Page 63 - 1952 VES Meteor

Adair Archer Memorial Medal
The Adair Archer Memorial Medal io given to that boy who, in the esti- mation of the Headmaster and the faculty, has shown the best all-around development in his character and in his service to the school. The award is considered to be the highest honor a student at V.E.S. may receive. This year's medalist is Friedrich Schilling, Jr.
Contrary to general belief, Adair Archer was not an alumnus of V.E.S. The school, newly founded in the fall of 1916, suffered no casualties in World War I. Adair Pleasants Archer was educated at Richmond Academy, Jefferson School, and the University of Virginia.
When the Misses Stewart of Brook Hill, Henrico County, decided to present medals to members of the graduating classes of various Vir-
ginia schools, they named the medals after alumni who .had given their lives for their cou ntry. Y oung V.E.S. having no such martyr, Adair Archer was chosen as a sort of honorary alumnus.
The man for whom the medal was
PHOTOGRAPHER 8th Street LYNCHBURG, VA.
r:amed would have been a worthy recipient himself. Talented to the point of genius, he was a leader in all that he undertook. Although a mem- ber of the Harvard R.O.T.C., he was not commissioned because he was under weight when he received his military diploma. Instead he became Y .M.C.A. secretary at Camp Lee, Virginia, where, among other things, he coached a very successful pro- duction of Shakespeare's "Henry V." In 1918 he enlisted in the army, but his application for a commission was again turned down for physical reasons. W ithin nine months he rose to the rank of sergeant and was rec- ommended for a commission. On October II, 1918, he went to the post hospital at Camp Grant, Illinois, with what was then popularly called "Spanish Influenza." This proved to be a precursor to pneumonia and on October 6, saying to his father, who was at his bed-side, "It is time for re- treat," he died.
Archer's promise as a poet and a dramatist was evident to many people. Among those who have
evaluated his life and works are Margaret Prescott Montague, Amelie Rives, and James Branch Cabell. Perhaps one of the best expressions or the young poet's purpose may be found in these lines from one of his
own poems:
"Ah, shape my will as a cunning hand,
A cunning hand and strong, And tune imagination's lyre To vent a royal song.
So, all creation's murmurings, Blend in one melody,
And I would live a clarion hymn, Dear God of Harmony!"
IN LYNCHBURG-IT'S
for
YOUNG MEN'S FASHIONS
THE METEOR
7
AWARDS
Adair Pleasants Archer