Burch High School

Burch High School
Burch High School
	Old Burch High School
Address
	Burch High School: 1 Bulldog Boulevard; Old Burch High School: Eutaw Avenue; Delbarton, West Virginia 25670; United States
Coordinates	Burch High School: 37°40′38″N 82°10′45″W / 37.677239695835695°N 82.17905402183533°W; Old Burch High School: 37°42′41″N 82°11′08″W / 37.71141865080228°N 82.18548059463501°W
Information
School type	Public, High School
Established	1921; 103 years ago
Status	Closed
Closed	June 2011
School board	Mingo County Board of Education
Grades	7 to 12
Language	English
Campus	Town
Color(s)	Red white blue
Athletics	Basketball, Football, Baseball, Volleyball
Mascot	Bulldog
Team name	Burch Bulldogs
Rivals	Tug Valley High School ; Matewan High School ; Williamson High School ; Gilbert High School
Newspaper	Bulldog's Bark
Yearbook	The Bulldog
Feeder schools	Burch Middle School
Website	BHS Alumni Forum Website

Burch High School (BHS) was a public high school in Delbarton, West Virginia. It was closed in June 2011.^[1]

History

In 1916, under the leadership of Lee District board members James A. Farley, Bill Maynard, John Pinson, District Supervisor Lacy Chapman, and Superintendent of Schools Sam Curry, the plan for a new high school was started.

In the fall of 1918, Frank Totten and Claude Dove, principals of the Rock House and Upper Elk schools respectively, were brought to Mingo County to organize the new school. These two principals organized a third-class high school in 1919 at Rock House. In the fall of that year, they moved the new Rock House High School to Upper Elk with Claude Dove as principal. After moving, Rock House High School was promoted to a second-class high school.

In the fall of 1921, Rock House High School moved back to Rock House as a first-class high school and the school's name was changed to Burch High School.

The first graduating class, in 1922, comprised twenty-one students. Of this 1922 class, two became attorneys, five went on to become doctors, and twelve became teachers. James Bertram "Bert" Curry (1901–2004), the valedictorian of the class, became a very successful carpenter,^[2] and lived to the grand age of 103 years.

First Graduating Class

Valedictorian - James Bertram "Bert" Curry, Carpenter
Beatrice Spears, Attorney
Matilla Spears, Attorney
Roy Curry, DDS
William Wirt Curry, DDS
Carl Dove, DDS
James Robert Farley, DDS
Sam Farley, DDS
Lace Chapman, Teacher
Tilda Curry Chafin, Teacher
Averel Clark, Teacher
Ethel Clark, Teacher
Lula Curry, Teacher
Cecil Evans, Teacher
Mary Evans, Teacher
Sallie Farley Gates, Teacher
Elizabeth Perdue, Teacher
Ida Roach, Teacher
Ida Scott, Teacher
Frank Totten, Teacher

In June 2011, Burch High School closed its doors for the last time. The 90-year-old school was consolidated with Gilbert, Matewan, and Williamson high schools to form Mingo Central High School, which opened in August 2011. The new school sits at an elevation of 1,940 feet on a 90 acre site along the King Coal Highway in Delbarton, WV (approx. 7 miles southeast of Delbarton).^[3]

Principals

Claude Dove
O. C. Van Camp
R. E. Remish
H. D. Fleming
Marion D. West
W. A. Collawn
Troy Floyd
Wayne B. Curry
Henry C. Justice
James Blevins
Bradford Justice
Jada Hunter

School Song

The School Song of Burch High School was adapted from Sam Houston State University's "Alma Mater".^[4]^[5] It was most commonly played or sung at Burch High School class assemblies and sporting events.

"Hail to Burch High School, Hats off to you,
Ever you'll find us, Loyal and true;
Firm and undaunted, Ever we'll be.
Here's to the school we love.
Here's a toast to thee!"

Athletics

Burch High School earned four state basketball titles.
Boys' Basketball - 1957(B), 1989(A), 1991(A), 1993(A)

Boys' Coaches (unknown sport)

Kenny Davis
Homer Swan
Charles Wrighter
H. D. Fleming
W. A. Collawn
Ervin Bridgewater
Troy Floyd
Henry C. Justice
Noah Maynard

Baseball

The first Burch baseball team was formed in 1952 by Coach Jake Maynard. The team lasted till 1957, then went through a 19-year period with no baseball team. The team returned in 1976.

