This Month in Rockingham County History: May - through the decades

Looking Back at Year-end School Traditions

Foreword:
Whether or not you know a current high school senior, we can all feel sadness for the Class of 2020. Their senior year ended abruptly on Friday, the 13th day of March, an ironic twist of fate. From the appearance of flip flops and shorts on the first warm day to the turning of tassels at the graduation ceremony, the spring semester of senior year has always been a season to celebrate accomplishments, friendships, and "lasts." Yet, for 2020 graduates, this transition to adulthood is missing. The normal spring semester disease characterized by playfulness and slacking off—senioritis—was replaced this year by a much more serious virus, COVID-19, forever robbing this graduating class of the perks, pranks, picnics, proms, parties, and pomp they earned for achieving this important milestone. Knowing current students are missing so much makes all of us, and particularly the parents and family of the Class of 2020, more appreciative of the celebrations we enjoyed in high school. For “This Month in Rockingham County History,” compiled by local historian Debbie Russell, we look back at some of these end-of-the-school-year moments from earlier generations. In addition to the celebrations readers might recall, there were also other graduating classes whose experiences were framed by a changing world.
                                                               --Jean Bullins (MARC Publicity Committee Chair)

1901

At the turn of the new century, students of the Reidsville Graded School exhibited their student work on a Thursday afternoon in May and the seven “bright young men and women” graduates were honored at exercises the next day at a 4 p.m. ceremony.  Participants read a series of essays and orations, including one by Miss Janie Williams, valedictorian. Music was a major part of the day’s event. A select choir sang, “Nearer My God to Thee,” five young women performed “The Old North State,” and the attendees all joined to sing “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” as a benediction. Local people were also looking to build a new public school and, to end the day’s festivities, the crowd gave three cheers in support of the upcoming vote to finance a proposed new school building. The editor of the Reidsville Review had already expressed his support for the project, urging local citizens, “If you favor a new school building register today; if you oppose it you needn’t bother about registering.”
 
“Closing Exercises of the R.G.S.,” Reidsville (NC) Review, May 14, 1901, 2; “Past, Present and Future,” Reidsville (NC) Review, May 7, 1901, 3.

1914

Commencement activities in 1914 at the Sadler School were apparently extremely entertaining. “We thought the entertainment last Christmas was good enough,” an attendee wrote, but the one Thursday night far surpassed it. The music, dialogues, recitations, songs, marches, and drills were exceptionally fine.” The observer did lament the fact that the “primary teacher who carries sunshine wherever she goes” had returned to her home after the school term ended, leaving the Sadler community, and that the music teacher had also moved back to her hometown of King’s Mountain.
     In Reidsville, the Class of 1914 marked the school year’s end with a Class Gift. Representing the seniors as class president, Reuben Baker presented “a splendid bust of Apollo with a suitable pedestal” to the Reidsville Graded School and School Superintendent T. Wingate Andrews. Baker told the crowd that the class hoped the bust “might be an object of use and beauty—an incentive to high ideals to all who should come after.”
 
“The Closing of the Sadler High School,” Reidsville (NC) Review, April 7, 1914, 10; “Senior Class Presents Bust of Apollo,” Reidsville (NC) Review, April 21, 1914, 1.

1915

Commencement exercises for African Americans at the “colored Graded School” in the Leaksville area took place in early May of 1915. The graduation, where county Superintendent L. N. Hickerson presented diplomas to five graduates, was held at a local church and was well attended. An area newspaper reported that local people spoke “in the highest terms of the work that is being done by the principal, R. S. Graves, and his assistants at the school.”
     Graduation events for the Leaksville High School Class of 1915 took place over two evenings in May. While Tuesday’s festivities featured a music recital, on Monday evening, the eleven graduates received their diplomas and heard from Class President Anice Moir and Class Orator Francis Martin. Among the eleven graduates was future North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges. During the ceremony, Hodges read the class poem, which had been written by Oscar Trent, and gave a toast to faculty (later printed in a local newspaper), naming all the teachers from the first grade through graduation of the Class of 1915, devoting four lines of poetry to each description.
     In the same paper, the commencement exercises of the Leaksville-Spray Institute, a recently opened private school, were highlighted. The school also publicized its offerings in a poem written by A. L. French: “So with environment right, and teachers true blue, There’s a grand work in prospect—a good work and true—And if training for life is part of your plan, Let this training take place on the bank of the Dan.” The Institute, described as “handsomely equipped with well-furnished buildings,” was led by principal C. M. Beach, who would later become president of Wingate College.
 
“The Leaksville High School Commencement,” “A Toast to the Faculty of Leaksville High School,” and “Leaksville-Spray Institute,” Reidsville (NC) Review, May 11, 1915, 7; “Local Happenings of Leaksville and Spray,” Reidsville (NC) Review, May 11, 1915, 5; “C. M. Beach, Leaksville, Succumbs,” Greensboro (NC) Daily News, August 19, 1959, 18. 

