BELLOWS FREE ACADEMY 100th ANNIVERSARY INFORMATIONAL SITE

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PLANNED ACTIVITIES

MONTH	ACTIVITIES PLANNED	WRITE-UPS & PHOTOS
January - 2003	Kickoff	BFA - Fairfax Kicks Off Its 18 Month 100th Birthday Celebration - January 2, 2003 WCAX Channel 3 News Covers 100th Birthday of BFA Kickoff - January 2, 2003 St. Albans Messenger Covers 100th Birthday of BFA Kickoff - January 3, 2003rd Issue
February - 2003	Sports Evolution	Alumni Appreciation Day Activities
March - 2003	Music Appreciation	Mr. Sterling Weed At Age 101& Bruce McRae 30yrs Kevin Hebert's Photos of Mr. Sterling Weed and The BFA Band 2003 Young Fairfax Musician Prepares For The Big Time
April - 2003	Dugout Dedication	May 3, 2003 - 3pm - Special ceremony to dedicate the new dugouts for baseball and softball. Members of the only undefeated baseball team in school history have been invited for the festivities. Dugout Dedication Program 3 Championship Teams Web Site Actual Dedication Ceremony
May - 2003	Arts	The Wizard Of Oz Production Junior Duck Stamp Awards
June - 2003	First to 100th
July - 2003
August - 2003	Family Genealogy
September - 2003	Ice Cream Social
October - 2003	Middle School
November - 2003	Fashion Show
December - 2003	Support Staff
January - 2004	Winter Carnival
February - 2004	Elementary School
March - 2004	High School
April - 2004	Transportation
May - 2004	Enrichment
June - 2004	Homecoming - 100th Graduation

The Next BFA Birthday Celebration Committee Meeting
Will Be Held On Wednesday, April 16, 2003
At 3:30 p.m. In The Library

Alumni Contacts:	D. Walford, P. Lavallee
Athletic Highlights:	M. Brown
BFA Families and Graduates:	B. Keefe
Bulletin Boards:	L. Grant, A. Brault
Calendar:	E. Sinclair-Fowler, L. Griswold & 8^th Grade Class
Culminating Event:	P. Stewart, P. Nilsson, N. Mead, E. Delorme, J. Wells
Events (School):	K. Hayes, L. Grant, A. Brault, C. Beaulieu, C. Bourdeau
Events (Community):
Finance:	P/P Lavallee
Gift to BFA:	D. Bushey, D. Clark, C. Lizotte, G. Stewart
Grant Writing:
Historical Research:	Henry Raymond, Sally Sweet
History Book:	N. Mead, M. Choiniere, J. Wells
Kick-Off:
Logo, Slogan:	M. Choiniere, A. Brault, L. Grant
Mailings, Typing:	B. Ide, J. Duffy
Memorabilia Curators:	A. Daniels, E. Sinclair-Fowler
Organization:	A. Daniels
Publicity:	S. Lang, M. Choiniere
Quilt Makers:	C. Stanley, G. Meigs
Secretary:	S. Morrill
Updated Alumni List:
Video Interviews:	P. Lavallee, D. Walford
Videography:	M. Choiniere
Web Site Update:	G. Huffman
Other Volunteers:	B. McCrae, G. Ligon
Other Centennial Committee Members:	M. Herrick, T. Pfeiffer, T. Sloan

(Please excuse this website - It is for informational purposes only) G. Huffman will be working with the Official BFA Website
If you have e-mail addresses of other Alumni, please inform them of this site. Any articles, photos, special memories that you feel would be pertinent to this special anniversary would be greatly appreciated. Bellows Free Academy has agreed to store these special items in their vault which would keep them safe. You may contact anyone on the committee listed above or send me an email directly at

vtgrandpa@yahoo.com

FAIRFAX - 1904

Fairfax is a pleasant village in Franklin County, Vt. The fact that it is off the railroad must be felt to be an advantage by those who are forced to send children away from home for school privileges, since it does away with many of the temptations which are incidental to places along the line of the railroad. The nearest station is Georgia, which is on the Central Vermont Railroad. A stage for Fairfax meets all the regular trains.

Original Bellows Free Academy Formally dedicated August 31, 1904

MOTTO OF THE ACADEMY
"To Virtue, Knowledge."

DEDICATION OF BELLOWS FREE ACADEMY LARGELY ATTENDED

(Copied from The St. Albans Messenger dated September 2, 1904)

The dedication of the Bellows Free Academy took place Wednesday, August 31, 1904. The hall was filled, it being estimated that there were seven hundred people in the building. The gathering was called to order by the President of the Board of Trustees, L. T. Wilcox. Prayer was offered by the Rev. O. R. Hunt. An address on behalf of the doner and the Treasurer's report was made by F. W. Shepardson. He reported that the building and equipment would cost about $45,000 and that there was in the treasury $231,000 for a permanent fund to run the school.

I. E. Hunt spoke on the benefit conferred upon the town by the gift. M. H. Buckham, President of the University of Vermont, Burlington, spoke for a half hour on education and was listened to with much interest.

Walter E. Ranger, of Montpelier, State Superintendent of Education, spoke on how much was being done throughout the state toward a higher grade of education.

Trustee, C. A. Hawley presented the keys of the Academy to Principal M. D. Chittenden. In response, Mr. Chittenden said that it was a great pleasure to be called a principal. He knew that there was a great responsibility resting upon him, but he hoped by the support of the people and friends of the Academy that they would build up a school that would be second to none in the state.

The Benediction was pronounced by the Rev. G. W. Burke. Music was furnished by the Howard Opera House Orchestra of Burlington.

An excellent portrait of the late Hiram Bellows has been placed in the Assembly Hall of the Bellows Free Academy.

THE FIRST GRADUATE

The first and only graduate in 1905 was
Ralph S. Wolcott who was from Milton
5 boys graduated in 1906 and there were 13 graduates in 1907

A complete listing of all graduates from BFA 1905-1998 is published in The Bellows Free Academy Alumni Directory published in 1999

View copies of the Fourth Commencement Program June 23, 1908

BELLOWS FREE ACADEMY was provided for through the beneficence of Mr. Hiram Bellows, of St. Albans, Vermont, who bequeathed funds for the purpose, defined the aim and object of the school, gave it the name; Bellows Free Academy, arranged for the appointment of a Board of Trustees, designated the general plan of administration, and selected Fairfax, his native town, as its site.

The object of Bellows Free Academy, as stated in the will of the founder, is to further the education of children and young people, so as to fit them for usefulness. "Mr. Bellows further stipulated that the school should be free and should offer such means and facilities for education as the times may demand.

These and all other specifications of the will were carefully followed, and the institution was formally opened on the thirty-first of August, 1904, when appropriate exercises were held in the Assembly Hall of the Academy.

The aim of the school is to develop character in its best and highest form and to foster those social instincts which make man a helpful and cheering influence in the world.

Three courses of study-Classical, Latin-Scientific, and English-are offered.

The scope of the work is broad and practical, as is indicated by the curriculum. N ot only do those who desire special scientific training or preparation for college, receive the best of advantages, but those whose education must be confined to a course in a secondary school, will find the work admirably suited to their needs.