The Moravian Historical Society in the Morning Call Newspaper, 1984 to today

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CARVED INITIALS MARK 60-YEAR DREAM

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: LORNA WEIL, The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Jun 18, 1989

When George Widdicombe graduated from Nazareth Hall Academy in 1929, he fully expected to do what top classmen before him did - carve his initials on the Honors Table.

But the school closed that June, the table was removed and he never got the chance.

He resigned himself to the disappointment. But deep down, the desire to represent the last class to graduate from Nazareth Hall always remained.

Since then, 77-year-old Widdicombe, an Allentown resident, has wondered about the whereabouts of the table. Now, he has found it, and yesterday his dream came true.

Valedictorian Widdicombe, with chisel in hand, carved his initials below those of the Class of 1928. There were smiles, there were tears and there was joy, as wife, Kathryn, his children and members of the Moravian Historical Society looked on.

The initials on the table vary in size and style from the first, carved by George A. Collins of the Class of 1921, to the latest.

"It was one of those things that may not seem important, but it was to him; one of those things that doesn't make a difference, but it really does. It was something he always talked about," said his daughter, Fran Mabus of Easton. She had initiated the proposal to allow her father to carve his initials with a letter to the society when they discovered the table during a recent visit to the Whitefield House Museum for the Nazareth Hall Academy exhibit.

Widdicombe was a "townie" (because he lived in Nazareth) when he entered Nazareth Hall as a seventh-grader in 1923. He distinguished himself as editor of The Hall Boy, a monthly publication for students and parents, and served as commander of Company B.

Opened by the Moravian Church as a boarding school for boys in 1759, military drill was introduced in 1862 to help with discipline and physical exercise, according to Whitefield House Museum Curator Beth Pearce. The military concept gradually expanded to the use of uniforms and division of classes into cadet corps. By the time the academy closed, it became known as Nazareth Hall Military Academy.

Widdicombe explained that the Class of 1929 consisted of five young men. He is the only living member. The Honors Table, which was presented to the Moravian Historical Society by the Class of 1921, contains the initials of the three top students of each class. Missing from the Class of 1929 are the initials of salutatorian Arthur Leibert of Bethlehem, and Thomas Grimsdale, Chatham, N.J.

After Widdicombe graduated, he worked with the National Biscuit Co. in Philadelphia, then entered the Navy in World War II. Upon his discharge, he took night courses at Pennsylvania State University and became an electrical engineer with Western Electric.

Widdicombe said he is "really proud that someone is actually doing something" about recognizing Nazareth Hall. He plans to give his mementos to the historical society, but two of his prized possessions have vanished.

Just two weeks ago he lost his class ring, a gold ring with black onyx and gold crest of Nazareth Hall. Last November, during a burglary at his home, his sabre was stolen from the wall. But he still treasures photographs of the Class of 1929 and the entire student body, his valedictory address, booklets on rules and regulations of the Hall, the Hall crest and other pamphlets.

The Honors Table will remain a part of the Nazareth Hall exhibit at the Whitefield House through the end of June, Pearce announced.

Nazareth Hall was in what is known as the Manor House, built in 1755 for Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf, who never returned from Europe to occupy it. It also occupied the Principal's House, built in 1812; the first Room building, built in the 1870s for the older boys, and rented the 1840 church, which the Hall used as a gymnasium and added a swimming pool in the early 1900s.

"The students came from all over the United States, from the Caribbean Islands and Europe," Pearce said. From 1785 on, a total of 5,000 students attended.

Pearce noted that "it was a very well-respected educational institution, which is typical of Moravian Church schools. The Moravians maintained the high quality of discipline and morality among the students and the level of education which students received was equal to any other well-known boarding school, and in some instances probably was better.

"For a good number of years before it closed, the quality of education there was so well-respected that if a student graduated from Nazareth Hall, (he) would have no problem going on to college. Quite a number went on to Harvard and Yale, and some of the more impressive schools."

A decreasing enrollment and significant debt at the school brought about its closing in 1929. The site then became the Will R. Beitel Children's Home. The 16-acre site returned to Moravian hands in December 1980, when the Will R. Beitel Children's Community Foundation sold it to the executive board of the Eastern District of the Moravian Church in America.

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