Dr. John E. Edley was principal of the Historic Bramwell Bluestone High School. He is a 1943 graduate of Bluestone High School, a graduate of Bluefield State College and of West Virginia University. He holds a Masters Degree in Mathematics. He received his Doctorate in Education from Rutgers University. He has also been a teacher and school principal in the New Jersey school system. Dr. Edley is a member of the Beckley-Southern West Virginia Alumni Chapter Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. This photograph is of Dr. Edley receiving his Doctorate Degree from Rutgers University.

Dr. Edley attended Bramwell's Bluestone High School when it was a wooden frame building, located along the road between Freeman and Bramwell, WV. That orignal two story building housed both elementary and secondary classes. As a 1943 graduate of Bluestone High School Dr. Edley lends his support to those who strive to make the Bluestone High School Building a restored historical site. His success exemplifies the education successes of this Historic Afro-American School. The old Bluestone High School remains is often referred to as a "hallmark of the Afro-American educational system."