Page 45 - UB Church and Shen Univ
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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
Congress approved a free college education for all returning veterans, and this helped Shenandoah and
many other colleges through the mid- and late-1940s. Then the hammer fell. Veteran training slowed to
a crawl. Old buildings, war time tempos, obsolete facilities, lack of students, and little financial help
from the Church, community, alumni, and other supporters—all had negative effects. Bigger, more
affluent private 4-year colleges and a large expanding subsidized state school that went all out recruiting
male and female students at bargain rates sounded the death knell for Shenandoah, unless something
dramatic and unexpected were to happen.
All during the early and mid-1950s, Shenandoah struggled from one crisis to another trying to
recruit students, raise funds, improve facilities, retain qualified faculty, offer new courses, and replace
antiquated equipment and facilities. In spite of all its efforts, nothing seemed to produce the desired
results. The staff, administration, and Board of Trustees were discouraged and doubtful about what
action to take.
2. Searching for Alternative Futures for Shenandoah, 1954-5537
James R. Wilkin’s Plan for a Change. In Fall 1954, when I met Dr. Brady, President of
Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, he told me that he was disheartened as Shenandoah’s
situation looked hopeless. He also said that in 1953 he had prayed most of one night for an answer to
Shenandoah’s problem. God answered his prayers and the next morning the solution was clear:
Shenandoah must move, preferably to Winchester, Va. Accordingly, he made an appointment with
Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. (Virginia’s Senior Senator); and the next day (May 1, 2024) he drove to
Washington to discuss Shenandoah College’s predicament. Dr. Brady said Senator Byrd, Sr., was
interested, but referred him to his son, Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (at that time Virginia State Senator and
Publisher of The Winchester Star). Senator Byrd, Sr., said he was out of touch with details of the
“situation in Winchester.”
Dr. Brady made contact with Harry Byrd, Jr., and he arranged a meeting with Jake Yost, H. B.
McCormac, Jr., and a number of other businessmen at Farmers and Merchants (F&M;) National Bank.
Dr. Carl Hiser, Minister of First EUB Church in Winchester, accompanied Dr. Brady to the 1953
meeting. Dr. Brady said they told him and Dr. Hiser, after some discussion, that, since the City was
fully occupied in raising money for the new addition to the hospital, they didn’t think the time was ripe
for a new project. The meeting adjourned without taking any action.
Later, Dr. Brady stated, “I was discouraged as I heard nothing further until Fall 1954, 20 months
later, when James R. Wilkins of the Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of Commerce invited me to
spend the night at his home in Winchester to discuss the Shenandoah College situation.”
I spent the evening with Dr. Brady discussing the possibility of moving Shenandoah College and
Conservatory of Music to Winchester. I was not aware of Dr. Brady’s 1953 meeting with Winchester
businessmen until that night.
During our conversation, I told Dr. Brady that the Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of
Commerce was interested in establishing colleges, business and vocational schools, and classes in
Winchester or Frederick County because all of our institutions of higher education were either closed or
destroyed during the Civil War; or were burned by General Banks or Little Phil Sheridan during their
occupations of Winchester in 1862 and 1865, including the Medical College of the Valley of Virginia on
37 [Wilkins 1985, pp. 24, 26]. 35
Wilkins on History of S.C., 1952-1960
Congress approved a free college education for all returning veterans, and this helped Shenandoah and
many other colleges through the mid- and late-1940s. Then the hammer fell. Veteran training slowed to
a crawl. Old buildings, war time tempos, obsolete facilities, lack of students, and little financial help
from the Church, community, alumni, and other supporters—all had negative effects. Bigger, more
affluent private 4-year colleges and a large expanding subsidized state school that went all out recruiting
male and female students at bargain rates sounded the death knell for Shenandoah, unless something
dramatic and unexpected were to happen.
All during the early and mid-1950s, Shenandoah struggled from one crisis to another trying to
recruit students, raise funds, improve facilities, retain qualified faculty, offer new courses, and replace
antiquated equipment and facilities. In spite of all its efforts, nothing seemed to produce the desired
results. The staff, administration, and Board of Trustees were discouraged and doubtful about what
action to take.
2. Searching for Alternative Futures for Shenandoah, 1954-5537
James R. Wilkin’s Plan for a Change. In Fall 1954, when I met Dr. Brady, President of
Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, he told me that he was disheartened as Shenandoah’s
situation looked hopeless. He also said that in 1953 he had prayed most of one night for an answer to
Shenandoah’s problem. God answered his prayers and the next morning the solution was clear:
Shenandoah must move, preferably to Winchester, Va. Accordingly, he made an appointment with
Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. (Virginia’s Senior Senator); and the next day (May 1, 2024) he drove to
Washington to discuss Shenandoah College’s predicament. Dr. Brady said Senator Byrd, Sr., was
interested, but referred him to his son, Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (at that time Virginia State Senator and
Publisher of The Winchester Star). Senator Byrd, Sr., said he was out of touch with details of the
“situation in Winchester.”
Dr. Brady made contact with Harry Byrd, Jr., and he arranged a meeting with Jake Yost, H. B.
McCormac, Jr., and a number of other businessmen at Farmers and Merchants (F&M;) National Bank.
Dr. Carl Hiser, Minister of First EUB Church in Winchester, accompanied Dr. Brady to the 1953
meeting. Dr. Brady said they told him and Dr. Hiser, after some discussion, that, since the City was
fully occupied in raising money for the new addition to the hospital, they didn’t think the time was ripe
for a new project. The meeting adjourned without taking any action.
Later, Dr. Brady stated, “I was discouraged as I heard nothing further until Fall 1954, 20 months
later, when James R. Wilkins of the Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of Commerce invited me to
spend the night at his home in Winchester to discuss the Shenandoah College situation.”
I spent the evening with Dr. Brady discussing the possibility of moving Shenandoah College and
Conservatory of Music to Winchester. I was not aware of Dr. Brady’s 1953 meeting with Winchester
businessmen until that night.
During our conversation, I told Dr. Brady that the Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of
Commerce was interested in establishing colleges, business and vocational schools, and classes in
Winchester or Frederick County because all of our institutions of higher education were either closed or
destroyed during the Civil War; or were burned by General Banks or Little Phil Sheridan during their
occupations of Winchester in 1862 and 1865, including the Medical College of the Valley of Virginia on
37 [Wilkins 1985, pp. 24, 26]. 35
Wilkins on History of S.C., 1952-1960
