1940 to 2008: The history of the YMCA in Waynesboro

By K.W. Stanley
Published: June 30, 2008

Prior to 1922, when Wilson High School opened on Pine at 11th Street, gyms that allowed youth play did not exist in Waynesboro, except at the two private schools, Fishburne and Fairfax Hall.
During this era, gyms, baseball fields and tennis courts were in short supply. Organized sports were often played on the Fishburne drill field. When DuPont located here in 1929, a baseball diamond and two dirt tennis courts were built. By 1937, DuPont replaced the baseball diamond with a lighted softball field and a recreational hall for employees’ families, which included a gym and bowling alleys.
The Gateway Park, a baseball field and stadium, was built during this period for league play by the Waynesboro Generals. Recreational facilities for the youth of Waynesboro remained in short supply until the Staunton YMCA established an outreach program.
During the late 1940s, the Waynesboro YMCA lacked a center for its youth programs. The YMCA, located above a dairy store, had space for card tables and a ping-pong table. Later, the YMCA located to two offices at 225 Market.
By January 1963, YMCA directors relocated to a house at 723 West Main owned by the Waynesboro Hotel Corporation, which was the site of the historic Alexander Furniture Company. YMCA program activities were conducted in other Waynesboro buildings. Boys were transported to Staunton’s YMCA to play team sports.
By the early 1950s, the gym in Jackson-Wilson School on Pine (now the Waynesboro School Board Office) was used by the YMCA on weekends for boy’s basketball team play.
By 1957, the Waynesboro YMCA obtained a charter from its National Council.
The YMCA was founded in London in 1844. The first YMCA in America was founded by Thomas V. Sullivan, a lay Baptist minister and retired sea captain, by 1851 in Boston. This YMCA provided Bible studies, employment services, housing referrals and religious training. By 1853, this YMCA had 1,600 members, a library and a reading room, and conducted prayer meetings.
The YMCA organization sponsored the country’s first night schools, trade schools and junior colleges. The self-improvement program focused on body, mind, spirit and environment. The first USO was started by the YMCA during the Civil War and provided spiritual and physical aid to Union and Confederate soldiers. YMCAs across the country built meeting rooms, chapels, libraries, gyms and pools. The YMCA gradually changed its focus to include programs for families, not just young men.
Louis Spilman, The News-Virginian’s publisher, advocated for a new YMCA building in his “Old Armchair” column in 1963. By May 1963, City Councilman H.D. “Buz” Dawbarn and his wife offered their 14-room home and 1.9 acre property on S. Wayne Avenue to the YMCA. The house was built for the Loth family, descendants of William J. Loth, who founded the Loth Stove Company in 1890. Dawbarn had founded the Dawbarn Brothers plant (now Mohawk Carpet) and was a Virginia State Senator between 1968 and 1974. B.L. Copeland, Basic-Witz president, conducted a campaign for a YMCA addition in 1964 and ground-breaking occurred April 16, 1966.
The Waynesboro YMCA survived a threatened foreclosure and bankruptcy between 2001 and 2003. By 2005, the YMCA had 1,600 regular members.
Today, the YMCA has a pool, gymnasium, exercise room, handball court and facilities for physical fitness. The YMCA sponsors a girls baton twirling group known as the YMCA Rangerettes. The YMCA Marlins swim team of 1960 and 1961, coached by Gina Snell, won state championships.
K.W. Stanley is a Waynesboro resident, historian and TNV correspondent. Contact him at .