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MOUNTAIN MISSION SCHOOL "If anyone should harm these little ones, it would be better if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea." Story and photographs by Emily Grey 
In the late 1800s, a 10-year-old boy wandered the rugged Appalachian Mountains in eastern Kentucky. He knocked on doors in search of work, earning a quarter for 8 to 10 hours of hard labor. He begged for food. He never attended school. Like many of the world's children, Sam Hurley was considered an orphan. By the definition of the day, an orphan was one whose primary parental breadwinner had died. In Hurley's case, his father had died and his mother could not support her son. One chilly April evening in 1888, Hurley climbed beneath a rocky ledge and covered himself with leaves. He was frightened by sounds, mainly the growls of a mountain lion. The boy prayed an asked God to spare him from the cat. In return, he promised to do something positive for children like himself when he grew up. Years passed, and Hurley became a builder. He constructed the stone courthouse in Grundy, Va., and he also became the clerk of the court. One day, a small boy entered the office and explained to Hurley that he had no parents or home. Someone had suggested the boy talk to Hurley, now a father of seven. Hurley explained he cared for nine children in addition to his own, and there was no room for another youngster. When Hurley later walked out of his office, he observed the little boy sobbing beneath a courthouse window, and he recalled his childhood pact with God. Hurley met with his attorney and invested all his savings in Grundy Academy in 1921. The academy's name was later changed in Mountain Industrial Institute, and finally to Mountain Mission School. Hurley became president of the school, and he and his wife, Jane Looney, who taught him to read lived on campus and gave all they owned to the school. Nowadays, the school is overseen by Hurley's descendants. His granddaughter Charliece Swiney is secretary and treasurer of the school.; her husband, Marvin, is the school's president. Their daughter Cindy Rodda teaches English literature and is assistant to her father. A towering chapel serves as a welcoming sentinel by the school's entrance. Also near the front gate is a rugged old millstone, covered in flowing water. Hurley gave this landmark to the school to remind staff and others that "If anyone should harm these little ones, it would be better is a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea." "The school began as an effort to keep the family unit intact," Rodda said. "It does not take in adoptable children, only those in devastating circumstances such as parental death, accident, abuse or extreme poverty." "Reclaiming the lives of children," said Charliece Swiney, "by giving them every opportunity the staff and school supporters possibly can helps define the purpose for which the school exists."
There may be no other American facility like Mountain Mission, a non-profit foundation dependent solely on charitable contributions. It is the only known entity to educate and board seriously disadvantaged children from birth through high school and sometimes beyond. More than 20,000 youngsters from every state except Alaska and 20 foreign nations have received tuition-free care and love, guidance and sustenance from the school. A successful alumna wrote, "I hated the world. You saved my life! For the first time in my life, I was able to be a child. I didn't have to worry about my next meal, gunfire outside my window at night. Mountain Mission is always going to be my home." "Please continue to bless the children. The seeds that you plant today will eventually grow and develop. Don't feel for one second that the work you do is unimportant. How many other teachers can say that they saved someone's life? You can say that every day. Even though you can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, know that there is a light no matter how dim. Once you see the children that you have raised become responsible, respectable citizens, know that if not for you they may have ended up differently." "People mainly find out about us by word of mouth," Rodda said. "People will say, "I'll bet Mountain Mission can help." When Rodda walks across campus, students smile and respond warmly to Miss Cindy. She knows the name and history of each child. Youngsters tugged playfully at her lab coat, departing only after giving her a bear hug. Three spacious residence halls grace the grounds: one for toddlers and the other two for girls and boys, with age groups separated by floors. Inside the fine arts building, a huge stage is ready for graduations, concerts and other performances. A dinner bell sits near the front door. Mountain Mission students participate in varsity and junior varsity sports with neighboring schools. There are band concerts, plays and formal banquets, as well as field trips to parks and movies, and a week at summer camp. "As part of their service to God, teachers earn about $12,000 a year at Mountain Mission," Rodda said. There were more than 40 staff members, including faculty, who also cook, clean, lead scout troops and perform church duties. Nearly all Mountain Mission graduates attend college.
In the school's annual publication, Roots and Wings, a contributor wrote, "Your mission hasn't changed, but your reach has expanded. It's more inclusive, and it's mindful of the fact that we live in a much larger world, and that children who live all over this planet need places like Mountain Mission School." Emily Grey is a writer from Onancock, Va. |
