Red Bird
Mission School Was
Devoted
To Mountain Children
Hard
Work, Broad-Based Curriculum, And Religious Ideals Created Many
fond Memories For Clay County Youngster
Editor's Note: Red Bird Mission
School is located in Bell County, Kentucky. Established in 1921
in a remote section of the county, this school provided a quality
education for mountain children. Col. T. C. Sizemore, a contributing
writer to The Explorer, was one of those children who attended
Red Bird Mission School. Here he shares some of the hardships
he endured and some fond memories he has of the school.
By Col. T. C. Sizemore - 1993
In-bound from Crocket, on the back
of a mule, Shirley Bledsoe Miller paused on the hillside to survey
the grounds of the Red Bird Mission School sprawling below.
"My most thrilling moment!" Shirley exclaimed, recounting
her arrival at Red Bird decades ago. "Looking down on those
lovely, well-kept white buildings, it seemed as if I had arrived
in heaven. I can truthfully say that my days at Red Bird were
the happiest of my life. My exposure to those caring, loving people
and to the guidance of exceedingly well-qualified teachers gave
me so much for which to be grateful down through the years. The
teachings that came from the church in the wildwood have carried
me through many troubled times."
Shirley Bledsoe Miller's remarks are reflective of the gratitude
and reverence felt towards the Red Bird Mission School and its
faculty by those of us who were nurtured there.
Tragic Events
Although I was only 10 years old, I vividly recall the tragic
events that precipitated my enrollment at Red Bird. My father,
Carlo L. Sizemore, was a Clay County deputy sheriff when he was
shot and killed from ambush along the old road to Manchester.
My mother, Allie, was left widowed with nine hungry kids to feed.
T. C. Sizemore when
he was a student at Red Bird in the 1930s.
A birdseye view of
the Red Bird Mission School, which was established in 1921, located
at Beverly in Bell County, Kentucky. The primary function of settlement
schools in Eastern Kentucky was to provide a quality education
to mountain children. The settlement workers viewed their role
as one of service to the community.
These were desperate, hard-scrabble days for us with no welfare
or other government handouts to see us through the hard times.
There was nothing to do but to pull together to survive as mountain
families have always survived. Some of the older boys took on
odd jobs. My two eldest brothers, Ford and Shelby, went to work
for Brimgardner Lumber Company, 10 miles away, along the borders
of Clay, Bell, and Leslie counties. The rest of the children remained
at home, but even the younger children grasped the seriousness
of our plight.
About a year after the death of my father I found myself grappling
with the decision to leave home in pursuit of an education. I
had heard about the Red Bird Mission School, which was a Christian,
work-ethic oriented institution, where students were expected
to work in exchange for their education. The prospects of work
gave me no pause, but for a youngster who had never lived away
from home, the decision to leave my mother and siblings was fraught
with dread and difficulty.
A Cold, Snowy Sunday
It was a cold, snowy Sunday afternoon when I confronted Dr. A.
B. Lehman, Red Bird School Superintendent, as he was returning
from a preaching engagement at Mill Creek. He was a heavy man,
riding a tall horse, and I watched him as he approached our home.
Not wanting to stop him in front of our house I waited until he
had passed well beyond it. Then I took out the door, running as
hard as I could run, wearing not a single scrap of shoe leather.
I caught up to Dr. Lehman after a brief chase. Breathless and
barefoot I stood there before that great man, sitting on his tall
horse. I asked Dr. Lehman for some copies of the New Testament
to start a Sunday School, and he agreed to provide them.
"Is there anything further that I can do for you, Young Man?"
he asked.
"Yes Sir," I replied, "I want to work my way through
your great school and get an education."
Dr. Lehman looked me over for just a moment, and seeming to like
something that he was seeing, he nodded his agreement. "Talk
it over with your teacher," he said, before continuing on
his way.
Oscar Wagers, 83, of Bright Shade was my teacher at our school
at Upper Bear Creek. He gave me a fine recommendation, and before
I knew it, I was on my way to Red Bird and the beginning of a
new life adventure.
No Proper Roads To Red Bird
There were no proper roads to Red Bird, only well-worn wagon trails
and footpaths. Most of us arrived by shanks' mare, and anyone
arriving by horse, mule, or wagon could boast of having traveled
first class. Regardless of how one arrived, it was, as Shirley
Bledsoe Miller described, a wondrous moment to catch sight of
the Red Bird Mission School, nestled at the foot of hillocks thick
with trees.
A birdseye view of
Red Bird Mission School's first hospital, which was built in the
early 1940s at Beverly, Kentucky. Since its early days Red Bird
Mission has worked to meet the health care needs of the people
in the Red Bird River valley. Red Bird Mission's medical work
began in 1922. Miss Lydia Rice, RN was the first medical worker.
