By JANET PHELPS
Published Saturday, September 06, 2008 6:05 AM
'The best of our values'
Before Anne Rudder Erdman attended the dedication ceremony for the school named in honor of her father Friday, she visited the cemetery where her parents are buried.
Erdman said she spoke to them about James Earl Rudder High School.
"They would have just loved it," the older surviving daughter of Gen. James Earl Rudder said Friday. Rudder High is built on values the former president of Texas A&M University lived by, she said, which makes the students and teachers there like family.
"It's just like our family has grown exponentially," she said.
Rudder High students, staff and administrators were on hand Friday afternoon as Bryan's second high school was dedicated in memory of the World War II hero. Rudder's four surviving children, along with U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards and several city officials, attended Friday's event.
Spectators crowded under the limited shade provided by the school awning, surrounded by Rudder's Rangers, an elite unit of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets named after Rudder's World War II unit.
Edwards, a friend of the Rudder family who received the Earl Rudder Award while at Texas A&M, told the crowd Friday that he hoped Rudder's values would inspire the families and teachers at the school.
"Earl Rudder High School is far more than this beautiful brick, glass and mortar, because a school represents the very best of our values as a community," he said. "We can never fully repay Earl Rudder for his combat service, but you honor him and his family by being good stewards of our children's future."
More than 600 freshmen and sophomores have enrolled in Rudder since it opened two weeks ago. Principal Hugh Piatt has named hallways after the Rudder's Rangers' values: integrity, dedication, perseverance and a commitment to success. He said the students have already bought into the values of the school.
"As you say it once, it's just a word to them," he said. "But they start hearing it on a daily basis, and somewhere along the way, hopefully, it clicks."
The school will expand one grade level each year. The $51 million facility will ultimately serve about 1,600 students.
Terry and Linda McFarland, who attended the event Friday, said the school offers their 16-year-old daughter a close-knit community with small classes.
"It's just a once in-a-lifetime, historic occasion," Linda McFarland said.
Her husband agreed: "We're just very proud of her and very proud to be at this school."
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