Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation

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Sergeant York and World War II

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By Michael E. Birdwell

While Alvin C. York’s famous exploit in the Argonne Forest on October 8, 1918, is well known and even the stuff of legend, his role in World War II has essentially faded away. His work in WWII proved far more extensive and is perhaps more significant than what he did in the Great War. Though he returned home and once again embraced pacifism, the Sergeant began anticipating another World War in the late 1930s.

Trouble brewed in the Pacific during the Second Sino-Japanese war, as Japan extended its domination over mainland China. US corporation Standard Oil evacuated its workers and tankers from Nanking in 1937. On December 12, Captain James Hughes, followed orders to escort the tankers down the Yangtze River. Suddenly his ship the U.S.S. Panay fell under attack as Japanese planes strafed the ship and dropped bombs. Two American sailors died and several others were wounded in the attack. The day after the Panay sank, Nanking fell into the hands of the Japanese after a death toll of 200,000 people. Events in China caught Alvin York’s attention. While attending the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco, York was asked to comment upon current events. He said, “I think we ought to be careful about all that scrap metal we keep sending to Japan, because it might just come back at us in a different form.”

Throughout 1938 and 1939 York warned Americans to prepare war with Japan. Events in Europe seemed less threatening, and until the fall of Poland he said little about war with Nazi Germany. In 1939 Jesse Lasky, an independent producer at Warner Bros., contacted York, about making a movie based on York’s World War I heroics. After months of negotiations, York agreed in March of 1940. Through his association with Jesse Lasky and Harry M. Warner, both of whom were Jewish, York took greater interest in the war in Europe.

Because of his association with Jesse Lasky and the Warner Brothers, York became a spokesman for the Fight For Freedom Committee (FFF) which advocated American intervention. That association placed York squarely in the cross hairs of the America First Committee and one of its chief sponsors, Charles Lindbergh. Two of America’s greatest living heroes squared off against the other. Lindbergh claimed that Hitler posed no threat to the U.S., but that Winston Churchill was. York saw Hitler and his allies for what they were and urged President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare war.

FDR initiated first peace time draft in U.S. history. Tennessee Governor Prentice Cooper created the Tennessee Preparedness Committee, headed by Cookevillian Rutledge Smith. It included Alvin C. York and Cornelia Fort. Their task was to identify key industries that could be converted to wartime production, and work with local municipalities to safeguard public utilities and other services. Governor Cooper established new county draft boards, and in a touch of irony that was lost on no one, he appointed Alvin C. York to head the Fentress County draft.

York began his attack on Charles Lindbergh and America First in a Memorial Day Address at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier with FDR in attendance. York told the audience, “our victory in the last war, we won a lease on liberty, not a deed to it. Now after 23 years, Adolf Hitler tells us that lease is expiring. . .” York urged them to stand up to the Nazi threat.

On 3 July 1941, the day after Sergeant York premiered, York spoke to the Tennessee Society of New York. Unlike Lindbergh, who hated crowds, York loved being in the company of people and had become a moving speaker. Openly advocating intervention York cautioned his listeners not to be smug, like Lindbergh, about the recent invasion of Russia:

Twenty long years have gone by since I came home, and yet if you pick up your newspaper today, the same topic occupies the headlines as blazed across our front pages then. War . . . Russia's record of military success is rivalled [sic] only by Hitler's record for honesty.

I will be sorry if Russia is defeated quickly, for a number of reasons. The first is Hitler must [his emphasis] be stopped. The second is that a long, drawn out war between Russia and Germany would weaken both dictators. The third, and most important reason for my sorrow at a speedy German victory is that it will give fuel to such isolationists and appeasers as Senator Wheeler and ex-Colonel Lindbergh, and ex-President Hoover.

They will burst forth with long, windy statements to the effect that this effort proves that the German Army is the greatest military machine in the history of the world, and that it therefore makes our helping England a little stupid, since no country, no matter how strong, can possibly stand up before the punishment dealt out by the Nazis.

