Greene County, Georgia, High Schools — The Name Game

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on December 22nd, 2011

While adding some Greene County Georgia high schools to ClassicSchools.com/Georgia/, I became hopelessly confused about what school was named what and when.

Below are some of my findings. It is quite possible that NOTHING below is true. It is bits and pieces I picked up from various websites (“it must be true, I saw it on the Internets”) or found in old newspapers (“Dewey Wins!”) or just made up because nothing else made sense.

PLEASE!!! I need your help. I will update this post as comments are received from our loyal follower(s?). I’m 99% sure there are schools completely missing from this timeline (Siloam?, others?). I’m also 99% sure my original timeline is wrong. Let’s make this the one place on the Internet where people can find a complete history of Greene County high schools. Thanks.

School	Opened	Closed	Mascot	Colors
Greensboro High School (White)	?	1965	Tigers	Black & Orange
Greensboro High School (Black)	?	?	?	?
Greene County High School (Black)	?	1956	Tigers	Black & Orange
Floyd T. Corry High School	1956	1971	Tigers	Black & Orange
Greene County High School	1965	1982	Tigers	Black & Orange?
Greene-Taliaferro High School	1982	2001	Tigers	Black & Gold
Greene County High School	2001	open	Tigers	Black & Gold
Union Point High School (White)	?	1965?	Bulldogs	?
Union Point High School (Black)	?	?	Bulldogs	?

Timeline
1492-1955	I have no idea, except they were probably the Black & Orange Tigers. (:
1956	Apparently there was an African-American school named Greene County High School, because in 1956, it was renamed Floyd T. Corry High School.¹
1965	Greensboro schools and Greene County schools were consolidated. Greensboro High School became Greene County High School. (Did Union Point consolidate?)
1971	Corry High School was integrated into Greene County High School.
1982	Greene County High School and Taliaferro County High School consolidated and GCHS was renamed Greene-Taliaferro High School.
2001	Taliaferro County High School re-opened and GTHS was renamed Greene County High School.

¹ Rome News-Tribune, Nov. 30, 1955:
“A truck collision…took a life…in Georgia yesterday.
Floyd Thomas Corry, 56, Greene County school superintendent for 19 years, died in a collision of his pickup truck and another driven by [name withheld] at Siloam. Sheriff L. L. Wyatt said [name withheld] of Rt. 3, Greensboro, was charged with failing to yield right of way at an intersection. A passenger in Corry’s truck, Hatchett Thornton, of White Plains received head cuts.”

What do you know about Greene County’s high schools?

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Maryland High School Yearbooks and Apparel

Posted by DaveSanders | Maryland | Posted on July 7th, 2011

We have updated the Maryland page at ClassicSchools.com.

The following schools have been added:

Albert Einstein High School, Kensington, MD, Titans
Allegany High School, Cumberland, MD, Campers
Annapolis High School, Annapolis, MD, Panthers
Atholton High School, Columbia, MD, Raiders
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, MD, Barons
Boonsboro Chase High School, Boonsboro, MD, Warriors
Brunswick High School, Brunswick, MD, Railroaders
Calvert Hall College High School, Towson, MD,
Calvert High School Prince, Frederick, MD, Cavaliers
Catholic High School of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, Cubs
Eastern High School, Baltimore, MD,
Gwynn Park High School, Brandywine, MD, Yellow Jackets
Hannah More Academy, Reisterstown, MD, Eagles
Howard High School, Ellicott City, MD, Lions
Kenwood High School, Baltimore, MD,
Lackey High School, Indian Head, MD, Chargers
Lansdowne Senior High School, Baltimore, MD, Vikings
Middletown High School, Middletown, MD, Knights
Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, MD, Blazers
Mount Hebron High School, Ellicott City, MD, Vikings
Northwestern High School, Hyattsville, MD, Wildcats
Northwood High School, Silver Spring, MD, Gladiator
Park School of Baltimore, Brooklandville, MD, Bruins
Patterson High School, Baltimore, MD, Clippers
Salisbury High School, Salisbury, MD, Dragons
Southern High School, Baltimore, MD, Bulldogs
Surrattsville High School, Clinton, MD, Hornets
Towson Catholic High School, Towson, MD, Owls
West Nottingham Academy, Colora, MD, Rams
Western High School, Baltimore, MD, Doves
Westminster High School, Westminster, MD, Owls
Wicomico High School, Salisbury, MD, Indians
Winston Churchill High School, Potomac, MD, Bulldogs
Wroxeter High School, Arnold, MD, Mustangs

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Paris High School — Greenville, South Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | South Carolina | Posted on May 19th, 2011

Paris High School

Greenville, SC
1926-1960

School colors: Black & Yellow
Mascot: Yellow Jackets

—Links—
Paris High on Facebook
Paris School on Facebook
Paris School history
Paris High School Yearbooks

Paris High School was located near Paris Mountain, southwest of Greenville, SC. (Their address was actually Taylors, SC.) The school was situated within the boundaries of Camp Sevier, a major Army training center for soldiers destined to see action during World War I. The first graduating class was in 1930, the last in 1960.

In 1960, Wade Hampton High School was created by consolidating Paris High School and Taylors High School along with some students from Greenville High School.

[from Facebook info:]
Paris High alumni have a Reunion once a year, usually at Lake Robinson in Greer, SC. They also have a breakfast meeting once a month at the Country Ham House on Rutherford Road on the fourth Tuesday of each month, starting at 8:30 AM.

[Just an odd note...]
In 1950, Wade Corn, a standout college football player, graduated from Wofford College. His first coaching job was that fall at Paris High School where he compiled a 10-1 record. He left in 1951 to coach Lancaster High School where he led them to 3 state championship games, winning a state title in 1959.

If you can provide any additional info about Paris High School, please leave a comment below.

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Covington High School — Covington, Virginia

Posted by DaveSanders | Virginia | Posted on May 9th, 2011

Covington High School

606 S. Lexington Avenue
Covington, Alleghany County, Virginia

Mascot: Cougars
School Colors: Royal Blue & Gold

Links:

- Covington Postcards

- Old Yearbooks for Sale

- Covington High School website

- Reunion Apparel

History

The original Covington High School building was a two-story frame structure built in 1894. It was razed in 1916 to make way for Jeter Elementary School (which was demolished in the early 1970′s.) The second Covington High School was a two-story brick building constructed in 1913. When the students moved to the current building in 1939, the old school became the Covington City Hall, until it was demolished in the late 1990′s.

The current three-story building was built in 1939. One-story and two-story additions, including the gym, were added to the rear in 1962. A connecting “hyphen” and elevator bay were added in 1990. The original portion of the building was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The school serves grades 8-12.

Here are a few references I found to Covington High School in old books:

- The 1907 book “Alleghany County, Virginia” (produced by the Chamber of Commerce of Covington, Va.), contains these statements about the school:
The Covington High School is one to which all the pupils in the county, after having completed the work in the primary and grammar grades in their home schools may attend without paying any tuition. The graduates from this High School may enter without examination the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University, Hampden-Sidney College, and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynchburg, Virginia.

- V. E. Ayre was the principal of Covington High School during the 1912-14 school year.

- The “Virginia School Report” for 1912-13 contains this photo of the old Covington High School building.

- State Senator Michael McHale Collins graduated from Covington High School around 1918-1919.

Virginia State Football Champions:
1942 & 1984

In 1978, Shelia Halsey set State Records for the 8-pound Shot Put AND the Discus. Her discus record has since been broken, but her shot put record still stands.

Other State Championships (For whatever reason, The Virginia High School League doesn’t list most records prior to 1980, so this list is almost certainly incomplete.)
1983 – Sean Ginger, Boy’s Golf
1991 – Demond Venable, Long Jump
1992 – Robbie Royston, Wrestling, 119 lb.
1995 – Chris Merrell, 3200-Meter Run
1996 – Jason Stanier, Wrestling, 275 lb.
1997 – Brent Young, 3200-Meter Run
1998 – Justin St. Clair, Wrestling, 215 lb.
1999 – Francis Caravagel, Discus
1999 – Francis Caravagel, Shot Put
2001 – Francis Caravagel, Shot Put
2006 – Patrick Driscoll, Wrestling, 152 lb.
2006 – Randy Phillips, Wrestling, 145 lb.
2007 – Emanuel Alfred, Discus
2008 – Chad Sizemore, Wrestling, 125 lb.
2008 – Emanuel Alfred, Discus
2008 – Emanuel Alfred, Shot Put
2010 – Chris Bowden, Wrestling, 130 lb.
1975 – Wayne Humphries, Boy’s Poetry Reading
Yearbook Trophy Classes: 1925, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979

Hall of Fame
1994 – Francis Albert, Coach
(Speaking of Coach Francis “Bootie” Albert, there’s this from the Lexington (N.C) Dispatch, May 17, 1956:
HEAVYWEIGHT EATING
COVINGTON, Va. (AP)— Jimmy Karides advertised all the shrimp anyone could eat for $1.35. For two weeks he made a profit on every meal. Then 33 of Covington’s biggest eaters visited his restaurant in a group—and ate 65 pounds of shrimp. Then they wanted more. There were no more and some eaters ordered steaks. The champion eater, to the surprise of nobody, was Bootie Albert, 285-pound coach of Covington High School. His score: 200 shrimp.

If you can add anything to the history (or just memories) of Covington High School, Covington, VA, please leave a comment below.

2 comments

John R. Hawkins High School – Warrenton, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on April 18th, 2011

John R. Hawkins High School, Warrenton, NC, commemorative sign.jpg

John R. Hawkins High School

W. Franklin St.
Warrenton, NC

Mascot: Bulldog
Colors: Blue & White

John R. Hawkins High School was opened in 1924 for grades eight thru eleven. The first graduating class was in 1929 and the last graduating class was in 1969. When the school closed, all of the students moved to John Graham High School.

A 1935 report on educational opportunities for African-Americans in North Carolina contained the following note for Warren County:
“Two schools offer secondary work — the County Training School and the JR Hawkins High School at Warrenton. Each school serves, roughly, half of the county.”

Brief notes extracted from meeting minutes of the Warren County Board of Education:
- The gymnasium burned in 2003.
- The Warrenton Fire Department volunteered to burn down the rest of the school in 2005, but when they found asbestos in the glue under some floor tiles, that plan was scrapped.
- Bids were received for the demolition of the Hawkins High School building in January, 2006.
- At the same meeting, conditional approval was granted to donate bricks from the building to Hawkins Alumni and Friends, Inc.

In September, 2009, a commemorative sign was erected at the site of the former school. Here is a news article written about the unveiling.
And here is the Google Street View of the site taken sometime before the sign was erected. The site is now the home of the Warren County Senior Center and Warren New Tech High School.

———Links———

Here is a link to the John R. Hawkins High School alumni group on Facebook.

Hawkins High School has an active alumni association, the John R. Hawkins Alumni and Friends Inc.

The Hawkins High School Class of 1960 has a very nice website.

This link points to a page containing a newspaper article about Principal J. Estes Byers leaving Hawkins to take over West Cary High School.

Here’s our blog post about John Graham High School.

If you can add any information about John R. Hawkins High School, PLEASE leave a comment below. Thanks.

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Kershaw High School — Kershaw, South Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | South Carolina | Posted on January 7th, 2011

Kershaw, SC

Originally called Welsh’s Station, “In the early 1900s Kershaw flourished as a prosperous farming/industrial community with turpentine distilleries, gold mining, a cotton mill and an oil mill. Haile Gold Mine continues to operate today. Kershaw’s historic district, mostly residential, includes a number of the most beautiful Southern homes in the region, and its business district features a variety of unique shops featuring antiques, collectibles and pottery. Over 1900 folks reside in Kershaw.”
( source Lancaster Chamber of Commerce )

Kershaw County and Lancaster County were created in 1785, but the exact location of the boundary line was disputed until, in 1907, the State Legislature set the Lancaster County/Kershaw County line right through the middle of the Town of Kershaw’s business district. During the ensuing years, most new development tended to occur on the Lancaster County side. In 1954, Lancaster County started a drive to annex the town of Kershaw which was successfully completed in 1977.
( reference The Town of Kershaw, by Louise Pettus )

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Kershaw High School

School Colors: Purple & White
Nickname: Eagles

In 1969, Kershaw High School, Heath Springs High School and Flat Creek High were consolidated to form Andrew Jackson High School. The following year, Hillside High School was closed and also merged into Andrew Jackson.

Links

Eagles Reunion Apparel

Kershaw County School District High School Alumni & Reunion Contacts

Facebook group: You know you are from Kershaw, SC if…

Alumni in the News

Marion Boan was the Kershaw Eagles’ football coach for 15 years before retiring after the 1961 school year. Part of his 1996 obituary reads: “Marion Boan devoted his life to the people of the town of Kershaw, first as a coach who won state high school championships in football and baseball, and later as the town’s Recreation Department director.” His son, Billy Boan, was an All-State football player at Kershaw, then went on to become a SC State Representative, Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and chief of staff to former Gov. Jim Hodges.

Here’s an interview with Arthur Smith, who graduated from Kershaw High School, then went on to create The Arthur Smith Show, the first nationally-syndicated country music TV show.

