An update from Oneida Baptist Institute
The first few days of July ushered in the demolition of Carnahan Hall. The first Carnahan Hall was a girls’ dorm built in 1905 and made possible by a $10,000 gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carnahan, some of Oneida’s greatest benefactors in our early days. The first building was demolished in 1967. The second Carnahan Hall was built in 1968, honoring this early benefactor and Oneida storekeeper.
In late 2013 we were blessed with an amazing legacy gift. After much thought, prayer and discussion with our trustees, it was decided to use this gift to build a new boys’ dormitory. Construction is now underway and the new building, Carnahan-Daugherty Hall, will house 200 young men from all over the world.
Our K-5 expansion, which will bring more local, commuting boys and girls to our campus once again, will demand more classroom space. Therefore, the new building will also include an academic floor. The academic portion of the building will be called the A.B. and Irene Colvin Academic Center. A.B. Colvin, otherwise known as “Mr. Kentucky Baptist,” served our convention in multiple capacities over the years and also served as special assistant to the president at Oneida from 1985 through 2003. A gift from the Colvin family is helping make the academic portion of the building a reality.
Lord willing, this building will be completed for the 2015-16 school year. Once the building is complete, we will need furnishings. We have already received some gifts designated for furniture for this new facility.
In a 1902 edition of The Baptist Argus, our founder, James Anderson Burns, said, “Now it may be in the providence of God, that some of our friends will kindly engage to furnish these rooms (McMurray Hall) in memory of relatives. A movement of this kind has been started by a few persons consenting to furnish one room each. These rooms can be furnished at a very low cost, and I think it would be a great benefit to a boy to occupy such a room and see daily the name in whose name it was furnished.”
Some 113 years after Professor Burns made his plea, I now ask if you would consider helping furnish a room so that our young men can live and learn in a comfortable environment as they reside here in their home away from home. For each $2,500 or larger gift that comes in, we will place a sign just outside of the room that says, “This Room Furnished By _____________.” Perhaps your church would want to furnish a room or perhaps you would want to furnish a room in someone’s memory.
We are excited about this new facility for our young men, and we are grateful to all of our friends and supporters who have made and are continuing to make this possible.
Larry Gritton Jr. is president of Oneida Baptist Institute. Website: oneidaschool.org. Phone: (606) 847-4111. Follow OBI on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OBI.KY and Twitter,