As his speech continued York's primary target became Charles Lindbergh who represented to most Americans the ideology of America First. He drew his verbal knife, shoved it deeply into the popular perceptions of Lindbergh, and twisted it:

Stalin did everything he could to make himself a super-Neville Chamberlain. And before two years of that counterfeit friendship had run its inevitable course, Germany was sending its armed legions across the border to attack its recent strange bedpartner.

Can ex-colonel Lindbergh now say that appeasement hasn't been given every conceivable chance to prove itself? . . .I hope that the former Colonel is not too hurt by what I have said here this afternoon and what I will continue to say on other afternoons and evenings. I hope he understands how I feel, and believe me when I say that I have tried to understand how he feels. I have failed in that, but that may be because of the fact that of all the medals I was fortunate enough to get, none of them came with the personal blessings of Adolf Hitler.

York made it clear to those assembled that he would continue his assault on isolationists in general, and Lindbergh in particular. By mentioning the infamous medal that Goering had presented to the aviator in the name of the Fuhrer, York implied that Lindbergh--a man with a German sounding name--was in fact a Nazi. If Lindbergh was a Nazi, then America First represented a fascistic fifth column working for the Axis powers.

York and Lindbergh both received a flurry of angry letters. Mrs. Norine Crosby of Swartz Creek, Mich., accused York of betraying Christian values by associating with Jews. She ended her letter saying, “Dear Mr. York, if you need hospitalization make the ones who look after this give it to you, and I hope success for you.” Several others voiced their displeasure with York. Many accused him of treason, cowardice, avarice and being infected by a Jewish virus. Most wished him bodily harm.

Walter Camp of Trenton, New Jersey wrote: Well you skunk and ignoramus, you got fooled yourself in the last war, and now for a few dirty dollars that you are getting, you are betraying millions of young men. . . You ought to kiss every step the Hon. Chas. Lindbergh and that Champion of Men, Mr. Nye is making [sic], just to stop others from getting into the same stupid conditions as you are at the present time. It's a shame that such people as you came back, it would have been a blessing if you were shot to pieces. May you break your neck right now as you and others like you are a menace to civilization.

In the midst of the heated debate between the two heroes, interventionist columnist Walter Winchell weighed into the fray. Celebrating York's outspoken criticism of the colonel, Winchell summed up the situation in this way:

Here is a thumbnail portrait of two famous American citizens that tells its own story. . . One is Sergeant York, America's outstanding World War Hero; the other is Charles Lindbergh. York fought in the World War and was ready to sacrifice his life for his country, Lindbergh is ready to sacrifice his country for his life. . . When Lindbergh returned from Europe a hero, he accepted a fat salary for the use of his name on an airline. When York returned from Europe, he received offers totaling more than a million dollars, but he turned them down because he didn't want to commercialize his heroism. . . When York finally accepted a film company's offer to film his life, he took the money to finance building schools in Tennessee. Sergeant York, America's No. 1 hero, is for all out help to England. Lindbergh, whether he realizes it or not, is for all out aid to Hitler. York was decorated with a medal by the American government; Lindbergh by the Nazi. Lindbergh says he is for America first. Sergeant York says it a lot more convincingly when he offers his life once again in the cause of Liberty.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war against Japan and Nazi Germany, persuaded Americans that Alvin York had been correct after all. He believed passionately in the necessity of the war, and tried to resign from the Fentress County draft board and re-enlist. At fifty-four years of age, overweight, and near-diabetic, Governor Cooper flatly refused his resignation. The army also turned him down York’s request to re-enlist, but realized that he could be of special service to the U.S. military. For the duration of the war, Sergeant York acted as a civilian liaison with the Signal Corps under the honorary rank of colonel.