Football in the News

Kershaw was humiliated in the first game of the 1962 season, losing to Winthrop Training School, 26-0. “They beat the stuffings out of us,” said a dejected Eagle Coach Bill Few. Asked if he had hopes for better showings during the season, he replied “I hope to heck we do.”
( source: The Rock Hill Herald, Aug 28, 1962 )

In 1959, the Rock Hill Herald ran an ad, comparing their coverage of another Kershaw-Winthrop Training football game to the coverage provided by two competing newspapers. Depending on which paper you read, the critical play was a WTS punt return by either Chan Snypp, Cran Snypp or Cran Snepp. And somebody won the game, 6-0, depending on which paper you read.
( source: The Rock Hill Herald, Sep 9, 1959 )

In the 1951 State Championship game, the last play of the game was a 34-yard run by Mullins High School’s Jackie Powers. The play started from Kershaw’s 36-yard line, with the Eagle’s defense stopping Powers on the 2-yard line as time expired.
The Eagles line-up:
Harry Hicks, Billy Joe Catoe, Marion Faulkenbury, Phillips, Jackie Pardue, E. Catoe, Martin Carson, Glen Gardner, Charles Blaich, David Reeves, Malcolm McIsaac.
( source: The News and Courier, Dec 1, 1951 )

Let’s play “Find Your Grandparents”
The starting lineup for the 1934 Kershaw Eagles: Truesdale, H?(unreadable), Bell, Cunningham, Williams, H. Garner, C. Roberts, Hayes, R. Roberts, E. Gardner, Rice.
( source: The Rock Hill Herald, Sep 29, 1934 )

Let’s play “Find Your Great-Grandparents”
The starting lineup for the 1924 Kershaw Eagles: Croxton, Gregory, Taylor, Hagler, A. Faulkenbury, Fletcher, Williams, Hilton, Jones, Culvern, P. Faulkenbury. The referenced article states that Kershaw played the game with no substitutes, meaning these eleven boys played offense and defense for the entire 60 minutes.
( source: The Rock Hill Herald, Oct 4, 1924 )

Athletics

Football

1951 Class B State Champs, Coach Marion Boan, defeated Mullins High School Auctioneers
1964 Class B State Champs, Coach W. E. Few, defeated Bamberg High School
1965 Class B State Runner-Up, Coach W. E. Few, lost to East Clarendon High School
1966 Class B State Champs, Coach W. E. Few, defeated Lamar High School
1967 Class B State Runner-Up, Coach W. E. Few, lost to Allendale-Fairfax High School

Boys Golf
Class B State Champs: 1964, 1965, 1966

Baseball
1953-1954 Class B State Champs, Coach Marion Boan, defeated Marion High School
1954-1955 Class B State Runner-Up, lost to Marion High School

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This has little to do with Kershaw High School, but I thought it was interesting:

Prior to 1945, South Carolina public schools only had 11 grades. The State Legislature added 12th grade after educators claimed that adding the extra year would allow them to expand curricula choices and put SC students ahead of students from other states when they entered college.

In 1949, Senator Kennedy, of Kershaw, intoduced an amendment to a state budget bill to eliminate 12th grade, thus reducing the amount of state money spent on public education. He claimed that, rather than expanding students’ educations, the schools were merely stretching out 11-years worth of teaching over 12 years, allowing more time for recess and basketball.

The amendment was eventually dropped, but not before putting the Department of Education “on notice” that they must show some proof that the 12th grade had some benefit if they wanted to keep it in the next budget.

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Are you an Eagles alumni?
We need your help! Please leave a comment below telling everyone what you remember about Kershaw High School. We couldn’t find anything about early schools in Kershaw, SC or when KHS was founded. Was there another school building before the one on N. Matson St.? Any info you can add will be appreciated by us and your fellow alumni. Thanks.

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3 comments

Lenox School for Boys — Lenox, Massachusetts

Posted by DaveSanders | Massachusetts | Posted on September 13th, 2010

Spring Lawn Mansion
Lenox School for Boys was opened in 1926 on Kemble St. in Berkshire County, Lenox, Massachusetts. From the beginning, the administration and faculty were concerned not only with academic excellence, but with the character of the boys placed in their care. In addition to keeping up with their studies, each boy was expected to contribute to the operation of the school, whether that meant mopping floors or maintaining the grounds. The school housed grades 9-12, but used the English system of “forms” rather than grades.

The motto of the school was “Non Ministrari-Sed Ministrare”, Not To Be Ministered Unto But To Minister (more commonly translated as Not To Be Served, But To Serve.)

The first headmaster of the school was Rev. G. Gardner Monks. Rev. Monks served until 1946, when he was succeeded by Rev. Robert L. Curry.
Athletics was a big part of Lenox School’s student life. Lacrosse, skiing, tennis, football, soccer, sailing, fencing and squash were all played at one time or another, but hockey was the undisputed king of sports. Hockey used to be practiced on a frozen pond on the Lenox School property. Whenever it snowed, the students had to shovel the pond before they could practice.

Lenox School for Boys closed in 1971, amid growing financial difficulties that were plaguing many New England private schools. For the most part, the buildings still stand today. After the school closed, it was owned for two years by the Bordentown Military Institute, who operated it jointly with Fox Hollow School as the Bordenton-Lenox School. It was later bought by Bible Speaks, then sold to the National Music Foundation, and was more recently purchased by Shakespeare & Company. The 70,000 sq. ft. hockey rink is now the home of the Production and Performing Arts Center and the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

Friends of Lenox Donate Pew End to Trinity Chapel
Lenox School pew end at Trinity Chapel
[In 1937, the "friends of Lenox School" donated a pew end to the chapel at Trinity College, a men's college about 70 miles from Lenox in Hartford, Connecticutt. We wondered why they were making the donation and why they chose Trinity chapel. The following is the result of our research. If you have any corrections or additions to our info, please leave a comment, below.]

Rev. Dr. William G. Thayer was a great friend and mentor of Lenox headmaster Rev. G. Gardner Monks. Rev. Thayer was the long-time headmaster of St. Mark’s School and Rev. Monks had been one of his outstanding students. They worked together on several projects over the years. Indeed, Rev. Thayer appears to have been the driving force behind the founding of Lenox School.

At some point, he had been asked to write a report on the state of private schools in New England. The report solidified a concern he had often encountered as headmaster of St. Mark’s. Many bright, industrious, energetic boys were being turned away from private schools because of finances or circumstances. He envisioned a school where boys could be educated based on merit rather than the wealth and connections of their families. Working with the Protestant Episcopal Church of New England, Lenox School was opened in 1926. The obvious choice for headmaster was his protege, Rev. Monks.

When Rev. Thayer died in 1934, his standing in the church and in people’s hearts was apparent, as witnessed by the list of attendees at his funeral. It was attended by the presidents of such schools as Harvard, Yale and Trinity College and by hundreds of clergy and former students.

The “friends of Lenox” wanted to create a lasting memorial to the man who had done so much for Lenox School, the Episcopalian Church and, really, anyone with whom he came into contact. The president of the Lenox School Board of Trustees was Dr. Remsen B. Ogilby, president of Trinity College and long-time friend of Rev. Thayer. Dr. Ogilby had overseen the building of the chapel at Trinity College in 1932. He and Rev. Monks recognized the opportunity to pay tribute to their great friend by dedicating one of the chapel pews in his honor.

The pew end was carved by J. Gregory Wiggins, who had done all the other carving in Trinity Chapel. It was unveiled at the 5 o’clock vespers on May 23, 1937. The original plan was for the Lenox upper classmen to tour the Trinity College campus and inspect the new pew end, but since the entire faculty made the trip, it is also possible the entire student body attended the ceremonies. The presentation of the pew end was made by Rev. Monks and Dr. Ogilby made an acceptance speech and presented the blessing.

In addition to the Lenox School crest, the carved pew end depicts a scene of St. Martin (patron saint of Lenox) sharing half his cloak with a shivering beggar at the gates of Amiens. It incorporates the lion of St. Mark on the armpiece (representative of Dr. Thayer’s beloved St. Mark’s School) and a hockey player on the finials (representing Lenox School’s favorite sport.) The general background is intended to be suggestive of the hill in the Berkshires on which Lenox School is located. The pew end may still be found at the chapel at Trinity College. As you face the altar, it is located on the left side of the aisle. It is the front pew in the second section of pews.

[If you’re steady-handed, you may be able to find the pew in this virtual tour of the Trinity College Chapel.

Notable alumni (from wikipedia article Lenox School for Boys)
Robert C. Seamans, Jr., Secretary of the Air Force under Richard Nixon
John Allen Gable, (1961), executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association until his death
Lucien A. Hold, (1965), a comedy-club talent booker and manager who helped discover and promote the early careers of New York comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler.
Kirk Scharfenberg, (1961), a distinguished journalist who worked for the New York Times and the Boston Globe. He shared the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Journalism given to the Boston Globe for “Local Investigative Specialized Reporting”. He was also famous for an editorial of March 15, 1980, under the headline: “Mush from the Wimp”. This referred to a proposal by then President Carter. The headline was inadvertently included in a printed edition of the Globe.
Robert L. Crosby, (1961), a Swift Boat captain in Vietnam, where he died, was a friend of presidential candidate John Kerry.
Clifton O. Dummett, (1961), a dental professor at LSU who helped integrate the New Orleans Yacht club, now deceased. He was a known for his dental lectures on pediatric dentistry.

Miscellaneous Mentions of Lenox School on the Web
Lenox Reunion Apparel
Oral History Project, Interview with Dr. Robert Seamans. A former Lenox student talks about his impressions of Lenox School and his relationship with Rev. Monks.
Skiing workouts at Beartown State Forest.
Photos from the 2006 Lenox School Reunion.
Photos from the 2008 Lenox School Reunion.
Miscellaneous old and new Lenox School photos.
1966 graduation photos.
Old photo postcards of Lenox, MA, including St. Martin’s Hall.
Some more recent photos in and around Lenox School on Flickr.
A 2009 article about Shakespeare & Co.,current residents of the Lenox School grounds.
Aerial map showing location of Shakespeare & Company
History of the Town of Lenox
History of the Berkshire Country Day School who occupied parts of the Lenox School campus from time to time.
Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People mentions “The Lenox Boys School, a group of fine, yellow-painted clapboarded buildings with extensive grounds…”
A short history of the Spring Lawn Mansion, home of Lenox School for Boys.
Lenox School was bought by the Bordenton Military Institute.
In Labrador Doctor: My Life with the Grenfell Mission, Dr. William Anthony Paddon tells of his days at Lenox School between 1926 and 1931.
In his book Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard, Michael Ruhlman recalls the one term he spent at Lenox School for Boys before “dropping out and heading for Texas.”
As of this writing, 2 copies of the 24-page pamphlet Lenox School: “Not to Be Served But to Serve”, by Rev. Robert L. Curry were available at Amazon.com.
Lenox School yearbooks and memorabilia on eBay.
A portion of the Lenox School grounds is now the home of the Kemble Inn.
Google Street View of Lenox School grounds from Kemble Street.

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We are still working on this page. There is much more to be added. PLEASE send us your memories of Lenox School. It will make this post much more enjoyable for other alumni.

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Olanta High School — Olanta, SC

Posted by DaveSanders | South Carolina | Posted on September 7th, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

Olanta High School Gym

Olanta High School

Hwy 301
Olanta, South Carolina

Mascot: Bearcats
Colors: Red & Black
Photo: Olanta Elementary and High School

Olanta High School was opened about 1909 and closed in 1985.

The first high school yearbook was published in 1928, THE OLANTAN.

About everything I know about Olanta comes from this History of Olanta, SC.

Here’s a couple of quotes from the History:
In 1923, a two story block building was built near where the Olanta School facility is located today. In 1957 that would be torn down and a new High School would be built. That facility would remain in use as the Olanta High School until 1985 when children of High School age would be transported to Lake City. The facility would then become a part of the Olanta Elementary School facility for the area and remains to this date.

And the history of Olanta would not be complete without the picture of a school that meant so much to a lot of the readers of this history, that being the Olanta Elementary School… The school was built in 1951 and would serve the area until 2001 when it was removed and replaced with today’s structure.

———— Olanta Bearcats Sports ————

Baseball

State Champions
1951-52
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66 (that’s right, 4 State Championships in a row!)

Football

State Runners-Up
1935-36

Basketball

Class A State Runners-Up
1968-69

Olanta alumnus, Don Buddin, was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

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Olanta High School Bearcat
Alumni on Facebook

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We would really like to round out this history of Olanta High School. Please leave your memories of Olanta by adding a comment below.

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Bidwell School — Lodi, CA

Posted by DaveSanders | California | Posted on September 2nd, 2010

View Larger Map

There isn’t much information available for Bidwell School on the web, but for a few years it was one of the top private schools in the country. Below is a collection of facts, articles and conjectures about Bidwell School. Hopefully some alumni will jump in and fill in the spaces.

Bidwell School may have opened in temporary facilities sometime between 1965 and 1967. The main Bidwell School building was constructed on 67 acres of rural Joaquin County farmland at 12755 N Hwy. 88, Lodi, California in 1967-68. It was a 12,000 sq. ft. single-story white wood building. An additional 546 sq. ft. shop storage building was also built. Various sources give further details about the school:
- east of Stockton, southeast of Lodi, between Live Oak Rd and Harney Lane
- across from Fraser Ranchettes
- 15 miles from the population center
- 5 miles from nearest fire department
- had its own water and sewage system

When the school closed (in 1973?), it was comprised of a lower school (grades K-5), middle school (grades 6-8) and an upper school (grades 9-12).

