The Rabun Gap Story

THE RABUN GAP STORY A legacy of Work Study Worship

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T H E R A B U N G A P S T O RY

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Founded in 1903, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is an independent, coeducational college-preparatory school serving students in grades Pre-K-12 for day school and 7-12 for boarding school. Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School combines its strong academic program, mountain setting, and Presbyterian heritage to inspire young people eager to learn and grow. Living our motto, Work Study Worship, our community nurtures and challenges students from diverse backgrounds as they prepare for college and a lifetime of service.

Contents FOUNDED ON FAITH 3 A FIRM FOUNDATION 7 THE PROMISE FULFILLED 13 CONTINUING THE MISSION 17

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FOUNDED ON FAITH bringing opportunity to the mountains

Andrew Jackson Ritchie had a hilltop moment.

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native of the Northeast Georgia mountains, Andrew Ritchie grew up in an isolated place without railroads or paved highways. He lived among a people whose fiercely independent spirit dated back generations. Most were humble farmers whose education didn’t extend past primary school. The census of 1900 showed one-fifth of the voters could neither read nor write.

Andrew Jackson Ritchie, above, founded Rabun Gap Industrial School in 1903. It later merged with the Nacoochee Institute to become Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School.

But Ritchie chose to defy the odds. Motivated by a love of learning, he finished high school and worked steadily for more than a decade to put himself through college at Emory at Oxford, the University of Georgia, and Harvard. He then married his auburn-haired sweetheart, Addie Corn, and together they moved to Texas where Andrew was a professor at Baylor University.

Teaching was his profession, but Ritchie soon realized his greater calling was to start a school.

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So all there is to do is win out by hard work and not being willing to fail. Just go. The Lord will surely take care of us.

- LETTER FROM ADDIE CORN RITCHIE TO HER HUSBAND, ANDREW

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The Ritchies returned to Rabun County during their summer vacation for a visit.

Standing on a hilltop in the sunshine of the Appalachian mountains, Andrew Ritchie surveyed the fields and valleys of his youth.

It was time to come home. The boys and girls of his native land needed him.

Addie and Andrew Jackson Ritchie's dream of founding a school was held on little more than the firm conviction that they had been called to educate the poorest of the poor in the mountains of Appalachia.

That dream became reality when Rabun Gap Industrial School was built on a hilltop overlooking a valley of matchless beauty, surrounded by mountains. The school was a bastion of learning and education for the entire family.

Tragedy struck in 1926 when a fire destroyed the main building of the school.

Rabun Gap Industrial School merged with the nearby Nacoochee Institute, which had also burned. Nacoochee Institute was also a farm school for poor boys and girls in the mountains, and was owned and supported by the Presbyterian Synod of Georgia. The merger established Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School. But its future would depend on the faith and stewardship of its founders and its first philanthropists.

The original Rabun Gap Industrial School building, pictured top, burned in 1926. The Industrial School merged with Nacoochee Institute, which also suffered a fire, to form Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School.

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Stewards of the Land THE DIGNITY OF WORK

“So they looked upon the school as a place for the making of self-made people.�

- ANDREW JACKSON RITCHIE

The first boarding students were organized like a large family living on a farm with the boys doing farm work and the girls doing domestic work. For nine months, half the day was spent in school and the other half at work. Those who couldn’t pay tuition for the year stayed during the summer to work the farm.

The farm family program came soon after. The Ritchies developed a plan where large families lived on homesteads provided by the school for a term of five to ten years.

The children went to school and helped on the farm. Parents worked the land and attended classes on farming and home economics. After their term was over, families left

the school and went out to build stronger communities based on their knowledge and experience gained at Rabun Gap. Though the farm family and work-fortuition programs were discontinued in the latter years of the 20th century, Rabun Gap continues to emphasize the importance of a strong work ethic through community and campus service and environmental stewardship. From composting and recycling to harvesting honey from school beehives, volunteering in the community and caring for a young orchard and campus garden, Rabun Gap students continue the tradition started over one hundred years ago.

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A FIRM FOUNDATION those who answered the call

A dream, a typewriter, and a horse-drawn buggy.

