The Dillon herald. (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, May 20, 1920, COUNTY SCHOOL EDITION, Section Two, Image 14
LATTA PUBLIC SCHOOL J
]
History of the Class of 1920. t
i
t We have come now to the close of a
our last year, but let us go back for 1
a moment and live over again those
days in which we have struggled and (
fought, but are at last to have our J
reward. J
As we look back over this eventful *
history of trials and pleasures to- 1
gether that we have made for our- 1
selves, and as we contrast the actual 1
happenings with our blissful dreams (as
members of the 88th Grade, we <
can readily see the great difference <
between anticipation and realization. '
All of our mental pictures of the <
higher grades were surrounded with 1
a mystic halo, the density of which
increased directly with the rank of ?
and wp imaerined that 11
iwc 6??uv, ?,*** " ~ - O I
when a pupil became a senior, he had 1
reached the topmost round of the 1
ladder of knowledge. But as we have s
advanced from one grade to anoth-|i
er, we have come nearer to eyth; and |
now( as seniors, we realize mat our '
real'life on earth is just at its begin-;
ning. |1
Let us endeavor to trace the four- '
year path of descent down the mouu-p
tain of youthful dreams to our pres- 1
ent position, and we shall leave it to }
the reader to judge between the !
thorns and roses.
We had pictured High School life !
far grander and more perfect than we (
found it to be when we entered the '
High School in September, 1916. An'J
even dozen entered in comradeship
as beginaers of this brief sojourn (
through high school. However, a !
shadow such as has never since been'
cast upon our pathway, was thrown '
over ujs by the sad death' of our class- 1
mate, Alton Atkins. This left only !
aIovo^ t a onntinno thoir innrnov I
? vll IV VVUUUUV VUVti JVU1MVJ
through the land of knowledge. Final
examinations soon started, and we began
our preparations for the longlooked
for vacation. ;
As members of the 9th Grade, or
Sophomores, as we perferred to be
called, our number became smaller.
The novelty of having the less-worth>
eight graders at our command
was a great pleasure to us, for we
took great delight in telling them of |
the "greasy pole", "goat", and other;
means of entertainment in store for,
them upon their initiation into the
Literary Societies. Wo did our part
in athletics, having had several mem-!
bers on the baseball team, while our
girls represented the class in basket
ball. A new comrade joined our
ranks that year from the Dillon i
' ' school. But, just as during our|
first year, there were many difficul-i
ties to overcome, an^ ften we felt S
that Fate was againc 3 in every-!
thing. However, we were successful,'*
ai before> and the end of the session j f
found us*happy as "Rising Juniors."]
~Next session, when we returned as 6
. Juniors, we began to realize just J
what a high school education means,
and we started to work in real earn- v
- estness. In the early part of 1919, e
two girls joined our loyal band, re- r
maining with us to the present. We
have learned to love them as tho
they had always been in the Class
of '20. Then too, through no fault
of her own( a member of the grade
above us joine^ our ranks, and we ?
are indeed glad to consider her very ^
muchly as our own. It was during *
this year that the enfluenza epidemic
left its effects upon us, causing us to E
lose almost a half-year's time, from 1
which w8 have not fully recovered. ^
However, we overcame all obstacles, 6
and everything ran smoothly until ?
another happy vacation. r
September 8th, 1919, found a ?
on f*11 knat J ? C Lout. - - '
uauu ui wyys ana gins gather-|fc
ed once again, but never before had *
these Students had such a turill of 1
?JOy &s at that time Many of ourja
class-mates had gone "to other j *
parts". Some of them had gone to e
college others into business. We
were joined this year by another girl, .
but circumstances caused her to ,
leave before the close of the year. A |
new superintendent grasped the ;
throttle of discipline and education '
this sesion, and we will always look
back upon our Senior year as one 6f
the best.
We are indeed sorry that the 34
who began in the first grade are not
with us now. Only one out of all
those thirty-four remains with us
now. And we wish that the even
d07.en who entered high school with
us could be graduated at this time.
As we crown those who finish with
laurels, let us drop a tear for each
one who fell by the wayside. Our
struggle has been hard in many respects,
but we have fought bravely
and honorably to the end.