1923

The 1923 annual commencement of the county schools drew an “immense” crowd to the courthouse in Wentworth. One attendee estimated that only a fourth of those there could actually get inside the building (now the home of the MARC) for the festivities. “Splendid music” for the occasion was provided by the “crack orchestra of the Grande Theatre of Reidsville,” evoking the era when local musicians provided the score to accompany silent films. The ceremonies honored the 226 students from across the county who had just completed the seventh grade, the highest level offered at some of the small rural schools. Contests took place in both the morning and afternoon. Awards went to Edna Parker from Draper for the best recitation and Clyde Shreve of Sharon School for the best declamation. Other winners were Lena Dix and Beverly Warren from Spray, best elementary spellers, and Lucy McCargo of Wentworth School, high school spelling contest winner. 
 
“School Commencement at Wentworth,” Reidsville (NC) Review, May 9, 1923, 5. 

1924

The large size (16 x 20 inches) of Ella Bann Campbell’s diploma from Madison High School in 1924 suggests its significance for students of that era, as a high school education was just becoming available in many communities. In 1913, a two-story school that had six teachers and could offer four years of high school instruction had been built in Madison. A second multi-story brick facility to house Madison students was erected in the 1922-23 school year. School officials visiting from Raleigh described it as a “handsome new building” and praised J. C. Lassiter for the progress the Madison schools had made since he had become superintendent in 1915. Lassiter would be Superintendent of the Madison Schools for nearly forty years—until 1953. In addition to Lassiter’s signature, Campbell’s diploma was signed by department store owner, J. O. Busick, Board chairman, as well as physician Dr. J. T. Taylor and banker J. O. Ragsdale, secretary and treasurer of the Madison School Board.
 
“News Notes from Rockingham County,” North Carolina Education, April 1923, 21; “Madison School System Complete,” Leaksville (NC) News, August 30, 1934, E6; Educational Edition, Reidsville (NC) Review, October 16, 1914, 1-1 (Section 1, page 1); 2-7; see Board of Education Minutes of the Madison City Schools, May 4, 1953; and May 25, 1953; Image and information on diploma signers provided by Jean Bullins.

1935

​In the yearbook, Frank J. Whittemore, the Historian for Reidsville High School’s Class of 1935, recalled many positive developments during their senior year, including a “very delightful Junior-Senior Banquet” and the influence of a new teacher, Mr. Leggette, who organized both a Dramatic Club and a school orchestra. Yet, as the class graduated in the midst of the Great Depression, Whittemore spoke for his classmates: “Your graduation seems a sadder time than you expected. The world outside is cold. You know not what to expect from its bleak, bare atmosphere.” Still, he advised them, “Be Thou the Rainbow to the Storms of Life.”
 
Renocahi, Yearbook, Reidsville High School, 1935, 13

1941

     In the 1940s, the longest established center of black education in the county was the Booker T. Washington School in Reidsville. At the intersection of Sprinkle and Scales streets in Reidsville, the original school building served area African Americans from 1922 to 1951. As the flagship school for the unofficial “Rockingham county negro school system,” Washington was the venue for numerous county and regional events.  One of these took place in 1941 when “several hundred” African American students gathered at the school for an “achievement day and county-wide commencement exercises.” Also, on hand was Washington’s distinguished principal, Dr. S. E. Duncan, who served the school from 1938-1946. Black students from all areas of the county, including pupils from some of the small one and two-teacher schools, participated in academic contests in “reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, and oratory.” Winners included scholars from the Ruffin and Groom’s schools and represented the many others in the county who no doubt looked to the future as one day being students at one of the three high schools in Rockingham County available to African American students—Washington, Douglass in Leaksville, or Madison Colored School. 
 
“Booker T. Washington High School,” The Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/
marker.asp?marker=63051; “Rockingham Negro School Finals Held: Achievement Day at Reidsville Is Well Attended,” Greensboro (NC) Daily News, May 6, 1941, 5; Lois V. Edinger, “Samuel Edward Duncan, Jr.,” NCpedia, State Library of North Carolina,
​https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/duncan-samuel-edward-jr.

1943

Another celebration often held as the school year ended was the production of a school play. This program from Wentworth High School’s 1943 offering, “Moonshine and Honeysuckle” shows that their Senior Class play was set in the North Carolina mountains and directed by school principal Allan Lewis. Lewis, who always demonstrated a zeal for school arts programs, especially dramatics, became the Superintendent of the county system in 1946. The auditorium at Rockingham County High School is named in his honor.
 
Golden Leaves, Yearbook, Wentworth High School, 1943, 81-83; J. Allan Lewis Collection, Rockingham County Historical Collections, Gerald B. James Library, Rockingham Community College, Wentworth, North Carolina,
http://www.rockinghamcc.edu/library/findingaids/jallanlewiscollection.pdf; Minutes of Rockingham County Schools, July 1, 1946; and August 5, 1946.

