Thursday, September 11, 2008
Hale Junior High School 1927-1967
The History of Hale Junior High School 1927-1967: Huntingdon’s All Black (Negro) School in Huntingdon, Tennessee
Compiled: November 1998 to December 2001
by Abdullah F. Willis
According to numerous blacks ranging from ages 40 to 90, they received their education from community Rosenwald schools such as, Hale Junior High School of Huntingdon, Barker School, Buena Vista School, Clarksburg School, County Training School in Smyrna’s community of Huntingdon, Dunbar in McClemoresville, Hart School, Hollow Rock School, Morning Sun in Cedar Grove, Mount Olive School, Trezevant School, Rosser Community School, St. Paul Community School, Wingo School and Smyrna School located in, which all of them were black schools (Phone interview with C.Norman & Total Cost Bldgs, Grounds, & Equipment list). The focus of this paper is on Hale Junior High School, an all black segregated school with grades first through ninth, and its interaction with the black community. The property of Hale School was privately owned beginning in January 1922 until October 1967 when Huntingdon Special School District purchased the land (Carroll County Deed book 52, p 31 & deed book 131, p 16, 17). This area was referred to Robert Smith subdivision near the Greer’s in civil district 11. According to Carroll County deed registers, the following persons had purchased or sold Hale School’s property. Two landmarks were left behind in remembrance of Huntingdon’s early black pioneers. They were Hale and Cox Streets that’s still visible today. Hale Junior High School and Hale Street were named after a black educator named Doctor William Jasper Hale (Phone interview with C. Branch & C.Norman). In 1909 Doctor Hale was the first principal to preside over the state’s Normal School for Negroes ( now Tennessee State University) in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Hale was committed to elevating the curriculum of the normal school to a collegiate status (B.Pursley). Cox Street was named after Annie L. Cox and prior to the road being paved with asphalt, it was a wide path that lead up to the school (Personal interview with O. Nash & deed book 58, p449). According to Thorton Warford the Greer’s sold eight acres of land to the Board of Education in the late 1960s for the erection the new Hale School. The school’s first principal was Mr. James Edwards and his predecessors were Mr. M.L. Warford, Mr. L.J. Anders, J. Curtis Owens and Annie L. Cox. Mr.J.Curtis Owens, Mrs. Cora Lee Owens and Lillie A.Wiley-Hutch taught at Smyrna Community School prior to their employment at Hale School (Personal interview with P. Jamison). Unfortunately, the black schools surrounding Huntingdon closed and consolidated in the early 1950s and Hale School operated under the county as an institution for blacks to attend. On October 17, 1967, Huntingdon Special School District bought a tract of Hale Junior High School’s property for $1,000 from William Sade. Although Hale Junior High School had been in operation as early as 1927, it had only served the town of Huntingdon. Documentation on file at Fisk University Special Collections indicates that Hale School was built with the Rosenwald Building Fund and the school was referred to as Huntingdon School, Carroll County, Tennessee. The school was built on three acres of land under the 1926 and 1927 budget, application number 28-F, and with three teachers on staff. The total cost of the school was $4,450; Negroes donated $700, Rosendwald $900, public $2,850, and white $0 (Index Card & Picture No. 3279). The surrounding communities began to utilize Hale Junior High School which was staffed with a black faculty. In 1937 the school register list that three teachers managed the school for a term of 160 days and by 1964 at least twelve teachers were on the faculty (Tenn School Register, 1937-1938 & 1963-1964). The students were bused from communities such Clarksburg, Smyrna, and St. Paul (Personal interview with B. Nash). The grades started with the first grade and ended in the ninth and then the students attended Webb High School that was an all black school located in McKenzie, Tennessee (Personal interview with B. Nash & M. Yarbrough).