Dr. Harlan Heim joined the staff in 1926. The Red Bird Hospital
operated until 1986, when in-patient services were discontinued
for economic reasons. In 2000 Red Bird Mountain Medical Center
was renamed to Red Bird Clinic, Inc., and still operates today
as an out-patient ministry.
(Photo courtesy of T. C. Sizemore.)
The Red Bird Mission School was co-educational with separate dormitories
for boys and girls. The school featured grades one through 12,
with a broadly-based curriculum that included debate, government,
and history. There was a host of extra-curricular activities,
including baseball, basketball, ping pong, tennis, and choir.
Shooting marbles was a favorite pastime of both boys and girls.
Additionally, there were almost weekly trips to the mountains
to explore and enjoy the natural wonders of flora and fauna.
There was approximately 600 students enrolled at Red Bird when
I began my education there in the sixth grade. We were housed
two to a room, and my roommate and classmate, Farmer Helton, would
go on to become Bell County Circuit Judge.
Poverty, A Common Denominator
Poverty was a common denominator for most of us, and while many
of us received all our clothing from the school's community store,
the commonality of our want offered little insulation against
the pangs of our impoverishment. Going to school each day without
a dime in our pockets worked a sinister injury against a mountain
boy's self-esteem. Occasionally, a schoolmate who was better off
would treat a less fortunate youth to a nickel Coke. But who is
to say whether such rare acts of charity did not work an even
greater injury?
Christian morality lay at the heart of all instructions we received.
A typical day began with a brief devotional required to attend
Sunday School and the regular Sunday service. Attendance at the
Christian Endeavor service on Sunday evenings was expected, though
not required. Anyone caught smoking or drinking was permanently
expelled. Boys were not permitted to hold hands with their girlfriends.
However, it was permissible for a boy to meet his girl in the
morning, and carry her books to school, and against fond looks
in lovers' eyes, there was no rule.
A Variety Of Jobs
Not withstanding a prohibitive eight-to-ten mile walk to my home,
I tried to visit my family every couple of weeks or as often as
the school would permit. But always the joy of my homecoming was
tempered by dread of the trek back to school.
There was work to be done at Red Bird. There were cows to be milked,
fires to be kept, and ashes to be hauled out. There were gardens
and farms to be tended. There were also roads to be built with
arduous labor, attended by healthy sweat and the satisfaction
that comes from honest toil. I tackled a variety of jobs. Later,
after having picked up a little typing, I worked in Dean Gordon
S. Burgett's office.
Hyden Coal Trucking executive, Zack Caldwell, summed up a lot
of what students felt: "I shall never forget the ideas and
Christian principles with which this great school instilled. This
was my guide in everyday's endeavors. I credit all of it to my
learning at Red Bird."
John Asher from Saylor in Leslie County, head of Apollo Fields,
Inc., perhaps the area's most successful businessman, attributes
much of his success in life to his training at Red Bird Mission
School.
Dr. Harlan S. Heim and his medical
staff of the Red Bird Mission School's original hospital, shortly
after the hospital opened. (Photo courtesy of T. C. Sizemore.)
"I often reflect upon the days when I was a student at Red
Bird," said Asher. "I consider the training that I received
there as the basis of my work ethics. The work at Red Bird was
hard, the discipline demanding. This instilled in me the values
and determination that have enabled me to reach my goals in life."
Although the many wholesome responses were too numerous to list,
Robert J. Phillips, principal of Red Bird Mission School, and
Ester Lawson of Red Bird School Associations, Inc., made significant
contributions to this column.
Historic And On-Going Importance
Fred Helton, president of Red Bird School Association, Inc., summarized
the historic and on-going importance of Red Bird, saying: "Red
Bird Mission was established in the early 1920s by one parent
branch of what is now the United Methodist Church. Throughout
the years it has been diligently devoted to educating the mountain
children in a Christian environment. The church, through individual
donations and tithes, continues to provide the financial support
necessary to keep the Red Bird School an outstanding, vibrant
educational institution, serving the needs of the children of
our area. We are indebted to those millions of church members,
faculty members, mission personnel, and others, who have given
unselfishly of their time and resources, to the benefit of our
youngsters."
We Will Always Be True To Dear Red Bird
"We will always be true to dear Red Bird," begins the
opening stanza of the Red Bird loyalty song. A wave of nostalgia
washes over me at remembrance of that song, and I find myself
lost in musing over that one brief shining moment when I was growing
up healthy in a healthy land, when summer skies were bluest, when
fire flies set the summer nights ablaze, when all the best of
life's promises lay well within my grasp, and I was strong enough
and bold enough to seize them.
Col. T. C. Sizemore, 412 Mt. View
Heights, Manchester, KY 40962, shares this article with our readers.