A 1979 graduate of the academy, Lash was one of 175 former students, faculty and staff members who attended a reunion last week at the Lake Wright Resort and Convention Center in Norfolk. Nothing at the reunion stirred more memories than Lash's collection.

"About a year ago I started sorting pictures from the annual (yearbook) room," explained Lash, who helped organize the reunion.. "They were all just dumped into boxes. I've gotten some of them organized into books.

"There are thousands of 8½ -by-11½, black and white - and some color - pictures for just about every year. Most are not identified, unfortunately."

Lash said he hoped folks would be able to put faces to his pictures.  Some did. Edward Hartenbower, who attended the school from 1970 to 1972 found himself in several of the photos."

"There was a picture, from 1972, of the cannon detachment," said Hartenbower, who now lives in Havre-de-Grace, MD. "That picture brings back memories of years ago."

A 1976 photo featuring the original eight females to attend Frederick Military Academy beginning in 1975. Two of the women attended the reunion - Elizabeth (McAllister) Romero and Kathy (Wiltshire) Fowler. The photo brought back bittersweet memories.

"The first year, it was difficult because we were in uncharted territory," Romero recalled. "The men didn't want us in their school, but once we proved ourselves they accepted us just like everybody else."

Supported by the Beazley Foundation, Frederick Military Academy opened its doors on September 8, 1958, during an era when the nation was building up its military. Fred W. Beazley, a Portsmouth philanthropist, named the school for his father, Frederick T. Beazley. Initially, the school, at 1801 Portsmouth Blvd., included Frederick Military Academy, a high school organized as an all-male military boarding school, and Frederick College, a two-year college. In 1961, without a name change, Frederick College became a four-year institution and moved to what is now the Portsmouth campus of Tidewater Community College.

Last weekend's reunion was for those who had attended the high school portion of the institution, although some of those present had gone on to attend Frederick College.

When Frederick Military Academy shut down, news of the closure was a shock to student and faculty, many of whom also lived on campus. A brochure published the year the school closed described its secure financial footing, pointing out that "the income from... investments will ensure the perpetuation of Frederick Military Academy for many years."

However, The Virginian-Pilot interviewed then president, Col. Roy J. Ayres for its April 2, 1985 edition. He said, "The academy has operated with large annual deficits for the past several years. This year's deficit was more than $1 million."

Lash, who attended Frederick Military Academy beginning in 1973 as an eighth-grader and went through the postgraduate studies program, says he thinks several factors led to the closing. Lash is unsure of the exact reason trustees decided to close the school's doors, but he cited several contributing factors.

"Several things came to pass," he explained. "The general attitude of the public toward military schools changed. Attendance started going down. The foundation members running the school were getting up in age. A student went AWOL (absent without leave) and was killed, resulting in some negative publicity. And there was a turnover of presidents at the school."

When the end came for the institution, it came relatively quickly.

"In the middle of the year, it was announced the school was going to close," Lash said.

"Attendance had dwindled, I've heard to the low 200s. At one time, it was in the high 300s, approaching 400."

While the school was in operation, however, many of its graduates went on to successful academic careers at the nation's service academies, Lash said.

Participants in the school's athletic program also fared well, he added, with many basketball players, in particular, going on to receive scholarships. Georgia Tech's head basketball coach, Bobby Cremins, is a Frederick graduate.

Last week's reunion was the second such event in recent years.

"We did this in '95 on a shoestring," Lash recalled. "We had no mailing list or anything."

Lash kept his truckloads of memorabilia in storage from 1985 to '93, when it looked as though he could put them to use.

"I got together in '93 with some former students and one faculty member. We had gotten a copy of a mailing list from the last full year the school was open and sent out postcards, but most came back 'addressee unknown.' It took until '95 to get the first reunion together, but we had an overwhelming response. It was all through word or mouth, actually."

Another Frederick stalwart who helped pull last weekend's event together was Marilyn Rowland of Portsmouth. She was on the faculty from 1970 to 1985.  Over the years, she taught English, French, speech, government and history at the end of school. She clearly felt the reunion was worth the effort.

"We did the one in '95, so I'm actually seeing some of the people here for the second time (since the school closed)." she explained. "It's just a fun weekend." Others who were present agreed.

"It's a lot of good memories, nothing but the best," said John Whetmore of Wilmington, NC, a 1978 graduate. "I felt like I'm the only one that's changed. Everybody else looks the same.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the four years I spent there."

Some of those attending the reunion came from as far away as Florida and California. Those traveling the farthest were Matt Service, who came from Germany, and Jim Rueff, from Hawaii.

And, for at least a few hours last weekend, in the memorabilia room, the hospitality suite, and at the banquet, the memories came alive again for those who cared to relive them.

Frederick Military Academy may be no more, but for those who wore its uniform, lived on its campus and studied in its classrooms, its spirit lives on.

By Dawson Mills, Correspondent
The Virginian-Pilot