Boys' Baseball Coaches

Jake Maynard, 1952
Bill Young, 1953–1954
Bud Hale, 1955
Villis Stepp, 1956–1957
Dick Montgomery, 1976
Bill Smith, 1977–81
Glen Stafford, 1982–91
Calvin Curry (volunteer coach), 1992
Don Spence, 1993–94
Walt Catron, 1995–96, possibly until 1998
Larry Carter, 1999–2011
Hank Starr, 2011
Thomas Hoffman, 2002–03
David Hunt, 2004
Larry Maynard (volunteer coach), 2005
Thomas Hoffman, 2006
Ed Randolph, 2007–08
Butch Joplin, 2009–11

^[6]

Basketball

BHS won the first-ever basketball state title by a Mingo County high school in 1957 (Burch (27-1) 58, Barrackville (24-4) 54), under coach Bill Young. John Maynard, a future Burch head coach, played on that team under the old Class B division.

Burch then won the Class A title in 1989 (Burch (23-2) 70, Bishop Donahue (20-5) 61), with Coach John Maynard; then two more in 1991 (Burch (23-3) 67, Peterstown (25-1) 53), and in 1993 (Burch (24-3) 70, Doddridge Co. (14-12) 42), under Coach Mike Smith. On March 16, 2011, the Bulldogs played their final basketball game.^[7]^[8] Burch played its final home basketball game, on February 25, 2011 against Regional Christian School of Delbarton, WV.^{[citation needed]}

State Basketball Titles

Old Class "B"
1957 (State Title) vs. Barrackville (58-54 FINAL)

Class "A"
1989 (State Title) vs. Bishop Donahue (70-61 FINAL)
1991 (State Title) vs. Peterstown (67-53 FINAL)
1993 (State Title) vs. Doddridge County (70-42 FINAL)

Boys' Basketball Coaches

L. T. Hulenbright (Only lost 1 game in 1922)
Bill Young (Old Class B State Championship 1957)
Charles Hale
John W. Maynard (Class A State Championship 1989.)
Mike Smith (Second best school record in 1982, 19 of 20 games. Class A State Championship 1991, 1993.)
Kevin Hatfield

Boys' Junior High Basketball Coaches

Rush Curry (Best junior high record, 26 straight games in 1946.)
Villis Stepp

Girls' Basketball Coaches

Sally Farley (Lost 1 game in 3 years.)
Lucille McDonald
Bill Smith (Won Burch's only girls state title in 1990)

Football

Boys' Football Coaches

Mack Hall
Phillip Sizemore
Sidney Copley
Mike Smith
Doug Ward
Dave hunt
Edward Randolf
Butch Joplin
Walter Catron

Villis Stepp/Kenny Maynard-1961

References

^ http://www.wsaz.com/newswestvirginia/headlines/Mingo_Schools_Holding_Graduation_for_Last_Time_123162748.html
^ http://burchalumni.org/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=4
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ http://shsu.edu/about/traditions.html
^ http://shsu.edu/mp3/AlmaMater2003.mp3
^ Source: Mike Smith, former BHS coach, and James Ferrell, of Delbarton, WV; the unofficial "official" historian for Burch High School Athletics, via the Burch Alumni Forum http://burchalumni.org
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2013-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ http://www.wvssac.org/new_site/wvssac_website/html/State%20Champions/Boys%20Basketball.pdf

[1] ttp://www.wsaz.com/newswestvirginia/headlines/Mingo_Schools_Holding_Graduation_for_Last_Time_123162748.html

[2] ttp://burchalumni.org/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=4

[3] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[4] ttp://shsu.edu/about/traditions.html

[5] ttp://shsu.edu/mp3/AlmaMater2003.mp3

[6] Source: Mike Smith, former BHS coach, and James Ferrell, of Delbarton, WV; the unofficial "official" historian for Burch High School Athletics, via the Burch Alumni Forum http://burchalumni.org

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2013-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[8] ttp://www.wvssac.org/new_site/wvssac_website/html/State%20Champions/Boys%20Basketball.pdf

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]