John Handley High School Records

145 WFCHS/THL 

Finding aid created by Archives Staff 06/1982. Last Revised 09/2021.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers. 

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplications, or publication of items in the collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. Note: Correspondence between the Handley Board of Trustees and General Education Board of New York, NY cannot be copied or published in its entirety without permission from the Rockefeller Archives Center, Sleepy Hollow, New York.

EXTENT: 1.87 linear feet 

DATES: 1917-2017. 

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The John Handley High School Records consists of class memorabilia, student newspapers, alumni material, and other items concerning the school. There is also correspondence related to the school’s construction and blueprints. Other items in the collection include a history of the school by former student, Kenneth W. Rose, and histories of Handley Football (1919-2012) and Handley Basketball (1923-2013) by Sam McCall.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: John Handley High School was built with money from the estate of Judge John Handley (1835-1895). The cornerstone was laid June 13, 1923, and the school was opened in September 1923. Handley High was a primary example of the use of private endowment funds to supplement tax money in support of public education. 

RELATED MATERIAL: John Handley Collection 522 WFCHS/THL; Frederick County Virginia School System Collection 199 THL; Winchester City School Records 581 THL; Media Collection 1306 THL. Additional information regarding Handley High School is in the James A. Miller Collection, 1421 WFCHS, Box 4. The DVD “Handley High School 75^th Anniversary Video,” no date, is located in the Media Collection, 1306 THL.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Quarles, Garland R., Winchester, Virginia, Street-Churches-Schools, Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, Winchester, VA, 1996

CITE AS: John Handley High School Records, 145 WFCHS/THL, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA. 

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.

ORGANIZATION: 

BOX 1 Construction   

Architect’s contract, July 1919, 1 item, 4 leaves, typescript 

Bell, Stewart, Sr. – involvement, 1 leaf, typescript  

Bills, correspondence, and receipts, 1922-1923, 5 items, 5 leaves, typescript 

Construction contracts, 1921, 5 items, unnumbered pages, typescript (copy) 

Cornerstone laying - correspondence, 1923, 2 leaves, typescript; 2 leaves, typescript (copy) 

Kellison, Dennis – Research Notes for doctoral dissertation, “The Renovation and Restoration of John Handley High School, Winchester, Virginia,” Shenandoah University, 2012, correspondence between the Handley Board of Trustees and General Education Board of New York, NY. These items should not be copied or published in their entirety without the permission of the Rockefeller Archives Center, Sleepy Hollow, New York. Correspondence is organized chronologically into five folders, as follows:

Correspondence – February, 1917-December, 1917, 60 letters, 65 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Correspondence – January, 1918-August, 1918, 81 letters, 102 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Correspondence – September, 1918-January 1, 1919, 45 letters, 59 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Correspondence – January, 1919-November, 1919, 101 letters, 117 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Correspondence – February, 1920-February, 1924, 33 letters, 54 leaves, typescript (photocopy) 

"Establishing the Handley School: R. Gray Williams, the General Education Board, and the Problematic Legacy of Judge John Handley," by Kenneth W. Rose, 1994, 1 item, 49 leaves, typescript (photocopy) 

“The Handley School, Winchester, VA”, by William R. McCormack, Architect, The Southern Architect and Building News, Vol. 53 (Nov., 1927), No. 11, pgs. 47-71

Sale of Smithfield farm to Colonial Brick Company - contract, 1921, 2 items, 6 leaves, typescript, copy 

Workmen's compensation, 1922, 6 items, 6 leaves, typescript 

BOX 2 News Articles

Handley H.S. 1906-1979, news articles, unnumbered, printed, (photocopy)

Handley High 1980-1999, news articles, unnumbered, printed, (photocopy)

News Articles 2000-2018, news articles, unnumbered, printed, (photocopy)

Photos, unnumbered, printed

Misc, news articles, unnumbered, printed, (photocopy)

BOX 3 Sports

Football game Program 1941 Handley vs. Hagerstown, printed 

Football Records 1921-2004, 12 leaves typescript [compiled by Justus Stryker, Aug. 2005] 

Handley Pride – A History of John Handley Football, 1919-2012 by Sam McCall, 2013, 1 booklet, 121 numbered pages plus 12 unnumbered leaves, printed 