The Bidwell School yearbook was called the “Attica” and the student newspaper was the “Easy Writer” (great name!).

A quick look at Google Map’s satellite view shows the school sitting in the middle of thousands of acres of farmland. It’s interesting that the 1971 Attica Yearbook contains a photo of a crop-duster (an ad for Agrico Flight Futures). In 1984, when the Bidwell School building was being used as a juvenile rehabilitation center, a “pesticide drift” from a nearby farm sent 34 boys to the hospital with respiratory distress.

Bidwell School basketball team, Bidwell's Best
We would like to create alumni apparel for Bidwell School, but we couldn’t find the school colors or determine if they had a mascot.

We don’t know to what degree Bidwell School participated in interscholastic sports. They had an enviable archery program and girl’s volleyball was introduced in 1971. The middle school had a basketball program at least between 1970 and 1972.

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— Online Yearbooks
— Yearbook Reprints For Sale
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Below is a list of news stories about the Bidwell School. (These articles are all from the archives of the Lodi News-Sentinel.) The next to last one, A Long Talk with George Creary, is very interesting.

May 6 1965: Private Prep School to be Built South of Lodi

July 17, 1965: Educators of World Picked for Bidwell

September 11, 1965: Dedication of Bidwell School Set for Monday

November 13, 1965: Three Named to Bidwell School Board

November 13, 1965: Bidwell School Hosts Reception Thanksgiving

December 11, 1965: Bidwell Prep School to Build Site Near Lodi

July 20, 1966: School Site Claim Staked for Bidwell

May 20, 1967: Bidwell Work to Begin

August 14, 1967: Zoning Director’s Agenda – Bidwell School

January 2, 1969: Bidwell Student Killed in Airplane Crash

Jan 25, 1969: Newspaper Ad for Bidwell School

November 1, 1969: Olive Creary Obituary

December 8, 1969: Archery Tourney

October 30, 1970: Bidwell School 49, St. Anne’s 28 (4th grade basketball

June 25, 1971: Headmaster George F. Creary Retires

July 16, 1971: Frederick DiazGranados Named Headmaster

July 28, 1971: Bidwell School Reorganizes Both Curriculum and Administration

October 16, 1971: Torrey Stadtner Elected Student Body President

October 23, 1971: Girls Volleyball at Bidwell School

November 22, 1971: Steve Giannecchini Picked for All-League Soccer Team

December 13, 1971: Bidwell School Elects Trustees

January 11, 1972: Newspaper Ad for Bidwell School

January 21, 1972: Bidwell School 26, Victory Christian 13, Middle School basketball

February 1, 1972: Mrs. Donna Otto Now Bidwell Teacher

March 3, 1972: Bidwell School Rated Above National Average

September 29, 1972: New Head Boy (Terry Tarditi) and Head Girl (Laurie Cullman) Named

May 3, 1974: Bidwell School Property Considered for Alcohol Rehab Facility

June 14, 1974: Pacific Collegiate’s First Commencement

August 20, 1974: County to Buy Bidwell School Property

August 27, 1974: Bidwell School Purchase Restudied

September 7, 1974: Hearing on School for the Retarded Directed

September 19, 1974: Former Bidwell School Archery Instructor Aids Tokay High School

December 16, 1974: Juvenile Probation Dept. Wants Bidwell School

December 17, 1974: Residents Oppose Juvenile Treatment Center

October 27, 1976: Juvenile Home Permit Sought for Bidwell School

October 30, 1976: Juvenile Home Approved for Bidwell School

December 20, 1984: 34 Boys from Bear Creek Boys Ranch (old Bidwell School) Treated for ‘Unknown Irritant’

December 22, 1984: Bear Creek Ranch (old Bidwell School) Reopened after Scare A Long Talk with former Bidwell School Headmaster, George Creary

July 15, 1985: A Long Talk with George Creary

June 23, 1989: George Creary Dies at Age 91

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We’re sure there’s much more to tell about Bidwell School. Please share your memories (and straighten out our facts) by leaving a comment below.

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Midway High School — Midway, Kentucky

Posted by DaveSanders | Kentucky | Posted on May 24th, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

Midway High School

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Midway, KY

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[ extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway,_Kentucky ]
Midway is a city in Woodford County, Kentucky. It is located midway between Frankfort and Lexington, along the single-track railroad between them. The town is home to a major thoroughbred race horse breeding operation, Three Chimneys Farm, widely known as one of the world’s preeminent horse farms. The area around Midway was inhabited by Indian Mound Builders. Two large Indian mounds have been identified on nearby farms, as well as several smaller mounds. What is now the town of Midway, was once a farm belonging to John Francisco. It was sold to the Lexington and Ohio Railroad Company on 31 January 1835 for $6,491.25. It became Kentucky’s first railroad town. Midway was purposely located an equal distance between the cities of Lexington and Frankfort along the railroad. The town is also equidistant between Versailles and Georgetown. The major streets of Midway were named in honor of the railroad’s first officials.

Midway, KY area photos on Flickr.com
Midway, KY Flickr photos

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[ from http://www.kyhometown.com/midway/ ]
Midway is also home to Midway College, an independent liberal arts institution for women (the only one in Kentucky). There are 176 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places which are located in Midway. The Midway Fall Festival is held every year in September, providing a number of entertaining events for those in attendance.

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Midway High School

Opened: 1903 or 1910 or 1926?
(We’ve found references to all 3 dates.)
Closed: 1964
Mascot: Blue Jays
Colors: Blue & White

For many years, Midway High School was one of three high schools in Woodford County, the others being Simmons High School and Versailles High School. In the 1950′s, Simmons was closed, sending its students to Versailles and Midway. In 1964, Woodford County High School was opened, consolidating all of the county’s students into one high school.

Midway High School is now the home of Midway School Apartments and has received many awards, including the Blue Grass Trust Award for Historic Preservation. The cafeteria houses Baskets from the Bluegrass, offering a wide selection of gifts and antiques with a distinctly Bluegrass flavor.

Midway schools from an 1892 photo album:
- Midway School (white)
- Midway School (black)
- North Midway School

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1937 KY State Basketball Champs
Coach: Bobby Burns
Defeated Inez, 30-22.
[from alumni Peggy S.]
“Coach Burns coined the Full Court Press for a play the team perfected that was quickly adopted by Adolph Rupp at University of Kentucky.”

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YouTube video:
Video starts with discussion of the 1937 State Basketball Championship, won by Midway High School. (Miss Margaret Ware Parrish was THE cheerleader.) Representative Chandler then pays tribute to Miss Parrish and presents the 2009 Midway Living History Award on behalf of Midway Renaissance, Inc.
(Recorded November 14, 2009)

More videos of the evening honoring Miss Parrish.

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U.S. Congressional Record, Jan. 11, 2007

TRIBUTE TO THE MIDWAY HIGH SCHOOL’S 1937 BASKETBALL TEAM ON THE 70^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

HON. BEN CHANDLER OF KENTUCKY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Mr. CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, today I would like to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Midway High School’s 1937 Kentucky state basketball championship. Under the guidance and leadership of Coach G.L. “Bobby ” Burns, the Midway Blue Jays reinvented the game of basketball for years to come. The Blue Jays rejuvenated Kentucky basketball and made it a truly exciting spectator sport with their up tempo “run and gun ” style of play.

Coach Burns and his squad of: Jack Penn, Ernest Jefferson, Armon Portwood, Carl Thomas, Raymond and Harold Sanderson, James Murphy, Sherman and Quentin Columbia, and Karl Jefferson used their natural abilities and athleticism to play against their taller competition. They averaged only 5’8″, the smallest team to ever win the state tournament. Yet they persevered, as Coach Burns believed that natural instincts and physical stamina, combined with fundamental basketball, were keys to success. Coach Burns was right.

To celebrate this historic occasion, on January 12, 2007, the Woodford County Yellow Jackets will honor the “Boys of ’37″ by dressing in the blue and white uniforms of Midway High School during their regular season game against Madison Central High. Additionally, during the halftime ceremony, a giant banner will be raised and installed in the Woodford County Gym to honor the Midway Blue Jays’ tournament win. In March, the members of the ’37 squad will be honored in a ceremony at the halftime of the 2007 state championship game.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor to have this momentous occasion celebrated in my home district. The “Boys of ’37″ truly represent Kentucky’s passion and dedication to the game of basketball. This group of individuals will always be remembered as Kentucky’s finest and we will continue to celebrate their accomplishments for years to come.

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Facebook Links:
I went to Midway Elementary in Midway, Kentucky
Midway, KY
Midway, Kentucky
Midway College
Midway College Alumni Association
Darlin’ Jean’s Apple Cobbler Cafe (Gratz St.)

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If you attended Midway High School or have memories of Midway High School, please share with our readers by leaving a comment below.

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Delbrook High School — North Vancouver, British Columbia

Posted by DaveSanders | British Columbia | Posted on March 29th, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

Delbrook Community Recreation Centre (site of Delbrook Senior Secondary School)

Delbrook Senior Secondary School

Year opened: 1957

Year closed: 1977

mascot: Hilltoppers

colors: Light Blue & Dark Blue

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North Vancouver High School served as the only high school in North Vancouver until the opening of Delbrook. Delbrook High School opened in 1957 with Mr. Siddons as principal.

In the post Baby Boom era of the mid 1970′s, North Vancouver was experiencing the same declining enrollments as most other school districts. A proposal was being seriously discussed to close both North Vancouver and Delbrook High Schools at the end of the 1978-79 school year.

On January 28, 1977, a fire began in a lower-floor workshop and quickly spread upward, destroyed much of Delbrook High School. Delbrook’s students completed the 1977 year at nearby Balmoral Junior Secondary. Delbrook and Balmoral students attended classes in shifts, with one school using the buildings in the mornings and the other in the afternoons.

Rather than rebuild Delbrook, the school board officially closed the school on June 30, 1977. Delbrook students enrolled in their choice of either Carson Graham or Handsworth for the remainder of their high school years..

The Delbrook buildings which were not destroyed in the fire, including the gymnasium and cafeteria, now operate under North Vancouver Parks and Recreation as the Delbrook Community Recreation Centre.

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Links

– There is a pretty good overview of Delbrook on wikipedia. Since it covers sports highlights and notable alumni, I’ll refer you there instead of repeating it here.

– There are over 1,100 Delbrook High School alumni on Classmates.com.

– If you’re really bored (or want to be), here’s a link to the results of a study which used Delbrook students as guinea pigs: School Closure: The Effects of Forced Transfer blah, blah, blah.

Facebook Groups

– Delbrook Secondary School

– Class of ’67

– Class of ’75

– Class of ’76

– North Vancouver, BC

– North Vancouver is where all the cool kids are from

– You know you’re from North Van if…

– You Know You’re From British Columbia When….

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The North Vancouver Museum and Archives have a collection of over 4,000 Delbrook High School photos and other memorablilia. Most of the photos are from the school’s yearbooks. The collection is stored at:
Community History Centre
3203 Institute Road
North Vancouver, B.C.

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This has nothing to do with anything; Just an interesting bit of 1960′s trivia.
[from the Montreal Gazettte, April 14, 1962 ]
PROMOTE CHARM
NORTH VANCOUVER, BC. – Opposed to the prevalence of tight skirts and rat’s-nest hairdos among teen-age girls, teachers at Delbrook High School here are holding charm classes designed to encourage moderation in dress and appearance.

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Please Help

If you have any photos, yearbook scans, corrections, memories, or additional info about Delbrook High School, please leave a comment below. Your input will make this a much more useful and interesting page.

3 comments

West Point High School — West Point, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 28th, 2010

West Point High School

West Point, GA

Troup County & Harris County

mascot: Red Devils

colors: Red & White

Year opened: 1903

Year closed: 1986

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about West Point High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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[exerpts from Fitzgerald Herald, March 10, 1960. Click for full story.]
Eagles End Season 2nd in State
The Monitor High basketball Eagles have wound up the season as the second strongest Class B team in the state. They were barely nudged out last Saturday night by West Point High for the championship honor. . . . Saturday night saw the Eagles completely ineffective on their inside work, however, Wallace and Curtis Jackson were almost 100% accurate on their tosses from the outside. But it wasn’t enough and the Eagles had to settle for second place behind West Point, the new champion in Class B ball. The final score in the game was 62-54.

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See all West Point High School articles from the Georgia High School Basketball Project.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about West Point High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

3 comments

Monitor High School — Fitzgerald, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 27th, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

Monitor Park and Community Center (former Monitor High School)

Monitor High School

600 South Monitor Drive
Fitzgerald, GA

mascot: Eagle

colors: Gold & Maroon

Year opened: ????

Year closed: ????

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Monitor High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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[from Fitzgerald Herald, March 10, 1960. Click for story and photo.]
MONITORING MONITOR
Eagles End Season 2nd in State
The Monitor High basketball Eagles have wound up the season as the second strongest Class B team in the state. They were barely nudged out last Saturday night by West Point High for the championship honor.
Coach Samuel Roberts entered the State tournament in Thomaston last weekend with a fabulous record after the regular season play and the elimination tournies.
Friday night the Eagles came through against Douglasville 55-61 to earn the right to compete in the championship game on Saturday.
Out of Monitor’s 61 points scored, 42 of them were evenly divided between Joe Reliford, John Jackson and Wallace Jackson.
Saturday night saw the Eagles completely ineffective on their inside work, however, Wallace and Curtis Jackson were almost 100% accurate on their tosses from the outside. But it wasn’t enough and the Eagles had to settle for second place behind West Point, the new champion in Class B ball.
The final score in the game was 62-54.
. . .
The Eagles will start their track drills for this spring’s cinder season next Monday. The school this year will again have both boys and girls teams.
. . .
Football practice sessions under the direction of Coach William Witherspoon got underway Monday.
. . .
Baseball will come off a little later this year because of the weather and practice sessions for football.
. . .
The faculties of Monitor High and Ocilla High and Industrial School will play a benefit basketball game at Blue-Gray Shell Tuesday night at 7:30.