Colonel York made significant contributions to the allied victory over Nazi Germany. High profile due to the movie Sergeant York which won Gary Cooper his only best actor Oscar in 1942, Colonel York traveled the country as the Signal Corps morale officer. He visited every state-side training camp, addressing troops, regaling them with stories, and telling them how much better army life was in the 1940s than it had been in 1917-18. On most occasions, the legendary sharp shooter was asked to demonstrate his shooting skills on the firing range, using both single-shot rifles, Thompson submachine guns and the new M-1 rifle.

The war years found Sergeant York constantly on the road as a roving ambassador for the War Department. He traveled in the company of military leaders, soldiers, public servants and Hollywood Royalty. Among his traveling companions were Carl Sandburg, Greer Garson, Andy Devine, Wendell Willkie, Secretary of the Navy Henry Knox, and General Hap Arnold.

Praising the work of women during the war, he said they deserved a permanent place in public life. He also pushed for use of black troops in combat, saying that failure to do so was agreeing with Hitler’s assertion that African Americans were inferior troops. He encouraged citizens to buy war bonds, to tighten their belts and conserve paper, rubber, sugar, meat, and gasoline, and to be vigilant against Quislings in their midst.

In early 1942 York was prevailed upon to allow his name to be used for a daily syndicated newspaper column “Sergeant York Says.” Ostensibly the homey homilies were penned by the Sergeant at his home in Pall Mall. In reality the bulk of them were written by York’s secretary Arthur Bushing and Nashville Tennessean columnist Hugh Walker. “Sergeant York Says,” ran for roughly two years, ending in 1944.

In addition to his work with the Signal Corps, War Department, the Fentress County Draft Board, and “Sergeant York Says,” York also hosted a weekly radio program entitled “Tennessee Americans.” It aired every Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. Engineered by Knoxville’s WNOX, the show was broadcast nationally over MBS, and even to some overseas locations. When York was in Fentress County WNOX engineers the program was broadcast from the auditorium at York Institute. The hour-long program featured news, live music, and an interview segment where York carried on a conversation with an important person of the day. It ended with a short speech by York about some pressing issue and encouraged listeners to tune their dials to that same station the next Sunday. On occasions, when York toured military bases, his trip coincided with the Grand Ole Opry’s touring military show “The Camel Caravan.” Sponsored by RJ Reynolds, the Camel Caravan featured a number of Opry performers who sang and joked for the troops. Its headliners were Minnie Pearl and Eddy Arnold, both of whom appeared on “Tennessee Americans.” One of York’s guests was General Douglas MacArthur while visiting his in-laws in Murfreesboro in 1942.

This is but a glimpse of what Tennessee’s most celebrated World War I hero did, during the war. His efforts inspired thousands of people and he lived by example. He suffered the same privations that other citizens endured due to rationing, black outs, and censorship. He also had three sons of military age, two of whom served in the U.S. army.

This article appeared as part of the Cumberland Tales series in the Cookeville Herald Citizen. It is used by permission of the author, who is a member of the SYPF board of directors.

York Institute, a legacy in distress

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Remediation and Stabilization is almost complete on YAI (left), thanks to donors who are helping the SYPF save the historic building. The building (photographed in 2007, below) was slated for demolition by the State of Tennessee.

Alvin York, when asked “How do you want to be remembered?” always replied, “For improving education in Tennessee.”

Volunteers and donors helped Sgt. York build York Institute; help sought today for saving the structure

The Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation is asking you to help save the original school building erected though the efforts of one of America’s most decorated heroes.

In the 1920s Sgt. Alvin C. York raised money to build a school for those children and adults of the Cumberland Plateau who desired to earn a formal education. On two separate occasions Sgt. York mortgaged his own home and farm to ensure the school’s survival.

Through a prolonged, hard fought battle, perhaps more difficult that the World War I service that earned him a Congressional Medal of Honor and similar honors from around the world, York was able open and sustain the school that today bears his name.

Now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, York Institute was erected with funds raised by York’s speaking tours across the country. Standing on a foundation York himself helped to dig, the two-story brick structure was abandoned for a more modern adjacent facility in 1979.