Handley Pride 2: The History of the Handley Basketball Team, 1923 – 2013, by Sam McCall, 2012, 1 booklet, 49 leaves, printed

Hunter Maddex Hall of Fame, Establishment Edwin Barksdale Wing, Oct. 2010, 5 items, printed and CD

Hunter Maddex Hall of Fame, Edwin Barksdale Wing, Nov. 2011, 2 items, printed

Judges Athletic Association - awards banquet program, 1970, 1 item, 1 page, printed

Stadium - opening program, 1973, 1 leaf, typescript; 1 leaf, typescript (copy); 1 leaf, printed (5 copies) 

Tennis—Boys’ AA State Tennis Tournament, 1 item, printed 

BOX 4 Activities

Archives, Handley High School, 5 items, printed

Art and Literature Magazine (folders contain the following):

Mimesis, 1987, 48 pages, printed

Mimesis, 1988

Miscellanea, 2008-2009

Miscellanea, 2012

Cracks in the Stairs, 2013-2014, 18 pages, printed

An Ocean of Lost Expressions—You Dive, 2016, 46 pages, printed

Miscellanea, 2017—1 book, 36 pages, printed 

Miscellanea, 2019, 36 pages, printed

Calendar 1926-27, 34 pages, printed (2 copies)

Competitive drill between Handley High School and Massanutten Military Academy, 1928, 1 item, 6 pages, printed 

Concert programs, 1947 and 1950, 2 items, 5 pages, printed 

Faculty—Listing 1921 & 1931 faculty, Photo of 1921 Faculty, news articles, unnumbered items, printed, photocopy

"John Handley Public Schools" -pamphlet, c. 1918, 6 items, 4 pages, printed (6 copies)

National Register of Historic Places registration form, April 15, 1998, 1 item, printed

Newspaper – The Gavel, October 1989, 5 pages, printed 

Report Cards (folder contains the following):
Duane Hughe, 1933-1934, 1 item, printed with manuscript on printed form
John C. Blackburn, 1968-1969, 6 cards with manuscript on printed form, 1 envelope with manuscript on printed form

School within a School 1999 calendar, 1 item, printed

Seventy-fifth Anniversary Celebration, 1998  (folder contains the following):
Invitation May 16, 1998, 1 page, printed   
Program, May 16, 1998, 4 items, printed
Booklet, 75 Years of Excellence, 16 pages, printed (2 copies)
Minutes of Planning Committee 10/21/97, 3/3, 3/13, 3/24/98, 6 leaves, typescript
List of Possible Interviews for 75^th Anniversary, 2 leaves, typescript
List of all Valedictorians and Salutatorians (1924-1997)
List of All Superintendents (1924-1997)
List of All Principals (1924-1997)
List of All Assistant Principals (1924-1997), 7 leaves total, typescript

Seventy-fifth Anniversary: “John Handley and the Value of Commemorations” Speech delivered by Kenneth W. Rose, 1995, 1 item, 8 leaves, typescript (photocopy)

Student handbook, 1987-1988, 1 item, 68 pages, printed 

World War II – Art stored at Handley High School, 12 leaves, typescript (photocopy), 2 news articles (photocopy) 

World War II – Students and Staff who served in World War II (folder contains the following):
Handley High School Students enrolled in the Armed Forces of the United States during WWII “Final copy with classes” 19 leaves, typescript, 941 names including women
JHHS students and some staff who served in WWII, 1941-45, with notes and additions including Handley students who have made the extreme sacrifice World War II and Korean War 7 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Roll of Honor Plaque, 1 leaf, photo (photocopy)
Winchester High School Seniors now serving in US Army, no date, 1 leaf printed (photocopy)

Veterans Day Commemoration 11/11/2014, 1 item, printed; 11/9/2017, 1 item, printed

BOX 5 Activities

Class of 1924 (folder contains the following):
Baccalaureate Service – June 8, 1924, 1 item, printed
Graduation Exercises – June 12, 1924, 1 item, printed
News article, 1 item, printed (photocopy)