Hale Junior High School’s first building was white in color and built of wood, and the second school was constructed with a brick infrastructure in the early 1950s. According to Otis Nash, the old wooden white school house caught on fire once or may be twice. Then the students had to attend the town’s black churches, Clark Street Baptist Church, Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church, until the school was restored (Personal interview with O.Nash). The school caught fire in 1937 or 1938 because during winter months in the evenings, maintenance personnel would fill the heating furnace with coal in order to have ample heat for the next day of school (Phone interview with C. Norman & T. Warford). Unfortunately, the coal furnace over heated and the school caught on fire. And after a tornado destroyed the remodeled brick building in May 1971, the most recent school replaced it. The fire that devastated the school also destroyed school records, therefore, an accurate count cannot be given because of this incident. According to school records on file at the Carroll County Board of Education located in Huntingdon, Tennessee, a total of 465 student records are on file who attended Hale Junior High School. Listed below are the school years’ and number of students enrolled at Hale School that were on file:
Year Students
1937 to 1938 - 35 (grades 3,4,5)
1956 to 1957 - 193
1960 to 1961 - 233
1961 to 1962 - 290
1962 to 1963 - 220
1963 to 1964 - 211
1964 to 1965 - 218
1965 to 1966 - 119
Hale Junior High Schools’ black faculty helped prepare the students in a fashionable way for the future. Some of the faculty members that are on record at Carroll County Board of Education consist of Superintendent Ms. Annie.L. Cox, Principal J. Curtis Owens, Assistant Principal Saphronia Boyd. Mrs. Blanche Ranger-Coleman-Parker was the black supervisor of the schools within Carroll County school district. The teachers on roll are Anna R. Webb, Cora Lee Owens, Barbara J. Owens, Sabra F. Moore, Janice McCullough, E.A. Owens, Barbara Sanders, Rebecca H. Whitlow, Sarah Jordan Bond, Amma Swift, Annie L. Cox, Steve Bell, Maggie Townes, Harold Howard, Ludie E. Williams, Kaytie Brantly, Elizabeth Morgan, Annie Taylor, Blanche E. Ranger, Onita Price, Julie Smith, Lurlie McCain, Mr. M.L. Wafford, Hester M. Walker, and Louise C. Jones. They taught subjects such as English, Special Education, Language Arts, Speech & Hearing, Home Economics, and an Industrial Arts course that was instructed by Steven Bell.
During the early days prior to Hale Junior High School being established as Huntingdon’s primary school for blacks, Maggie Townes taught at Rosser community school, Saphronia Boyd taught at St. Paul, Harold and Earlie Howard taught at Clarksburg community school (Phone interview with C. Norman). Mildred Holder said that beginning in the sixth grade, classes rotated to different teachers and Sarah Jordan was her history teacher. Subjects such as European, Tennessee, and World history were taught, and the curriculum omitted black history (Personal interview with M. Holder). Hale Junior High School did not have access to new published books, so the students used books that the white schools passed down to them. In addition to the core curriculum, students also participated in majorette, basketball, student council, safety patrol, and the choral club. The basketball teams were known as the “THE HORNETS ARE STINGING” (Hale School Yearbook). The school maintenance was taken care of by Mr. Harton Barnhill, who lived down the hill and around the corner from the school (Personal interview with interview R. Clark). One of his duties consisted of keeping the school warm, using coal to heat the building (Personal/phone interview with R. Clark & C. Norman).
During the school year 1955 and 1956 Mrs. Maggie Townes entered in her record of year’s report that they enjoyed ‘Hale-Seet Day’. She stated on this day there was a parade with two visiting High Schools with their majorettes and bands whom participated along with Hale Schools’ band and majorettes. A talent show was given and most of the children had a chance to perform in it. According to a former class member, Mildred Holder, she stated that the students marched around the court square on this day while the drummer boy, James Edward Thomas, beat the only drum the school owned. Bands came from the surrounding towns such as Atwood, Milan, Humbolt, Madison County and Trenton to participate in the Hale-Seet’s Day festivities. She said their school colors were black and gold. Willard L. Rivers recalls that on Hale-Seet’s day the school played basketball and other games against Trenton Peabody, Madison County East High, Wingo, Milan Stegel, and Humbolt. He said these events took place during the month of May. The old white school had rooms on the left and right as you walked in the building and a basketball court and stage at the very end of the hallway (Personal interview with B. Thomas). Ms. Hampton stated that the food was very good in taste. She was in the eight grade in 1959 and saw herself on the basketball picture and she’s 56 years old today. The students took trips to places such as Nathan Bedford Forrest park located in Camden, Tennessee (Personal interview with B. Nash). Mildred Yarbrough remembers that when she was in the fifth grade in 1950, Smyrna Community School closed and she had to attend Hale Junior High School. Principal Owens entered in his record of year’s work that 1955 and 1956 were the first time the school featured an art exhibit and he hopes to continue to motivate the creative ability in children.
The principal’s message set the tone for education and their mission statement. His message stated:
Education is the only kind of activity in which all persons in the United States are required by the state to participate in. The primary task of the school is teaching. While the teachers who work directly with the students compose the first line, it should not be overlooked that everyone and everything connected with the school, teaches. All of these people and facilities affect the development of every person who comes in contact with them.
Too often, we underestimate the power and effect of environment on our people. My plan, then, is always remember that the environment of the school exerts an influence on its occupants. The lesson it teaches can be negative or positive, it depends on the values we hold. Let us hope in the years ahead that our school will possess an environment of beauty, cleanliness, strength and unity, exhibiting a spirit of kindness and Godliness (Hale School Yearbook).
Mr. Owens stated that through Miss Boyd the motivation and encouragement of her many students have gone on to high school and even to college. Mrs. Boyd served at Hale School for fourteen consecutive years, she had seen it develop from a three teacher elementary into an eleven-teacher junior high school (Hale School Yearbook).
