DOCUMENT RESUME ED 412 054 RC 021 175 AUTHOR Painter, Jacqueline Burgin TITLE The Season of Dorland -Bell: History of an Appalachian Mission School. Revised Second Edition. ISBN ISBN-0-913-239-71-0 PUB DATE 1996-00-00 NOTE 352p.; Photographs will not reproduce adequately. AVAILABLE FROM Appalachian ConsortiUm Press, Appalachian State University, University Hall, Boone, NC 23608. PUB TYPE Books (010)-- HistoHcal Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC15 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Access to Education; Boarding Schools; Cultural Influences; Educational History; Educational Practices; Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Poverty; *Rural Education; *School Community Relation6hip; *School Role IDENTIFIERS Appalachian Culture; Institutional History; Mission Schools; Missionaries; *North Carolina (Madison County); Presbyterian Church ABSTRACT This book details the history of the Dorland-Bell School, a residential school in rural western North Carolina. The book is based on letters, extensive interviews, and research about the school. In 1886, Luke and Juliette Dorland, Presbyterian missionaries and educators, retired to Hot Springs, North Carolina. However, at the request of residents in this rural village, they soon were teaching 25 students in their home. Luke Dorland appealed to his former employer, the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, and $300 was granted for books and equipment. At their own expense, the Dorlands built a two-story frame schoolhouse to accommodate the growing number of students. By 1894, the school, known as the Dorland Institute, had grown to include a girls' dormitory, an expanded schoolhouse, and additional teachers. In 1918, the Dorland Institute consolidated with the Bell Institute, a large day school for girls. Dorland-Bell School now included seven acres of land, boarding facilities for 100 girls in the village, and a 300-acre farm with housing for 40 boys. The book details the evolution of the school over the years until it closed in 1942. The history of Dorland-Bell involves the story of the wider Presbyterian mission in the southern Appalachians. By establishing schools and hospitals, the Board of National Missions in New York reached into isolated areas to help children overcome significant barriers to education. This book illustrates the challenge in balancing well intentioned good works among mountain people with respect for a rich and old culture that was not always receptive to the intervention of outsiders. When Dorland-Bell closed in 1942, it merged with the Asheville Farm School to become Warren Wilson College. The appendix includes acknowledgements, significant dates in the school history, a list of school staff and faculty, a list of students, and brief family histories preserved bythe school. Contains references, an index, numerous photographs, school memorabilia, and old newspaper articles. (LP) 1111281_, --da 411 alo.4.46.4 U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) geThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent I official OERI position or policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY frvi 0.4 Ep)e TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" 2 Ia EST COPY AVAILABLE The Season of Dor land-Bell BY JACQUELINE BURGIN PAINTER Revised Second Edition Appalachian Consortion Press Boone, North Carolina 3 Appalachian Consortium Press The Appalachian Consortium is a non-profit educational organization comprised of institutions and agencies located in the Southern Highlands. Founded in 1971, the initial objectives were to perpetuate, preserve, and promote the heritage of Southern Appalachia. Today the scope and diversity of the Consortium's objectives and activities have extended far beyond those upon which it was founded. Yet today it remains committed to one guiding principle-an improved quality of life for the people of the Southern Highlands. Members of the Consortium are volunteers who plan and execute projects which serve Appalachian mountain counties. They serve on eight standing committees (administration, Appalachian studies, folklife, museum, publications, regional collections, regional cooperation and development, and regional health services) which meet at various member locations throughout the service region. The Executive Director of the Appalachian Consortium may be reached at (704) 262-2064. Objectives of the Appalachian Consortium are: *Preserving the cultural heritage of Southern Appalachia *Protecting the mountain environment *Publishing manuscripts about the region *Improving educational opportunities for area students and teachers *Conducting scientific, social, and economic