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See all Monitor High School photos and articles from the Georgia High School Basketball Project.

See 100′s of photos from in and around Fitzgerald, Georgia.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Monitor High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

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Littleton High School — Littleton, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on March 22nd, 2010

(click for Google Street View)

Littleton High School, Littleton, NC

Littleton High School

411 Mosby Avenue
Littleton, North Carolina
“The Little Town with the Big Heart”

Year opened: ????
Year closed: ????

nickname: Blue Jays
colors: Navy & White

Partial History of Schools in Littleton, NC

In 1849, Rev. Dr. William Hooper and his son-in-law, Prof. J. DeBerniere Hooper, opened a short-lived Family School for boys near Littleton.

In 1882, Littleton High School and Business Institute was opened. It lasted for quite a few years. In 1892, it had 5 instructors, 3 male and 2 female teaching 120 male students.

The Central Institute for Young Ladies in Littleton was incorporated in Warren Co. in 1883. In 1884 it had 6 teachers and 125 students.

Branson’s North Carolina Agricultural Almanac for 1890 lists Littleton High School (for boys) under Halifax Co. Schools. (The population of Littleton is listed as 350.)

Littleton High School was listed in the 1893 edition of the American College and Public School Directory.

The 1898 NC Biennial School Report lists Littleton Supplemental School, a one-room school in Halifax Co., but doesn’t list Littleton High School.

In 1907, an act was introduced in the NC Senate to authorize establishing a graded school in Littleton.

The 1909 Dept. of Agriculture list of agricultural schools lists the Central Academy in Littleton. (Is this the Central Institute for Young Ladies chartered in 1883?)

In 1922, Littleton High School in Warren Co. was listed as a “Group 2, Class A” school in the NC “accredited schools” report.

Alumni

There are about 200 Littleton High School alumni on Classmates.com.

Here are some Littleton High School 2008 Reunion photos from LittletonObserver.com.

Alumni Input
[This info was submitted by Taylor Hawkins, whose mother attended Littleton High School. Thanks, Taylor!]

The Littleton High School colors were Navy Blue & White and the mascot was the Blue Jay.

The school song was “Littleton Forever”:
Littleton forever,
Thy name we love;
Pride of our fathers
In this land of ours.
Come and join the chorus,
Proudly we’ll sing
Praises for Littleton,
Now let them begin to ring!…rah, rah, rah!

At one time the county line ran down the middle of the campus. The school building was in Warren County and the gym was in Halifax County. The historic Person’s Ordinary (on NC Historic Register) is on the campus grounds. George Washington spent the night in Person’s Ordinary.

The school building and auditorium are now home to the Lakeland Cultural Arts Center and the Mark E. Taylor Theater (community theater).

Please Help

If you have any photos, yearbook scans, corrections, memories, or additional info about Littleton High School, please leave a comment below. Your input will make this a much more useful and interesting page.

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R. L. Cousins High School — Douglasville, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 11th, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

Stewart Middle School (former R. L. Cousins High School)

Robert L. Cousins High School

Malone St.
Douglasville, Douglas County, GA

Mascot: Wolverines

Colors: Maroon & White

Year opened: 1957
Year closed: 1971

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about R. L. Cousins High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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R. L. Cousins was a 12-grade school on Malone St. in Douglasville, Georgia. It was opened in 1957 under principal John W. Stewart. (I believe it was a replacement school for the former Hutchinson High School.) The high school portion closed in 1971 and the buildings became Douglas County Junior High School. The next year the school was renamed Stewart Middle School. John W. Stewart remained the principal until 1977.

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The Douglas County Museum of History and Art houses some artifacts & memorabilia from R. L. Cousins. The museum is located inside the old courthouse on W. Broad St.

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Visit your fellow R. L. Cousins alumni on Facebook.

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Restored gym of R. L. Cousins School
Here’s an article about the recent
restoration of Wolverine Gym.

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R. L. Cousins was the Class B State Basketball Champion in back-to-back seasons, 1961 & 1962.

[from DOUGLAS COUNTY SENTINEL, March 16, 1961. Click for story and photo.]
Georgia State Champions
This group of basketball players of the R. L. Cousins Negro school in Douglasville has won the State Class B basketball championship, winning their final victory at the tournament in Waycross. The team had the unusual distinction of playing the entire season without a loss. They breezed through the regular season, the district, regional and state tournaments and were never seriously threatened. Holding the trophy in front is Billy Cook, team trainer, and left to right in front row are Charlie Bowens, Lee Edward Bowens, Melvin Welch, James Jones and Harvey Jones. Back row left to right, are Benny Smith, Floyd Parker, Alton Caldwell, J. C. Smith and Charlie Helton. The team was coached by E. L. Pinkston.

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This article references Douglasville. Were they referring to Cousins High School?
[excerpt from Fitzgerald Herald, March 10, 1960. Click for story and photo.]
Eagles End Season 2nd in State
The Monitor High basketball Eagles have wound up the season as the second strongest Class B team in the state. [. . . ] Friday night the Eagles came through against Douglasville 55-61 to earn the right to compete in the championship game on Saturday.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about R. L. Cousins High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

5 comments

Mount Moriah High School — Decatur County, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Mt. Moriah High School

Decatur County, GA

Mascot: Jaguars

Colors: Blue & Gold

Year opened: ????
Year closed: 1974

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Mt. Moriah High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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Mt. Moriah High School is mentioned as a participant in the 1948 South Georgia Athletic Association basketball tournament.
Here’s the article from the Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Mt. Moriah High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

No comments

Tift County Industrial School — Tifton, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Tift County Industrial School

Tifton, GA

Mascot: Tigers

Colors: Blue & Gold

Year opened: ????
Year closed: 1957
(Name was changed to Wilson High School in 1957)

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Tift County Industrial School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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Tift County Training School is mentioned as a participant in the 1948 South Georgia Athletic Association basketball tournament.
Here’s the article from the Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948.

Here’s an email from Flickr user GHSBP. Check out her Flickr pages and her websites, they are a wealth of great information.
“Tift County Industrial was the same as Tift County Training. Newspaper reports – especially for segregated schools – sometimes couldn’t keep names straight. The name changed to Wilson in 1957 and I assume that was because the county split Industrial into an elementary and a high school. Industrial retained its name. I’m not sure if Industrial was on the exact same parcel of land as the current J. T. Reddick school or not. Reddick had been a principal of Tift County Industrial when it was an elementary. If not on the same spot, it was very close.

I have a few photos of Wilson on the Flickr account. It’s now known as Matt Wilson Elementary.

I have notes on other schools at my website, http://www.ghsbp.com/gia/index.html

For non-segregated schools, http://www.ghsbp.com/nicknames.html, though some of those may not be accurate. I have a very long-term project started to get information out of state educational directories.”

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Tift County Industrial School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

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Carver High School — Dawson, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Carver High School

Dawson, GA

Mascot: ????

Colors: ????

Year opened: ????
Year closed: ????

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Carver High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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Carver High School is mentioned as a participant in the 1948 South Georgia Athletic Association basketball tournament.
Here’s the article from the Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Carver High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

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Hutto High School — Bainbridge, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Hutto High School

Bainbridge, GA

Mascot: Tigers

Colors: Black & Gold

Year opened: 1869
Year closed: 1970

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Hutto High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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Hutto High School won GIA boys’ state basketball titles in 1953 and 1959.
- Hutto Boys Win Cage Tournament (Thomasville Times-Enterprise, 03/27/1953)

In football, they made it all the way to the state finals in 1964, but lost to Forrester.
- Alto School Team State Champions (Cornelia, 12/10/1964)

Hutto High School is mentioned as a participant in the 1948 South Georgia Athletic Association basketball tournament.
Here’s the article from the Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Hutto High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add any other information.

7 comments

Dasher High School — Valdosta, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Dasher High School

Valdosta, GA

Mascot: Golden Tigers

Colors: ????

Year opened: ????
Year closed: ????

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This post is a place to store miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Dasher High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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Dasher High School is mentioned as a participant in the 1948 South Georgia Athletic Association basketball tournament.
Here’s the article from the Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Dasher High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add to our information.

No comments

Staley High School — Americus, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

A. S. Staley High School online yearbooks

A. S. Staley High School

Americus, GA

Mascot: Tigers

Colors: ????

Year opened: ????
Year closed: ????

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Below are miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Staley High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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(I thought this was pretty good…both the girl’s AND boy’s basketball teams finished second in the South Georgia tournament in 1948.)

[from Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948]

Center, Brooks High Schools Win SGAA Tourney Crowns

Waycross, Ga — (SNS) — Center High School of Waycross, Georgia, rolled over Staley High of Americus, Georgia, 37-25 in the finals of the South Georgia Athletic Association tournament here in city auditorium.

In the girls championship game, Brooks High of Quitman, Ga., out-fought Staley High of Americus 32 to 28 to annex the SGAA crown.

The tournament was a very colorful affair with twenty teams participating including Dasher High, Valdesto; Brooks High, Quitman; Douglas High, Thomasville; Hutto High and Union Normal, Bainbridge; Carver High, Dawson; Tift County Training School, Tifton; and Staley High, Americus.

Union Normal copped the third place spot in the girls division, and Brooks High won the third place ranking in the boys. The coaches for the two first place winners were Calvin W. Rutherford, Brooks High and George James, Center High.

The officials for the tournament were Craig and Johnson of Fort Valley State College, Roulhac and Pruitt of Albany State College, Small of Stanton High, Jacksonville. Trophies were presented to the winners.

The All-Conference teams that were selected by the officials were:

GIRLS
FIRST TEAM
Forward, Mahomes, Staley High
Forward, Williams, Union Normal
Forward, Evans, Union Normal
Guard, Williams, Brooks High
Guard, Dillard, Staley High
Guard, Watkins, Douglas High
SECOND TEAM
Forward, Brister, Brooks High
Forward, Mack, Mount Moriah
Forward, Morning, Tifton
Guard, Barber, Union Normal
Guard, L. Williams, Mt. Moriah
Guard, Kitchen, Staley High
BOYS
FIRST TEAM
Forward, G. Flourney, Center High
Forward, J. Boyd, Center High
Center, Hayes, Staley High
Guard, Jackson, Staley High
Guard, Lewis, Brooks High
SECOND TEAM
Forward, Robinson, Carver High
Forward, J. Woodlock, Pelham
Center, Dixon, Center High
Guard, Horne, Brooks High
Guard, C. Austin, Douglas High

The championship winners were:
GIRLS
GIRLS, FIRST PLACE
– Brooks High (Quitman)
SECOND PLACE
– Staley High (Americus)
THIRD PLACE
– Union Normal (Bainbridge)
BOYS, FIRST PLACE
– Center High (Waycross)
SECOND PLACE
– Staley High (Americus)
THIRD PLACE
– Brooks High (Quitman)

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Staley High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add to our information.

1 comment

Center High School — Waycross, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Center High School

Waycross, GA

Mascot: Tigers

Colors: Blue & Gold

Year opened: ????
Year closed: ????

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Below are miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Center High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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[from Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948]

Center, Brooks High Schools Win SGAA Tourney Crowns

In the girls championship game, Brooks High of Quitman, Ga., out-fought Staley High of Americus 32 to 28 to annex the SGAA crown.

The All-Conference teams that were selected bythe officials were:

GIRLS
FIRST TEAM
Forward, Mahomes, Staley High
Forward, Williams, Union Normal
Forward, Evans, Union Normal
Guard, Williams, Brooks High
Guard, Dillard, Staley High
Guard, Watkins, Douglas High
SECOND TEAM
Forward, Brister, Brooks High
Forward, Mack, Mount Moriah
Forward, Morning, Tifton
Guard, Barber, Union Normal
Guard, L. Williams, Mt. Moriah
Guard, Kitchen, Staley High
BOYS
FIRST TEAM
Forward, G. Flourney, Center High
Forward, J. Boyd, Center High
Center, Hayes, Staley High
Guard, Jackson, Staley High
Guard, Lewis, Brooks High
SECOND TEAM
Forward, Robinson, Carver High
Forward, J. Woodlock, Pelham
Center, Dixon, Center High
Guard, Horne, Brooks High
Guard, C. Austin, Douglas High

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Center High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add to our information.

No comments

Butler High School — Gainesville, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Butler High School

Gainesville, GA

Mascot: Tigers

Colors: Gold & Maroon

Year opened: 1962
Year closed: 1969

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Below are miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Butler High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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Full name was E. E. Butler High School, Gainesville, Georgia

Photo of new school (Description: E. E. Butler High School, 1960s. Photograph of E. E. Butler High School, located on Athens Highway. It was constructed in the early 1960s. The students were later transferred to Gainesville High School, and the building has been used by several different groups since then.) from Digital Library of Georgia

Originally Fair Street High School, later rebuilt (in 1962/3) as E. E. Butler High School. Closed in 1969.