In 1957 Principal J.C. Owens submitted his a record of the year report that stated the following information:
The year’s work consisted of an attempt to meet the needs of our children on their instructional level. Stress was placed on the deficiencies as revealed by the state survey and an attempt was made to correct the deficiencies in our students. Teachers purchased instructional supplies on the home room basis, raising the money through projects. We conducted surveys of our school community to reveal facts about students home life, family relationship, economic status of the family, health conditions at home, the intelligence level of the family, the accessibility of homes to the school or to the bus line leading to the school and to get a fairly good look at what our future school population will look like. Field trips were conducted with reports being made and the trips evaluated. Hale school participated in the seasonal sports and was awarded both first place, for boys and girls, and the “Good sportsmanship” award for Carroll County. We administered intelligence tests with our children and processed them. We administered and processed problem checklists with the children and parents to locate indicated needs in certain areas and to translate these needs into an instructional program so that we could be sure that we were to some extent, meeting the needs of our children. Our majorettes were uniformed and presented to the public on several occasions. Our harmony band received their instruments and made some personal appearance. Our school participated and cooperated wholeheartedly in all the charitable campaigns in the county and led in the financial reports over all others. Other activities consisted of holding a weekly 30 minute broadcast over the radio station W.H.D.M. McKenzie, Tennessee. These programs carried to the public every phase of instruction carried on at Hale School. Teachers were encouraged to affiliate themselves with as many professional organizations as was possible. They did and attended most of the professional meetings (Tennessee School Register, 1957).
The school tried through cumulative records to understand the whole child. This was done by teacher-parent-pupil relationship. Mrs. Townes noted in 1953 that the year’s work consisted of an attempt to meet the needs of the children on their instructional level. In 1957 Mrs. Jordan said that a better understanding of the child was an important solution to many of their problems. Consequently they attempted to organize a formal way of guidance.
Mrs. Sarah Bond notes in 1961 that the progress of the students was verified by comparison of their Gates Reading Survey and their Metropolitan Achievement test. The Home Economics Department promoted education of all girls, especially in the selection and preparation of food and clothing, conditions of living and the use of their income. Their motto: “BETTER HOME MAKERS, MAKE BETTER HOMES” (Hale School Yearbook). The Student Council was active in school control. They were elected by the students to represent them to speak for them in many activities of the school. One of the major objectives was to promote harmonious relations between student and faculty. The council’s advisor was Miss Sarah Jordan. The school had a Safety Patrol that was active and professional about their business. Their slogan was “SAFETY IS OUR BUSINESS” (Hale School Yearbook). The patrol was made of up eighteen students that included four captains. The class colors were black and white, the class flower was a carnation, and its motto was “CLIMB THOUGH THE ROCKS BE RUGGED” (Hale School Yearbook).
In 1956 and 1957 school year, Mrs. Sarah Jordan entered in her record of the year’s work report, that she was able to instill in the students with the idea that “What we learn we live” and they were in need of developing certain skills in order to live better. She noted that the children were provided with various activities in order to develop a better human relationship and increase their knowledge of how to get along with people. The students were given an opportunity to participate in democratic procedures. Through a classroom arrangement and an extra class organization, they were able to voice their opinions and express themselves through speech. In respect to Mrs. Jordan attempt to better the student, Mrs. Maggie Townes noted in her 1952 and 1953 record of year’s work report that fundamental processes was stressed to enable the child to meet the numerous and complex quantitative relationship in life. Character building was stressed and the ability to get along with others was actually practiced. According to Mrs. Cora Lee Owens, during the school 1966 students had a good attitude and the school atmosphere was good. She tried to improve the social and civic attitudes of the students by having them practice courtesy, respect for others, self-respect, and fair play. Mrs. Owens stated that she arranged her program of work with the individual differences of children in mind and worked with the individual needs of the children. Mrs. McCullough had a wonderful school year in 1966 when she designed her classroom to meet the needs of every child. She arranged the class in groups according to their abilities and they would be moved to another group based on progress. The class reading program was enhanced from materials received through Title I. During the school year of 1962, Mrs. Owens used the honor roll system to promote the interest of her student’s work. It aroused their interest and motivated to them to read more, therefore enabling them to read more and become stronger readers. The physical education program was helpful to the students and a genuine and lasting motivation for pupils. They learned good health practices that were valuable to them in everyday living. The school lunch program had its effectiveness in helping to improve food habits of boys and girls through eating free lunches. Some of the needs of the children are reached through by them eating free lunches which help improve the health of the children. She also concluded that it was the basis for effective teaching of children and it motivates attendance. Mrs. E.A. Townes noted in 1965 that the emphasis has been stressed on learning the newer trends of mathematics. She stated although there were no text books for math, the teacher found occasions to use what she had been taught in a course.
The students began a fifth grade club at the beginning of the year that taught procedures for conducting a meeting, how to have intelligent discussions, and work togther. Mr. Steven A. Bell reported in his 1962 record of year’s report that the 8th through 9th grade art boys in the shop were able to work hard and come out at the end with fine and finished projects.
