo then receives a call to accept the pulpit at the Monumental Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. Will he accept it?…

This article is the second 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 longtime local resident, author and historian.