Oneida Stake Academy

By Necia Seamons
With 550 photos, 439 pages, and 135 years of history, the new book “Academy Memories, A History of Oneida Stake Academy in Preston, Idaho” reveals more than the school’s history. It casts a light on the community that built it 133 years ago.     
Subsequently, few people in Franklin County aren’t connected to someone mentioned in the book. The building housed school functions for 113 years, as well as church functions for many years. An index guides readers to experience the school life of these family members. It also includes the names of students found on OSA rosters whether their stories were recorded or not.

Academy Memories was compiled over the last two years by Oneida Stake Academy Foundation board members, Alexis Beckstead, Necia Seamons and John Olsen.
Beckstead poured over reams of records to write the bulk of the book. She said she was inspired to begin writing after reading accounts of academy experiences gathered by the late historian, Newell Hart, for his Cache Valley Newsletters. Those stories and many more from yearbooks, community histories, family histories and newspapers are in the book.

“As people heard of the project, they gave me information. For example, Verl Christensen dropped by a story of his ancestor who fell from scaffolding while working on the Academy and survived. Others gave history books. Some donated Academy pictures we didn’t have,” said Alexis

OSA documents scoured from the collections of Utah State, University of Utah, BYU (Provo and Idaho), and the Church History Library by John Olsen provided details that fill gaps in the school records.

“I often felt I was led to places and people where I was able to find some rare documents and interesting information pertaining to the history of the building,” said Olsen.

Seamons, one of the initial instigators in bringing about the rock building’s miracle move to Benson Park, wrote chapters on that process, as well as further restorative work, and added information collected from years of gathering information on the OSA. She designed the 8-1/2 x 11” book and improved the historic pictures dramatically, said Beckstead.

The collaborative efforts of all three board members created a book that brings to life the people who built the communities in Franklin County and have had influence around the world.

Readers will be fascinated by how locals endured the Spanish Flu and other epidemics, as well as the trauma of sending youth off to two world wars. There are descriptions of students trudging through the muddy, unpaved streets of Preston, of church leaders prohibiting no more than two waltzes per dance, and teens in outlying areas boarding in town while gaining their education. Romances that flourished at school activities are recounted.

The experiences of two former presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ezra Taft Benson and Harold B. Lee are included. Benson played one Academy basketball game in an empty swimming pool and a classmate recalled one of his dates. Lee’s first day of school at the academy is described by his brother, and the book recounts his hero status on the debate team.

It also describes the Academy’s progression from a grade and middle school to a four-year high school and what motivated farm boys, who went to school part time in the winter, to become full-time students. It describes what influenced girls to become educated and the activities in which they participated.

Academy Memories reveals how Preston High got its school colors, how its athletic programs began, and disciplinary actions for teenage pranksters. It describes early cheerleaders and records idealistic youth who went on to make a difference in the world.

Oneida Stake Academy Foundation research shows that the Academy system set the standards for education in the Intermountain West, extending to Canada and Old Mexico. When the Church sold its academies to become public schools, the pattern for educational excellence was in place, impacting future generations for years to come.
Preston’s academy building is one of a handful remaining, and this book illuminates why it is a unique treasure.

“Those who have already obtained copies of the book have been thrilled, some already coming back for additional copies,” said Seamons.
Copies of the book can be purchased by calling Beckstead at 208-851-2570, or Seamons at 208-852-1837

Proceeds from book sales will go to the restoration of the Oneida Stake Academy building as cultural center/museum of local history,” said Beckstead.
Additional academy information can be found at www.oneidastakeacademy.org, youtube @oneidastakeacademy and facebook @oneida stake academy cultural center.