Mr. J.C. Owens, Cora L. Owens, and Lillie A. Hutch-Wiley were teachers at Smyrna Community School until 1950. In or about 1951, Smyrna Community School closed and the students were transferred and bused to Hale Junior High School (Personal interview with M. Yarbrough). Mr. Owens went around to black families with a petition that requested action to start a school for blacks only, instead of going to school with whites. Perhaps Mr. Owens was concerned with justifying the jobs for black school administrators and black teachers. The petition was favorably accepted and Hale School was established as a segregated school (Personal interview with P. Jamison).
Hale Junior High School was constructed in the predominantly African-American neighborhood of the Greer subdivision in 1927 (Personal interview with O. Nash). In the 1950s, J. Curits owens petitioned the Carroll County School Board for assistance in establishing a new modern neighborhood school(Personal interview with P. Jamison). Like many rural southern schools for blacks, Hale Junior High School was built under the auspices of the Rosenwald Foundation. The foundation, established by Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, was a philanthropic organization which promoted education for Southern blacks between World War I and circa 1930. The focus of the Rosenwald program was elementary school design and construction, and as a result, the most visible legacy of the foundation are its rural school buildings (Hanchett 1987: 5).
Incorporated in 1917, the Rosenwald Foundation turned attention to the problems of poor elementary school facilities, and from 1917 to 1927, rural school construction was the thrust of their mission. Julius Rosenwald was influenced by Booker T. Washington, and their collaboration spurred the school building program, beginning at Washington's Tuskegee Institute and then spreading to Tennessee and North Carolina (Hendricks 1986: 1). Between 1917 and 1932, the Rosenwald foundation constructed 5,300 schools for rural African-Americans in the South (Hanchett 1987: 1). The foundation provided not only the funding and architectural designs for the schools, but in an unusual scheme to encourage racial cooperation, required contributions from both local blacks and whites. In addition, the local public school system had to contribute to construction and agree to later maintain the school as part of the system. The Rosenwald schools had to meet certain architectural criteria as well. Each school was to be white, frame construction with one to four classrooms. Emphasis was given to light and ventilation both in paint colors and the number, size, and placement of windows. Schools were to include industrial rooms for teaching the practical arts, a feature directly attributed to the writings of Booker T. Washington. In rural areas, two acres were to be set aside for gardens. Even though most Rosenwald schools were only middle sized, with two to four teachers, schools were to include an auditorium, or meeting room, which could serve as a community center. Movable partitions were often used to convert classrooms to auditoriums (Hanchett 1987: 9).
By World War I, many states began including offices of Negro education as part of the public school administration, and in 1921, North Carolina created a Division of Negro Education within the State Department of Public Instruction. This division directed the Rosenwald program, supervised state-funded black colleges, high schools, and elementary schools. North Carolina had one of the largest Negro Education staffs and consequently the largest Rosenwald program. By 1932, rural communities in North Carolina had participated in the building of 813 schools. Mississippi was second with 633 schools and Texas third with 527 (Hanchett 1987: 11).
In addition to their rarity, the Rosenwald schools serve as landmarks in the history of education for blacks, constructed through philanthropic rather than public support. Hale Junior High School was an important institutional landmark in this once rural community of Huntingdon.
Bibliography
Fisk University Special Collections, Carroll County Rosenwald Schools.
Fisk University Special Collections, Carroll County Schools: Index Card & Picture No. 3279.
Fisk University, Special Collections: Total Cost: Buildings, Grounds, & Equipment.
Hale Junior High School Yearbook, #1208
Pursley, Billie P., William J. Hale’s Autobiography, Tenn State Univ. Special Collections, 1987.
Record of Year’s Work: J.C. Owens, 1956-1957.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Annie L. Cox, July 1937-April 1938.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Maggie Townes, July 1952-May 1953.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Mr. J.C. Owens, Maggie Townes, July 1955-May 1956.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Sarah C. Jordon, July 1956-May 1957.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Sarah J. Bond, Rebecca Hunt Whitlow, Alma Swift, July 1960-May 1961.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Steven A. Bell, Cora L. Owens, Maggie Townes,
Ludie E. Williams, July 1961-May 1962.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, E.A. Townes, August 1963-June 1964.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Janice McCullough, E.A. Townes, Cora L. Townes, July 1964-May 1965.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Janice McCullough, Cora L. Ownes, July 1965-1966.