The original building, which should be a monument to that achievement, has in recent years become a derelict shell of what it should be, falling into such disrepair that the State of Tennessee announced that the building was slated for demolition.

After a 364-day struggle and a series of hearings at the State Capitol and in Jamestown, the forces for restoration prevailed late in 2008, when the state agreed to deed the property to the 501c3 Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation (SYPF) and allow it to use the money designated for demolition to stabilize the structure.

Phase I of this $1 million remediation and stabilization project has been completed. The State of Tennessee will match dollar-for-dollar all money raised by the SYPF up to $500,000. With this funding Phase II can begin, which will sufficiently secure the structure while a major fundraising campaign is undertaken to rehabilitate the school beginning in 2010.

Ultimately, the building will allow York Institute to expand, quite possibly offering a venue to teach new technologies that Sgt. York could never have imagined but, with his educational vision, would most certainly have approved.

The York Institute: the true legacy of Sgt. York

by Michael E. Birdwell, PhD, Associate Professor of History at Tennessee Technological University and Archivist of Alvin C. York’s papers

Known as the greatest hero of World War I, Alvin C. York avoided profiting from his war record, choosing, instead to give something back to his nation and his home state.

On 8 October 1918 Corporal Alvin C. York and 16 other men under the command of Sergeants Harry Parsons and Bernard Early were dispatched to capture the Decauville railroad near Chatel-Chehery in the Meuse-Argonne. After a brief firefight [nine Americans died in the melee] the confused Germans surrendered to what they believed to be a superior force. In all 132 Germans were captured and delivered to U.S. Army headquarters by the seven survivors led by Corporal York. The army singled out York

as the hero of World War I and presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Upon his return to the United States, York found himself being wooed by Hollywood, Broadway and various sponsors who clamored for his endorsement. York turned his back on quick and certain fortune in 1919 and went home to Tennessee to resume private life and pursue a dream that consumed the rest of his life.

The story of York Institute is one filled with triumph and tragedy, and deserves greater circulation. When Alvin York responded to his draft notice, he typified the underprivileged, undereducated conscript who traveled to France to "keep the world safe for democracy."

Possessing what he called a third grade education, a subscription school education which amounted to only nine months’ total schooling over three years, York discovered a larger world beyond his ken in the army. Before leaving for Camp Gordon, Ga., and beyond, York’s world consisted of the area w

ithin a one-hundred mile radius of his home (the furthest he had been from home, had been Albany, Ky.,to the north, Celina to the west, Jamestown to the south, and Harriman to the east, where he boarded the train bound for Atlanta, and basic training).

The war introduced him to a progressive, mechanized, industrial world and prolonged exposure to it made him realize the important contributions education could make for his friends and relatives at home. Literally a stranger in a strange land, York recognized that he was ill‑equipped to fully understand or appreciate his foreign surroundings. Initially, he immersed himself in th

e Bible, hoping that his simple religious faith would see him through, but by the war’s end he longed for something more than just his faith. Largely unknown to most Americans, and, sadly, many Tennesseans, was the fact that York returned to America with a single vision.

He wanted to provide a practical educational opportunity for the mountain children of Tennessee. Understanding that to prosper in the modern world, people needed an education, York sought to drag Fentress County into the 20th century. Thousands of like-minded veterans returned from France with similar sentiments and, as a result, high school and college enrollments shot up immediately after the war.

The very thought of this barely literate veteran launching a campaign for education was fraught with difficulty, for it struck most of Fentress county’s political and social leaders as ludicrous that York could build and administer a school. Possessing no background in education or administration, his inte

ntions, though noble, struck them as absurd because his ability to evaluate instructors, curricula, textbooks, and administration was nearly non‑existent. While regarded as a hero across America, at home York was seen as a threat to the county’s Republican Party political structure.

