Hamilton White
Opening and Closing
1922 or earlier. (see insurance section)
Closed 1965/66
Physical and Map Location
Petitions
Transportation
History
Hamilton Highlights. 1955. in EWP Archives 6.3.4. Traces activities since 1944.
- Clubs were an important part of life as well, in particular the Student Cooperative Association (SCA) and the 4-H Club for boys and girls.
- Story Time was important and was supported by the Bookmobile, which arrived once a month. Books were added to the school library through the State Literary Fund and the Peabody Fund.
- Sports: The focus was on physical education. Some of the equipment was purchased through SCA “paper drives.”
- December Bride: Celebrations for the marriage of Mrs. Lillian Belle Lawson Piggott who married William T. Smith on December 18., 1954 in Round Hill. Both were widowed. He was 76 and a farmer and she was 48.
Instructors
- The Principal in 1955 was Mrs. Frances Mayse, who arrived in 1944 with 11 years experience. She had two children: Frances who worked as a social worker in Washington, DC, and Captain Stewart Gratten Mayse, USMC, (1926-2006) then stationed in Korea.
- First Band. Formed in 1955 (assumed from text) and led by Mr. Warren Clark who also instructed band at the Loudoun County High School, Leesburg and Purcellville. 16 student participated in the band.
- Art was instructed once a month by Mrs. Delores Phillips. Finger painting and the use of a kiln were features, as well as water color and charcoal.
Insurance and Physical Description
1922 was proposed by one set of records for a four room frame building at the cost of $12,000; however student cards indicate records as early as 1917/18.
In 1950, an auditorium, toilets, office and clinic were added for $45,000. Source of monies was the Literary Fund. See: EWP Archives: 9.3.2 Yr 1919 to 1952 Construction Costs. According to Hamilton Highlights. 1955. in EWP Archives 6.3.4, the additions were made in 1951.
Health was a priority. The school had a clinic room equipped with a bed, supply cabinet and “lovely medicine cabinet,” provided in 1952 by the Purcellville Lions Club, which donated $10 a year for fresh supplies. The facility treated scratches, nosebleeds and toothaches; but also served double duty as an office in order to handle additional teachers.
Religion in the School
- Discussion of Religious Hour. Every Friday morning from 9 to noon, religious education was taught in all grades by Miss Barbara Black of Lebanon, Penn. She held a collegiate certificate from Grove City College, near Pittsburg. Discussion was financed by the Baptist, Methodist and Episcopal churches and other interested persons.
- School Assemblies also sometimes had a religious tenor, including speakers like Methodist Rev Emory Kilmore and Harrison Branch, a local who talked about “fishes and bread.” The Methodist Rev Russel Fitts spoke about honesty and self-evaluation. Some assemblies focused on international travel, such as one by Mrs. Malcolm Hoge of near Lincoln who shared stories of riding a camel and an elephant and showed scarves and jewelry from various countries. Mrs. Esther Rogers Cowart gave a powerful talk about the Philippines, apparently astonished by “vast hordes of flies, mosquitoes and snakes,” and a terrible monsoon. Another gentleman, apparently in kilt, was a member of the IFYA, International Farm Youth Exchange, and spent four months in Scotland.