Here’s a few Gainesville, GA Facebook groups:
– Gainesville, GA
– We Love Gainesville, GA!
– You Might Be Gainesvillian If…
– Proud to be from Gainesvegas!
– I Cruised the Strip in Gainesville, Ga
– I used all my gas cruising “Uptown” in Gainesville, GA!

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Butler High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add to our information.

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Douglass High School — Thomasville, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

South Middle School, Henderson, KY (former Henderson City High School) on Google Street View

(click image for Google Street View)

Douglass High School gym

Douglass High School

Thomasville, Thomas County, GA

Mascot: Lions

Colors: Blue & Gold

Year opened: 1902
Year closed: 1970

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Below are miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Douglass High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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There’s an excellent History of Douglass High School on the website of the Jack Hadley Black History Museum.

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Here are some recent Thomasville photos.

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[from Atlanta Daily World, Mar. 24, 1948]

Center, Brooks High Schools Win SGAA Tourney Crowns

In the girls championship game, Brooks High of Quitman, Ga., out-fought Staley High of Americus 32 to 28 to annex the SGAA crown.

The tournament was a very colorful affair with twenty teams participating including Dasher High, Valdesto; Brooks High, Quitman; Douglas High, Thomasville; Hutto High and Union Normal, Bainbridge; Carver High, Dawson; Tift County Training School, Tifton; and Staley High, Americus.

The All-Conference teams that were selected bythe officials were:

GIRLS
FIRST TEAM
Forward, Mahomes, Staley High
Forward, Williams, Union Normal
Forward, Evans, Union Normal
Guard, Williams, Brooks High
Guard, Dillard, Staley High
Guard, Watkins, Douglas High
SECOND TEAM
Forward, Brister, Brooks High
Forward, Mack, Mount Moriah
Forward, Morning, Tifton
Guard, Barber, Union Normal
Guard, L. Williams, Mt. Moriah
Guard, Kitchen, Staley High
BOYS
FIRST TEAM
Forward, G. Flourney, Center High
Forward, J. Boyd, Center High
Center, Hayes, Staley High
Guard, Jackson, Staley High
Guard, Lewis, Brooks High
SECOND TEAM
Forward, Robinson, Carver High
Forward, J. Woodlock, Pelham
Center, Dixon, Center High
Guard, Horne, Brooks High
Guard, C. Austin, Douglas High

The championship winners were:
GIRLS
GIRLS, FIRST PLACE
– Brooks High (Quitman)
SECOND PLACE
– Staley High (Americus)
THIRD PLACE
– Union Normal (Bainbridge)
BOYS, FIRST PLACE
– Center High (Waycross)
SECOND PLACE
– StaleyHigh (Americus)
THIRD PLACE
– Brooks High (Quitman)

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[from Gainesville Times, Dec. 22, 1957]

Fair Street Grabs State Title, 13-7

By PHIL JACKSON
Times Sports Editor

Fair Street’s Tigers — sparked by the explosive clutch running of tiny Gene Carrithers — scored early and late here Friday night to defeat a fine Thomasville team, 13-7 and gather their second consecutive Georgia football championship.

With only three minutes and 40 seconds left on the City Park clock and the score knotted at 7-7, Carrithers cracked over tackle on a crossbuck, bounced off one tackler and fought his way six yards for the winning touchdown.

Tiger end Arthur Moss intercepted a pass to stop the last Thomasville threat with 30 seconds remaining. Fair Street ran out the clock and jubilant players lifted Coach E. L. Cabbell and Carrithers to their shoulders for a victorious ride across the gridiron.

Thomasville’s Douglas High Lions were a tough, spirited eleven that featured the keeper runs and passes of quarterback Charlie Ward and the quickie dashes of halfback Roosevelt Reed, but hulking Clarence Niles, David Camp, Johnny Keith, and William Johnson furnished the defensive knocks for Fair Street when they were needed.

Fair Street jumped off to a quick lead in the first quarter. Fullback Ellis Cantrell set up the score when he returned a punt 20 yards to the Thomasville 19.

On the first play, quarterback Cecil Young lofted a high, floating spiral to Moss who gathered it in over his shoulder in the Lion end zone. Cantrell plunged over for the point and a 7-0 lead.

Thomasville’s offense suddenly came alive midway in the second quarter and the Lions drove 69 yards for the tieing tally. Ward’s keeper cutbacks off tackle were the main thrusts of the push. Reed bucked over from the two. Ward carried for the extra point and the teams went out for the half.

Fair’ Street’s strutting band presented an imaginative Christmas show during intermission that was complete even to a formation of a tree with blinking, colored lights.

Neither team could muster an effective offense in the third quarter and through half of the final period.

But just when it seemed a tie was in the books, the Tigers started their winning drive from their 41 yard line with six minutes remaining.

Carrithers got it underway when he burst through center, cut to the sidelines and sped 32 yards to the Thomasville 27. Cantrell hit for five, Carrithers for six, Clifford Stevens for five and Cantrell for five again to the six.

Little Gene then fired his 135-pound frame through for the big one and Fair Street had its 16th straight victory and the state Class A trophy.

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In 1958, the Douglass boy’s basketball team fell to Hunt High School, 58-46, in the Class A State Semi-Finals. Here is an article about the tournament from the March 13, 1958 Fort Valley Leader-Tribune.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Douglass High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add to our information.

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Fair Street High School — Gainesville, Georgia

Posted by DaveSanders | Georgia | Posted on March 10th, 2010

Fair Street High School

Gainesville, GA

Mascot: Tigers

Colors: ????

Year opened: ????
Year closed: ????

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Below are miscellaneous notes, links, etc. we have gathered about Fair Street High School so far. If you have any corrections or additions, please leave a comment below.
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[from Gainesville Times, Dec. 22, 1957]

Fair Street Grabs State Title, 13-7

By PHIL JACKSON
Times Sports Editor

Thomasville’s Douglas High Lions were a tough, spirited eleven that featured the keeper runs and passes of quarterback Charlie Ward and the quickie dashes of halfback Roosevelt Reed, but hulking Clarence Niles, David Camp, Johnny Keith, and William Johnson furnished the defensive knocks for Fair Street when they were needed.

Fair Street jumped off to a quick lead in the first quarter. Fullback Ellis Cantrell set up the score when he returned a punt 20 yards to the Thomasville 19.

On the first play, quarterback Cecil Young lofted a high, floating spiral to Moss who gathered it in over his shoulder in the Lion end zone. Cantrell plunged over for the point and a 7-0 lead.

Fair’ Street’s strutting band presented an imaginative Christmas show during intermission that was complete even to a formation of a tree with blinking, colored lights.

Neither team could muster an effective offense in the third quarter and through half of the final period.

But just when it seemed a tie was in the books, the Tigers started their winning drive from their 41 yard line with six minutes remaining.

Little Gene then fired his 135-pound frame through for the big one and Fair Street had its 16th straight victory and the state Class A trophy.

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Please help us fill in the blanks about Fair Street High School. Leave a comment to share your memories or to add to our information.

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Henderson High School — Henderson, Kentucky

Posted by DaveSanders | Kentucky | Posted on March 5th, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

South Middle School (former Henderson City High School)

Henderson High School

800 S. Alves St.
Henderson, KY

mascot: Flash
colors: Royal Blue & White

Classes began at Henderson Academy in 1814 and continued until 1839 when the old building was crumbling and there were no funds to repair it. In 1869, legislation was passed incorporating the Henderson High School. All assets belonging to Henderson Seminary were ordered to be turned over to the Trustees of Henderson Public Schools.

A new building at Green & Center Streets was completed in 1870 and school began there in Sept. of 1870. It was a 3-story, brick building with basement. It had 14 classrooms and one assembly room. It was equipped with the latest furniture and slate blackboards. There were 13 graded school teachers and two high school teachers. The top floor was the high school and the other two floors were the graded school.

In 1888, a new building was opened just for the high school grades. Located at the corner of Washington & Adams Streets, the building housed Henderson High School until 1910. In 1910, Henderson High School ceased to exist and the students were moved to the newer Barret Manual Training High School across the street. In 1955, a new high school was opened on South Alves St. to replace BMTHS and was named Henderson City High School.

Henderson County High School opened in 1954 and moved to its current location in 1969. In 1965, Douglas High School was merged into Henderson City High School. In 1970, Holy Name High School closed and the students transferred to either the City or County high schools. In 1976, Henderson City High School was consolidated into Henderson County High School, making Henderson County one of the largest high schools in the country.

Links

– Henderson City High School on Facebook

– Barret and Henderson City High School Alumni Association

– Barret and Henderson City High School Athletics, 1955-1963

Athletics

Football
1955 State Champs (undefeated)
1959 State Champs (undefeated)
The 1917 football team still holds one state record: the most touchdowns ever given up in a single game (20 vs. Owensboro). Henderson was tough on extra-point attempts, though. Owensboro only scored four points on PATs. Go Flash!

Basketball – Girls
1926 State Runner-Up

Basketball – Boys
1956 State Runner-Up

Baseball
1956 undefeated regular season
1959 undefeated regular season

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We need your help
Please share your memories of Henderson City High School with our visitors and your fellow alumni. Please leave a comment with any historical facts, anecdotes, memories, etc. Thanks!
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Be the coolest person at your next reunion with apparel from the Henderson Flash Alumni Store.

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Confederation High School — Nepean, Ottawa, Ontario

Posted by DaveSanders | Ontario | Posted on February 23rd, 2010

(click for Google Street View)

Confederation High School, Ottawa, ON

Confederation High School

1645 Woodroffe Avenue
Nepean / Ottowa, ON

mascot: Cardinals
colors: Red, White & Green

Confederation High School opened in the fall of 1967. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Barrhaven area grew to the point that the majority of Confed’s students were commuting from there. In 1999, John McCrae Secondary School in Barrhaven was opened and Confederation High School was closed. The CHS building is now “Confederation Education Centre” and is used for many activities by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

(Below are just a few bits and pieces I’ve picked up about Confed. If you can offer corrections and additions to these bare bones, please leave a comment below.)

———— Facebook Groups ————

Confederation High School (1,400 members)
Confederation High School (250 members)
Confederation High Reunion (1,000 members)
Nepean Born and Raised (2,300 members) [The first page or two is mostly ads, but the older posts contain dozens and dozens of memories from folks who grew up in Nepean, many of them Confed alumni.]

———— Athletics ————

This is not a complete record of Confederation High School’s athletic accomplishments. These are just some of the records maintained on Ontario athletics websites and some info from old newspaper accounts.

The CHS cheerleaders defeated 30 city and district high schools to win the Campus Club cheerleading contest in 1969.

In 1981, CHS won both Carleton boy’s and girl’s curling crowns.

A football and rugby MVP at Confed, Joe Goodwin, competed on Spike TV’s Pros vs. Joes in 2008.

Former CHS teacher Phil Takahashi represented Canada in judo in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.

Football

– 1983 Senior team was undefeated in the regular season (6-0)
– 1988 Junior Champs with an undefeated 9-0 record
– 1989 Team went undefeated until losing in the championship game
– 1993 Undefeated season (9-0), Ottawa-Carleton Senior Football Champions

Former Edmonson Eskimos player Eric Upton graduated from CHS and was placed on the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame in 1986.

In 2001, former Cardinal Jesse Palmer was drafted by the NFL’s New York Giants. He became only the second Canadian to start at quarterback in an NFL game. In 2004, he was the object of affection on ABC’s The Bachelor. He is now an announcer and football analyst.

Rolanda Coe/Rolanda Cole, first female football player in Ottawa

(Ottawa Citizen – Oct 27, 1982)

[I found two articles about Rolanda. One calls her Coe, the other calls her Cole.]

While in Grade 9 at Moira High School in Belleville, Rolanda Coe won the Athlete of the Year award. After moving to Barrhaven in 1982, she decided to test herself by trying out for the CHS football team. She made the team as a running back and punter, becoming Ottawa-Carleton’s first female football player.

Gymnastics – OFSAA Championships

1980 – Uneven Bars – Elite B (Elizabeth Shank)
1981 – Floor Exercise – Intermediate (Anna Fraser)

Track & Field – OFSAA Championships

1980 – 1500 metre – midget (Marc Oleson)
1980 – 3000 metre – midget (Marc Oleson)
1981 – 3000 metre – junior (Marc Oleson)
1982 – 1500 metre – junior (Marc Oleson)
1982 – 3000 metre – junior (Marc Oleson)
1982 – Cross Country (Marc Oleson)
1983 – 1500 metre – senior (Marc Oleson)
1983 – 3000 metre – senior (Marc Oleson)
– Marc Oleson set the national junior record for the one-mile run (a record that stood for 22 years). He received a full track and field athletic scholarship to Stanford University. In 1985 he was placed on the inaugural Nepean Sports Wall of Fame. In 1991, he won the cross country event at the Canadian Championships. In 1992, he competed on the Canadian Olympics team.

1985 – Girls Track – midget (Overall Team Champions)
1985 – 100 metre – midget (Jane Roos)
1985 – 200 metre – midget (Jane Roos)
1985 – High Jump – midget (Jane Roos)
1986 – 100 metre – junior (Jane Roos)
1986 – 200 metre – junior (Jane Roos)
1986 – 400 metre relay – senior (Jane Roos anchored the team)
– Jane Roos is the founder and Executive Director of Canadian Athletes Now, a program to raise financial support for Canadian athletes. In 2009, she received the Leadership in Sports Award at the Canadian Sport Awards.

