Tomorrow is July 4th, our country’s birthday. But rather than talk about the American Revolution, let’s jump ahead almost one hundred fifty years to an American hero known simply as “Sergeant York.”

For most people, York’s hero status comes from his actions during World War I, when he led a handful of soldiers in “an attack on a German machine gun nest, gathered 35 machine guns, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers and capturing 132 prisoners.”¹ He received the Medal of Honor and a promotion from corporal to sergeant for this feat and even had a movie made about it.

But did you know, for many Tennesseans, his real act of heroism came after the war?

How It Started

Alvin C. York was born on December 13, 1887, in Fentress County, Tennessee, in the small community of Pall Mall. He was one of eleven children, none of whom had much schooling because they had to help provide for the family.

But York understood the importance of education and the lack of educational opportunities for children in his area of rural Tennessee. He wanted to give them the chance to receive a high school education. To that end, after he retired from the army, he fought the county, state, and local leaders to establish and build the Alvin C. York Institute. The Institute, founded in 1926 and opened in 1929, operated as a private agricultural school until 1937. Then, because of the worsening nationwide depression, private ownership of the school was transferred to the state.

 The Gift

York’s gift of education to the children of Tennessee continues to this day. The school, now the public high school in Jamestown, is the only high school in the U.S. state-financed and operated. It’s also unique because it’s the largest high school campus in the world, sitting on over 400 acres of land. Designated as a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife management area, it’s more than just a place to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. Students have a working farm where they can learn to manage cattle, and five ponds for sport fishing, watering livestock, and providing a feeding and nesting place for water birds.

The Institute also works with a community college to offer free undergraduate college classes. Students can get their high school diploma while earning up to two years’ worth of college credit. If a student isn’t interested in college, the Institute offers various vocational programs and certifications. It operates the local community education program, too, offering free classes and events community-wide.

The Results

Thanks to American hero, Sergeant Alvin C. York, thousands of young Tennesseans have received, and will continue to receive, the education and/or vocational training they need to succeed in life.

 

I attended Alvin C. York Institute from 1996 to 2000. The first day of school we watched the movie, “Sergeant York.” I’ve seen it so often since then I can practically quote it by heart. His story truly inspired me, especially how a person’s faith can matter so much. Because of him, I work to inspire others through a Facebook group called Thrive.    —Talitha Lynn Koger

 

¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York