And now in conclusion, we wou'd
thank the faculty for their untiring
efforts and patience in our beha'.f
And to our school-mates, we hope
that a lot of their efforts will be crown
ed with success and happiness. And
finally, to our dear old L. H. S.?
You are graduating once more a
group of boys and girls and you will
always always find us with loyalty en
shrined in our hearts, speaking a
eood word for vou. and rememberine
you as our first and earnest Alma
Mater.
o
A Short History of the Latta School
Since 1870.
The Latta Graded and High Schools
of today are but material evidence of
what a town and community can do
along educational lines. No better
educational facilities are provided by
any town of the size of Latta in the
State. The little one-room ungraded
school of only a few years ago is
supplanted by two modern Graded
and High Schools, occupying up-todate
comfortable brick buildings that
would cost fully $50,000.00 to replace
today.
The Latta School, first known as
Vidalla Academy^ was organized in
1879, and was held for some years
In a dingy, one-room building. From
the best information to be obtained j_
by the writer, the first men connected ;
with the school as teachers were Dr. "
V/ade Stackhouse, Mr. P. P. Bethea, ;
Jr. L. H. Smith, and Mr. W. P. Bas-Jw
tins. During the last two years of b
he Academy, Mr. Nickles, who was'e:
ifterwards Superintendent at Dillon,' b
md later went to Greenwood, was' tl
>rincipal. ) l<
As the town grew, the need be-'o
;ame pressing for a larger building, a
n order to meet this need, the Lattajv
Educational Society, in 1897, built' t;
i three-room wooden building, which 'a
vas later increased to five rooms, n
from 1899 to 1902, Mr. C. M. StaleyVi
vas principal. He was followed bv'c
dr. C. S. Goodgion, now Superintend- g
jnt of Education of Anderson Coun- ii
y. Mr Goodgion was principal for n
:hree years. In 1905 Mr. H. W. Ack- s
irman was elected principal, and-y
leld the position for four years. p
It was during this time?t*o be ex- y
ict, the fall of 190G?that the ?'d h
svooden building was destroyed by b
fire. The present grammar school
building was immediately erected, j<
ind was occupied for the first time t
the following spring. | ij
Mr. Ackerman was succeeded by t
Mr. W. P. Coker, who repaired fromfe
1909 to 1912, being succeeded, in
the fall of 1912, by Mr. L. M. Bauk-.s
light. Mr. Bauknight remained at J v
Latta longer than any other superin- t
tendent in the history of the school J s
it was under his faithful and efficient f
idministration that the school grew.'t
into one of the best schools of the 11
State. The little ungraded school of j I
inly a few short years ago now be- s
:ame a real eleven grade scho~\ be- t
ing one of the 23 schools of the
State to be recognized by the Asso- d
liation of Colleges and Secondary a
Schools of the Southern States. i:
1914, a separate high school build- s
ing was erected at a cost of $16,000, a
which, together with a new work' b
jhep, gives ample room and facilities n
for all school purposes. Mr. Bauk-jt
light remained at the head of the;t
scnuuis uniii uie iau 01 ne is ; u
it present Superintendent of the!
Easley Public School. Mr. R. T. !e
Fairey succeeded Mr. Bauknight, and;s
is now serving his first year as Sup- o
jrintendent of the Latta Schools. The r
svriter of this'article will leave to the o
iext would-be historian the duty of n
summarizing the results of Mr. Fairjy's
administration. e
In writing this article, the only I
persons discussed so far have been v
he principals and superintendents of d
he school for the last 40 years. No
listory of even this brief scope should a
mglect to mention the only person r<
sonnected contiuously with the school tl
or the last 20 years?Miss Elizabeth vn
donroe. Miss Monroe served in the a
rapacity of supply teacher for three tl
>r four years prior to 1904. Since u
hat time she has been continuously ti
vith the school, having served for o
he last eight years as first grade t<
eacher. Such service is exceptional a
n these days of almost non-profes- s<
ional teachers, and the writer, be- tl
ng a school man, can but hope for
he day to soon come when such h
irhole hearted sendee will be emulat- h
d by thousands of others in the t<
anks of the profession.