Interviews:
Name Birth Residence
Bell, Bessie 1942 Huntingdon, TN
Branch, Clarance Jr. 1931 New York
Clark, Robert Huntingdon, TN
Holder, Mildred Huntingdon, TN
Jamison, Prentice 1907 Huntingdon, TN
Thomas, Barbra 1945 Huntingdon, TN
Nash, Otis 1928 Huntingdon, TN
Norman, Clarence 1934 Huntingdon, TN
Yarbrough, Mildred 1940 Huntingdon, TN
Warford, Thorton Louiville, KY
Carroll County deed books:
Year Deed Book Page
1922 52 31
1967 131 16,17
Compiled: November 1998 to December 2001
by Abdullah F. Willis
According to numerous blacks ranging from ages 40 to 90, they received their education from community Rosenwald schools such as, Hale Junior High School of Huntingdon, Barker School, Buena Vista School, Clarksburg School, County Training School in Smyrna’s community of Huntingdon, Dunbar in McClemoresville, Hart School, Hollow Rock School, Morning Sun in Cedar Grove, Mount Olive School, Trezevant School, Rosser Community School, St. Paul Community School, Wingo School and Smyrna School located in, which all of them were black schools (Phone interview with C.Norman & Total Cost Bldgs, Grounds, & Equipment list). The focus of this paper is on Hale Junior High School, an all black segregated school with grades first through ninth, and its interaction with the black community. The property of Hale School was privately owned beginning in January 1922 until October 1967 when Huntingdon Special School District purchased the land (Carroll County Deed book 52, p 31 & deed book 131, p 16, 17). This area was referred to Robert Smith subdivision near the Greer’s in civil district 11. According to Carroll County deed registers, the following persons had purchased or sold Hale School’s property. Two landmarks were left behind in remembrance of Huntingdon’s early black pioneers. They were Hale and Cox Streets that’s still visible today. Hale Junior High School and Hale Street were named after a black educator named Doctor William Jasper Hale (Phone interview with C. Branch & C.Norman). In 1909 Doctor Hale was the first principal to preside over the state’s Normal School for Negroes ( now Tennessee State University) in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Hale was committed to elevating the curriculum of the normal school to a collegiate status (B.Pursley). Cox Street was named after Annie L. Cox and prior to the road being paved with asphalt, it was a wide path that lead up to the school (Personal interview with O. Nash & deed book 58, p449). According to Thorton Warford the Greer’s sold eight acres of land to the Board of Education in the late 1960s for the erection the new Hale School. The school’s first principal was Mr. James Edwards and his predecessors were Mr. M.L. Warford, Mr. L.J. Anders, J. Curtis Owens and Annie L. Cox. Mr.J.Curtis Owens, Mrs. Cora Lee Owens and Lillie A.Wiley-Hutch taught at Smyrna Community School prior to their employment at Hale School (Personal interview with P. Jamison). Unfortunately, the black schools surrounding Huntingdon closed and consolidated in the early 1950s and Hale School operated under the county as an institution for blacks to attend. On October 17, 1967, Huntingdon Special School District bought a tract of Hale Junior High School’s property for $1,000 from William Sade. Although Hale Junior High School had been in operation as early as 1927, it had only served the town of Huntingdon. Documentation on file at Fisk University Special Collections indicates that Hale School was built with the Rosenwald Building Fund and the school was referred to as Huntingdon School, Carroll County, Tennessee. The school was built on three acres of land under the 1926 and 1927 budget, application number 28-F, and with three teachers on staff. The total cost of the school was $4,450; Negroes donated $700, Rosendwald $900, public $2,850, and white $0 (Index Card & Picture No. 3279). The surrounding communities began to utilize Hale Junior High School which was staffed with a black faculty. In 1937 the school register list that three teachers managed the school for a term of 160 days and by 1964 at least twelve teachers were on the faculty (Tenn School Register, 1937-1938 & 1963-1964). The students were bused from communities such Clarksburg, Smyrna, and St. Paul (Personal interview with B. Nash). The grades started with the first grade and ended in the ninth and then the students attended Webb High School that was an all black school located in McKenzie, Tennessee (Personal interview with B. Nash & M. Yarbrough).
Hale Junior High School’s first building was white in color and built of wood, and the second school was constructed with a brick infrastructure in the early 1950s. According to Otis Nash, the old wooden white school house caught on fire once or may be twice. Then the students had to attend the town’s black churches, Clark Street Baptist Church, Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church, until the school was restored (Personal interview with O.Nash). The school caught fire in 1937 or 1938 because during winter months in the evenings, maintenance personnel would fill the heating furnace with coal in order to have ample heat for the next day of school (Phone interview with C. Norman & T. Warford). Unfortunately, the coal furnace over heated and the school caught on fire. And after a tornado destroyed the remodeled brick building in May 1971, the most recent school replaced it. The fire that devastated the school also destroyed school records, therefore, an accurate count cannot be given because of this incident. According to school records on file at the Carroll County Board of Education located in Huntingdon, Tennessee, a total of 465 student records are on file who attended Hale Junior High School. Listed below are the school years’ and number of students enrolled at Hale School that were on file:
Year Students
1937 to 1938 - 35 (grades 3,4,5)
1956 to 1957 - 193
1960 to 1961 - 233
1961 to 1962 - 290
1962 to 1963 - 220
1963 to 1964 - 211
1964 to 1965 - 218
1965 to 1966 - 119
Hale Junior High Schools’ black faculty helped prepare the students in a fashionable way for the future. Some of the faculty members that are on record at Carroll County Board of Education consist of Superintendent Ms. Annie.L. Cox, Principal J. Curtis Owens, Assistant Principal Saphronia Boyd. Mrs. Blanche Ranger-Coleman-Parker was the black supervisor of the schools within Carroll County school district. The teachers on roll are Anna R. Webb, Cora Lee Owens, Barbara J. Owens, Sabra F. Moore, Janice McCullough, E.A. Owens, Barbara Sanders, Rebecca H. Whitlow, Sarah Jordan Bond, Amma Swift, Annie L. Cox, Steve Bell, Maggie Townes, Harold Howard, Ludie E. Williams, Kaytie Brantly, Elizabeth Morgan, Annie Taylor, Blanche E. Ranger, Onita Price, Julie Smith, Lurlie McCain, Mr. M.L. Wafford, Hester M. Walker, and Louise C. Jones. They taught subjects such as English, Special Education, Language Arts, Speech & Hearing, Home Economics, and an Industrial Arts course that was instructed by Steven Bell.
