Mother’s Day makes the news each year. We hear a lot about Anna Jarvis and the First Mother’s Day in 1908. But, as with most things, there are subplots to that story.
What do the things in the photo above have in common?
L.L. Loar
Lawson L. Loar was a successful merchant in Clarksburg, WV. He was also the Superintendent of the Sunday school of Andrews Methodist Episcopal church, in Grafton, W. Va. during the first Mother’s Day service held there in 1908, and gave of his time and money to help lead the plans for establishing the annual memorial to Motherhood. He died in 1938.
Until 1941, the West Virginia area was supporting two colleges: West Virginia Wesleyan and Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston). With the uniting of the Methodist Episcopal North, the Methodist Episcopal South, and the Methodist Protestant Churches in 1939, it became obvious that the area could not support two colleges, and West Virginia Wesleyan was named the one college of what was then the fourth largest Conference in the Methodist Church. 1943, there was a campaign to help provide for the future and strengthening of the college (The Great Wesleyan Movement).
Through the close connection between West Virginia Wesleyan College and the Methodist Church, Mrs. Lawson L. Loar agreed in 1943 to provide funds for the Hall of Music as a memorial to the Loar Family. This was a great act of faith and commitment at a time when the nation was facing World War once again. The building was not finished until 1953, but the funds were assured.
L.L. Loar had a connection to Mother’s Day, and to the Methodist Church.
Mrs. L.L. Loar provided funds for the Hall of Music in memory of the family through her own strong connection with the Methodist Conference and her belief in West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Music — Methodists — Mother’s Day
There is another interesting connection between Mother’s Day and West Virginia Wesleyan College. Dr. Katharine Antolini, Assistant Professor of History and Gender Studies, did her doctoral studies about Anna Jarvis and the Mother’s Day Shrine in Grafton, WV. According to Chapter 2, p. 46 of Antolini’s book, Jarvis was later offered a teaching position at the West Virginia Conference Seminary (now WVWC) to teach English and Shorthand. For reasons unknown, she did not come. Antolini is considered to be a primary expert on the subject of Anna Jarvis and serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Mother’s Day Shrine in Grafton.
Sources
Antolini, K. L. (2014). Memorializing motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the struggle for control of Mother’s Day. Morgantown, WV: WVU Press.
The Great Wesleyan Movement. (1943). The West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 36(3), 1-2. Retrieved May 14, 2018, from http://cdm16111.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16111coll2/id/482
Loar Memorial Hall Dedication Today. (1953). The Pharos, XLVII(6), 1-1. Retrieved from http://cdm16111.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p271901coll13/id/1653
West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 47 (2), Catalogue 1954-55, 23. (1954). Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/westvirginiawesl19541955west#page/22/mode/2up.
To find out more about the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com