Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Oct. 24, 1996, edition 1 / Page 29
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nitv Focus "This is a Community School effort. It is time to get back together, visit family and friends ... we love each other." ? George Johnson The Planning committee for the 2nd annual Big Four Danny Solomon, Mamie Douglas, Norma Brown, included (front) Caroline Shelton, Ronald "Chip" Arneta Perry, Afyra Shore, Mabel Perry and George Grace, Elaine Brown and Sheila Astrop; back row, Johnson. The Anderson High School class of '67 initiated the Barbara Hughes, William //. McDonald and I hunt is reunion dance last year. The planning committee Foster. included Warren Livingston, Jacqueline Harris, Atkins High School Hosts 2nd Annual Big Four Alumni Reunion ^ The Old Guard: ; The Way We Were* # Bv FELfcCIA P MCMILLAN Special to the Chronicle They were huggin', laughin". eatin*. dancin'. mixin', stylin", profilin' and generally "throwin' down" at the 2nd Annual pig Four Alumni Reunion Dance Oct. 19. at the M.C. Benton Convention Center. Over 1,200 Atkins Camels, Carver Yellow Jackets, Anderson Bulldogs and Paisley Panthers packed the house.. Most ofijiem were from Winston-Salem, hut they returned from as far away as California, Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Michigan. Virginia, and Georgia. The purpose of the dance was "to network with active alumni from all of the Big Four schools so as to jointly plan an agenda to make this dance an annual event." Atkins High School hosted this year's event, hut members of the Anderson Class of *67 initi ated the celebration last year on Oct. 28. The leaders included Warren Livingston, Jacqueline Harris, Barbara Hughes. William H. McDonald and Theodis Foster, all of Winston-Salem. Last year 700 people came. Livingston said. "We had been trying to get this together for a long time. It is always fun to get together with our classmates. We have had other groups express the difficulty with trying to find each other, so we figured that a dance like this would offer them a better chance to get together." Foster said this event was a type of fund raiser to enable them to give back to the commu nity. They plan to adopt Jefferson Davis Diggs Elementary School and offer their serv ices at the Sims Center in Happy Hill Gardens. Some of them grew up in this area. He said he knew that after the program was so well received last year that it was "going to explode" this year. Ronald "Chip" Grace offered introductory greetings, and welcoming remarks came from George "Choppy" Johnson from Atkins, Hobart Jones from Carver. Theresa Foster from Anderson and Doretha Crosby from Paisley. Last year, they offered a memorial to the deceased members of the schools at midnight, and they continued this tradition this year. In memory of the deceased, the song "Broken Pieces" by the Temptations played during the lighting of the candles. They also sang the Negro national anthem. "Lift Every Voice." as they did each morning at their respective high schools, followed by a prayer by Mr. Astrop. The Atkins organizing committee included President Ronald "Chip" Grace, Vice President George Johnson. Secretary Elaine Brown, and Financial Secretary Caroline Shelton. Danny Solomon. Mamie Douglas. Norma Brown. Arneta Perry, Myra Shore. Mabel Perry, and Sheila Astrop. Grace said. "This reunion has been a great success. It has doubled in si/e since'last year. We were not able to accommodate all of those w ho wanted tickets." Johnson said this is "a community school effort." It is a time to "get back together, renew old acquaintances, \isit family and friends and look forward to next year." He said he is excited about the camaraderie that came out of his rela tionships with friends from high school. "We went to school together from the first to the 12th grade," he said. "We love each other. We all grew up together. Kids in Winston-Salem now w ill never know this kind of camaraderie." Jimmy Boyd. Anderson. '67. said "At this time, the black community was centralized. Integration dropped a bomb in the middle of our neighborhoods and scattered our kids. We also have fewer black