Bass Memorial Academy

Bass Memorial Academy (BMA)¹ is a regionally and denominationally accredited co-educational boarding high school operated by the Gulf States Conference.² The academy is located on 436 acres in Lamar County, Mississippi, between the small towns of Lumberton and Purvis. Bass Christian Elementary School (grades 1-8) is also located on the campus.

Origin and Establishment

The roots of K-12 education in this location trace back to the early 1900s and the tiny community of Talowah, Mississippi, which is located about two miles south of the campus. J. W. Waller, a Seventh-day Adventist nurse and colporteur, identified the area as an excellent place for a school, church, and sanitarium. By 1922 a church had been organized and a school opened that eventually grew to more than seventy-five students in eleven grades. By the late 1930s, however, enrollment waned as many of the charter members moved to other locales, such as Collegedale, Tennessee—for example, one of the original students in the Talowah school was O. D. McKee who later founded McKee Baking Company and the “Little Debbie” brand. Another of those original students, Ralph Hendershot, later returned to Talowah, Mississippi, with a desire to see Adventist education firmly established in the area. He was directly involved in the series of events that led to the formation of BMA.

In the 1940s, Hendershot established a friendship with I. H. Bass, who owned thousands of acres in Lamar County, many of which were planted in pecan trees. Hendershot regularly asked Bass, who was not a Seventh-day Adventist, to give to the annual Ingathering Campaign, which supported the work of the Adventist church. For years those requests were rebuffed, but in 1957 Bass expressed interest in supporting education if that was an option for giving. Hendershot told Bass about the Adventist school system,³ and within a matter of days a meeting was arranged between Bass and the Alabama-Mississippi (now Gulf States) Conference officials to discuss the establishment of a boarding school. At Bass’s invitation, LeRoy J. Leiske, conference president; Oscar L. Heinrich, education secretary; and L. E. Aldrich, conference treasurer (soon after replaced by J. Henson Whitehead), selected a choice site of land that included a pecan grove, cleared land, and pines. On August 25, 1957, the conference voted to accept the gift, and just eleven months later the first BMA board meeting was held. The academy opened on September 10, 1961.⁴

The events between August 25, 1957, and September 10, 1961, saw the constituents of the conference work together to bring the vision of a school to fruition. The various churches conducted separate fund-raising projects to provide resources for specific buildings and rooms;⁵ members donated calves for the dairy farm; Pathfinder clubs collected money to purchase the entrance sign (which was dedicated September 14, 1958, with J. P. Coleman, the governor of Mississippi, in attendance). I. H. Bass donated $5,000 for pecan-shelling equipment.⁶ A conference-wide project known as the “Million Penny Campaign” concluded April 5, 1959, with a widely publicized celebration of the achievement. Members of the Mississippi National Guard participated by shoveling the 1,242,221 coins, a weight of four tons, into buckets and loading them on trucks for transport to a bank in New Orleans where the money was deposited. These funds were used to construct the administration building. Several individuals played key roles in the actual construction and preparation of the facilities for the start of school, including O. O. Smith (architect), S.A. Brown (builder), and the Heinrich family (construction, development, architecture and interior design).

Historical Development

BMA opened in 1961 with an enrollment of approximately120 students, 26 of whom graduated in 1962 as the first graduating class. Meanwhile, the campus continued to be improved with new buildings and equipment. In 1962, I. H. Bass donated $25,000 for the construction of an auditorium-gymnasium.⁷ In 1969, a “Committee of 100” was organized for the purpose of raising funds to provide equipment and school improvements. That same year, Hurricane Camille badly damaged many buildings causing school to begin a week late.

In 1971, just ten years after it opened, the academy’s $70,000 debt was paid off and the school was completely debt free. The Bass family gave the academy an additional 80 acres (32 hectares) of land in 1974. The following year, the campus church with a seating capacity of more than 400 was completed.

