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ELKINS, WV AND SHENANDOAH COLLEGE
he Elkins Church had two major problems: (1) A small, sway-backed and poorly
constructed church building, on a 40 x 100 foot lot, with no parking space,
and (2) it was tied by tradition to a small rural church six miles away.
This church gave very little financial support, yet required services twice
a month. We began with the second problem. There was great demand for more
rural churches in the area, so I began preaching in abandoned church buildings
and school houses in the afternoon on Sundays. The next step was to employ
a college student to provide more services in the rural areas, and to help
with visitation. **************************** As early as 1950, some of the trustees of Shenandoah College and Conservatory
of Music, located then at Dayton, Virginia, had approached me about accepting
the presidency of that school. I was busy on the Elkins project, and gave
it very little thought. When Bishop Gregory dedicated the new building. he
asked that I meet with the trustees in late May, to discuss the matter further.
As a result, after much agonizing prayer, I accepted the invitation to preside
over what was considered by many to be a dying institution. My work there
began on July 1, 1952. We had 95 students and were $97,000 in debt.
In early May of that next year, we
faced threatening suits, and possible bankruptcy. We needed $10,000 by Monday,
and it was Friday! We called a prayer meeting at the president's home, and
when Monday came, we had $13,000. God had provided in the emergency, but
I went to bed that night with the conviction that our solution was only temporary.
We were the smallest of four colleges in a six mile radius, and the only
junior college. I lay in deep and earnest prayer until three a.m., when sleep
finally came. I awakened promptly at seven o'clock, and the answer had come
in my sleep! Out of a clear sky with no previous thought, the solution was
there! Move the College to Winchester, Va., 67 miles northeast. It was the
largest area in Virginia without a college. Nobody had ever thought of such
a move until that early morning revelation to me.
To All Shenandoah friends . . . . SHENANDOAH'S NEW PRESIDENT
Shenandoah takes pride in presenting to you our new president, the Rev. Mr. Brady who was appointed at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, on .June 10, 1952, upon the resignation of Dr. L. P. Hill. to the office of President of Shenandoah College and Shenandoah Conservatory of Music. Mr. Brady is a native of West Virginia and a member of West Virginia Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. He comes to the presidency from the active ministry, having served as pastor in Elkins, West Virginia, for the past seven years. During his Elkins pastorate, a new church building and new parsonage were built. Membership in the church there increased 56% under Mr. Brady's leadership. Mr. Brady flax also served churches at Cairo, Union, and Freemansburg in the West Virginia Conference, and at Harrisburg, Ohio. He was ordained in 1934, at Charleston, West Virginia, by Bishop G. D. Batdorf, following his completion of work in the Diploma School at Bonebrake Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. Otterbein College granted Mr. Brady the B. A. Degree in 1945, with Magna Cum Laude. In the same year, he received the M. A. Degree in Political Science from Ohio State University. The subject of his thesis was "The International Control of Freedom of Worship." The new President is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, Omicron Chapter (national political science honorary fraternity). Mrs. Brady is the former Elizabeth Thrash, of Parkersburg, West Virginia. She has also completed work at Bonebrake Theological Seminary, attending with Mr. Brady. She has specialized in Children's Work in the local church, and has for six years been minister of the Children's Church at Elkins. The Bradys have two children, Marion, of Akron, Ohio, and Howard at home.
A Message From The President: Dear Friend of Shenandoah:
I hope that you are asking questions about the new president of your school! "What does he have to say?" "What are his purposes and policies?" Here are some of the answers:
Shenandoah has honored traditions. Seventy-seven years of history could not help but produce them. I am determined that these traditions shall be respected. Shenandoah has good scholastic standards. Our Conservatory graduates are in demand. Our Junior College is accredited, and our graduates acceptable to other schools. The good must be made better here! Shenandoah is a church-related college. Her most glorious achievements have been in the consciousness of this relationship. She must never become "a distant relative" of the church! Shenandoah has moral standards. Some of them are listed in the catalog. These, and others determined by the church and the trustees are binding upon the administration, the faculty, and the student body. We intend to stand by the rules!