Celebrity made it possible for the Sergeant to express his desire for education to the world at large but gave him little clout when dealing with the old guard Fentress County elite. As early as 1920 York formed a non-profit organization, the York Foundation, and embarked on a series of speaking tours on its behalf. Just as he had no experience as an educator or administrator, he had no background as a public speaker or in fund-raising.

Though both initially hampered his progress, York learned how to be effective as a speaker and an educator. Undaunted, he intended to provide the boys and girls of his native region with

"liberating influences and educational advantages which were denied me."

His vision was not limited to the education of children from the remote Cumberland Plateau region; he wanted to include interested adults as well. He set a tremendous example, for he reminded them when he spoke, of his own former limitations, but that by reading, thinking, and asking questions, he broadened his own understanding of the world. He hired a private tutor, Arthur S. Bushing, who played a crucial role in improving York’s education.

A pamphlet issued in 1926 stated, ". . .it will be the aim of the Institute to afford an opportunity for mature men and women to get an education, regardless of how backward they may be, and also to send out only such graduates as are prepared to succeed in the work they have chosen to do."

York realized that one is never too old to learn something new, and led by example. As genuine as York’s mission was to reporters of the New York Times and other media organs, in Tennessee he encountered raised eyebrows, guffaws, and outright hostility. Parents eking out a living in rural are

as needed their children to work on the farms since few families could afford to hire labor.

They depended on their children to help plant crops, milk cows, slop hogs, and carry out all the other daily chores that made farm life. York’s proposal for a mandatory eight‑month school term angered a host of local farmers who perceived education as frivolous, impractical, and a waste of hard-earned money.

In 1925 the York Foundation drafted plans and proposed a site for the school one mile north of Jamestown near the newly constructed Highway 127. Taking the $12,000 he had raised on speaking tours, York purchased 400 acres, including the Poor House. (It housed students and classes while the new building was being constructed.)

York called a national press conference and held a ground breaking ceremony on May 8, 1926, at the Poor House site before a crowd of 2,000, though Governor Austin Peay was conspi

cuous in his absence. The first students enrolled at York Institute began taking classes in the fall of 1925.

On Sunday, Jan. 16, 1927, the Nashville Banner announced the launching of a $100,000 fund-raising effort to insure York Institute’s completion. Supported by the recently organized American Legion, each post promised that it would deliver one dollar per member. University of Tennessee president H.A. Morgan pledged his unwavering support as well.
Pursuing his goal of improving the education of Tennessee’s youth never proved easy.

York’s enemies launched a counter-attack to his ground breaking event, and were intent on humiliating him. They concluded that York, by holding classes in the old Poor House, was guilty of trespassing. Classes continued and construction on the new school neared completion. As construction continued, the state legislature passed the mandatory education bill of 1925, further insuring the success of York’s school. That legislation insulted many people in the county, for it stipulated that in order to teach in Tennessee

public schools, teachers had to be certified and have degrees from one of the state’s normal schools.

No one in Fentress County was qualified under the new rules, and the first teachers employed at York Institute came from outside the region, with degrees from Peabody Normal College in Nashville. Viewed with suspicion and outsiders, their presence added to the growing hostility against York and his dream for better and mandatory education of Tennessee children.

Attorney L.A. Ligon investigated classes being taught at the Poor House for the county, deeming York’s action as "unwarranted, unauthorized and illegal." The County Board of Education, served York notice to vacate the premises by July 11, 1927, or be forcibly evicted. At 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, 1927, York received the summons. York referred the matter to his attorney, focused his attention upon raising money, rallied supporters to his side, and hit the road again. For the first time in his public speaking career, York discussed his war record to insure that he would play to packed houses and garner much needed funds to continue his fight.

Encountering foreigners and people of other faiths for the first time in the

military, York told audiences that his time in the service opened his eyes to an entirely new and exciting world. As he sailed to Europe it occurred to him that he was beginning to understand fellow soldiers who were Greek, Italians and Jews, who were “smart soldiers and pretty good pals too."

