Education Was Always Important To Beidleman

Mother Of Four Still Working To Further Her Education, Help Others

BRISTOL, Va. – It was 1971.
A divorced mother of four children made do on minimum wage while living in Rice Terrace. Barbara Beidleman was that mother. “Was,” in that she did not accept her lot in life as the manner in which she and her children would live.
“My mother set the standard for the whole family,” said her son, Michael Hughes.
She did so through education. First her own and then that of her children, education was paramount and necessary and something each would receive – period.
“I’m very proud of my children,” a beaming Beidleman said on Aug. 9 at her home while celebrating the birthdays and wedding anniversary of her daughter Syrilda Heath and son-in-law Ronald Heath.
Now, her children are about to honor Beidleman with a scholarship in her name. Hughes said the scholarship will be given to one student each year beginning next year at Bristol’s Virginia High School.
“We haven’t worked out the details,” Hughes said, “but maybe it will go to the number one African American female in the class or maybe the top female in the class or to both. The siblings are in the early planning stages with the Bristol, Va. school system regarding the scholarship.”
Whichever, a scholarship of an undetermined amount is on the way.
Makes sense, said John Smith, Beidleman’s brother.
“She should be named the woman of the year,” he said. “She won’t hesitate to help somebody, day or night.”
Beidleman attributes her efforts to a higher being. There’s only two ways, the right and the wrong way, and she emphasizes the right.
“Praise God,” she said, hands clasped together. “He helped me to help others. It’s incredibly important to me.”
First, Beidleman worked for and obtained her own education at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va. Then, she made sure that each of her children would as well.
“She led the way,” Hughes said. “She never asked us to do anything that she hadn’t already done herself.”
Daughter Syrilda Heath graduated from VI, while daughter Gloria Carter attends George Mason University, Hughes said. Their oldest brother, David Hughes, also attended VI, while Michael Hughes earned his bachelor’s from the University of Maryland, a master’s from Webster University and an MBA from Tarleton State University.
All thanks to Beidleman.
“Mom is a giver,” said Michael Hughes, who works for GE Healthcare in Franklin, Tenn. “I’m reaping the benefits of all of her efforts.”
Pastor William J. Reid pastors New Hope Baptist Church, Beidleman’s church for 62 years.
“Barbara is a mother to all the kids in the community,” Reid said. “There’s no such thing as ‘no’ and ‘can’t’ to her.”
While leading the way for her kids by example, Beidleman also practiced steady discipline regarding her kids. “No” was not “maybe” they were to apply themselves to their schoolwork and study hard. And according to her guidelines, there were no substitutions.
Now, look at her kids, Reid said. Successful and giving, each wield can-do personalities while maintaining vocabularies in which such words as “no” and “can’t” were omitted courtesy of Mom long ago.
Now at age 70, Beidleman is working to further her education. She said that she is about to earn a teacher’s certificate, thereby widening her opportunity to further educate children in the Bristol, Va. school system in which she currently works as a Virginia Middle School teacher.
“I’m hanging in there for an old lady,’ Beidleman said, a twinkle in her eyes. “God’s been good to me. My kids are wonderful. I do everything I can for little kids.”
Her children experienced that first-hand.
“Statistics say that one of my sisters should have been pregnant and on welfare, and both me and my brother should have gone to prison,” Hughes said. “But Mom pulled us aside and was our guiding light.”

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.