Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9407120068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Nevertheless, Lynchburg-based author James Siddons, who recently completed a 600-page history of New London Academy, says that even those who grew up near the former high school may not be aware of the academy's background or how it crossed the paths of people such as Thomas Jefferson.
"The history of this school is so rich that few people fully understand it," Siddons said. "I think that even loyal alumni will find much that is new to them in the book."
The author will be at an open house at New London Academy today from 3 to 8 p.m. to sign and sell copies of "The Spirit of New London Academy."
The book, which was commissioned by the academy's board of managers for the school's bicentennial next year, is the third for Siddons, a Methodist lay pastor and former Liberty University music professor who turned to writing in the late 1980s.
One of the many academy alumni who helped Siddons with the book, Jack West, was in the graduating class of 1945 when the academy was a high school. He was principal of New London Academy from 1964 - when the school again became an elementary school - until his retirement in 1991. Now he is clerk of the school's board of managers.
West said, "I've been here a quarter of the 200 years. I've lived the history. Now it's time for the celebrations." And "The Spirit of New London Academy" is a big part of that, West said.
Leading up to next year's planned three-day bicentennial celebration for the school's 1,100 alumni, the book tells the history of New London Academy and relates the stories of those who made the school a reality.
Chartered on Dec. 1, 1795, by the General Assembly, New London Academy was originally a private school serving the male children of wealthy landowners from Bedford and Campbell counties. Impressed by the school's reputation, Thomas Jefferson popped in for an impromptu visit with school administrators in 1818 to inspect the academy firsthand.
After the Civil War, the school fell on hard times, as its treasury was stocked with worthless Confederate dollars. To keep the school alive, the school's trustees sought aid from the state. Toward this end, the school admitted female students in 1879. (A diploma belonging to the school's first female graduate is reprinted in the book. School officials scratched out the "Mr." on her diploma and penned in "Miss.")
New London Academy became a public school in 1884. Because it served students from two counties, a board of managers was created to oversee the academy. The county supervisors, one parent from each county and the state superintendent of schools made up the board.
In 1910, the school became one of three agricultural high schools in the state, a designation that enabled New London Academy to receive extra funding.
One of the book's best stories is that of Principal John C. Adams Jr. At the height of the Depression, he raised $2,000 in two weeks to help build a gymnasium. Later stricken with leukemia, he rose from his sickbed against his doctor's orders to attend the academy's first graduation in the building. After crossing the stage to thunderous applause, Adams collapsed from weakness. After he died a few years later, the building was named for him.
Today, New London Academy is a Bedford County elementary school with standardized test scores that rank among the top one-third of schools in the nation.
Most of the new school is built around the remains of the older New London Academy. Buildings that once housed 19th-century cadets' sleeping quarters now house computers. The bell that was the centerpiece for school photos in the early 20th century now hangs from a stylized entrance built in 1993. The oldest building, a small white kitchen house dating to 1795, is now a museum.
The school itself is rapidly becoming more suburban. Its student population has grown 25 percent in three years. In a deal with Campbell County that cedes ownership to Bedford County, New London Academy will enroll 60 Campbell students with no tuition charges until 1998. This fall, the school will lose its fifth- and sixth-grade classes to the new Forest Middle School.
But the school's not threatened. Next year, New London Academy welcomes its 200th class.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.