b
THE OAK GROVE SCHOOL. fi
' tl
No section of Dillon county fur- h
tishes a finer field in which to do tl
onstructive work than does the Oak m
irove section. Especially is this s<
rue along educational lines for in c<
his particular branch of work our r<
leople have not kept fully abreast of is
uany other communities in the coun- w
y. There has been growth, however, tl
tut not as rapid and as fixed as our d
chool officials have desired. This
allure t0 measure up to a high stanlard
of school room efficiency has
teen due to various oauiog, among
hem being, too frequency in changng
teachers, irregularity in attend- L
mce> insufficient length of school a
erra's, and an out-of-date poorly ^
quipped building
However, a community cannot alW.L
G
Dealei
Staple and Far
Shingles and Coal
LATTA
SHIN*
HIN<
HIN<
I have on hand s>
thousand Red C
anything from N
hold Selects gua
years. Be sure t
before buying,
money. Phone I
W. L. G
ays stand still. It cannot always
0 satisfied with present conditions
specially when the people arc
rought to realize that they are wortiy
of better things. Under the able
:adership of the school authorities
f Dillon county the people in gener1
have heeded the call to place the
ery best possible educational advances
within reach of theiT children
,s a result> they have been erected ii
early every school district in tin
ounty modern school buildings. Uafc
I rove has not yet joined that^ pro
ressive band of school folk. 1 an
appy to report, however, that it ha:
ot been of her own choosing tha
he has not done so, because severa
ears ago bonds \vere voted for tlia
urposc. But conditions due to th<
,ar were such that the enterpris*
ad to bo abandoned for the tlnn
eing.
^The work of the school was ser
ausly crippled last year owning t<
he epidemic of influenza then rag
ag throughout the country and ha<
o shut dowi> permanently in th<
arly part of 1919.
At the beginning of the presen
ession last October, a reorganizatioi
ras effected and for several month
he school seemed to be making rea
onable progress when again we suf
ered another serious interruption ?
he early part of last February ii
he loss by five of our buildings
lowever, temporary quarters wer
ecured and the work will be con
inued to the end of the session.
The trustees of Oak Grove schoo
[istrict are forward looking mei
nd they are now planning to erec
n the near future an up-to-date twi
tory four room brick building witl
, large auanoriura upstairs. outu i
lUilding will not only meet presen
iceds but will be adequate for year
0 come( and will greatly enhanc
he educational spirit of this com
uunity.
Another step forward will be tak
n at the beginning of the nex
chool term, as it is now proposed t<
pen the first week in October ant
un for a term of eight months witl
ne teacher in charge for the firs
nonth.
The matter of salaries has also no
scaped the attention of the trustees
iuring the coming session the:
rill pay the very best salaries tin
istrict can afford.
It would not be wise to close this
rticle without saying something ir
egard to the stand the negroes oi
his district have taken in schoo
rork. They are undoubtedly taking
livelier interest in the education o]
leir children than ever before anc
nder the leadership of the white
rustees and other influential citizens
f the community they are" preparing
j build a school house costing sever
1 thousand dollars. This year theii
?hool has run for a longer tern:
lan usual and has done a good work
This element of our population is
ere to stay and we should not with
old from them any aid that will betjr
their condition.
In conclusion the writer wishes ir
ehalf of the trustees, patrons anc
rlends of the Oak Grove school tc
hank Superintendent Rogers anc
is assistants for the kindly Interests
ley have always taken in our comtunity
and the faithful and efficient
srvice shown the school and theii
intinued hope that the school irtighi
iacn a aiga srauuaru 01 warn. ti
i the desire of all in this communitj
ho work for better things thai
lese untiring officials shall not b(
isappointed in their hope.
J. S. FAIR,
Principal, Oak Grove School.
Colds Cause drip and Influenza
AXATTVE BROMO QUININE Tablets remove th?
lose. There is only one "Bromo Quinine."
. W. GROVE'S signature on box 30a
Subscribe to The Dillon Herald.
ADDY
in
icy Groceries
A Specialty
l, S. C.
3LEO
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3LEM
everal hundred
]edar Shingles,
o. 2 to "Titeranteed
for 40
o get my prices
Can save you
>Jo. 16.
ADDY
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W. H. SMF
I A MAN
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E. C. Alii
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to render every
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the
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\rprises
n County
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- President
Vice-President
Vice-President
1 i
Cashier