The campus has a vibrant history of teaching children ninth through 12th grade, and assisting the community. In 1919, the founders of Enterprise Academy were looking for a centrally located property.
“They were on the train, and I don’t know if there was a stop in Enterprise or if the train was delayed, but they found this campus for sale,” Judy explained. She was the vice principal and art director at Enterprise Academy.
The 23-acre property, which was the Enterprise Normal College, was purchased for $10,000 from the German Methodists. Professor E. E. Pringle was the first principal. The first class graduated the next year.
In 1925, a family moved to the area and built a barn for Holstein cows. The school began construction on a new dairy pasteurization building in February 1951, and the operation became a grade A dairy, producing milk for the school and community.
According to the Central Union Reaper, a Seventh-day Adventists’ publication, the Enterprise Academy was the second largest boarding academy in 1954 in the area of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Wyoming. There were 138 students enrolled.
Over the years, the campus hosted Seventh-day Adventist meetings, classes, and the church met in the school’s chapel for a number of years.
A road went through the center of the campus until the late 1980s, according to Lee, who works for Kansas Broadband Internet in Salina.
The classroom and administration building that is still on the campus was finished in February 1962. The current boys’ dorm was built in the same year, after a fire on March 2 destroyed the old building.
“The boys were living in the basement [of the administration building] until the new building was finished,” Lee said.
On Feb. 23, 1963, the jubilant boys moved into the nearly completed dormitory building. Students set up beds, hung curtains and settled into their new living quarters. The school hosted an open house for the new dorms on April 21.
The first reunion of Enterprise Academy alumni was in 1963.
The school took a very “hands-on” approach to schooling.
“It was a farm based school,” Lee explained.
Many of the students came from farming families and their education reflected the agricultural culture of Kansas.
“They were working 1,100 to 1.200 acres,” Judy said.
The school offered other practical working experiences as well.
“They had a little woodshop and a print shop where they printed flyers for the local grocery stores that had jokes and puzzles,” Lee said.
Students were required, as part of their curriculum, to work a certain number of hours. Some students with financial needs had the option of a work-study program. Students were responsible for work in the community and on the academy campus.
“[The] academy endeavors to help students in the following ways through this work program: To develop a respect for the dignity of labor and pride in a job well done. To develop good work habits, such as diligence, initiative, honesty and resourcefulness. To provide personal and occupational information which will enable each student to intelligently consider possible occupational choices,” states the academy’s website.
Silverstates Plastics moved from Loveland, Colo., to Enterprise in 1964. The company was renamed Midco Plastics, Inc. They shared a building on the Enterprise Academy campus until their business expanded to the point that a new building was built west of the campus in 1990. Students often worked for the company.
In 1966, a building was moved from Milford and was used as the industrial arts building. The building was relocated due to the creation of Milford Lake.
Although the school was educationally coed, boys and girls had separate dormitories.
“When I was going to school, we even sat on opposite sides of the cafeteria. On Saturday we did mingle,” Lee said.
Lee graduated from Enterprise Academy in 1975 with a graduating class of around 50 students.
To complete the offering of a well-rounded education, Enterprise Academy offered music lessons, gymnastics, band, choir, weight training and sports teams in basketball and volleyball.
Due to the decreasing number of students, the Kansas-Nebraska conference met in 2007 to discuss the fate of two Seventh-day Adventist schools.
“Enterprise Academy had a sister school in Shelton, Neb., called Platte Valley Academy,” Lee said. “They had a great arrangement, but they had the same challenges.”
One of the schools would have to close and the students and resources would be consolidated.
“They require a two-thirds majority for decisions. Delegates are selected from churches in the area,” Lee said, explaining the process. “We met at Union College in Lincoln, Neb.”
In the end, the decision was made to close Platte Valley Academy.
The Platte Valley Academy had also opened in 1919, but was located in a more rural area than Enterprise Academy. Finally the conference demolished the buildings and returned the property to farm land.
Due to the consolidation, Enterprise Academy was renamed Great Plains Academy and a one million dollar donation, to be distributed over three years, was made.
Even with the consolidation and donations, the student base continued to decline. The strategic planning group at Great Plains Academy met for long term planning and finally recommended that the school be closed. The group made the recommendation to the Great Plains Academy board, who voted to close the school for the 2010-2011 school year on March 4, 2010. They gave the recommendation to the Kansas-Nebraska executive board on March 8. On June 6, a special meeting of the conference voted to close Great Plains Academy.
The school closed the 2010 school year with nine freshmen, six sophomores, ten juniors and nine graduating seniors. One of the seniors, Lindsey Hovorka, class president, was the fourth generation in her family to graduate from the school. Her great-grandmother had graduated in 1937.
The 15 full-time staff and five part-time staff were offered jobs through the Seventh-day Adventist organization.
“Everyone has found a job except for two people,” Judy said. “All but three of the students have transferred to another Adventist school.”
The endowment and contributions from Enterprise Academy alumni are being used to fund scholarships for students in the Kansas and Nebraska area that would like to attend an Adventist boarding school.
Scholarships are offered in the amount of no less than $2,000 but up to $10,000, based on financial need. Students were assisted with around $40,000 in scholarships this year.
The school materials and equipment were offered to other Adventist schools in the area. Musical instruments, computer equipment, some desks, tables and art equipment still sit in empty classrooms. Some of the materials will still be picked up and the rest of it will be sold.
The final piece was the property itself, which included several well-maintained buildings and nine houses. The conference thought that perhaps the property could be used since it is within city limits.
“In July, I started talking to Judy about what we could do with the property,” Lee said. “I had construction background, but was it going to be profitable?”
After a great deal of consideration, the Millers placed an offer for the entire property. The conference already had an offer for just the homes.
On Sept. 13, the Millers met with the conference executive committee. After some discussion, they asked the Millers to wait outside while they discussed the other offer. After about four hours, the Millers were told that their offer had been accepted.
“They wanted the academy to be used for something positive,” Lee explained.
His proposal, called Corner Properties LLC, would create one to three bedroom apartments in the existing buildings, in addition to renting the nine homes.
“It’s quiet, its a good place. It is a nice-looking community and we want it to be a respectable place that’s positive and attractive,” Lee said.
They are already painting, replacing carpet and making repairs and improvements to the homes. The Millers plant to rent the homes first, then begin working in the girls’ dorms to create one-bedroom apartments.
Each of the dormitory buildings has a large three-bedroom apartment for the dean, which will be rented as one unit. The apartments will have a living area, kitchen, private bathroom and a bedroom.
“When you come in, you’re paying for rent, utilities, television, phone and internet,” Lee explained.
Each room will have a broadband internet cable and wireless internet will be available for the building. The building has concrete block walls, but the walls between apartments will have an extra false wall with insulation to reduce outside noise levels. The buildings will have key card entry and security cameras and the gym will be available for tenants and the community.
After completing the girls’ dorm, remodeling will begin in the boys’ dorm and finally the administration building, where two to three bedroom apartments can be created. A total of approximately 50 units would be available when the project is complete, about four years from now.
Looking at the peaceful setting and lush lawns, it is easy to imagine a thriving community enjoying the amenities of the apartments.
The Millers expect to close on the property in the middle of November.