Class of 1927, 7 items, typescript/mimeograph

Class of 1929, Graduation Exercises – June 13, 1929, 1 item (2 copies), printed

Class of 1930, Class Day Exercises – June 11, 1930, 1 item, printed

Class of 1932, News Article – August 27, 1982, 1 item, 2 leaves, printed (photocopy)

Class of 1933, Graduation Exercises – June 8, 1933 1 item, printed (2 copies)

Class of 1936, Sermon to the Graduates – June 7, 1936, 1 item, printed

Class of 1938, Graduation Exercises – June 9, 1938, 1 item, printed

Class of 1939, Sermon to the Graduates – June 4, 1939, 1 item, printed

Class of 1940 (folder contains the following):
Prophecy, 1 item, 4 leaves, typescript (copy)
Will, 1 item, 2 leaves, typescript (copy)

Class of 1942, News article – October 22, 2007, 1 item, printed

Class of 1944 (folder contains the following):
Sermon to Graduates – June 11, 1944, 1 item, printed
Graduation Exercises – June 16, 1944, 1 item, printed

Class of 1945(folder contains the following):
Playbill – Senior class play “The Young in Heart,” 1 item, printed
Sermon to graduates conducted by Winchester Ministerial Association, 1 item, typed
The senior banquet – June 7, 1945, 1 item, typed
Graduation exercises – June 8, 1945, 1 item, typed

Class of 1948 (folder contains the following):
News article on Handley High School Glee Club – April 2, 1947
News article “Ten Seniors in Cast of Class Play” – March 11, 1945
Program senior class play “Dear Ruth” – March 12, 1948
Admission ticket 1948 graduation exercises – June 10, 1948
Program 1948 graduation exercises – June 10, 1948
Five year reunion program with attached “class will” – June 20, 1953
Ten year reunion program – November 29, 1958

Class of 1951, playbill – senior class play “A Date with Judy,” 1 item, printed

Class of 1953, playbill – senior class play “The Youngest,” 1 item, printed

Class of 1954 (folder contains the following):
“The History of the Class of 1954” by Pat Cahill, 2 pages, typescript
“The Last Will and Testament of the Senior Class of 1954” by Robert Lewis, 4 pages, typescript
“Prophecy – 1954” by Carle Germelman, 3 leaves, typescript
Reunion – August 7, 1999, 8 leaves, printed

Class of 1955, 20^th reunion – July 12, 1975, 32 pages, photocopy

Class of 1961, “Then and Now” 50^th reunion, 2011, 54 pages, printed

Class of 1959, 50^th reunion yearbook – 1999, 26 pages, printed

Class of 1969 (folder contains the following):
Sermon to the graduates – June 8, 1969, 1 item, printed
Graduation exercises – June 13,1969, 1 item, printed

Alumni Directory,  1993, 2012, 1 item, printed

Alumni – news articles, unnumbered, photocopies

OVERSIZE

MAPCASE 1, DRAWER 13

Handley High School reservoir - drawing and explanation, May 19, 1922, 1 leaf, manuscript 

Trail Blazer (school newspaper), 40 items, printed

1920 - April (2 copies), May, June
1921 - March 1 (2 copies), April 1, May 1 (2 copies), June 1, December 1 (2 copies)

1922 - January 1 (2 copies), February 1 (2 copies), March 1 (2 copies), April 1 (2 copies), May 1 (2 copies), June (3 copies), October 10 (2 copies), November 10 (2 copies), December (2 copies)
1923 - January (2 copies), February, April, May, June
1926 - March 17 (2 copies)
1932 – March 

Edwin K. Barksdale Wing – Hunter Maddox Hall of Fame, John Handley High School, 2010, Recipients Photographs, 1 leaf, printed 

Hunter Maddox Hall of Fame, John Handley High School, 2011 Recipients Photographs, 1 leaf, printed 

Edwin K. Barksdale Wing – Hunter Maddox Hall of Fame, John Handley High School, 2011, Recipients Photographs, 1 leaf, printed 

LOCATED ON OVERSIZE SHELVES – SCRAPBOOKS

Key Club Scrapbook, 1972-73, 24 pages, contains photographs, quotes, and memorabilia, housed in custom made wooden frame

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs and other images belonging to this collection may be accessed online through http://handley.pastperfectonline.com