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hose were the assets possessed by Addie and Andrew Ritchie when they set out to start their school. The typewriter — the only in the county at the time — afforded them the ability to build a mailing list of area residents from which they gained valuable contributions. The horse and buggy allowed them to canvass the county for “subscriptions” to the school. And the dream created a firmer foundation than any amount of money could. When Andrew Ritchie came calling, people took notice.

LEFT: The laying of the cornerstone for the new Hodgson Hall, 1927. ABOVE: The cupola tops Hodgson Hall, named for Prince Hodgson. BOTTOM: Addie Corn Ritchie, standing center, ran the school while her husband Andrew traveled the country to raise money.

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In order to achieve their vision for the school, the Ritchies realized that money needed to come from further afield than the mountains of North Georgia and North Carolina. The people of the area gave what they could, but there was no great wealth in the region. Thus began the blueprint for the next several years of the Ritchies’ lives. Andrew traveled around Georgia and to cities in the Northeast tirelessly raising money and finding donors. Addie, an accomplished college graduate in her own right, remained at the school and ran the day-to-day operations.

We have essayed to get this institution founded in the faith...there would be men of big heart and ample means who would be glad to make it endure.

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- ANDREW JACKSON RITCHIE

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Andrew’s mission took him to raise money from some of the wealthiest men in America. His classmates from Harvard, the Carnegie Corporation, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. all contributed money to keep the school going in a time when it was never clear whether there would be cash to continue building.

The majestic Hodgson Hall sits atop a hill overlooking the scenic Wolffork Valley.

The First Benefactor The school’s first great friend and benefactor came from just down the road in Athens, Georgia. Andrew Ritchie showed up without an appointment at E.R. “Prince” Hodgson’s office in Athens one late winter E.R. “Prince” day and told Hodgson Hodgson his story. After that day, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School had no better friend and supporter during the early years of getting the school started and buildings erected. Hodgson began to spend part of each summer at the school. Though not a wealthy man, he said that when he saw the students working for their education with so much enthusiasm it made him feel like shelling out his last dollar to help them.

And that he did-- in his will, he left equal amounts of stock in the business to his nine children and Rabun Gap, his “tenth child.”

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Chairs of the Board of Trustees Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School's first Chair of the Board of Trustees was Atlanta businessman and philanthropist J. Bulow Campbell. A modest and frugal man, he had deep concern for the development of strong educational institutions in the South. Such was his generosity and J. Bulow care for the students that Campbell he personally sent a coal car from Atlanta to ensure the students had adequate heat during the bitter mountain winters.

During his tenure, he led the successful merger of Rabun Gap Industrial School and the Nacoochee Institute, and provided guidance during the establishment of the Junior College (1934-1945).

The J. Bulow Campbell Foundation continues Campbell’s legacy of giving to this day.

John Bulow Campbell 1927-1940 George W. Woodruff 1940-1970 Charles L. Gowen 1970-1975 John Rooney, Jr. 1975-1981 Champney A. McNair 1981-1988 Joel H. Cowan 1988-1992 Robert L. Rearden, Jr. 1992-2002 James A. Adams, Jr. 2002-2007 Steven P. Gilliam ’66 2007-2010 Margaret Fry Carton 2010-present

The Woodruff Legacy Andrew Ritchie’s travels led him to meet with both scions of America’s oldest families and titans of industry. Many of them were impressed with the school’s story and gave generously. But there is one family who supported the mission so faithfully that it is safe to say there would be no Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School if not for the Woodruff family of Atlanta.

Ritchie himself told of going door-todoor in the gracious and tree-lined Atlanta neighborhood of Inman Park, when he knocked on the door of the Woodruff home. After hearing about the amazing work the school was doing, Emily Woodruff began supporting Rabun Gap with her household money. It was through Emily and her son Robert’s wife, Nell Hodgson Woodruff, daughter of Prince Hodgson, that Rabun Gap found its staunchest and most faithful supporters in the Woodruff family.

Ernest Woodruff, the Atlanta financier most known for the purchase of the Coca-Cola Company, was instrumental in helping the school rebuild following the devastating fire of 1926. He helped the school in a time of need again when, in the depths of the Great Depression, he spearheaded, alongside Ritchie, a campaign to establish a school endowment. Before that time, money for operating and building expenses was raised solely by Andrew Ritchie each year. With Ernest as the lead donor, other Coca-Cola executives and stockholders soon followed.

