’Burg, JMU ‘antipathy’ new to community, author says

Animosity toward JMU students by Harrisonburg residents is a recent phenomena, according to a local author. Town residents blew a fire whistle in celebration of the creation of the school here in 1908, she said.

Author Nancy Bondurant Jones read passages from her new book, "Rooted on Blue Stone Hill: A History of James Madison University," and discussed JMU’s history on Tuesday evening at the Massanutten Regional Library.

Jones is not a graduate of JMU, but she is a 36-year resident of the Shenandoah Valley area.

"I know the value of the school to the community," she said.

JMU students and faculty bring $195,000,000 to the Harrisonburg area every year, Jones said. She said that JMU has been critical to the growth of Harrisonburg since its doors opened in 1908.

"These days, there is antagonism and antipathy [between Harrisonburg residents and JMU students]," Jones said. "The ‘town and gown’ connection was very different in 1908. People of the town felt like they were an integral part of the school."

When the Virginia legislature first proposed a school to train public school teachers, many communities were interested in the growth the school would bring to their towns, Jones said.

"Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton, Winchester and Roanoke all wanted [the school]," Jones said.

On the day the location of the school was announced, Harrisonburg citizens eagerly awaited the news. "The town had a feeling of an Election Day," she said.

A fire whistle announced Harrisonburg’s victory in becoming the chosen town in which the school would be built, Jones said. She added that the mayor called it the proudest moment in Harrisonburg history.

Jones said a deciding factor in the location of the school was Harrisonburg’s fire department. "Our fire department was second to none," she said. Jones added that fire was a real and constant danger since there was no central heating and heating sources like stoves were primarily used. She added that the Virginia General Assembly, which decided where the school was to be located, didn’t want the students to be without housing if a fire broke out in the school.

The school opened in 1908 under the name, "State Normal and Industrial School for Women," Jones said. She added that the word "normal" was part of the institution’s name to assure parents that the school wouldn’t subscribe to any newfangled ideas, like learning by doing or instituting physical education programs.

Jones said Harrisonburg teachers in the early twentieth century were forbidden to marry or "keep the company of men." Jones said that they were expected to remain at home from the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., unless they were attending a school function, and above all, they weren’t to "loiter downtown in any of the ice cream stores."

There was marked growth in the school over the years, partly depending on the school’s presidential administration, Jones said. She said that Samuel Page Duke instituted the first bachelor’s degree program in 1935; girls then could be trained to be teachers or receive a degree in liberal arts.

In 1949, Duke suffered a stroke, Jones said. He hadn’t made any preparations for retirement, so the Board of Visitors decided to let him and his family reside in Zirkle House on Main Street, Jones said. "It must have been hard for him to watch the school grow across the street and to not be a part of it," she added.

"Rooted on Blue Stone Hill" can be purchased from the Community Foundation, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Daily News-Record.

Jenny Burden of the Community Foundation added that nearly all proceeds go to the endowment of the Community Foundation’s Community Fund, a pool established for the general benefit of the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.