Little Creek School started in 1940 with three students under the leadership of Leland and Alice Straw. In 1942 five more students came and a log cabin was built along with a lean-to addition for the girls’ dorm. Mama and Papa Goodge sold burgers every Saturday night at the Madison College store to provide enough money so the Straws would have a phone.

In 1944-1945, the first school picture was taken with 25 students and by 1950, 46 students were in attendance. With the intense pressure to take on more students, Laurelbrook was started near Dayton TN.

The Straws priority was to start a sanitarium that would provide resources to support their ministry and by 1942, the sanitarium was completed. Nearly two decades after the inception of Little Creek, the church/auditorium was completed. “Every time I enter it I thank the Lord for it and feel as if I’ve had a little taste of heaven”, Alice reflected. She stated that “our only purpose was to follow as God led.”

These humble beginnings provided a foundation and legacy that has positively impacted the lives of students and staff. For those that are part of this special community, there is a special closeness that stems from shared experiences and common faculty and staff.

As you read these newsletters, yearbooks or miscellaneous documents, may the memories bring a joyful nostalgia as well as a renewed purpose to live unselfishly and to be of service to those around us.

The Little Creek Academy Legacy Endowed Scholarship was created in 2022 to support working students at Southern Adventist University with financial need who apply a portion of their earnings toward their student financial account. To learn more about the Little Creek Academy Legacy Endowed Scholarship, please visit here.