As he concluded, York said he survived war and achieved fame because he had been chosen to perform a specific mission: When I went out into that big outside world I realized how uneducated I was and what a terrible handicap it was. I was called to lead my people toward a sensible modern education. For years I have been planning and fighting to build the school. And it has been a terrible fight. A much more terrible fight than the one that I fought in the war. And so I head into the frontline and fight another fight. And I can’t use the old rifle or Colt automatic this time. And it has been a long hard fight.

York, by this time, was an accomplished, entertaining speaker, and by finally giving the public what it wanted--exciting war stories--he played to packed houses everywhere. Though he enticed the crowds with the recreation of his role in the battle on Oct. 8, 1918, he always ended with a plea for support of York Institute. Unfortunately, the speaking tour proved lucrative and costly at the same time. Though pledges came in

supporting the mission, York’s political capital at home continued to plummet. Local papers blistered York while praising his enemies. Articles argued that the children of Fentress County would be endangered by York’s personal ambitions.

York continued speaking engagements throughout 1927 and 1928. New Englanders provided the majority of the financial commitment as well as the greatest interest in his endeavor. On Armistice Day he spoke to a packed audience at Carnegie Hall in New York about the importance of his work and the benighted souls who stood in his way back home, comparing the Fentress county elite to a pair of mules working against each other. His appeal to outsiders, especially northerners, further alienated York’s support at home.
After a protracted series of legal challenges, York opened the new school in the fall of 1929.

The school’s opening coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, and in 1931 the state ended all appropriations for bus transportation, effectively crippling the struggling Institute. The very nature of the school - a mountain school where children could come for a free education - required buses. Yo

rk went before the County Court and asked for help. The Court refused.

On two occasions, first in 1931 and then later in 1935, York secured a mortgage on his farm from his political enemy and banker, W. L. Wright, to hire drivers, buy buses and even pay teachers’ salaries. This was true heroism, endangering the fate of his family to ensure that the school remain in operation. As the Depression worsened Wright badgered York, ultimately declaring him delinquent in his business transactions, and moved to foreclose on his farm. Had it not been for his longtime friend and neighbor, Susie Williams, York would have lost his farm, for she twice loaned him the money necessary to pay off his note.

Far from crediting York for his selfless efforts, the state never reimbursed York for his altruism. Rather, he was criticized for his behavior which led to a fact‑finding investigation in 1933 that resulted in York’s eventual removal from the school in 1937. The investigating committee recognized that York was the driving force behind the school and feared its demise if he were removed from the picture. They also ackno

wledged that if the school were turned over to Fentress County, the situation would be worse. As a result the state of Tennessee assumed control of the school and assumed operation of York Institute. They removed York as the school’s administrator, but named him "president emeritus," because he did not have a college degree. The title which recognized him as the school’s founder but stripped him of any power.

In spite of his loss of position, York continued to promote York Institute, raising private donations for expansion of the school facilities and, when possible, contributing his own money. Legislation forced the state to have a vested interest in its success and York’s dream of free education for Tennessee’s mountain children at last became a reality. He presided over every graduation ceremony until his stroke in 1948 but continued to make regular visits to the school up into the late 1950s, until he grew too frail.
York fought valiantly in a war waged not on distant battlefields in France, but on his own doorstep. Because his tenure in the military made him painfully aware of his intellectual limitations, York dedicated the remainder of his life to the improvement of education — his own and his region’s.

York Agricultural and Industrial Institute, north of Jamestown, stands as a monument to his embattled dream. Yet the condition of the building that he helped build, digging its foundation by hand, and overseeing every aspect of its construction, is now in danger of demolition. Though it should be a lasting tribute to his hard work and dedication to assist the citizens of the state he loved, it is now on the brink of collapse. York lost many battles over the course of the war to build York Institute and make it viable.

Though he lost control of the school in 1937, he continued to be its biggest booster, and dedicated his life to its success. Because of his vision, thousands of students have benefited from his largess. Eyes have been opened and imaginations given flight by his dream made reality. Thousands of York Institute graduates went on to become leaders of industry, bankers, lawyers and educators.