1. A new emphasis upon the spiritual. A right relationship to God is imperative to successful living. We believe that right relationship can only be accomplished by an experiential, practical application of faith. 2. A new emphasis upon Christian education for life. A college graduate should be especially valuable as a layman in the local church. The stewardship of time, abilities and possessions is especially- important here. By utilizing present courses, or by introducing. new ones, Shenandoah is now committed to producing good churchmen. 3. A new approach to college evangelism. In this case, it will be new because it returns to the old. “Religious Emphasis Week” will be expanded to a full two week, evangelistic effort, with personal evangelism, counseling on spiritual problems, and campus-wide open meetings. Sane, competent and well-trained workers will be secured. 4. A new vitality: In her relationship to the Virginia Conference, to the local churches, in the financial problems, in educational advance in every proper field, we are committed to give new life and energy to Shenandoah. Our new purpose is to move out of convalescence and in to health. 5. Some new slogans:
"Shenandoah-mortal enemy of intellectual bigotry." "Shenandoah-where dependable faith and honest scholarship are inseparable." "Shenandoah-God's mountain-top in the valley." May everyone who knows our school soon be able to say "you can depend on Shenandoah!"
Sincerely,
TROY R. BRADY President
There was a problem for Winchester.
They had just completed a new hospital, and were involved in paying for it,
but in February, 1955, a letter from the liaison man informed us that they
were ready to consider our cause. They were having a banquet at the George
Washington Hotel on March 17th, inviting the school representatives to entertain
with musicians from the Conservatory, and I was to speak to the group, explaining
what the school could offer the city, and what the city could do for the
school. A vote at the close of the meeting was unanimous to support the move.
The city would donate the new site for the campus, 45 acres, and raise $350,000
for the first building. After some bitter opposition from a few members of
the Virginia Conference, that body finally voted on June 28, 1956, to relocate
the College in Winchester.
**************************** My personal health had deteriorated
under the heavy load I was carrying, and Elizabeth, who had always felt that
we should not be out of the pastorate, was urging me to resign. Anticipating
this, we followed an urge to find a place in the Shenandoah Valley in which
to retire. I had a personal longing to find a place in Singers Glen. We asked
the Rev. Wm. Wolfe, the pastor in that village, to help us find a place.
The church there had, in buying adjoining houses and lots for expansion,
acquired 3.15 Acres of land on the southeast side of the community, and a
house that had to be moved so the church could have more parking.
Dedication ceremony of the new Winchester location of Shenandoah University (Source: "The Impossible Task" by James Richard Wilkins, Sr.)
October 16, 1960 - SHENANDOAH COLLEGE DEDICATION - Among those participating in the dedication ceremony of the Armstrong and Gregory Buildings at Shenandoah College yesterday afternoon were from left to right: Bishop J. Gordon Howard; Rev. Troy Brady, former president of Shenandoah, now in Bradenton, Fla., Major James R. Wilkins; Frank R. Armstrong; Mrs. Thelma Gregory Jackson; Rev. Howard Lee Fulk of Martinsburg; and Rev. Forrest S. Racey, president of Shenandoah College.
**************************** In the meantime, Elizabeth had not been idle. She completed her junior college studies at Shenandoah, and I personally awarded her diploma in early June, 1953. After two years at Madison College (now James Madison University) she received her B. S. in Education, and for two years, 1955-57, taught the fourth grade at W. H. Keister School in Harrisonburg. Her income kept us until January 1st, 1957, when I started as supply pastor at Waynesboro, Va., after the Rev. Glovier retired with a heart attack. The church unanimously asked for my return, but the superintendent, angered because I had successfully led in the decision to relocate the college, refused to even consider it. He had wanted to close the school altogether.
Letter Below from Wm. O. Cooley concerning Shenandoah University (also mentions James R. Wilkes, Sr. , author of "The Impossible Task", which is the history of Shenandoah University from 1875 to 1995. (I
don't think a copy of this letter was printed in "Pop Troy's Anthology".
I found the original letter inserted in Mother Brady's copy of the book that
she gave me during my visit in 12/2001. RmB)
The Brady Trilogy I Reclaimed Memories - (1991) I Pop Troy's Anthology - ( 1992) I Kinfolk - (1994) |