TOP: Graduates file out of the Emily and Ernest Woodruff Chapel dedicated by sons Robert and George Woodruff.

CENTER LEFT: Emily Winship Woodruff. RIGHT: Ernest Woodruff. BOTTOM: The Emily Winship Woodruff Memorial for Rabun Gap’s first supporter from the Woodruff family.

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One of those executives was Robert W. Woodruff, son of Ernest and head of the Coca-Cola Company.

After giving his own donation, Robert galvanized a group of Atlanta friends to raise the remaining $175,000 to meet the goal of a $400,000 dollar endowment fund in 1938. Though Robert could have been content with simply writing checks, he cared about the people he was helping as well.

Every year he called Andrew Ritchie to invite him to take a trip to Muses, a clothing store in Atlanta, to be fitted for a proper suit, billed to Woodruff ’s personal account.

Heads of School Dr. Karl Anderson is the longest-serving president of Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School. During his tenure, the school’s campus underwent several major building campaigns. Four dormitories, the Andrew Jackson Ritchie Gymnasium, the O.C. Skinner Natatorium, Dr. Karl and the Emily Winship Woodruff building were Anderson built under his presidency.

Dr. Anderson, a much beloved figure in the Rabun County community, worked closely with George Woodruff, Board Chair, and viewed him as a mentor and father figure.

Andrew Jackson Ritchie

The Reverend Joel T. Wade Nacoochee Institute

1903-1906

Rabun Gap Industrial School

1905-1926

John Knox Coit Nacoochee Institute

1907-1926

Rabun Gap Industrial School and Nacoochee Institute merge to form Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School.

George Woodruff Hall was dedicated in 1967.

But the one man, second to Andrew Ritchie himself, to have the greatest impact on the success of Rabun GapNacoochee School was George Waldo Woodruff.

George Woodruff, the George Waldo younger son of Ernest Woodruff and Emily, was the longest serving Chair of the Board of Trustees in Rabun Gap history. From 1940-1970, George was a constant and encouraging presence in a time of great tumult and change. Longest-serving Head of School Karl Anderson wrote that George’s 10

Andrew Jackson Ritchie & John Knox Coit 1926-1939 Dr. George C. Bellingrath 1938-1948 O.C. Skinner 1948-1956 Dr. Karl Anderson 1956-1984 The Reverend Bruce C. Dodd 1984-1992 Robert D. Johnston 1992-1996 Gregory D. Zeigler 1996-2004 John Marshall 2004-2011 Dr. Anthony Sgro 2011-present

leadership and resources “made a good school a better one.”

During George’s tenure as Chair, Rabun Gap’s campus saw the additions of the Addie Corn Ritchie Dining Hall, the Emily and Ernest Woodruff Chapel, and the Andrew Jackson Ritchie Gymnasium. His additional contributions continued with a community of residence halls named for Irene, George, and Ernest, celebrating the legacy of the Woodruff family. The legacy continued with the addition of Jane Woodruff Hall in 2003.

George wasn’t just a leader and philanthropist; he was a man of great thoughtfulness and caring. He was the type of man who took the time to handwrite a note welcoming a new trustee to the board; a man who bought a yearly subscription to a favorite magazine for a Rabun Gap employee as a show of appreciation; a man who, with his strong features and kindly smile, gave the school its single largest gift ever, which became the core of its endowment and established the foundation for years to come.

The statue of George Woodruff, top, sits on a park bench in the Upper School courtyard. Jane Woodruff, granddaughter of Emily and Ernest Woodruff, continued her family legacy of major gifts to the school with Jane Woodruff Hall, above. The senior dormitory, dedicated to her parents George and Irene, opened in 2003.

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As I look about this campus, I can see so many things which would not be here if it had not been for your heartfelt interest in leading boys and girls who have hardships toward a better standard of living…. [This] work is of such a nature that it is lifting and building boys and girls and we will not know its final values this side of eternity.