In April 2009 the Tennessee Historical Commission received word from Washington, D.C. announcing that the building’s status on the National Register of Historic Places had been upgraded. Its previous designation recognized the structure for its importance locally. The new status declares that the building is significant nationally.

To help or donate:

Ornament depicts, supports

York Agricultural Institute’s historic building

Buy it here http://www.sgtyork.org/online_store_order_form.htm

The historic York Agricultural Institute building in Jamestown, Tenn., is depicted in a limited-edition pewter ornament created exclusively for sale by the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation.

The ornaments will be available as long as supplies last at the York General Store in Pall Mall, at Sgt. York Day on Oct. 17, online at www.sgtyor.org, from foundation board members and at various businesses in Jamestown, according to Darlene Davis, chairman of SYPF’s fundraising committee.

“We hope the ornament will spark memories in former students who have a soft spot in their hearts for the old school,” Davis said.

Davis said that all proceeds from sale of the $15 work of art go directly into the YAI restoration. These funds will help the Foundation in meeting its goals to match a $500,000 dollar-for-dollar grant from the State of Ten

nessee earmarked

exclusively for remediation and stabilization of the 1920s era building.

“This portion of construction is near completion,” Davis explained,

adding that the SYPF is continuing aggressively to raise funding. “We do not just want to preserve the building; we want to work with York

Institute to revitalize it into a viable space for expansion of the York Institute complex.”

To create the ornament Davis tapped the talents of artist Ben Cordsen, owner of Colorado-based Cordsen Design Studio, who created a similar ornament depicting the clock tower of the Fentress County Courthouse.
“Alvin York's lasting legacy for Tennessee was previously unknown to me,” Cordsen said. “Through the research of s

ubjects for sculpture I have gained a better understanding of people, events and circumstances beyond my own experience. Sgt York was certainly a figure to emulate.”

Cordsen said that several photographs of the present building as well as older ones showing the original configuration and layout were sent to him by Davis.

“The best loved and remembered scene was the main building with both wings viewed through the stand of trees behind the York Institute letters on the low berm towards to the road,” Cordsen observed from his research, and Davis agreed.

“After a lengthy discussion with Ben and other board members of the Foundation about whether to include the trees,

it was decided to do so,” Davis said. “For the hundreds of students that attended school in the old building and the community, this has consistently been the view from the road of the letters, trees and building.”

With the design approved, Cordsen created the model, hand carved in sculpting wax.

“Once I was satisfied with the look, a mold was created from casting rubber and the first pewter ornaments were poured from this mold,” Cordsen said. “Production in quantity was done in a second mold using spin cast techniques for high detail.”

Cordsen has been a full-time sculptor since the early 1970s and has cast pewter in his own foundry more than 25 years.

“The metal I used for the keepsake ornament is fine, lead free pewter that is easy to work, very durable and gives a soft antique finish when completed,” Cordsen said. “The cas

ting temperature is 600°.”

Each ornament is hand finished in the Cordsen family studio, buffed and lacquer sealed with a hanging ribbon for display. In addition, the York Institute keepsake has been designed to stand on a shelf or tabletop without the ribbon.
“I hope the ornament depicting the York Institute will be a successful fund raiser bringing many people together in remembering the Institute and the place it has had in the community,” the artist said. “I am excited to provide the keepsake ornament for the York Institute and do my small part helping raise funds for the restoration and rededication of the York Institute building.”

For more information about the Foundation’s efforts or to purchase the ornament online visit www.sgtyork.org or call 1-888-WW1-Hero.

York General Store, Pall Mall, Tenn.

Begin your visit with Sgt. York here!

Sandwiches, snacks and drinks, souvenirs, introductory movie, homemade milkshakes, handmade quilts, Sgt. York books, prints and more. All proceeds from the store support the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation's educational efforts.