teachers to pass on the cul ture." The students paused to recognize the teach ers from the schools who were present. Dr. Manderline Scales, who taught at Atkins, was available for comment. She taught at Atkins from 1950 to 1968. She taught math one year, physical education the next, and then social studies. Finally, because her degree included Spanish, she established a full-time Spanish cur 4 Carver Yellow Jackets shared a special sting. I a?ft to Austin, Texas, Edna Clifton, and "Howie and the right front are Jackie Greene, Hobart Jones, and Mystery Couple," who ran to the dance Poor to d<> the Evelyn E. Shouse; hack row. Dr. William Goode from twist. * * w _ I 1, . > ? ' t V A tH W v -* > * Friends- together again are, front row, Caroline Solomon, Sheila .\strop, /ulna Smith. Shirh\ Bishop, Shelton, Annette Wilson, Donald Ray Brown, Mary Elaine Brown and Mabel Terry. (tore Thompson; hack row: Xorma Brown, Danny riculum at Atkins. then Paislev and then Anderson. She was the first hlaek Spanish teacher in the Winston-Salein/Forsyth Countv Schools. She pointed out that Atkins was the first African-American high school in W inston Salem. opening in I3 1. Car\er was next, open ing in ll)36. hut it housed students from first through 12th grade, l or this reason. Carver onlv had approximately 300 high school students, but Atkins had approximate!) 2.000. Her students presented an hour-long program each scar in Spanish. Thev did plavs bv C Via antes. Dali and Wert/. Because the> could not afford to pur chase flowers from the florist. thev went into the woods and gathered flowers and leases and filled the stage with them. Thev also designed props from cardboard boxes thev painted. She said teachers could not teach the subject matter without also com eying to students a value svsteni to guide them for life. She recalled Principal John Carter, who was a verv strict dis ciplinarian. He had a discipline room, and it stu dents misbehaved and were sent to the princi pal's office, thev did not want to hear his famous words, "Two weeks'" This meant two weeks in the discipline room after school with nothing to do but sit for an hour a dav. "He was 30 vears ahead of his time." said Scales He established that onlv seniors were to enter the school vKFough ihe'Tront door. The underclassmen would enter from the back This was his wax, of encouraging students to achieve m order to get this privilege. The schools have alwavs been verv competi tive against one another. According to Scales. Carver had "a doggone good band." Thev could compete with the W inston-Salem Suite Band. Sorrrctrmex after tritmev the students would have conflicts, but Carter seemed to have it under, control Some of the other teachers Scales recalled were Belts l ee Vaughn. Francis Band. Clara (iaincs. Delrav Hartsfield. W illiam Fail. Clarisse Parker, the late 1 red Parker. Velnja I rieiule. l.ois Brake. Marccicne Rogers Scales .:nd W Vestal Wade. Scales pointed out thai the students h.Ae done quite w ell in \ anoiis IteUU. >uel; .1 . v. media, politics. religion and cdnc.-, mer ioned Tolio \\eM. s^ r i.;i\ : iu< Arm\. and l!n\er\ I'llington. wh.'-w - : u first Tuskciicc airmen. She a!-, n-. ? :? ? : ;:v brother o! Nel Brit who is now . ' mji^i ? official m the I S \a\ \ The student^ continue 10 -.ccp .-n '? :.u h other through then direci?*r\ s - ? ...i s I'eels proud that il.ioueh .thv n.a teachers, then students .11c ? organi/e and nnplemeni the \isH.>, i!vv such as this reunion " "It v ?.:?>, cc ?. I. cal people w ho pulled the other worked to uet the loh dotu Next \ear's host w 1 i! tv ( ? \ ? v Hohart Jones from ('arvct said K * . ; . 1 to start planning for ne\t yea: - :m>?. .. . ! , meet on a regular basis. and the;. .* ;i _v? :<? -ce each other more often There were no boundaries ? 1 i.\> a -., ,1.1 tion in the audieik e I \cnthe v .-;; . e- h>cd all lour mascots The Came is, > c! (????? Bulldogs and Pitnthers w ei e v; ^ ...:.un.* \fel\in William^ ami his sister Marilyn Williams went to \tkins People always tlnmijht the\ ?? rr< t\\m\
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Oct. 24, 1996, edition 1
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