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-DR. KARL ANDERSON, PRESIDENT (1956-1984), ON THE LEADERSHIP OF GEORGE W. WOODRUFF

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THE PROMISE FULFILLED rooted in history, reaching the world

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The Ritchie legacy gains new ground.

n the hilltop where Andrew Ritchie once stood, a golden cupola celebrates his dream achieved. Generations of students have passed through the doors of Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School leaving their own legacies behind. Today, students from across the valley live and learn with students spanning the United States and the globe.

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School has emerged as one of the top independent schools in the country. It is also a community gathering place, a cultural hub, and an economic engine for the mountain region.

TOP: Statues of school founders Addie Corn and Andrew Jackson Ritchie stand in the heart of campus.

BOTTOM: Rabun Gap embraces its history of education for all.

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Andrew and Addie Ritchie’s mission endures in the hearts and work of generations of Rabun Gap faculty, who nurture, teach, and truly care for their students. Rabun Gap furthers the tradition of academic excellence across three divisions, serving close to 600 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. In keeping with the Ritchies' vision to educate all children, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, Rabun Gap offers financial aid to more than 70 percent of its student population. Just like the Ritchies, Rabun GapNacoochee School continues to make available a higher expectation for and access to education.

What shall we do next with what we now know?

And when?

- ANDREW JACKSON RITCHIE

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The world in one place Andrew Ritchie believed circumstance and economic status do not define a person. That core value continues at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School today.

Students come from all walks of life. There are children of government and financial leaders, as well as those who come to the school with little more than the clothes on their back. In the close-knit, accepting community, none of that matters.

Diversity is not just a catchphrase at Rabun Gap ­— it’s a way of life. Students from more than 40 countries around the world live and learn with their American peers from an array of social, economic, and cultural backgrounds.

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On any given day, a European athlete plays a pickup game of soccer with his friends from Latin America.

In history class, students from Asia, The Caribbean, and the mountains of Northeast Georgia discuss the American Revolution. A theater tech from inner-city New York builds the stage set for a show featuring performers from Africa and Atlanta.

Rabun Gap gives back Andrew Ritchie envisioned a school that would not only serve its students, but the entire community. Whether for education, recreation, or worship, Rabun Gap was and continues to be a gathering place.

Early in Rabun Gap’s history, Ritchie worked with local leaders to build a community school in Dillard, as well as a community church where three denominations worshipped. The school was also a center for recreation with a swimming pool, bowling alley, and gymnasium.

Today Rabun Gap forms a community for locals and visitors from around the world. It has become a cultural hub for the region. The school’s award-winning fine arts department produces a number of theatrical productions during the academic year; during the summer, the campus hosts various camps, conferences, and concerts.

On warm evenings, students, faculty, and locals can be found enjoying the walking track on campus. Hodgson Hill has drawn generations in both summer and winter, to watch the July 4 fireworks and to fly down the hill after a snowfall.

Rabun Gap has a historic commitment to serving the mountain community. Staying true to its roots, Rabun Gap educates local children as day students while attracting new families to the area. While the campus has grown and the faces have changed, Addie and Andrew Jackson Ritchie would be proud that Rabun Gap’s core values have remained constant.

TOP: Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School boasts one of the only high school cirque programs in the country.

Housed in the Rearden Theater, the student production draws audiences from across the region. MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: The Rabun Gap campus is a popular seasonal gathering place with fireworks in the summer and snow sledding down Hodgson Hill in the winter.

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CONTINUING THE MISSION work • study • worship

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The Ritchie legacy inspires today.

ndrew Jackson Ritchie’s dream of a school for boys and girls of modest means — “from the last cabin up the creek” — necessitates outside support. From the earliest days of leading philanthropists, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School grew from a small school serving local farm families to a leading college preparatory institution. Through their personal and financial commitment, these early philanthropists laid the foundation for a school that with God’s help has withstood the test of time, remained firmly grounded in history, grown in prominence and outreach, and is steadfast in its mission to uniquely serve students regardless of their financial means.

The next generation of giving is reflected in the Niles Bolton Middle School Complex, top, and the Evelyne Sheats Lower School, as well as endowed scholarships like the Ruby Brown van Rooyen ’25 and the Norma Horan-Vogt scholarships.

