By Ann Mary Quarandillo

George and Elgetha Brand Bell

On October 26, Berea College welcomed to campus over 30 members from four generations of a distinguished family. They included teachers, business leaders, philanthropists and community servants, all of whom are bound together by a common heritage.

George and Elgetha Brand Bell, African American students who attended Berea in the 1880’s, were honored with the first annual John G. Fee Award at Berea’s Founder’s Day celebration. Five descendents of the Bells, including granddaughter Alma Johnson Powell (Mrs. Colin Powell), accepted the awards for the Bell family.

Founder’s Day 2000 was the revival of an old tradition at Berea. "Especially during times of institutional change, it is important for those of us at Berea College to be reminded of our roots," says College President Larry D. Shinn. "We named our strategic plan Being and Becoming to indicate, in the words of Dean Louis Smith, that Berea must both ‘be and become’ to remain grounded in its past but also open to the future. The beginning of a new millennium seems an especially important time for us to reinstitute Founder’s Day as a way of calling our attention to Berea’s past while focusing upon the enduring impact of the College over time."

The Bell descendants

This impact was celebrated with the John G. Fee Award, which primarily honors alumni of 1866-1904 who gave distinguished service to their community, especially in the field of education, and who reflect the ideals of Berea founder Rev. John G. Fee as evidenced in the College’s motto "God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth." According to Shinn, "the establishment of the John G. Fee award focuses upon the connection between John G. Fee and his colleagues in early Berea and students, staff and faculty whose lives were changed by Fee’s vision."

George Bell and Elgetha Brand took advantage of this opportunity for further education. "They were one family who symbolized the many generations of Berea students who have lived and learned at Berea College and gone on to do tremendous service out of the limelight," says Shinn.

George Bell (1858-1925), a native of Marion County, Ky., was born into slavery and came to Berea College in 1881. Although he had little money, he taught at rural schools during the summer and fall, and attended Berea during winter and spring, graduating with his B.A. in 1892. Elgetha Brand (1866-1958), from Winchester, Ky., was born in the year of the Emancipation Proclamation and came to Berea in 1885. She had begun teaching at age 15 in schools in Winchester and Mt. Sterling, Ky. They met at Berea in 1885, both majored in education and went on to create numerous churches and schools for black families and their children in Middlesboro and Benham, Ky. and elsewhere.

"These were people for whom, until a few years before, it had been against the law to read and write," says Alma Powell. "For them to have this thirst for education and to know that this was the secret to success in life shows they valued very much a commitment to education and to excellence."

The Bells’ four surviving children (one child died in infancy) went on to become educators. "Whenever anyone expressed an interest in having a teacher," says Powell, "Grandpa had them home grown and he would send them on out!" Of their five grand-children, three became public school or college teachers and the other two became notable public servants.

Two of the Bells' great grandchildren, Terri Grant and Victor Wilson, present a check establishing the George and Elgetha Brand Bell scholarship to Dr. Larry Shinn.

The John G. Fee Awards, which were presented to the families of each Bell grandchild, were designed and handcrafted by Berea College Woodcraft and Berea artist Ken Gastineau. Each walnut box features a cast-bronze medallion of the African "sankofa" symbol, a bird looking back over its shoulder. The symbol, derived from the Akan people of Ghana, represents the need to look back in order to learn and understand. Family members receiving the awards included the couple’s surviving granddaughters: Mrs. Powell, and her cousins Lelia McBath and Rose Eaton, who are sisters. Accepting awards on behalf of granddaughters Barbara Greene and Margot Sudduth, who died this past year, were Mrs. Greene’s daughter Carol Gaye Williams and Mrs. Sudduth’s husband, Robert "Brock" Sudduth.

"Through the Founder’s Day celebration, we were able to make a link between Berea College’s past and contemporary American history where the Bell children are continuing to have a positive impact," says Shinn. "In some sense to shake the hands of the contemporary members of the family was to touch George and Elgetha Bell, whose devotion to learning has extended across four generations of their descendants. It was an expression of the continuity of tradition that John G. Fee started in 1855 on the Berea ridge."

And the Bell family is giving back to Berea as well. During the celebration, family members Victor Wilson and Terri Grant presented a $20,000 gift from the assembled Bell descendants, providing annual scholarships for a junior or senior in pursuit of a degree or career in education.

"We’re all so proud of our heritage, and grateful for the part that Berea College has played in our lives," says Powell. "We are so grateful for the vision of John Fee and those who followed him—for them having the courage of their convictions and the strength of their faith in honoring young people and giving them the opportunity to excel."