Ten Preston County students are being honored for their knowledge of West Virginia history today.
The McGrew Society will confer the Order of the Rhododendron upon Laira Galloway, Fallyn Jennings, Mudd Klapper, Anna Maxwell, Ira Shaffer, Cassie Shay, Issac Cole Trickett, Travis Westfall, Kadence Whitehair and Collin Wyatt. Adrienne Bernatowicz will be the ceremony’s page.
The McGrew society is dedicated to making the McGrew House a cultural and and educational center for all to enjoy. Susan Hardesty, the society’s secretary, said the home was built James C. McGrew prior to marrying his wife Persis.
The Order of the Rhododendron is conferred on the 10 students in Preston County who score the highest on the West Virginia Golden Horseshoe test, Hardesty said. In addition to a certificate, each student will get a $50 giftcard, half of which is donated by Clear Mountain Bank, a book about McGrew and a memoir written by McGrew, about Persis.
The award was started 24 years ago as something that would align with the values of the McGrews, who believed strongly in education and religion, President Rosemary Bernatowicz said.
“At the time, there were all kinds of awards for sports events and other events, but not so much for academic. So because he was so important to the state of West Virginia, we said that’s what we want to do. We want to recognize students who excel in the study of West Virginia history,” Bernatowicz said. “And so we have done that now for 24 years and the thing of it is, we want them to be aware of the importance of history, the importance of West Virginia history and the community here and the county because even little, insignificant Kingwood has important historical things to contribute. So, they need to be aware of their history and their heritage.”
McGrew built the Preston Academy, a Methodist church and two courthouses. Hardesty said the original he built and the second, which still stands today as the courthouse annex, was designed by him before he died.
Hardesty said learning the state’s history is important because it will die if they don’t actively carry those stories and their sense of pride and significance forward.
“My own experience in West Virginia history was that West Virginia began in 1863. And it was as though there was nothing before that. It’s like we just suddenly poofed into existence. And that whole crisis that the residents of Kingwood and Western Virginia went through is just lost from the pages of history if we don’t include that earlier transition, because people had to literally choose between their loyalties,” Hardesty said. “Loyalty to their state and they were proud Virginians, and they had a right to be proud Virginians. My goodness, they had four presidents and revolutionary war leaders. They could not be both Virginians and Americans at the same time, when the secession was proposed and passed by the Virginia convention. They had to choose.”
The event also honors the students’ teachers. They are Mali Gank, of Terra Alta/East Preston, Nick Miller, of South Preston, Angie Knisell, of West Preston, Sarah Bolinger, of Bruceton School, and Andrew Hirst of Central Preston.
The partnership with the McGrew Society has lasted for many years, Preston County Schools Superintendent Stephen Wotring said.
“For many years they have recognized the achievement of our students with the West Virginia Golden Horseshoe Test,” Wotring said. “The very special program that is planned by the society, not only exemplifies the support of our school system, but the support of our most treasured resource – our students. We remain proud of our students and their efforts in West Virginia history and our partnership with the McGrew Society in keeping our local and state history alive.”
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