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The very mission to provide access to high quality education, regardless of a family’s financial means, suggests that support for the mission must come from beyond parents and alumni alone. Currently, in addition to the endowment, the school depends on a growing number of individuals, families, and foundations making a wide range of gifts to further support the capital needs, endowed scholarships, and operations of the school. The donor community at Rabun Gap makes an immediate and lasting impact on the lives of young people and joins the noble tradition of generosity that began more than a century ago.

We had agreed upon a motto that we would strive to make a piece of work so good and make our own sacrifices for it so complete that others would make it live.

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- ANDREW JACKSON RITCHIE

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Endowment Funds Established in 1938, the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Endowment Fund provides long-term financial security to ensure the school is well positioned to remain true to its mission and serve generations to come.

Scholarships

Athens Guild Scholarship Atlanta Guild Scholarship Frances and Gilbert Boggs Scholarship Anna Drew-Kirk ’94 Scholarship Goizueta Scholarship Stell Huie Scholarship Norma Knapp Horan-Vogt Scholarship Junior College Alumni Association College Scholarship Presbyterian Fellows Scholarship Rabun Gap Alumni Association Scholarship Ruby Brown van Rooyen ’25 Scholarship Henry Edward White and Caroline Singleton White Scholarship George W. Woodruff Scholarship

Department Funds & Chairs Karl Anderson Excellence in Teaching and Service Chair

Ray Fry Chair of Library Science Norma Knapp Horan-Vogt Chair for the Arts Dess Oliver Fund for Industrial Arts Ruby Brown van Rooyen ’25 Excellence in Teaching and Service Chair

Awards & Honors

John Harvey Servant Leadership Award W. L. Monroe Award Timothy Smoot Award Mrs. Gladys Waybright Award

To make a gift to Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, visit www.rabungap.org/giving or call 706-746-7730.

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FOUNDERS CIRCLE • FOR LIFETIME GIVING •

The inaugural Founders Circle for Lifetime Giving was recognized in 2017. The group comprises three giving societies named for individuals and families whose leadership and philanthropy helped to shape Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School from its formative years to the present day.

Woodruff Society $1,000,000 +

Anonymous Elizabeth and Lovick Corn Lettie Pate Evans Foundation Jane Woodruff George W. Woodruff Ruby Brown van Rooyen '25 Norma Horan-Vogt Louise and Jimmy Gallant Robert W. Woodruff Foundation

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Rooyen Society

$500,000 - $999,999

Kathy and Niles Bolton Jessie Ball duPont Fund Mary Brown Rushin SunTrust Bank Atlanta Foundation Robert Cameron Watkins, Sr. Marion T. Davis

Hodgson Society $100,000 - $499,999

George I. Alden Thelma S. Aldrich Atlanta Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Guild Nell Wise Babb Lewis H. Beck Educational Foundation Martin Lincoln Beller Beloco Foundation Karl M. Brawner Ross Burnes Margaret and Robert Carton Estelle K. Collar Margaret and Alton Costley Elise W. Covington Beatrice Mackey Doughtie Agnes G. Dye Nell Warren Elkin and William Simpson Elkin Foundation Florence and Harry L. English Memorial Fund John and Mary Franklin Foundation The Gap Connection Susan and Steve Gilliam '66 GKW Foundation Greene-Sawtell Foundation Goizueta Foundation Francis R. Hammack William P. Harker Patty and Gerry Hull

J. Swanton Ivy, Sr. J.J. Jackson Kate H. Jacobs Irma Elizabeth Jones Kathy and Kirk Knous Lois and Lucy Lampkin Foundation Gail and Beau Lane Catherine and Champney McNair McMichael Family Foundation Walter S. Moore Lucy Ozmer Jane Jones Pierson Mary and Tom Quigley Quigley Family Foundation Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Club Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Junior Guild Dell and Robert Rearden Sage Dining Services Harriet D. Schell John R. Scott Evelyne Sheats Synod of South Atlantic Tull Charitable Foundation Thurman M. Waldrop Trust Henry E. White Trust David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund

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339 Nacoochee Drive Rabun Gap, GA 30568 ph: 706-746-7467 www.rabungap.org

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