During the early days prior to Hale Junior High School being established as Huntingdon’s primary school for blacks, Maggie Townes taught at Rosser community school, Saphronia Boyd taught at St. Paul, Harold and Earlie Howard taught at Clarksburg community school (Phone interview with C. Norman). Mildred Holder said that beginning in the sixth grade, classes rotated to different teachers and Sarah Jordan was her history teacher. Subjects such as European, Tennessee, and World history were taught, and the curriculum omitted black history (Personal interview with M. Holder). Hale Junior High School did not have access to new published books, so the students used books that the white schools passed down to them. In addition to the core curriculum, students also participated in majorette, basketball, student council, safety patrol, and the choral club. The basketball teams were known as the “THE HORNETS ARE STINGING” (Hale School Yearbook). The school maintenance was taken care of by Mr. Harton Barnhill, who lived down the hill and around the corner from the school (Personal interview with interview R. Clark). One of his duties consisted of keeping the school warm, using coal to heat the building (Personal/phone interview with R. Clark & C. Norman).
During the school year 1955 and 1956 Mrs. Maggie Townes entered in her record of year’s report that they enjoyed ‘Hale-Seet Day’. She stated on this day there was a parade with two visiting High Schools with their majorettes and bands whom participated along with Hale Schools’ band and majorettes. A talent show was given and most of the children had a chance to perform in it. According to a former class member, Mildred Holder, she stated that the students marched around the court square on this day while the drummer boy, James Edward Thomas, beat the only drum the school owned. Bands came from the surrounding towns such as Atwood, Milan, Humbolt, Madison County and Trenton to participate in the Hale-Seet’s Day festivities. She said their school colors were black and gold. Willard L. Rivers recalls that on Hale-Seet’s day the school played basketball and other games against Trenton Peabody, Madison County East High, Wingo, Milan Stegel, and Humbolt. He said these events took place during the month of May. The old white school had rooms on the left and right as you walked in the building and a basketball court and stage at the very end of the hallway (Personal interview with B. Thomas). Ms. Hampton stated that the food was very good in taste. She was in the eight grade in 1959 and saw herself on the basketball picture and she’s 56 years old today. The students took trips to places such as Nathan Bedford Forrest park located in Camden, Tennessee (Personal interview with B. Nash). Mildred Yarbrough remembers that when she was in the fifth grade in 1950, Smyrna Community School closed and she had to attend Hale Junior High School. Principal Owens entered in his record of year’s work that 1955 and 1956 were the first time the school featured an art exhibit and he hopes to continue to motivate the creative ability in children.
The principal’s message set the tone for education and their mission statement. His message stated:
Education is the only kind of activity in which all persons in the United States are required by the state to participate in. The primary task of the school is teaching. While the teachers who work directly with the students compose the first line, it should not be overlooked that everyone and everything connected with the school, teaches. All of these people and facilities affect the development of every person who comes in contact with them.
Too often, we underestimate the power and effect of environment on our people. My plan, then, is always remember that the environment of the school exerts an influence on its occupants. The lesson it teaches can be negative or positive, it depends on the values we hold. Let us hope in the years ahead that our school will possess an environment of beauty, cleanliness, strength and unity, exhibiting a spirit of kindness and Godliness (Hale School Yearbook).
Mr. Owens stated that through Miss Boyd the motivation and encouragement of her many students have gone on to high school and even to college. Mrs. Boyd served at Hale School for fourteen consecutive years, she had seen it develop from a three teacher elementary into an eleven-teacher junior high school (Hale School Yearbook).