research *Promoting a positive image of Appalachia *Encouraging regional cooperation The members of the Appalachian Consortium are: *Appalachian State University *Blue Ridge Parkway *John C. Campbell Folk School *Clinch Valley College *East Tennessee State University *Ruth & Billy Graham Children's Health Center *HandMade in America *William King Regional Arts Center *Lees-McRae College *Mars Hill College *Mayland Community College *North Carolina Division of Archives and History *Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy *Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild *Tusculum College *U.S. Forest Service *Warren Wilson College * Western Carolina University * Western North Carolina Historical Association Copyright 1996 by Appalachian Consortium Press and Jacqueline B. Painter All rights reserved. First Edition -1987 by Biltmore Press-Asheville, North Carolina ISBN 0-913-239-71-0 Cover photograph- Dorland Institute, Hot Springs, North CM'Olina Photographer-unknown 4 FOREWORD Jacqueline Burgin Painter's compelling story of the Dor land-Bell School stems from her birthright and her heart. Her father, Kenneth Burgin, attended Dor land-Bell in Hot Springs, and served, later, as its basketball coach. He passed on to his daughter his great love for Dor land-Bell. The Dor land-Bell School, in reaching out to the sons and daughters of rural and often impoverished Western North Carolina, accomplished remarkable good works, and Jackie Burgin Painter unfolds the story with anecdotes, letters, extensive interviews and research and a lively narrative. Enhancing the book's appeal are numerous photographs and graphics, old newspaper ads and articles, report cards and programs from school events. It in many ways is more than a book, but a first-person diary and journal from those who lived the stories. The history of the Dorland-Bell School is also the story of the wider Presbyterian mission of the Southern Appalachians. By establishing schools and hospitals, the Board of National Missions in New York reached into isolated areas and achieved much in helping children overcome significant barriers to education. And yet, as Jackie's account illustrates, there was always the challenge of balancing the well intentioned good works of lending a helping hand to a mountain people, while at the same time respectinga rich and old culture that was not always receptive to the intervention of outsiders. This has been the larger story of the Southern Appalachians' mixed history of cultural wealth and economic poverty. After Dor land-Bell School closed its doors in 1942, it was merged with the Asheville Farm School in becoming Warren Wilson College. Up to the present day, Warren Wilson has been the proud steward of the Dor land-Bell legacy and family tree. In many ways, Jackie Burgin Painter has been an important thread that connects Dor land-Bell with Warren Wilson College. She has been ever diligent in maintaining the Dor land Memorial Presbyterian Church, fully aware that it is now the most tangible reminder of the history of this remarkable school. She has led the efforts to establish and maintain the annual reunion of Dor land-Bell alumni who convene at the Church on a Sunday each August. Jackie's work and authorship has won her the Special Recognition Award of Excellence from the North Carolina Society of Historians, and the Warren Wilson College Alumni Association's Alumni Service Award. She also has completed a book on the family of Maud Gentry Long, a very special teacher at Dor land-Bell, and written and published a pictorial history of the internment camp for German civilians that existed in Hot Springs during World War I. We commend this daughter of Madison County for her abiding love of a school that made a significant difference in the lives of generations of students from the slopes, coves and hollows of these mountains. She has our everlasting gratitude for her commitment to keeping this remarkable story alive for future generations. Swannanoa, North Carolina Douglas M. Orr, Jr., Ph.D. May, 1996 President Warren Wilson College "4 suerf4gc I t 7m7"Iligfree* n - cwa,!..101 r- 1% ,\4 ,,,,,q- d ` S. cr. \ 4 -9....9-09,tlit °). _iamb, 4.!'." *)!. -) ces. ; gr. 4111P 14b,, all--" Vo.r.c This volume is dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Sanders Ownbey Burgin (1907-1976), faithful alumnus of Dorland-Bell School. 7 BEST COPY AVAILABLE The Season of Dor land-Bell Preface A few years ago, as a tribute to Independence Day in Plus, Norman Vin- cent Peale expressed his concern that the flame of tradition had been allowed to burn low by the present generation. He said: It is unfortunate that some people assume themselves superior to