About the Scrabble School Preservation Foundation, Inc.

The Scrabble School Preservation Foundation was established in the early 1990s by a notable alumnus, the late E. Franklin Warner. After the loss of Warner’s leadership following his death in 2003, the Foundation was revived by a group of alumni. The Board of Directors conceived the plan to rehabilitate the building as the county’s Senior Citizen Center, with dual use as a Heritage Center working to educate the public about the history of the school and the community it served.

The Scrabble School Preservation Foundation is a Tax exempt 501(c)(3).

Scrabble School reopened on May 2, 2009.

Architects: Rowen Barton Studio, Charlottesville

Construction: Dink’s Construction, Harrisburg.

Board of Directors

Nan Butler Roberts, President
Scrabble School alumna. A retired Equity Programs and Human Rights analyst for Fairfax County government, Fairfax, Virginia, Nan is also active in numerous religious, civic and community organizations. Nan was born and raised in Rappahannock County, attending Rappahannock County public schools, graduating from RCHS. She is also a graduate of James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA as a Communications Major and holds a Master’s degree from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. She joined the SSPF board in 2013 and became President in 2016.

Vacant, Vice President

William Carter, Treasurer
Native of Rappahannock County, attended the Rosenwald school in Washington, Va – graduated high school at Rappahannock Co. High School, William “Buck” has had careers in security and real estate.

Ellen Timbers, Secretary
Scrabble School alumna. Clerk of Shiloh Baptist Church in Woodville, Virginia, and an organizer of the annual Rappahannock County Relay for Life. Ellen is employed by ENCOMPASS (formerly the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board.)

And in alphabetical order:

John Beardsley
John is an author, curator, and educator. He is trained as an art historian, received an A.B. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. As a curator, he has pushed museums and academic institutions toward greater diversity and inclusiveness. John is well known throughout Rappahannock for his community service work including serving on the Rappahannock Library Board.

Angie Dennis
Alumna, Scrabble School – Angie serves in ministry, and as a civic and community service organizer. She served many years with local social services organizations. Angie still lives close to the school in Castleton and frequently assists with tours of the school alongside second and third generations of the Dennis family; her children and grandchildren.

Stephanie Deutsch
Author, You Need a Schoolhouse: Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South (Northwestern University Press, 2011). Married to a great-grandson of Rosenwald, Stephanie is very active in the Rosenwald School community. She lives in Washington, DC, and is also on the board of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation.

Past Presidents

Robert J. Lander, President, 2003-2009, 2011-2015
As president of Scrabble School Preservation Foundation, Bob was directly responsible for the school’s historic property’s restoration and creation of the Scrabble School storyboard and exhibit. He has played leadership roles in several organizations since retiring to Rappahannock County.

Melanie Thornhill Kopjanski, 2010
Scrabble School alumna. Melanie attended Scrabble during 1967-68—the only year the school was integrated and during which it was for first-grade students only. Her family has deep roots in Rappahannock County and she works with the family cattle business. She rejoined the board in 2016, after serving as president in 2010. Melanie also served as Vice President from 2017-2022.

Emeriti

James Allsberry
Alumnus, Flint Hill Rosenwald – He joined the Board in 2010, replacing his spouse, Rev. Anna L. Allsberry, a Scrabble alumna, upon her passing in 2010. He is active in the religious community and other community organizations. Named Emeritus status in 2025.

Estelle Lewis
Scrabble School alumna, local civic and religious community service organizer. Named Emeritus status in 2021.

Irene Timbers
Scrabble School alumna, local civic and religious community service organizer. Named Emeritus status in 2021.

In Memory

Rev. Anna Lewis Allsberry
Rev. Allsberry served on the “planning & development” committee for the refurbishing and restoration projection, then subsequent Preservation Foundation before her passing in 2010. Allsberry, a native of Sperryville, was an alumna of Scrabble School and is credited with her attention to detail and keen memory of dates, places and people that helped shape the “Scrabble story.”

Lillian F. Aylor
Alumna, born and raised in Washington, VA graduated from the Rosenwald School on Piedmont Ave, Washington. She was employed by Mount Vernon Farms and served on numerous Boards and Committees including Headwaters, the Aging Coalition and the Rappahannock Historical Society. Aylor served on the “planning and development” committee for the refurbishing and restoration project for Scrabble School and subsequently with the Preservation Foundation. Over the years, she served as Vice President and Treasurer. Her memoir, I’ll Get It Done: A Life Journey in Rappahannock has received wide acclaim. Lillian was the “heart and soul” of everything Rappahannock. Her passing in 2025 left “huge shoes to fill”.

Patricia Saltonstall
Retired journalist whose column “Diplomatically Speaking” appeared in the Washington Star. Saltonstall was active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s having attended the 1963 March on Washington, led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Born a “Boston Brahmin,” she was a “Titan” and worked with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration to enact civil and human rights laws still in effect today. Saltonstall passed away in 2023.

Dorothy Warner
Dorothy worked tirelessly alongside her husband, E. Franklin Warner on the Scrabble School refurbishing and the creation of the Preservation Foundation. She served as Treasurer of the Foundation for a number of years, including after her husband’s passing in 2003. Dorothy served until her health failed and subsequent passing in 2016.

E. Franklin Warner – “The Scrabble School Champion”
Warner was the “visionary” for the refurbishment of the Scrabble School in the early 1990’s and Founder of the Scrabble School Preservation Foundation, Inc. From humble beginnings as an alumni of Scrabble School, Warner went on to have a much acclaimed career, at one time working in White House Communications, Washington, D.C. Warner was a participant in the 1963 March on Washington, led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and was forever changed by his presence on that historic day. After retirement, Warner built a home just a short distance from the school on Scrabble Road. Passing by the old school house, now in disrepair, he approached Rappahannock County elected officials to begin the preservation project. Upon approval, he spearheaded the effort, though he did not see it to fruition; he made an indelible mark in the restoration of his beloved schoolhouse. Warner passed away in 2003.