———— Tidbits ————

In 1987, Confederation High School had 40% more students than it was designed for, while Merivale High School was operating at half-capacity. The school district boundaries were redrawn for all five Nepean high schools so each would have about 1,000 students by 1991.

Gord Hunter was a teacher at CHS for 31 years, retiring from teaching when the school closed. In 1980, he also began his political career by being elected as a Nepean alderman. In 1985, he was placed on the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame for his accomplishments in orienteering. In 2010, he announced he would not run for another term as councillor representing Knoxdale-Merivale ward, retiring after 31 years in politics.

************* You can help! ************
Please leave a comment below. Share your memories with fellow alumni. Add to or correct the info above. Thanks.

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Warrenton High School — Warrenton, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 19th, 2010

(click for Google Street View)

Warrenton High School, Warrenton, NC

Warrenton High School

N. Main St. at Ridgeway St.
Warrenton, NC
Warren County

nickname: Yellow Jackets
colors: Blue & Gold

History

Warrenton High School could trace its roots back to 1786, when Warrenton Academy was founded. The school operated continuously from that time, making WHS not only one of the oldest schools in North Carolina, but one of the oldest in the United States. As was common at that time, Warrenton Academy was probably operated in a house, church or one-room schoolhouse. In 1800, the school trustees raised funds to build a larger structure. (I couldn’t find a record of where this new building was located, but it is likely it was near Plummer Street.)

At some point between 1800 and 1818, the name was changed to Warrenton Male Academy, possibly to distinguish it from the Warrenton Female Academy. The girl’s academy was opened in 1808 by Jacob Mordecai, a former teacher at Warrenton Academy. The few records I could find indicate Warrenton Male Academy flourished all through the 1800′s. The Female Academy seems to have been extremely successful through the 1820′s, but a shortage of qualified teachers and increased competition from other academies seem to point to its demise in the 1830′s.

In 1885, the Fitts-Mordecai-Plummer house at 210 Plummer Street housed the first school named Warrenton High School. It was an African-American school devoted to training teachers and ministers. The name was changed to Shiloh Institute within a very few years.

Meanwhile, Professor John Graham had been operating a successful boy’s school in Ridgeway. In 1897 his school was destroyed by a fire. He then took over the Warrenton Male Academy, moving most of his old students to Warrenton. He renamed the academy Warrenton High School, but it was most frequently referred to as John Graham High School. He purchased the Somerville home to serve as a dormitory and dining hall.

Sometime around 1905, Prof. Graham opened Warrenton High School to girls and purchased the Fitts-Mordecai-Plummer house to serve as the girl’s dormitory. (The Shiloh Institute, who owned the house, moved its school to Norlina.) On the 1915-1916 list of schools recognized by the Commission on Accredited Schools of the Southern States, Warrenton High School is listed under “Private Schools”, with Prof. John Graham as the principal. A similar report in 1920 still listed Prof. Graham as the principal.

In the fall of 1969, the John R. Hawkins High School was closed and all Hawkins students were transferred to Graham High School. (See our blog post about John R. Hawkins High School.)

Oddly enough, I could find very few references to Warrenton High School (or John Graham High School) after 1920. The Warrenton High School building at the corner of Main & Ridgeway was designed by noted architect Christopher Sayre in 1922. The last graduating class at Warrenton High School was in 1981. I’m just assuming that in the fall of 1981, all students moved into the new Warren County High School. I didn’t find any information about what happened to the school building after 1981.

Athletics

I’m sure Warrenton had a long and successful athletics program. Hopefully an alumni will share some memories with us.

The North Carolina High School Athletics Association keeps records for some sports back a hundred years, others just ten or fifteen years. According to their statistics, Warrenton High School made it into the State Finals three times. They lost all three games, but there are many NC high schools who wish they could say they were three-time State Runners-up.

Reunion Apparel for John Graham High School

Football
1961 – Lost to Windsor in the Class A State Finals, 15-14
1962 – Lost to Warsaw James Kenan in the Class A State Finals, 38-23

Basketball
1962 – Lost to Colfax in the Class A State Finals, 53-47

Alumni (plus one)

A Few Notable Graduates…
– Dr. Frank Porter Graham graduated around 1904. He became a US Senator and president of UNC.
– NC Rep. Philip Franklin Hanes graduated in 1907.
– US Sen. Herbert C. Bonner graduated in 1909.
– Robert B. House, the first Chancellor of UNC, graduated around 1910.

Good things must have been in the air in 1912 at Warrenton High School.
– NC State Senator Archibald Cree Gay graduated from Warrenton High School in 1912.
– NC State Representative Robert H. Rouse graduated from Warrenton High School in 1912.
– Franklin Wills Hancock, Jr., graduated from Warrenton High School 1912. He became a NC State Senator, State Representative, US Representative and US Senator.

Simon Terrell graduated around 1942. In 2006, he was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame. Here’s part of his induction biography:
Terrell, born in Warrenton in 1924, was a three-sport star at John Graham High school. After a 3-year stint in the Merchant Marine, he was hired as an emergency teacher/coach at Warrenton. He guided the football team to the only undefeated season in school history; coached the girls and boys basketball teams to county championships and won the league title in baseball.
You can read the rest of Simon’s bio here.

Do you remember Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice? In the late 1940′s and early 1950′s he was a pretty good football player at UNC and for the Washington Redskins. He’s in the College Football Hall of Fame. There’s a statue of him outside the Charlie Justice wing of the UNC athletic center. Anyway, he received his high school diploma from Warrenton High School even though he never attended a day of classes there. Charlie left Lee Edwards High School early to enlist during World War II. He finished his high school coursework in the Navy. When he was finishing up his All-American stint at UNC, it was discovered he didn’t have a high school diploma. Warrenton recognized free publicity when it saw it, so in 1950, Charlie walked down the aisle of Warrenton High School and received a high school diploma with the other graduates.

There were 43 graduates in the Class of 1940.
There were 199 graduates in the Class of 1976. All their names are listed in this 1976 Commencement Program from John Graham High School.

Links

The Sept. 3, 1951 issue of Life Magazine featured a pictorial on Warrenton’s Hospitality Weekend, a 3-day party for high school and college students on summer break.

Here’s a website about reunions, cruises and doings of the Class of ’76.

There are over 300 Graham High School alumni on Classmates.com.

Warrenton, NC has its own Facebook group.

Photos

Warrenton High School Class of 1911
Warrenton High School 1931 Women’s Basketball team
Warrenton, NC Courthouse & Confederate Monument
Recent photos of the Warrenton High School building

Groveling

I believe all the above is accurate, but some of it was assumptions on my part based on logic and darts. For example, the class of ’76 website is decorated with images of a stinging bug and they had gold(ish) and black table settings in their 30th reunion photos. And one guy had on a yellow shirt with black trim. Therefore WHS/JGHS became the Yellow and Black Yellowjackets according to me. (But some alert alumni have since corrected me. The colors were Blue & Gold. Was I right about Yellowjackets?)

If you have any corrections, memories, or additional info about WHS/JGHS, please leave a comment below.

Afterthoughts

Not being from the area, I knew nothing about Warrenton/John Graham when I researched the original post. Based on comments & emails I’ve received, it’s clear that everyone agrees the name of the school was John Graham High School. However, the original name was Warrenton High School. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association always refers to it as Warrenton High School in its record books. But, they do occasionally call it John Graham in Hall of Fame narratives and other correspondence. So, I have a theory; I’m hoping someone will do some research to confirm this.

My Theory of the Day: At some point, the name of the school was officially changed in honor of its founder, John Graham. Since there was already another Graham High School (in Graham, North Carolina), the NCHSAA continued to call it WHS to prevent confusion. Everywhere else I’ve seen it referred to as Warrenton High School (news articles, etc.), simply means “the high school in Warrenton.”

And all that probably means nothing to anybody but me. It just drives me crazy that I can’t figure out how one school can have two names. Then again, I’m still baffled about how a June bug can be fluorescent green in the South and brown in the North.

13 comments

Rankin High School — Greensboro, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 19th, 2010

(click for Google Street View)

Rankin Elementary School, Greensboro, NC

Rankin High School

1511 Spry Street
Greensboro, NC
Guilford County

nickname: Rockets
colors: Garnet & Gold

Opened in 1924, Rankin School was built on land donated by J. “Al” Rankin. It housed grades 1-12 until the late 1950′s. The last graduating class from Rankin High School was in 1962. The site is now the home of Rankin Elementary School. Only the gym remains from the original Rankin High School.

In the 1950′s, Rankin played 6-player women’s basketball. 1960 Rankin alumni Ann Johnson still holds the NC State Records for most points in a season by a Freshman and by a Sophomore and is second on the list for her Junior year. She is second among the all-time career scoring leaders. She holds two of the top five records for single season scoring. In 1959, in two games against Ledford, she scored 72 points and 76 points. That same year, she scored 82 points against Nathaniel Green. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, she scored 82 again against Sumner.

Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock got his nickname while playing on the football team at Rankin High School.

Herbert G. Waters (1895-1982) was the principal of Rankin for 36 years.

There are over 100 Rankin alumni on Classmates.com.

We would like to know more about Rankin High School.
When and how did it change from grades 1-12 to a high school?
Why was it closed in 1962?
What happened to the existing student body when it closed?
Who are some of its prominent alumni?
What happened to the building?

Please leave a comment below with any additional information you know about Rankin High School. Your fellow alumni will appreciate it.

10 comments

Hallsboro High School — Hallsboro, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 17th, 2010

(click for Google Street View)

Hallsboro School, Hallsboro, NC

Hallsboro and Columbus County

From the 1948 Columbus County directory
Hallsboro is one of the smaller wide-awake towns in the county. Site of a plywood plant, veneer mill and three lumber manufacturing plants, it boasts the largest industrial payroll in Columbus. Not an incorporated town. Near Lake Waccamaw, in prosperous farming area, with fine groves of pecans. Home of the oldest business establishment in the county. Served by the Columbus Telephone Company and the Western Union Telegraph Company. Situated on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company and U. S. Highway 74. Population about 500. Modern theatre recently completed.

The same book reports that the white Hallsboro school had 627 students and 22 teachers, while the black Hallsboro school had 119 students and 4 teachers.

Columbus County Schools cafeteria prices
(1983-84)
Lunch (K-8) $.75
Lunch (9-12) .90
Breakfast (full price) .50
Breakfast (reduced price) .30
Milk .20

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Hallsboro High School

89 School Road
Hallsboro, North Carolina 28442

mascot: Tigers
colors: Blue & Gold

I don’t know when Hallsboro High School opened. The oldest graduating class I could find referenced was in an obituary of a lady who graduated in 1926 (one of six graduates from Hallsboro School).

T. Elbert Clemmons was born in Dec., 1905 and was in the first graduating class at Hallsboro High School. That would have him graduating between 1922 and 1924. (In 1963, Mr. Clemmons funded a library at HHS.)

The last graduating class from Hallsboro High School was in 1992. That Fall, Hallsboro High School merged with Acme-Delco High School to form East Columbus High School. The facilities now house Hallsboro Middle School (grades 6-8). They maintained the Blue & Gold Tigers.

Tidbits from the Wilmington News-Reporter index
– Six classrooms were added at Hallsboro High in 1950.
– In 1972, a fire destroyed the gymnasium. A new gym was completed in Dec, 1975.
– There were 123 graduates in the Class of 1976.

Extracts from the Columbus County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes
– In a 1935 meeting, the commissioners filed a federal loan application for “Hallsboro School, located in Bogue Township, Columbus County, North Carolina, on present site and adjacent to present school building. This building to be of brick and frame construction containing three classrooms, library, two sanitary toilet rooms and septic tank, steam heat, electric lights, furniture and equipment. Total complete cost – $12,000.00″.
– In a 1945 meeting, the commissioners approved selling bonds to build a new gym at Hallsboro, a new gym at Evergreen and “a new high school building or annex at the Old Dock-Nakina School”.

Hallsboro, NC photos on Flickr.com

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Downtown Hallsboro
Looks like my kind of place.
In Pierce’s window they’re selling hammocks and “Fresh Home Made Sausage”.

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There’s a bunch of old Columbus County photos in the Columbus County Schools archives

Amazon.com Widgets

Reunion Apparel for Hallsboro High School

Athletics

There have been five Hallsboro High School athletes who have won of the Jiggs Powers Memorial Award as Columbus County’s Most Outstanding Athlete:
1960 – Norwood Long
1961 – Willis Council
1975 – Ronald Hobbs
1981 – Kay Baldwin-Pfeiffer
1993 – Toni Thurman

(Most of the following info came from the NC High School Athletics Association website. Some sports don’t carry stats back to Hallsboro’s beginnings.)

Men’s Basketball
– Hallsboro made two appearances in the Eastern Regional Basketball Tournament.
– In 1975, they were the Class AA State Runner-up (lost to Elm City, 95-68).

Football
– Between 1972 and 1992, Hallsboro made the state tournament 4 times, with their last appearance coming in 1983.
– In 1975 and 1976, the Hallsboro High football team won back-to-back East Waccamaw Conference championships.

Women’s Basketball
– In 1987, Hallsboro made it to the Eastern Regional Basketball Tournament.