In 1957 Principal J.C. Owens submitted his a record of the year report that stated the following information:
The year’s work consisted of an attempt to meet the needs of our children on their instructional level. Stress was placed on the deficiencies as revealed by the state survey and an attempt was made to correct the deficiencies in our students. Teachers purchased instructional supplies on the home room basis, raising the money through projects. We conducted surveys of our school community to reveal facts about students home life, family relationship, economic status of the family, health conditions at home, the intelligence level of the family, the accessibility of homes to the school or to the bus line leading to the school and to get a fairly good look at what our future school population will look like. Field trips were conducted with reports being made and the trips evaluated. Hale school participated in the seasonal sports and was awarded both first place, for boys and girls, and the “Good sportsmanship” award for Carroll County. We administered intelligence tests with our children and processed them. We administered and processed problem checklists with the children and parents to locate indicated needs in certain areas and to translate these needs into an instructional program so that we could be sure that we were to some extent, meeting the needs of our children. Our majorettes were uniformed and presented to the public on several occasions. Our harmony band received their instruments and made some personal appearance. Our school participated and cooperated wholeheartedly in all the charitable campaigns in the county and led in the financial reports over all others. Other activities consisted of holding a weekly 30 minute broadcast over the radio station W.H.D.M. McKenzie, Tennessee. These programs carried to the public every phase of instruction carried on at Hale School. Teachers were encouraged to affiliate themselves with as many professional organizations as was possible. They did and attended most of the professional meetings (Tennessee School Register, 1957).
The school tried through cumulative records to understand the whole child. This was done by teacher-parent-pupil relationship. Mrs. Townes noted in 1953 that the year’s work consisted of an attempt to meet the needs of the children on their instructional level. In 1957 Mrs. Jordan said that a better understanding of the child was an important solution to many of their problems. Consequently they attempted to organize a formal way of guidance.
Mrs. Sarah Bond notes in 1961 that the progress of the students was verified by comparison of their Gates Reading Survey and their Metropolitan Achievement test. The Home Economics Department promoted education of all girls, especially in the selection and preparation of food and clothing, conditions of living and the use of their income. Their motto: “BETTER HOME MAKERS, MAKE BETTER HOMES” (Hale School Yearbook). The Student Council was active in school control. They were elected by the students to represent them to speak for them in many activities of the school. One of the major objectives was to promote harmonious relations between student and faculty. The council’s advisor was Miss Sarah Jordan. The school had a Safety Patrol that was active and professional about their business. Their slogan was “SAFETY IS OUR BUSINESS” (Hale School Yearbook). The patrol was made of up eighteen students that included four captains. The class colors were black and white, the class flower was a carnation, and its motto was “CLIMB THOUGH THE ROCKS BE RUGGED” (Hale School Yearbook).
In 1956 and 1957 school year, Mrs. Sarah Jordan entered in her record of the year’s work report, that she was able to instill in the students with the idea that “What we learn we live” and they were in need of developing certain skills in order to live better. She noted that the children were provided with various activities in order to develop a better human relationship and increase their knowledge of how to get along with people. The students were given an opportunity to participate in democratic procedures. Through a classroom arrangement and an extra class organization, they were able to voice their opinions and express themselves through speech. In respect to Mrs. Jordan attempt to better the student, Mrs. Maggie Townes noted in her 1952 and 1953 record of year’s work report that fundamental processes was stressed to enable the child to meet the numerous and complex quantitative relationship in life. Character building was stressed and the ability to get along with others was actually practiced. According to Mrs. Cora Lee Owens, during the school 1966 students had a good attitude and the school atmosphere was good. She tried to improve the social and civic attitudes of the students by having them practice courtesy, respect for others, self-respect, and fair play. Mrs. Owens stated that she arranged her program of work with the individual differences of children in mind and worked with the individual needs of the children. Mrs. McCullough had a wonderful school year in 1966 when she designed her classroom to meet the needs of every child. She arranged the class in groups according to their abilities and they would be moved to another group based on progress. The class reading program was enhanced from materials received through Title I. During the school year of 1962, Mrs. Owens used the honor roll system to promote the interest of her student’s work. It aroused their interest and motivated to them to read more, therefore enabling them to read more and become stronger readers. The physical education program was helpful to the students and a genuine and lasting motivation for pupils. They learned good health practices that were valuable to them in everyday living. The school lunch program had its effectiveness in helping to improve food habits of boys and girls through eating free lunches. Some of the needs of the children are reached through by them eating free lunches which help improve the health of the children. She also concluded that it was the basis for effective teaching of children and it motivates attendance. Mrs. E.A. Townes noted in 1965 that the emphasis has been stressed on learning the newer trends of mathematics. She stated although there were no text books for math, the teacher found occasions to use what she had been taught in a course.
The students began a fifth grade club at the beginning of the year that taught procedures for conducting a meeting, how to have intelligent discussions, and work togther. Mr. Steven A. Bell reported in his 1962 record of year’s report that the 8th through 9th grade art boys in the shop were able to work hard and come out at the end with fine and finished projects.
