Marching through Staunton, Virginia !

Strange title, right?  Well, it's appropriate because Lin did just that in his last two years of high school at Staunton Military Academy (SMA), a highly respected military school founded in 1888 that closed down in 1976, after 88 years of operation.  SMA was a boarding high school in the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program.  Army officers and NCOs were assigned to SMA to teach military subjects and train the cadets in weapons, military traditions, tactics and marching to every evolution!  SMA cadets wore uniforms similar to West Point or VMI cadets, had full dress parades, had a band and a drum and bugle corps and its sports teams were legendary.  The non-military educational part was top notch too with well-qualified instructors.  The SMA motto was “Truth, Duty, Honor.”

Staunton, pronounced “Stanton,” was founded in 1732 in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, close by the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  The city is the county seat of Augusta County, which in 1738 stretched all the way to the Mississippi River!  The railroad arrived in 1854 and during the Civil War, Staunton and the Shenandoah Valley would play a key role as the “Breadbasket of the Confederacy.”

Staunton was mostly untouched by the Civil War and contains a handsome collection of 19^th century architecture with six historic districts and a long commitment to preservation and revitalization.

There is much speculation why after so many years SMA folded, leaving a number of other military schools in Virginia continuing to operate with many still in operation today.  Ultimately the large SMA campus comprised of a number of dormitories, classrooms, gym, mess hall and administrative buildings and more was sold to an academic neighbor in Staunton, Mary Baldwin College, a longtime women's college. 

Kable Hall

Mess Hall

Commandant's House

Most all of the campus is intact and in use and looks excellent.  The stone buildings have been painted Mary Baldwin beige and look very attractive.  They have kept many of the SMA building names, like Kable Hall, where Lin lived.  We visited here 6 or 7 years ago and there was a bulletin board of history of SMA in the old Mess Hall building but no one to talk to or available information about the campus history.

This visit on July 7, 2014 was surprising with a sign pointing to an SMA Museum under the parking lot area in a good sized space which has been very well put together as a museum and SMA  Alumni Assocation office.  We walked down and the hours open sign signaled closed but we turned the handle and the door opened and Brocky Nicely SMA '65 invited us in, even though the Museum wasn't officially open. 

Old aerial photograph of SMA

Lin graduated in 1958, many moons ago, and had forgotten a lot about the uniforms, the routine of each day, the staff and more, so it was exciting to see it all come to life again!  Maryke, of course, had never seen this side of Lin's life, so was equally fascinated!

We looked through the yearbook collection and found Lin's picture and writeup.  There is an actual cadet locker with all its gear properly stowed on exhibit.  In SMAese, this open locker is called a clothes “press.”  The press holds your uniforms, rifle, toiletries, laundry bag and other personal items in an exact order given in an official chart!  Lots of SMA flags and guideons were displayed.  Stories of some of the more illustrious graduates were featured including many high ranking military officers in all services.  For the past few years, there has been an annual Alumni Reunion on the old SMA campus, now Mary Baldwin campus, with overnight accommodations at the famous Stonewall Jackson Hotel in downtown Staunton.

One very interesting new development is that Mary Baldwin College has formed a Corps of Cadets using the SMA traditions, very similar uniforms and also with Army personnel instructing, headed by an Army General.  It's called VWIL, the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership.  They drill, march in parades and learn leadership and military skills, just as their predecessors at SMA did.  The VMIL cadets take some classes at VMI, Virginia Military Institute, the official Virginia state-supported military college in Lexington, VA.  The Alumni Associations of both SMA and VWIL work together and the SMA Museum reflects that harmony with many VWIL exhibits that look very familiar to an SMA grad.  It was great to see the SMA legacy on display for future generations to enjoy!

The Old Mill building, now a restaurant

Augusta County Courthouse

After leaving SMA, we parked in nearby downtown Staunton and walked the downtown, admiring and photographing the architecture.  Trinity Episcopal Church, founded in 1763, is well known to Lin as the cadets marched downtown to church services Sunday morning.  The current church building, its third, was completed in 1855.  The church has a lot of history beginning in the Revolutionary War when the Virginia General Assembly met there after fleeing Richmond to escape the British Army.  The church contains 12 beautiful stained glass windows by Tiffany Studios of New York. 

One of the Tiffany windows

 Another interesting building is the National Valley Bank Building, on Beverly Street, founded by Confederate General John Echols, on November 5, 1865, only 7 months after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox.  The current building was completed in 1903 in the Beaux Arts Neo-Classical style for about $50,000, about $2 million today!  Entering via a revolving door, the interior is amazing with a domed oval stained glass skylight 10 feet by 34 feet and about 35 feet above the lobby floor!  The interior is magnificent; interestingly the bank allows visitors to come inside and photograph the interior including the teller's cages, a definite no-no in most banks.

There are many many other downtown business buildings of note as well as many beautifully restored homes.  Here are photographs of our favorites.

Staunton is a great place to visit anytime, with lots of festivals, a Shakespeare theatre in the round, many art galleries, the oldest community band in the country and as much culture as you can stand! 

It's also the birthplace of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and his home is open for visits.  
A 25 cent trolley makes a half-hourly circuit of the downtown and some outlying areas.  There is plenty to see and do and the whole Shenandoah Valley area is a great destination!

You see this watering can entering Staunton, Why? We don't know!

In an antique store window