Hallsboro basketball player, Toni Thurman, once scored 47 points in a 1989 win over Acme-Delco. A News-Reporter headline on Feb 23, 1989 said “Hallsboro High School’s Toni Thurman Can Break County Record For Most Points”. Does anybody know if she broke the record?
Toni played college ball at East Carolina University. She is still in fourth place in their record books for field goal accuracy, hitting 52.4% of her shots during her 4-year career.

Women’s Softball
– Hallsboro earned a berth to the Class A playoffs in 1987, 1988 and 1992.

Women’s Volleyball
– Between 1975 and 1991, the women made it to the Class A playoffs 5 times.

Baseball
– 1974 class AA baseball runner-up (lost to Sylva-Webster, 2 games to 1)
– 1975 class AA baseball champs coach Linwood Hedgepeth (defeated Sylva-Webster, 2 games to none)
– 1978 class AA baseball champs coach Linwood Hedgepeth (defeated East Davidson, 2 games to none)
– 1987 class A baseball champs coach Charles Sanderson (record 27-1) (defeated Hayesville, 2 games to none)
– 1988 class A baseball runner-up (lost to Hayesville, 2 games to 1)

Between 1980 & 1992, Hallsboro made it to the State Tournament 6 times. They played 22 tournament games, winning 16 of them. Their last appearance in the tournament was 1992.

Ron Williamson holds the state record for most consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run. In 1970, he pitched 91 straight scoreless innings.

Former Tiger baseball player, Brett Harwood, is now the head baseball coach at Whiteville High School (as of 2009-2010).

Linwood Hedgpeth was head baseball coach at Hallsboro High School from 1969 through 1979 (where he won 2 State Championships), and at Whiteville High School from 1980 through 1990 (where he won 3 State Championships). In 1989, Hedgpeth won an American Legion State Championship with a team composed of former Hallsboro players LaGrande Russell and Ricky Young, as well as several starters from Whiteville’s 1989 State Championship team.

During Hallsboro’s 27-1 1987 season, 2 pitchers had perfect records. LeGrande Russell was 13-0 and James Jones was 14-0.

LeGrande Russell, who played for Hallsboro from 1986-1988, was an all-around standout athlete.
As a batter:
– During his high school career, LeGrande collected 121 hits, 2nd most in NC state history at the time.
– In 1987, he was the MVP of the State Championship Series.
– In 1987-88, he set a new NC state record by hitting safely in 35 consecutive games.
– In 1988, he compiled a .514 batting average, 5th highest all-time in the state at the time.
As a pitcher:
– In 1988, he finished the season with an ERA of 0.35, and stands 12th in the all-time NC ERA standings.

Hallsboro Baseball Players Drafted by the Pros
Year, Team, Player
1968, Pittsburgh Pirates, Larry Barefoot
1970, Cincinnati Reds, Ronald Williamson
1992, Milwaukee Brewers, Anthony Pridgen
1993, Jacksonville (Seattle Mariners), LeGrande Russell

Miscellaneous Notes

In the UNC Oral History archives, there’s an entertaining 2002 interview with Frank Gault, 79-year old resident of Lake Waccamaw and graduate of “Bogue University”.

Complete sets of Kin’lin, Hallsboro High School’s local history publication, are available at the Whiteville and Lake Waccamaw libraries.

Heres an excerpt from the journal, The American Midland Naturalist
“On 18 February 1977 we learned that a large number of dormant bats were awakened by electrical workers in Hallsboro Elementary School, Hallsboro, Columbus Co. At our request Linwood Hedgepeth, a biology teacher at Hallsboro High School, sent us several specimans (NCSM 2542-2544), all of which were Tadarida. In a later telephone conversation Mr. Hedgepeth said that by conservative estimates there were 400-500 bats in the attic of the school, presumably all Tadarida.”

There’s an active Hallsboro alumni group on Facebook.

There are over 1,000 Hallsboro alumni on Classmates.com.

Other Blog Posts

Mr. Gates and the Marching Tiger band

A visit to the GATHER country store

A weekend at Lake Waccamaw / Hallsboro

A Little Bonus

I thought some alumni might enjoy this 1976 article. Enjoy it before the Star News finds out I stole it and makes me take it down.
(Wilmington, NC) STAR-NEWS June 5, 1976
Hallsboro High Has a Secret
By Jim Wilson
HALLSBORO – After three hours in a sweltering school gym, I am convinced of two things: air conditioning never is a waste of money and the future of America is in good hands

Last January it was my pleasure, as director of the Star News sponsored Golden Star Awards program, to honor Hallsboro High School students who had reached the Finals in the competition which begun with more than 5,000 eligible seniors throughout Coastalina.

Hallsboro, a small school by most standards, had 10 finalists That was more than any other school – large or small – had this year or at any time in the past.

Two of these finalists went on to become winners in their categories.

At the time, I expressed an interest in learning the secret of Hallsboro. So, on Senior Awards Night last week, I was invited to Hallsboro High to meet all of the seniors, the faculty, the staff members, parents and friends. And I went.

The evening was an unusual one. It was not graduation or anything formal – it was a night the students themselves had arranged and were presenting.

There were the usual awards and some very special awards.

In all there were 35 different categories of awards.

The sports trophies received considerable attention and applause.

I did not count after the first four or five, but there must have been at least a dozen standing ovations for students and teachers alike.

There were awards for farm projects and one young man received an award for home economics.

The Kin’Iin staff members took special honors, and well they should for their publication is something special itself.

Citizenship honors were bestowed. So were scholarships. And recognition for encouraging racial and ethnic harmony. Cheerleading trophies were presented and certificates for driving school buses and for perfect attendance.

It was a real gala. The theme was fun and recognition. There were a lot of laughs. A lot of hugs when awards were given and received. A lot of cheers and a lot of things to talk about.

After the ceremony, the youngsters and their guests repaired to the school library for a reception.

The punch was green, unspiked and delicious. So was the food, and the folks stood in line to get in.

All in all, it was like going home again, even though a Tar Heel writer gained a lot of fame saying you could not.

It was the Summer of ‘42 over again for me. I guess I had as good a time as any of the seniors.

When it came time for what was billed as a slide presentation of campus scenes, a lot of people moved to better seats. They should have known better. The slides were beautifully blank – filled in with wonderfully narrative and punchy lines delivered in a grand tongue-in-cheek manner.

Did I learn their secret?

Yes. I mentioned the subject to one teacher and she responded immediately that the secret, if there was one at all, was “That we love them.”

Yes, that is one ingredient. But not all of It. For the students love the teachers in turn, and they love each other as well.

If Hallsboro has a secret – and I think they do – it is that they have managed to encourage, to nourish, to foster a degree of self respect that is not found in many places in the year 1976.

If you respect yourself as an individual, it is the base for a lot of wonderful things. It means that you can see others as individuals, and respect them. Respect opens channels of communication and communication soon leads to understanding, knowledge, affection and love.

There are a lot of problems facing the Hallsboro High School and a lot of things going for it.

On the plus side, they are together for six years, thus building better friendships and school spirit.

Yet when we talk of racial or ethnic problems at schools, we usually refer to blacks and whites, but Hallsboro is tri-level, having blacks, whites and Indians.

What these people have done is a proud thing.

They have encouraged rural youth to be proud of their heritage. It’s not being country – it is being yourself and being proud of it. Reading Kin’lin shows that.

You would have a hard time finding a more rural school setting than Hallsboro, yet you also will find it equally difficult to find a better school climate.

I vote a Well Done Award to each graduating senior, to every faculty member, to all of the parents, and to the community which supports the school.

In fact, I had such a good time, I forgot about the non-airconditioning.

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If you have additional information, corrections or memories about Hallsboro High School, please leave a comment below. Your fellow alumni will thank you for it.

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West Edgecombe High School — Rocky Mount, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 15th, 2010

(image from “North Carolina: Unforgettable Vintage Images of the Tar Heel State“

West Edgecombe High School cafeteria circa 1950

West Edgecombe High School

6301 Nobles Mill Pond Road
Rocky Mount, NC

(click image for Google Street View)

mascot: Wildcats
colors: Blue & White

West Edgecombe School opened in 1923 as a high school. Prior to 1923, any students who wanted to continue past 8th grade had to enroll in another school in the area. From 1928 through 1978, the school housed all 12 grades. SouthWest Edgecombe High School was supposed to open in the Fall of 1978, but construction wasn’t completed in time. West and South students attended the first semester in their old schools (but operated as SouthWest Edgecombe High School), then moved into the new SouthWest building for the second semester.

Much of the information below was gleaned from two sources:
- History of West Edgecombe Middle School on the Edgecombe County Schools website
- The book Edgecombe County: Along the Tar River By Monika S. Fleming

—- Significant Dates in West Edgecombe High School History —
1923 – A one-story West Edgecombe School was constructed to house high school grades
1928 – A two-story building was opened and elementary grades were consolidated into the school (Dixie, Pleasant Hill, Powell, Oakdale, Nobles Mill, Progress, Oak Grove, and Juvenile schools) making West Edgecombe the largest consolidated school in North Carolina.
1949 – A new gymnasium was added
1951 – A new primary building was added
1951 – Class A State Baseball Champions (defeated Madison, 8-5)
1953 – A new agriculture building was added
1962 – A new high school building was constructed
1969 – The gymnasium was remodeled and enlarged
1969 – G. W. Carver High School (Pinetops) was integrated into West Edgecombe High School (the last graduating class from Carver was 1971.)
1970 – Phillips High School (Battleboro) was integrated into West Edgecombe High School (the last graduating class from Phillips was 1972.)
1973 – State Basketball Champions (defeated Orrum, 50-46)
1976 – Advanced to the State Football Playoffs and won the first round before falling in the second round.
1978 – West Edgecombe High School and South Edgecombe High School were merged to create SouthWest Edgecombe High School.

Here’s where you Wildcat alumni can help. I have doubts about some of the info above. I’ve found reputable sources that state SouthWest opened in 1971, 1972, 1978 and 1979. That makes me wonder how accurate some of the other info is. For example, Carver High School was located in Pinetops, only a couple of miles from South Edgecombe High School. Why would they integrate with West? From the scant info I could find, I’m assuming the integration of Carver and Phillips into West in 1969 and 1970 was “freedom of school choice”, where the students could go to West if they wanted to, but it wasn’t required. But now I’m curious about what happened to the Carver and Phillips students when their schools closed in 1971 & 1972? None of the sources I found mentioned where they went. If you can straighten me out on all this, or make any corrections to the dates and info above, please leave a comment below.

West Edgecombe Baseball 1968

There are some old West Edgecombe photos online in the Charles S. Killebrew Collection at Braswell Memorial Library. They are mostly photos of the 1968 baseball and basketball teams, but there are other photos, too. (tip: Just type edgecombe in the search box.) The photo collection seems to only be available for online viewing during library hours.

There’s a West Edgecombe alumni group on Facebook.

There are over 500 West Edgecombe alumni on Classmates.com.

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Bessemer High School — Greensboro, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 10th, 2010

Bessemer High School
E. Bessemer Ave.
Greensboro, NC

mascot: Whippets
colors: Maroon & Gray
Opened: 1911
Closed: 1963

A one-room log schoolhouse was opened in Bessemer, NC on Bessemer Ave. in 1900 with Walter Jones as its first principal. That original Bessemer School only housed the elementary grades. In 1911, a larger school was built on the same site and the number of grades were expanded to include all 12 grades. This was the beginning of Bessemer High School. It is likely that some of the dozens of one-room schoolhouses in Guilford County closed when Bessemer High School opened. Grades 1-3 were housed in one building, grades 4-8 in another, while grades 9-12 had their own building. At some point, grades 1-3 were moved into a new building on Huffine Mill Rd. and named Bessemer Primary School.

During the entire 52 year life of Bessemer High School, it only had three Principals. Professor W. E. Younts, a Guilford College graduate, was the first Principal and he served for 36 years until his retirement in 1947. William H. Cude was selected as the next Principal and he served until his death in 1962. (When Bessemer Primary School was opened, Mr. Cude’s wife was selected as its Principal.) Upon Mr. Cude’s death, Assistant Principal Robert L. Clendenin, a 1950 BHS grad, took over and served until the high school closed in 1963. (Here’s an excellent Interview with Bob Clendenin.) After the Bessemer High School students were merged with Page High School in 1963, Mr. Clendenin stayed on as Principal of Bessemer Junior High School, then later became the Principal at Page.

In 1957, the towns of Bessemer and Hamilton Lakes had successfully petitioned to be annexed into Greensboro. Even though Bessemer was then part of Greensboro, Bessemer schools continued to operate under the Guilford County school system. In 1963, the citizenry voted to move the school system from the Guilford County school system to Greensboro City Schools. This led to the merging of Bessemer High School into Page High School. (Greensboro City Schools then merged with Guilford County Schools in 1993.) Apparently, Bessemer continued as a Junior High until 1967 when it was merged into Aycock Junior High School. (If this is wrong, somebody please leave a comment below to correct me.)

Much of the above history came from Mr. Clendenin’s interview and this Bessemer School History.

At some point soon after the closing of Bessemer School, all of the buildings except the Gym were demolished and Erwin Elementary School (now Erwin Montessori) was built on the site. Here’s a Google Street View of what I believe may be the Bessemer High School gym. (Again, somebody please correct me if I’m wrong.)

The Bessemer High School sports teams were known as the Whippets. Whippets are sleek but muscular hunting dogs prized for their speed, power and agility.

