Stand Up and Cheer
By 1962 some of us sensed a decline in school spirit. Western did not have a core of cherished traditions. The reverence depicted in the movie Taps was absent. We were not taught school songs. The exploits of past graduates were rarely honored in public. The comfort of a strong authority structure noticeably weakened as Western eased into the Sixties.
Western graduated its last class in 1971 and went out of business.
The campus was mostly idle for a decade.
Neglect and vandalism took their toll.
In 1974 the Mississippi Valley Christian Academy,
a tax exempt school, bought the remains of the
Western plant. They now operate a K-8 coed day school.
Considering the current problems at The Citadel and VMI, it is worth noting that Western once had a coed, a day student (one who lived at home and commuted to school). Unlike VMI and The Citadel, Western did not have rigorous physical admissions standards and training when I was a student (after all, they let me in). The main problem in making Western coed would have been the time required to build coed enrollment up to a critical mass. As it was, Western's maximum enrollment of 330 was not large enough to allow the variety of courses needed to support students with diverse educational requirements. Of the remaining military academies, most are no larger than Western was, but their students' academic requirements may be more homogeneous.
There is general agreement that the declining allure of the military (the Army in particular) did not help Western's fortunes. Some think the school did not adapt fast or well enough to the changing times. Perhaps the school changed too much; the surviving military high schools seem to advertise a more austere lifestyle than what I experienced at WMA. Perhaps the academic curriculum was an issue. Some high schools offered forensics, French, Russian, and Calculus. Western did not have these courses in the early sixties.
Monticello College, a private girls' school 4 miles distant, also went out of business during those lean years. The Monticello plant now supports a community college. (An aerial photo of Monty is near the bottom of this page.)
Aerial view from the 1930's or 40's,
probably a copy of a postcard.
During this author's four years at Western (58-62) there were no
bivouacs like the one shown in this picture.
Cadets were issued a rifle or carbine (minus firing pin)
but not a tent.
The buildings on the left are the cadet barracks A to E, each with three floors and basement. E barracks was the primary "new man" barracks. The "A barracks fourth floor" was actually the West wing of the third floor. Col. Persing's quarters P were in the first two floors of the West wing of A barracks. When an important event came up, Col. Persing would sometimes pay a cadet in A barracks to polish his shoes.
The Quartermaster's office, mail room, and a few classrooms were located in the small building Q behind A barracks. The flag pole is seen in front of A barracks.
Col. Jackson's quarters were in the right half of the square part of the Administration building. The left half of the west wing housed the business offices and the infirmary. The library and study hall took up the second floor of the East wing. In Western's early years, every cadet had his own desk in the study hall. The kitchen and mess hall occupied the first floor, which is partially below grade. The third floor housed classrooms.
The two gymnasia appear at the right of the picture. The Chapel was just past the lower gymnasium. The Chapel was equipped with a pair of carbon-arc sound movie projectors.
Some parts of Western were built after this picture was taken. F barracks and the Canteen were in a wooden building located past the chapel, where the WMAS signal was weak. The Senior Circle would have been near the lower right of the picture. The Commandant's Office o was added to the SW corner of C barracks. Col. Moore's quarters M were in the SE corner of C barracks. The WMAS studios w were in the basement of D barracks facing C barracks and Col. Moore's quarters.
Below: Front view of A-E barracks and the Commandant's Office, ca. 1962.
Note the stylistic clash between the Commandant's Office
and the rest of the campus.
C barracks is the sole survivor as of October 2002.
East wing of the Administration building, ca. 1961. The Mess Hall was on the first floor, with the kitchen under the adjoining west wing. The third floor housed classrooms. The second floor was used for study hall and library. During the 1960-61 school year two cadets lived in the room above the door at the right of the picture. Col. Persing's office was on the second floor, just to the left of that door. This was too much to resist.
Below: Admin building in 2002, minus Ivy.
Left: The card catalog looks about the same in 2002.
But don't expect to find
Chaucer in it.
(Chaucer may not be appropriate for grade school.)
The faculty mailboxes haven't changed at all.
Below: aerial photo looking towards the West, 1965 Recall.
All that remains of the Upper Gym in 2002.
Life at Western Military Academy
Belt buckle used with Cadet Officers' Mess Jacket and Dress Suit.
Life at Western changed considerably over the years with a gradual shift from a Spartan life to a kinder, gentler routine. By the time I arrived at Western in 1959 the military spirituality seen in the movie Taps was mostly relegated to pictures on the library walls and dedications of the chapel's stained glass windows (see below). The military model was used to organize and administer the cadets' daily lives.
Daily life was controlled by a school wide bell system operated by an IBM clock next to Col. Persing's office. About 1961 the school replaced the clock with a new model and I ended up with the old clock in its beautiful wooden case. This made the ultimate alarm clock which I set to go off just before the breakfast mess call, maximizing my morning sleep. At the time I did not understand that certain switches require a minimum current to work reliably, and I discarded the clock after it became unreliable.
Except for Sunday breakfast and during inclement weather, we formed up in companies in front of the barracks and marched to our meals. We stayed in formation until we passed through the mess hall doors, after which we proceeded to our assigned seats. We stood at attention behind our seats. On command, we sat down, still at attention with our arms held out in front with forearms folded. Then were we commanded to relax. When the meal was finished, we came to attention, rose, and were dismissed.
One winter the sidewalks were frozen over for several weeks, so we couldn't march to mess. It was hard to believe we missed marching to mess, but we did.
Weekday classes ran from 0800 to mid afternoon with time out to march to lunch. The high school students received either a college prep or business administration curriculum. Each junior and senior gave a short prepared speech to the entire cadet core. Each senior gave an hour long report on a chosen literary figure to his English class.
Afternoons were free for sports, honor guard drill, and hobbies. Then we marched to dinner. The time between dinner and study hall (in the cadets' rooms) at 2000 was used for calling girl friends, writing home, and listening to the radio. A few cadets listened to WMAS.
Saturday morning was spent preparing for inspection, followed by drill practice and the odd 5 mile hike. Saturday afternoon could be spent off campus at the Uptown Theatre ("finger bowl") or other hangouts. Saturday evening usually saw a movie, dance, or play.
Breakfast was optional Sunday morning. Unless you had a waiver from your parents, you had to go to a church, synagogue, or Sunday school. I changed from Methodist to Baptist because I preferred Sunday school with local girls to a two mile march to church. Early Sunday afternoon was free time off campus until time for the Sunday afternoon parade. Sunday evening was a school night.
During my freshman year there was some intimidation and a wee bit of light hazing (e.g., a whack in the belly from a cleaning rod handle). Paradoxically, dropouts increased in later years as discipline was relaxed.
The Stained Glass Windows
The Sir Galahad panel was presented by Col. R. L. Jackson.
The panel is dedicated to his nephews,
Captain Rex K. Latham Jr,
Lieutenant A. J. Ellison,
and
Lieutenant James K. Latham,
who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II.
The panel is an idealistic treatment portraying Tennyson's mythical
character -- Sir Galahad.
This version of the picture was set in antique glass by
Emil Frei, St Louis.
The St. Christopher panel was the central figure in the series of antique glass reproductions of famous figures in the Cadet Chapel. The original window of St. Christopher be Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610) was reproduced in antique glass by Emil Frei of St. Louis. St. Christopher is often referred to as the "Soldier's Guardian Saint".
Almost none of the Upper Alton we knew is recognizable
any more.
Left: Monticello, a girls' school
about 4 miles from Western.
Photo is on display at the Alton Museum.