St. John's Military School history

1888, Oct 15 Name changed to St John’s School operated on behalf of The Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Kansas.

Price M. Davis (SJMA 1889) was a noted athlete, sportsman and business entrepreneur in the State of Wisconsin

1890’s Little change, growth fluctuated from as little as 25 to as many as 85 cadets

1899 Board rented all the buildings to Mize for $1,000 for first year with hope of making money to fund upkeep and furnishings.

New policy: no boys under 14 yrs of age – 59 Cadets in 1907

Salina Troop 1, one of the oldest Boy Scout troops in America, was organized on January 21, 1910, by F. John Romanes, an instructor at St John's who reportedly knew Lord Baden-Powell, the British founder of Scouting, and also founded Scouting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1913 Pledges and fund raising of $20,000- Board wanted SJMS to be a school of Ministry but when they did that only a meager few enrolled

1914 St Martin’s Church closed and there was no funding so there was no school for the 1914-15 School year.

1915 School opened again, after much clean up, with W. Ganssle at the help.

Daniel Gerber (SJMA 1916) was the founder and president of Gerber Baby Foods.

General Edward A. Craig (SJMA 1917) was the Commander of the United States Marine Corps at the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

1921 Father Mize returned to SJMS. An elephant got loose from circus and mayor called to have SJMS people shoot him.

1922-23 New additions: Ganssle promoted to Colonel, efficient radio receiving capabilities, acquisition of St Barnabas Hospital as the new home for St John’s Junior School.

Battalion Commander of the class of 1926

1927 School opened with 73 Cadets because of depression, floods, and tuition had to be paid in advance but in May hey had grown to 85 – junior school closed and housed all together

1928-36 Years of Transition – daily life modified military system with military uniforms, formations and drills, family atmosphere, natural gas installed, renovation of the physical plant, and teachers had to have certificates and credentials.

1932 Under the direction of Bishop Mize SJMS is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and by the Kansas State Board of Education and is also a member of the Private Schools’ Association of the Central States.

Carl Thomsen (NMNA 1934) was former C.E.O. of Texas Instruments.

1936 Maj Clem arrived – campus included: Vail Hall, barracks, gym, & junior school – he focused on enrollment and modernizing the plant – longest service as head of the school.

Attended Kansas University, Washburn College and obtained law degree from Boston University 1937; private law practice in New Mexico.

After graduation from SJMS in 1942, he entered the Navy and served three years.

Houston is a graduate of St John’s Military School class of 1943.

Ordained priest in Christ Episcopal Cathedral, Salina, 1944.

Battalion Commander of the Class of 1945.

In 1946 he was the Battalion Commander.

1947 All buildings moved and remodeled, attendance115 cadets.

1948 March FIRE – discovered on 4th Floor Vail hall – insured – $60,000 damage – and water damage as well.

1952 Broke ground for new barracks – 119 cadets – growth! – floor one done

1956 Largest enrollment 132 – increase faculty need facilities for them – alumni involved – responsible for Remey Leland Clem Library

1957 141 boys-add another floor to Ferris – Clem financed it Clem Ferris Hall

Soon after graduation, Orin who was just 18, purchased his first plane, a tiny two seat Taylorcraft in 1958 he got his commercial flying certification and founded his company, a one-man operation called Peninsula Airways.

Clem graduated form the University of Nebraska He received his PhD from American University in 1960.

Cadet John Dawson class of 1961 presented a beautiful trophy known as the Hardy Rifleman Trophy and plaque recognizing the Cadet Rifle Team member with highest academic record.

1962 197 cadets – addition of dining hall – Library was dedicated in September of 1962.

“Lefty” did his graduate work in Social Science at Emporia, KS and received his Master’s Degree in May, 1964.

Tim is a graduate of SJMS in 1966.

1967 Recreation building erected – Built an Armory parallel to Ferris Hall and named the John Galen Spencer Cadet Center – Muleskinner club was formed – picture revealed – muleskinner based on his likeness.

In November 1968, became President of Rocky Mountain Bankcard System, one of the largest credit card processors in the western United States.

Lou Barnett, Old Boy Class of 1973, is referring to the door handle that was once the passageway to old Vail Hall, the first building established on the St John’s Military School campus.

Jay Lovell (SJMA 1974) is the son of astronaut Jim Lovell.

COL. Duckers was a man blessed with insight, compassion and vision and he guided SJMS thru a hardship of times, including the Vail Hall fire of 1978.

The History Book of St John’s explains how the tradition was born on Sunday morning, May 24, 1979, during St John’s Military School Commencement.

1980 Film “Up the Academy” location at SJMS. Warner Brothers September-November- placed a new cornerstone The Brave Young Men of Weinberg

Martin Torrijos (SJMA 1981) was the President of Panama.

Graduate of the U S Naval Academy, attended Naval Postgraduate School, pilot training and aviation maintenance billets and the Navy Space Program and was a Commander, U. S. Navy, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, Avionics/Weapons Officer in Norfolk, VA. in 1983.

In 1984 she joined the SJMS staff, and became an extraordinarily passionate and caring teacher who instructed hundreds of students in many different musical instruments.

After serving as battalion Commander in 1985, John, “Andy” attended the University of Minnesota Duluth and Kansas University where he graduated with honors with a BS in Education, with a major in literature and language arts.

1987-88 Big Centennial celebration headed by D. Dale Browing.

After graduation, he joined the Army where he was honorably discharged in 1989.

Mark graduated in 1993, the 105th Corps of Cadets and was the Battalion Executive Officer his senior year.

In 1995, St John's Military Academy merged with Northwestern Military and Naval Academy (NMNA) in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to become St John's Northwestern Military Academy on the Delafield campus.

Union Power Construction Company was a Founding Member of Quanta Services, Inc. a publicly traded NYSE company founded in 1998.

After his death there was a movement to have the chapel moved from Camp Phillips to the SJMS campus for $2000, and is known today as Armstrong chapel.

A wide range of abuse claims were filed against St John's in a federal lawsuit in March 2012.

A March 2013 report found been 339 complaints of beatings, hazing, harassment, and abuse over five years, including of students being branded.

The lawsuit was settled with undisclosed terms in March 2014, just before the trial was to start.

You are cordially invited to attend our Open House at St John’s Military School, Salina, Kansas on July 21, 2018, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.