Visit to Avondale School by George A. Irwin

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 7, 1907

Visit to Avondale School

By George A. Irwin

Monday afternoon, November 26, at 3:45, I left Sydney to visit the Avondale School, where I arrived the same evening at eight o'clock. On Tuesday, in company with my son, who is principal and business manager of the school, I looked over the new addition to the dining-room and girls' dormitory. This building is but the completion of the general plan that was made to connect the two buildings when Elder W. C. White was president of the school board. This new building was greatly needed to give them a lighter and more commodious parlor for the young women, to enlarge their dining-room capacity, and to give them more sleeping-rooms. In addition to its practical utility, it adds much to the general appearance of the buildings and plant as a whole. This new building was erected at a total cost of £589 2s. 2d., and was paid for entirely from the school's own resources. The actual cash outlay was about £400, the rest of the total expenditure, £189 2s. 2d., represents student labor, every department of the school bearing a part. The construction of the building was supervised by one of the teaching staff. The building has been erected free from indebtedness. One of the benefits that

will be derived by the students from this completed work is the practical training received in useful accomplishments, which will be of service to them in their future mission work. At the close of the union conference in September the building was formally dedicated. During the exercises the principal of the school presented Pastor Olsen with a cheque for £105, as an offering to missions. Thirty pounds of this amount was a donation from the teachers and friends of the school to pay the passage of two former students to their respective fields of labor—Fiji and Singapore. The rest, £75, was the tithe from the net earnings of the school the past year, to be used at the discretion of the union conference in its missionary operations. The exercises closed with a dinner prepared by the school. This was served in the new dining-room, and was partaken of by over two hundred delegates and students.

Leaving this building, we passed on from place to place, visiting the various industries, closing with a general survey of the farm. Wherever we went, change and improvement was noticeable, and the whole place had an air of thrift and prosperity. A new boiler has been placed in the food factory, of sufficient capacity to furnish power to operate the machinery of the factory, and to operate the Avondale Press machinery as well.

In addition to the improvements made in the factory, nearly £1,200 has been paid on the indebtedness since it was turned over to the school, a little over two years ago. If a proportionate prosperity continues to attend this work in the future, it will not be long until the factory is out of debt. A new building is in process of erection for a home for the Avondale Press. At present they are occupying a portion of the building belonging to the food factory. The place is dark and cramped, and is wholly unfit for their business; besides, the food factory needs extra room. The printing department is in good condition, having a present worth of £990, with only £50 indebtedness.

Another valuable improvement noticed was a simple yet effective telephone system, connecting the school building and various industrial departments with the manager's office. The labor of putting in this plant was performed entirely by students, the only outlay in cash being the amount paid for wires and phones. The buildings are all in good condition, having been kept painted both inside and out. Changes have been made in the location and plans of the flower beds, to adapt them to the rapidly growing ornamental trees and new orchards both in front and in rear of the buildings. The new vineyards have made a marvelous growth, and are loaded with beautiful grapes. The farm throughout is looking very well, fences and gates are in a good state of repair, while additional land is being cleared and added to that already under cultivation. The farm and garden for the past year have been under the management of one of the teachers, and for the first time in its history came out with a surplus of £76.

The estate at present embraces 1,052 acres, 119 of which are cleared, and occupied as follows: 52 acres in farm plots, 30 acres in orchards, vineyards, and gardens, and 37 acres in pasture. The ever-increasing need and demand for labor on the farm, and the various industries connected with the school, furnish employment for a large number of students.

The business manager's report for the past year reveals the astonishing fact that during that time £2,228 was earned by students. Eighty-two per cent of the students in attendance pay some portion of their tuition in work. It was about the middle of the summer vacation when I was there, yet there were over fifty students in the Home, each working from eight to ten hours each day. This number was necessary to keep everything going properly. The school with its various industries has come to the point where it handles on an average nearly £1,000 a month. The school proper in its operation the past year had a net gain of £845 2s. 5d.

The servant of the Lord has said that this should be a model school, and not be molded after any other school in the world. While there is doubtless much yet to be accomplished before it reaches the high ideal set, yet we should feel thankful for the degree of proficiency already obtained. Their success thus far may be attributed to the following causes: first, the interest that presidents of conferences, ministers, doctors, workers, and old students take in the school; second, the order and system seen in its management; third, the willingness shown by each member of the faculty to do manual labor, and his close attention to every detail of the department placed in his charge; fourth, and most important of all, a careful study of and a disposition to follow the light given in the Testimonies relative to text-books, industrial work, and the general management of our large schools.

The success and prosperity attending the school in this place is a tangible witness to the reliability of the Testimonies. In the beginning false witness was borne about the land. Men acted upon the opinion of so-called experts rather than the testimony of the servant of the Lord, and for two full years the work was held back. The Testimony said that notwithstanding all that had been said against the land, the Lord could spread a table in the wilderness. What a short time it has taken to fulfil this prediction when men and women believed the Lord and used their ability and capabilities to demonstrate that God's word is true, rather than to prove it false. The so-called worthless land is now producing an abundance of fruit, grain, and vegetables to supply the large number of students and employees of the school. And not only this, but the statement that from this school missionaries should go out to India, China, and the islands of the sea has already been fulfilled. My only regret while being permitted to see all this was that Sister White herself could not be permitted to see with her natural eyes—in some degree at least what the Lord revealed to her in vision. In these days of doubt and questioning, it is gratifying to behold two such staunch witnesses to the truthfulness of the Testimonies and the principles they advocate, as the Avondale School and the Sydney Sanitarium. It is for the purpose of vindicating the Testimonies, that I have written as lengthily as I have of these two institutions. [The report of the sanitarium was published in the World-wide Field Department of the REVIEW, in the issue of February 21.—Ed.] It was very gratifying indeed to me to read from the reports rendered at the late union conference by the men standing at the head of these institutions, that all the success that had attended their work came as a result of following the instruction received from the Lord relative to institutional work. G. A. IRWIN.