1944

     In the midst of World War II, area students were highly impacted by the crisis. Class Historian, Orene Hopkins, wrote of the serious situation faced by the Draper High School Class of 1944: “The months passed swiftly and soon these pupils were Seniors. In the fall of 1943 there were thirty-six Seniors who returned to school. Many of the fellow students did not return but joined in the ranks for Uncle Sam. We were sad but proud of these boys. Many of the pupils that did return knew that Uncle Sam would be calling them as soon as Commencement is over. In the face of this, they proved their patriotism, worked hard and did their best. And with their motto, “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield,” they leave their dear school, Draper Hi, prepared to face life and never to forget the best days of all, their school days.”
                                                  
The Crest, Yearbook, Draper High School, 1944, 18.

1945

     In 1945, Madison High School held its only Sophomore-Senior Banquet to celebrate the end of the school year.  Because a twelfth grade had been added by the state of North Carolina, there was no junior class as such during that change-over year. The sophomores hosted the event and decorated the venue with their class colors of green and white. At the banquet held on a Friday night at Grogan’s Restaurant located just east of the bridge entering the town of Madison, attendees dined by candlelight, heard toasts to the seniors and faculty, and enjoyed a musical program. 
 
“First Sophomore-Senior Banquet Held Friday,” The Messenger (Madison, NC), May 2, 1945.

1951

Seniors, such as these from Bethany High School’s Class of 1951, often marked the end of their high school days by selecting “superlatives” in an array of categories. Bethany seniors that year named nineteen pairs of classmates as standouts, including “Most Likely to Succeed,” and “Best All Round,” along with “Most Dignified” and “Most Mischievous.”
 
Pineburr, Yearbook, Bethany High School, 1951, 29-31.

1952

Students in white dresses participated in the tradition of winding ribbons around the Maypole at Mayodan School. The Maypole festivities were held in Mayodan for many years at the school, which was renamed for long-time principal Elliott Duncan in 1959. The final May Day was observed there in 1991, when the school closed.
 
Photo contributed by Jeff Bullins; Mayodan: The First 100 Years, Calendar, Wright Printing Company, 1999.

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1955

     Baseball season has been much enjoyed by many in Rockingham County throughout the decades, not only as a high school spring sport, but also through amateur recreation and church leagues and semi-professional teams. Stoneville High School celebrated a championship season for its baseball team in the spring of 1955.
 
Pioneer, Yearbook, Stoneville High School, 1956, 48.

1956

Spring banquets and proms have traditionally been much anticipated events at area high schools. These yearbook photos show students of Tri-City High School (Leaksville, Spray and Draper) enjoying the festivities at the Junior-Senior Banquet and Dance in 1956, which included a formal greeting line. 
 
Tricinoca, Tri-City High School, 1956, 98.

1958

By 1958, Tri-City High School had been renamed for a benefactor, John Motley Morehead. Music at that year’s Morehead High School Banquet and Dance was provided by a big band, The Southerners. Space motif decorations reflected the theme, “From Here to Eternity.”
 
Carillon, John Motley Morehead High School, 1958, 113; “Morehead Donates $35,000 Facility to Tri-City School,” Greensboro (NC) Record, February 27, 1957, 1; David L. Owens, “Tri-City High School Named for Benefactor,” Greensboro (NC) Daily News, June 1, 1957, 1.

1963

The Maypole was also a tradition at Booker T. Washington High School in Reidsville, as seen in this photo from 1963, where students wind the ribbons in the school gymnasium as a part of the Queen’s Court celebration.
 
The Pioneer, Yearbook, Booker T. Washington High School, 1963, 58. 

1974

One of the most astounding moments at a commencement in Rockingham County took place in 1974 at the Madison-Mayodan (M-M) graduation ceremony. As school officials were presenting diplomas to that year’s graduates, six naked figures—streakers—scaled a fence and ran down into the stadium and across the field. “All they had on was helmets,” a Madison police officer, who unsuccessfully pursued the culprits, told the press.
     The streaking fad was a short-lived phenomenon on college campuses earlier in 1974. Most of the colleges in North Carolina experienced streaking events that spring. In March of that year, an estimated 900 streakers ran across the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and proclaimed with a banner that Carolina was “Home of the World Champion Streakers.” The fad was thought to have run its course by the 1974 graduation season. However, the M-M streakers were the third such recent incident in the Madison area, following one “involving a nude bicyclist… and a streaker at Lefty’s Restaurant in Mayodan.”
 
"Streakers Hit Commencement," The Messenger (Madison, NC), June 13, 1974, 1,3; "A Look Back at Streakers," North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, "https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2015/03/05/a-look-back-at-streakers