Mr. J.C. Owens, Cora L. Owens, and Lillie A. Hutch-Wiley were teachers at Smyrna Community School until 1950. In or about 1951, Smyrna Community School closed and the students were transferred and bused to Hale Junior High School (Personal interview with M. Yarbrough). Mr. Owens went around to black families with a petition that requested action to start a school for blacks only, instead of going to school with whites. Perhaps Mr. Owens was concerned with justifying the jobs for black school administrators and black teachers. The petition was favorably accepted and Hale School was established as a segregated school (Personal interview with P. Jamison).
Hale Junior High School was constructed in the predominantly African-American neighborhood of the Greer subdivision in 1927 (Personal interview with O. Nash). In the 1950s, J. Curits owens petitioned the Carroll County School Board for assistance in establishing a new modern neighborhood school(Personal interview with P. Jamison). Like many rural southern schools for blacks, Hale Junior High School was built under the auspices of the Rosenwald Foundation. The foundation, established by Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, was a philanthropic organization which promoted education for Southern blacks between World War I and circa 1930. The focus of the Rosenwald program was elementary school design and construction, and as a result, the most visible legacy of the foundation are its rural school buildings (Hanchett 1987: 5).
Incorporated in 1917, the Rosenwald Foundation turned attention to the problems of poor elementary school facilities, and from 1917 to 1927, rural school construction was the thrust of their mission. Julius Rosenwald was influenced by Booker T. Washington, and their collaboration spurred the school building program, beginning at Washington's Tuskegee Institute and then spreading to Tennessee and North Carolina (Hendricks 1986: 1). Between 1917 and 1932, the Rosenwald foundation constructed 5,300 schools for rural African-Americans in the South (Hanchett 1987: 1). The foundation provided not only the funding and architectural designs for the schools, but in an unusual scheme to encourage racial cooperation, required contributions from both local blacks and whites. In addition, the local public school system had to contribute to construction and agree to later maintain the school as part of the system. The Rosenwald schools had to meet certain architectural criteria as well. Each school was to be white, frame construction with one to four classrooms. Emphasis was given to light and ventilation both in paint colors and the number, size, and placement of windows. Schools were to include industrial rooms for teaching the practical arts, a feature directly attributed to the writings of Booker T. Washington. In rural areas, two acres were to be set aside for gardens. Even though most Rosenwald schools were only middle sized, with two to four teachers, schools were to include an auditorium, or meeting room, which could serve as a community center. Movable partitions were often used to convert classrooms to auditoriums (Hanchett 1987: 9).
By World War I, many states began including offices of Negro education as part of the public school administration, and in 1921, North Carolina created a Division of Negro Education within the State Department of Public Instruction. This division directed the Rosenwald program, supervised state-funded black colleges, high schools, and elementary schools. North Carolina had one of the largest Negro Education staffs and consequently the largest Rosenwald program. By 1932, rural communities in North Carolina had participated in the building of 813 schools. Mississippi was second with 633 schools and Texas third with 527 (Hanchett 1987: 11).
In addition to their rarity, the Rosenwald schools serve as landmarks in the history of education for blacks, constructed through philanthropic rather than public support. Hale Junior High School was an important institutional landmark in this once rural community of Huntingdon.
Bibliography
Fisk University Special Collections, Carroll County Rosenwald Schools.
Fisk University Special Collections, Carroll County Schools: Index Card & Picture No. 3279.
Fisk University, Special Collections: Total Cost: Buildings, Grounds, & Equipment.
Hale Junior High School Yearbook, #1208
Pursley, Billie P., William J. Hale’s Autobiography, Tenn State Univ. Special Collections, 1987.
Record of Year’s Work: J.C. Owens, 1956-1957.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Annie L. Cox, July 1937-April 1938.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Maggie Townes, July 1952-May 1953.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Mr. J.C. Owens, Maggie Townes, July 1955-May 1956.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Sarah C. Jordon, July 1956-May 1957.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Sarah J. Bond, Rebecca Hunt Whitlow, Alma Swift, July 1960-May 1961.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Steven A. Bell, Cora L. Owens, Maggie Townes,
Ludie E. Williams, July 1961-May 1962.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, E.A. Townes, August 1963-June 1964.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Janice McCullough, E.A. Townes, Cora L. Townes, July 1964-May 1965.
Tenn. School Register, Hale School, Janice McCullough, Cora L. Ownes, July 1965-1966.
Interviews:
Name Birth Residence
Bell, Bessie 1942 Huntingdon, TN
Branch, Clarance Jr. 1931 New York
Clark, Robert Huntingdon, TN
Holder, Mildred Huntingdon, TN
Jamison, Prentice 1907 Huntingdon, TN
Thomas, Barbra 1945 Huntingdon, TN
Nash, Otis 1928 Huntingdon, TN
Norman, Clarence 1934 Huntingdon, TN
Yarbrough, Mildred 1940 Huntingdon, TN
Warford, Thorton Louiville, KY
Carroll County deed books:
Year Deed Book Page
1922 52 31
1967 131 16,17
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