The Adventist Health Center (now Lamar Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center), a primary-care nursing home was constructed in 1981. It continues to employ students.

In 1987, under the leadership of Conference President Richard Halleck, the Gulf States Conference demonstrated its financial commitment to students by instituting the conference-wide “BMA Mission” giving campaign. Thanks to the gifts of many alumni and benefactors, the Roy Dunn Computer Center was built and major renovations were completed to the cafeteria, residences halls, administration building, and gymnasium in 1989. New tennis facilities and a swimming pool were also added.

A National Honor Society chapter established and the BMA Scholar program instituted in 1998. Major renovations to the boys’ residence hall included new closets, furniture, and air conditioning units.

In the early 2000s, attention turned to the renovations of the girl’s residence hall bathrooms and the installation of air conditioning units in the rooms. Pitched roofs were placed on both residence halls. Under the leadership of Conference President Mel Eisele, the “BMA Mission” campaign was reconstituted as the “Touch the Future” giving campaign as the conference once again demonstrated its support for Adventist Christian education through a major financial commitment.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the campus in 2005 which necessitated the some degree of reconstruction for all structures on campus with the exception of the residence halls, maintenance building, and administrative building. The classrooms, library (also relocated), and music building were basically rebuilt. Damage to the chapel, church, and gymnasium required major renovations.

In 2014 a capital campaign, “Raise the Roof,” funding additional improvements to the administration building, including a new roof and design. A five-year comprehensive strategic plan was drafted and approved by the BMA operating board and the Gulf States Conference Board of Education in 2016. 

Now in its sixth decade of operation, BMA continues to provide opportunities for students to receive a holistic education that features excellence in academics in a safe, nurturing, and distinctly Seventh-day Adventist Christian environment.

Principals

Clifford L. Jacqua (1961-1966), R.P. Bailey (1966-1968), John Mayhew (1968-1969), L.A. Stout (1969-1974), K. J. Epperson (1974-1977), Cyril Connely (1977-197), Dallas Carr (1979-1982) Gerald Kovalski (1982-1985), Kenneth Kirkham (1985-1987), Ted Winn (1987-1990), Jerrell Gilkerson (1990-1993), Tui Pitman (1993-1997), Stan Hobbs (1997-2000). Craig Zeismer (2000-2009), Gary Wilson (2009-2010), Phil Wilhelm (2010-2015), Scott Bowes (2015- )

Sources

“Bass Memorial Academy Notes.” Southern Tidings, February 4, 1957.

Brown, Edith. “Bass Memorial Academy Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Unpublished manuscript. 2009. A copy in the author’s private collection.

Chastain, Rosiland. “Talowah.” Unpublished manuscript, 1980. A copy in the author’s private collection.

Jaqua, Clifford L. “BMA Firsts.” Southern Tidings, November 22, 1961.

Peeke, W. E. “Academy Auditorium.” Southern Tidings, November 7, 1962.

Notes

1. Unless otherwise noted, information in this article is adapted from Edith Brown, “Bass Memorial Academy Seventh-day Adventist Church,” unpublished manuscript, 2009; Rosiland Chastain, “Talowah,” unpublished manuscript, 1980; Kathleen Martin, interview by the author, September 19, 2017, Lumberton, Mississppi; Ronnie Richardson, telephone interview by the author, December 21, 2017.↩

2. The Gulf States Conference is comprised of Alabama, Mississippi and northwestern Florida.↩

3. “Bass Memorial Academy Notes,” Southern Tidings, February 4, 1957, 3.↩

4. Clifford L. Jaqua, “BMA Firsts,” Southern Tidings, November 22, 1961, 7.↩

5. “Bass Memorial Academy Notes,” Southern Tidings, February 4, 1957, 3.↩

6. Clifford L. Jaqua, “BMA Firsts,” Southern Tidings, November 22, 1961, 7.↩

7. W. E. Peeke, “Academy Auditorium,” Southern Tidings, November 7, 1962, 4.↩