Published on April 27, 2005. Reprinted with permission from the Preston Citizen.
Oneida Stake Academy restoration takes step forward with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation contribution
Necia P. Seamons, Citizen staff writer
The restoration of the Oneida Stake Academy took a large step forward today with a generous contribution from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation, said Fred Woods of the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation.
An ample gift from the same foundation two years ago helped with the historic move of the academy from its original site to its new location in Benson Park in Preston. The lot on which the building now sits was another gift from the Church to the restoration of the 115-year-old Oneida Stake Academy. The park is named after the family of Ezra Taft Benson, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Benson was raised just east of the City of Preston in Whitney.
He attended the Oneida Stake Academy and graduated in 1919, a year after his friend Harold B. Lee, another president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
According to a biography of Benson by Sheri L. Dew, Benson and Lee shared a lifelong friendship that began during their school days at the Oneida Stake Academy. They then spent many years working together as general authorities of the Church.
While a student at Preston High, Benson studied and was involved in agricultural, academics, carpentry and basketball.
"From Harrison Merrill, ...from Cub River, he acquired a love of literature
- poetry in particular. ... He crafted a cupboard and table, an oak desk with shelves on either side and a hat rack, and was 'quite proud' of himself," states the biography.
Benson played the trombone and sang in the school's first choir with Lee, who grew up in Clifton.
"The Oneida," which is the 1916 commencement publication for the academy, listed Lee as an athletic manager, a comedian, debater and vice president of his class. At a graduating celebration held by the class of 1916, "the genius" Lee rendered "a few excellent piano selections," states "The Oneida."
Benson, Lee and hundreds of other young men and women appreciated the education they were offered at the Academy at a time when attending school was not as convenient as it is in present times.
"There is a standard of ideals in the Oneida Academy which inspires one on entering to look his best, act his best and be his best. And it is our association with each other under this influence that we have acquired much," states a passage in "The Oneida." Such was the value placed on education at the Oneida Stake Academy.
The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and the Oneida Stake Academy Foundation invite continued financial support for the restoration of the academy.
Once restored, it will serve as a cultural center to the community. The elegant top floor ballroom will be available for wedding receptions, banquets, reunions, concerts, and conventions. The main floor will house a welcome center, museum of local history, and turn-of-the-century classroom/historical library. The basement will house another meeting room, food services, professional offices and dressing rooms. A large staircase/balcony and courtyard in back will accommodate outdoor concerts and theatrical productions.
An elevator will provide handicap accessibility to all levels of the academy and the academy's exterior will be restored to its original condition, as well. Fees generated by use of the facilities and visiting tourists will generate maintenance funds and boost the economy of Franklin County.
To support the restoration, interested persons should send donations to the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, P.O. Box 555, Preston, Idaho 83263.
For more information call 208-852-1837, or 801-607-1073.