Bessemer football players certainly lived up to the image. They were a powerhouse in 6-man football in the 1940′s, then continued the tradition after switching to an 11-player team in 1945. They were the North Carolina State Champions in 6-man football in 1941. In the 1950′s & 60′s, they made four trips to the State Finals game, but a second football State Championship eluded them. Still, being four time State Runners-Up is an accomplishment of which any school can be proud.
   1941 – 6-man State Champions   1953 – State Runner-up (lost to Massey Hill, 20-0)
   1954 – State Runner-up (lost to Edenton, 41-20)
   1958 – State Runner-up (lost to Williamston, 26-20)
   1962 – State Runner-Up (lost to Brevard, 19-13)

The Bessemer baseball team gave the school a going away present in 1963. The Whippets won the State Championship by defeating Chapel Hill, 5-2.

——— Odds and Ends ———–

State Representative Joseph T. Carruthers, Jr. graduated from Bessemer High School in 1925.

Bessemer High School graduated 50 seniors in 1950, 62 in 1953.

Here’s a link to the Bessemer High School Alumni group on Facebook.

There’s a Bessemer Jr. High group on Facebook, but I saw some BHS folks on there, too.

There are over 200 Bessemer High School alumni on Classmates.com.

Until it expires, you can read this interesting article about Bessemer: Humble Bessemer lives on in memories of school’s alumni.

If you grew up in Guilford County, you might find this post interesting: Old School: HS names from Guilford County’s past.

If you have memories of Bessemer High School, or you can add anything to this post, please leave a comment below.

27 comments

Gibsonville High School — Gibsonville, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 5th, 2010

Gibsonville, N. C.

Gibsonville High School was located in Gibsonville, NC. The town of Gibsonville was chartered in 1871 and is almost evenly split between Alamance and Guilford counties.

There are a bunch of Gibsonville photos on Flickr.com (all may not be Gibsonville, N. C.).

Here’s the website for the Town of Gibsonville.

Gibsonville High School

mascot: Yellow Jackets
colors: Gold & Black

————————————————————————
– See the info in the Comments section that sheds light on the questions I had when I wrote this.
————————————————————————

I wasn’t able to find a history of Gibsonville High School. I don’t know when it opened, but I found an obituary of a man who graduated from there in 1918. For most (all?) of its life, Gibsonville School housed all twelve grades. The only thing I could find about the school colors was somebody that described it as “that awful mustard yellow”. Since the other 9,999 schools with Yellow Jackets or Yellowjackets as their mascot have colors of Yellow & Black, I went with that for the colors.

Below is sort of a hodge-podge of information I found about Gibsonville High School. If you have more/better info, please leave us a comment. Better yet, I’m sure there’s an alumnus out there who could write a history of the school. Write it up and we’ll post it here!

A 1915 report of N.C schools shows Gibsonville with a white school-age population of 431 children, but only 275 were enrolled in school and the daily average attendance was only 216. The school had 6 white teachers and 2 black teachers (7 women, 1 man). The black children were apparently counted with the rural Guilford County schools. They showed a school-age population of 2,926 with 2,152 enrolled in school, but only 1,505 attended school on an average day.

A 1924 city map (large pdf) shows “Gibsonville Central School” on Church Street at Joyner and Gibsonville Colored School about 1000 feet northwest of the intersection of S. Railroad Ave. & Cayuga (off the map).

Around 1938, somebody took a movie camera and filmed people working, playing and attending school in Gibsonville. The 10-minute YouTube video shows the entire student body of Gibsonville School filing past for the camera. If you’re from Gibsonville, you should recognize places in the background.

A 1961 report states that Gibsonville School held 835 students in grades K-12 with 30 teachers.

The annual yearbook was called the YELL-O-JAK.
(May Memorial Library in Burlington has a collection of Gibsonville High School yearbooks.)

The last class graduated from Gibsonville High School in 1974. I couldn’t determine if the building continued to house elementary or middle school grades. Someone reported that the building was demolished in 2005 or 2006, but this is another place I got confused. This Google Street View of Gibsonville Elementary School looks very similar to the school in the 1938 movie. Am I confusing two different buildings?

There’s an active Gibsonville High School group on Facebook.

Everyone I saw on Facebook who had to change schools in 1974 graduated from Eastern Guilford High School. EGHS opened in 1974. Was it a replacement for Gibsonville? Did other schools consolidate with Gibsonville to form EGHS? (I saw a reference that said Guilford County, Greensboro and High Point schools were consolidated in 1992. How was that related to EGHS? Just curious.)

(This has nothing to do with Gibsonville High School, but Gibsonville alumni might find it interesting. Eastern Guilford High School was destroyed by fire in 2006. The students were split up by grades and attended classes in various locations for the remainder of 2006. From the Fall of 2006 through most of 2009, they attended school in a “pod village” which was a bunch of pre-fab buildings temporarily set up on the school grounds. Their new school building was finally ready in May of 2009 and students moved in when they returned from Spring Break. Here’s some photos taken during and after the fire.)

Gibsonville native Kay Yow (Class of ’60) was an all-state player at GHS, once scoring 52 points in a game. After college, she coached for 4 years at Allen Jay and one year at Gibsonville High School, posting a combined 92-27 record. Between 1975 and 2005, she coached over 1,000 games at NC State. She is enshrined in the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame, the Raleigh Hall of Fame, the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the national Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Kay died in January, 2009 after a long battle with breast cancer. Both of Kay’s parents had played basketball at Gibsonville. Both of her sisters were exceptional players for Gibsonville High School and went on to successful athletic careers. Debbie Yow was inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. Debbie coached at Kentucky and Florida before becoming the Athletic Director at the University of Maryland. Susan was a 2-time collegiate All-American, coached in the WNBA and has been a successful college head coach at several colleges.
Here’s the audio of an interview with Kay Yow.

Fred Wagoner (Class of ’40) was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2008.

*********** Please share your knowledge of Gibsonville High School
*********** with our visitors by leaving a comment below.

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Madison Central High School — Madison, Wisconsin

Posted by DaveSanders | Wisconsin | Posted on February 3rd, 2010

(click image for Google Street View)

The Central Arch

Madison Central High School

mascot: Tigers
colors: Orange & Black

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We have done our own independent research on Madison Central High School, but there is probably nothing covered here (or at least covered better) than what you can find on the Madison Central High School History blog. It is a wonderful, thorough site. I encourage all alumni to explore it.
——————————————————————————————————————-

Madison Central High School had its beginnings in a church basement in 1854. Originally named Madison High School, it moved to its permanent site on Wisconsin Ave. in 1858. In 1908 it moved into the building it would call home for the next 61 years. The name was changed to Central High School in 1922. In 1966, Wisconsin High School merged with Central and the school was renamed again, this time becoming Central-University High School. The school was closed at the end of the 1968-69 school year. In 1986, the building was demolished, leaving only the arch on Wisconsin Ave. standing.

Links

Madison Central High School History	History, memories, reunions, current events, more
The Madison Mirror	Every issue of the student newspaper (large .pdf’s)
I Remember Madison Central	A blog to post your memories
Central Alumni on Flickr	Hundreds of CHS photos
Obituaries (pre-1990)	Alumni obituaries
Obituaries (post-1990)	Alumni obituaries
Teacher/staff Obituaries	Obituaries of teachers, administrators and staff
Alumni & Reunion News	Alumni & reunion news
CHS on Facebook	CHS news, memories, friends
World War II Scrapbook	Former students write home
Photos and Articles	CHS photos & articles from the Wisconsin Historical Society
Dane Co. Historical Society	DCHS website
Madison Guy	Post about Madison Central High School
Class of 1960	Class of ’60 website
Class of 1965	Class of ’65 website
Class of 1969	Class of ’69 website
WisconsinHigh.org	Wisconsin High School site

Athletics

Football
1897 – United States High School Football Champions (Detroit, MI)
1940 – City Champions, Big-8 Champions
1941 – City Champions, Big-8 co-Champions
1952 – City Champions
1953 – City Champions

Baseball
1949 – State Champions (Coach Gus Pollack) Madison Central 8, La Crosse Logan 6
1963 – State Runners-up (Coach Peter Olson) Kenosha 2, Madison Central 0

Basketball
1912 – State Champions (Lawrence College of Appleton statewide tournament)
1918 – State Champions (Coach G. A. Crispin) Madison Central 37, Watertown 17
1927 – State Runners-up (Coach Howard Johnson) Eau Claire 18, Madison Central 13
1928 – State Runners-up (Coach Howard Johnson) Watertown 27, Madison Central 14

Track & Field
1965 – State Runners-Up

Boys Volleyball
1949 – State Champions (Coach Gus Pollock) Madison Central over Belleville
1950 – State Champions (Coach Gus Pollock) Madison Central over Waukesha

Noted Alumni

Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame
Harold “Gus” Pollock coached high school football at Slinger (1934-35), Madison Central (1936-64) and Madison LaFollette (1965-75).
Gus coached for 42 years in the Madison school system. Most of these years were spent at Madison Central until the doors were closed. Teams at Central won “Big Eight” championships in 1940 and 1941. His teams won the Madison city championship a number of times. Gus also coached basketball and baseball. In 1949 his volleyball and baseball teams won the state championship. One of his most significant contributions was his efforts along with Willis Jones in the formation of the Four Lakes Football program in Madison. Gus retired in 1977.

Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame
Joe Franklin (Class of 1964) inducted as a player. Set scoring records at UW and in the Big-10.

Madison Sports Hall of Fame
Dave Kelliher was a basketball official for 32 years, sports coordinator for 28 years and nine-time letterman at Madison Central High School

Wayne “Knobby” Kelliher was a Madison Central alumni, football coach and baseball coach. Madison East’s athletics field is named after him, Kelliher Field. Wayne was the author of the book, Football Madison Style, a history of high school football in Madison, Wisconsin .

Wisconsin Soccer Association Hall of Fame
Madison Area Soccer Hall of Fame
In 1990, Graham “Gray” Perrett (Class of 1955) was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Association Hall of Fame. In 2009, he became part of the inaugural class of the Madison Area Soccer Hall of Fame. From Madison.com:

Grey Perrett was an early Madison Soccer Club goalkeeper who’s playing career was cut short by injury. He turned to coaching and formed the Amira Soccer Club who played in the State Major League. He later served as the Commissioner for the Capitol Region of the Wisconsin Soccer Association. Grey passed away in 2008.

University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame
Eddie Withers played football & basketball at CHS, was a collegiate All-American in 1950 and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Hall of Fame
William Earl Schreiber played on Central High School’s 1897 National Championship football team and UW’s Big-10 Championship team. He later created the Athletics Dept. at Montana State University.

Is there a Physics Hall of Fame? There should be.
John Hasbrouk van Vleck (Class of 1916) won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977. During his long career, he was a professor at schools such as the University of Wisconsin, Harvard and Oxford.

John Bardeen (Class of 1923), former Dean of the UW Medical School, was a member of a very exclusive club: winners of multiple Nobel Prizes. Dr. Bardeen won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 and again in 1972.

Stoughton Hall of Fame
Don Wahlin bought out his bankrupt employer and turned the company into Stoughton Trailers, eventually employing 1,700 people. He was the primary influence behind the development of the Stoughton Youth Hockey Association and the Mandt Community Center.

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Please leave a comment below with any corrections or additions to this post
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South Edgecombe High School — Pinetops, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on February 2nd, 2010

South Edgecombe High School, Pinetops, NC

(image from Edgecombe County, Volume II, Images of America)

End of a school day at South Edgecombe High School

South Edgecombe High School

Pinetops, NC

colors: Orange & Royal Blue
mascot: Flying Dragons

The South Edgecombe High School building on Pinetops-Crisp Rd. was built in 1926. In that year, the high school grades from ten Edgecombe County graded schools were consolidated into South Edgecombe. A gymnasium was added in 1934 and a major remodeling took place in the 1950′s. South Edgecombe graduated its last class in 1978 before merging with its rival school, West Edgecombe High School to form SouthWest Edgecombe High School, which opened during the 1978-1979 school year. Students attended the first semester at their old schools before moving to the new campus to begin the second semester, but operated as one school, SouthWest. The old South Edgecombe High School building was torn down and replaced by the new South Edgecombe Middle School.

———————————————————

South Edgecombe High School was the
1972 Class A State Basketball Champion,
defeating Broughton High School 54-51.

——————— Links ———————

You know your from Edgecombe County when…. (Facebook Group)

You might be from Ptops//Macc. or went to SWE/SE if… (Facebook Group)

Town of Pinetops website

Pinetops forum (discussions of current events)

There are over 500 South Edgecombe High School alumni on Classmates.com.

South Edgecombe Basketball 1968

There are some old South Edgecombe photos online in the Charles S. Killebrew Collection at Braswell Memorial Library. They are mostly photos of the 1968 baseball and basketball teams, but there are other photos, too. (tip: Just type edgecombe in the search box.) The photo collection seems to only be available for online viewing during library hours.

******** If you have additional info to share about South Edgecombe High School, please leave us a comment below.
(Thanks to Glenn Bass for providing much of this info about South Edgecombe High School.)

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ClassicSchools.com - Alumni apparel for YOUR high school

Paris High School

Covington High School

Virginia State Football Champions: 1942 & 1984

John R. Hawkins High School

We are still working on this page. There is much more to be added. PLEASE send us your memories of Lenox School. It will make this post much more enjoyable for other alumni.

Olanta High School

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Olanta alumnus, Don Buddin, was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

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