THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
More
Observations From 'The Pioneer'
“The Pioneer”
What did the Class of 1936 do
for social
activities? According to Bennie Lee Helton, editor, and valedictorian,
her
column describes some of the events that were outstanding. She notes
that
“social affairs have not been numerous,” but those enjoyed have been
“oases in
the desert of our daily routine.”
Twenty-two were present for the
Senior
Party held
On April 23 “our class was
entertained by
the Class of 1937 in the annual Junior-Senior Prom.” The event was held
in the
Candler-Ledford Hall. Prom cards provided sign-ups for seven partners.
These
were not “dances” as we know them today at junior-senior proms, but
promenades
about the campus. Dr. and Mrs. Nicholson led out in the first prom, and
for the
next hour and a half the campus was full of happy couples enjoying
their walks.
Afterwards came punch, skits for entertainment of which “Ted Weaver and
his
hill-Billy orchestra” without instruments won first prize. To cap off a
delightful
prom night, a bounteous banquet was served. Bennie Lee ended her report
on
“Social Activities” by writing: “There was a feeling of sadness in the
heart of
each of us as we left, realizing that in just a few weeks our life at
UCHS
would be a memory and no longer a reality.”
A previous column referred to
the Senior
Class picture and names of the members of the Class of 1936. Pictures
of the
junior (Class of 1937), sophomore (Class of 1938), and freshman (Class
of 1939)
were included in “The Pioneer.”
Mrs. W.C. Hughes was junior
class sponsor
for these students: Hazel Bruce, Virginia Jones, Ruth Jackson, Mildred
Sullivan, Kathleen Henson, Mary Addington, Patricia Waldroup, Helen
Cearley,
Kathleen Wakefield, Billy Deaver, Betty Baskin, Wilonell Collins,
Louise Dyer,
Hazel Smith, Irene Hunter, Leon Colwell, Wayne Petty, Ira Kelley, Mary
McCravey, Christine Ledford, R. M. Ash, Charles Conley, R. E. Whitmore,
Robert
Martin, Harold Killian, James Collins, Hubert Rich, Sylvan Plott,
Charles
Meeks, Clifford Shuler and Harlan Duncan. Through my sister, Louise
Dyer, a
member of that class, I was able to meet many of the Class of 1937 and
see them
at their 50th class reunion in 1987. It was interesting to note that in
the
“School’s Who’s Who” list, Harlan Duncan who became the fearless
sheriff of
Mrs. Frank (Gertrude) Shuler was
sponsor
for the Sophomore Class. Listed were Ford Tanner, Eloise Killian, Reba
Tanner,
Lucille Jarrett, Latha Carpenter, Corrine Burnett, Bonnie Thompson,
Maxine
Wakefield, Cora Lou Martin, Edna Souther, Edna Smith, Pearl Morgan,
Ruby Jones,
Edward Swain, Edward Young, Joe Akins, Bruce Hood and Clyde Collins. I
expected
to see my brother, Eugene Dyer, pictured and named with this class.
Maybe he
was absent on the day for picture-taking.
The Freshman Class was by far
the largest,
and no faculty sponsor was listed. Members pictured included Dartha
Morgan,
Josephine Miller, Ellen Jackson, Cora Bowling, Sarah Penland, Anna Joe
Cook,
Maggie Roberts, Blanche Hunter, Audrey Akins, Sara Nell Conley, Lillian
Moss,
Madeline Shuler, Lorraine Ash, Julia Jackson, Eugene Truelove, Mrs. Jim
Parker
(Could she have been the class sponsor? She was not pictured with the
faculty),
Lillian Tarpley, Nell Nicholson, Anna Belle Brackett, Ruby Morgan, Ruth
Lance,
Robert Stephens, Dewey Raper, Rufus Bullock, Luther Brown, Edward
Jones, Nell
Collins, A. J. Ledford, Ervin Dyer, Ford Burns, Garnett Davenport,
Kelley
McGlamery, John Berry, Randall Mason, Cecil Hamby and Eugene Colwell.
I sent a copy of the 1936 “The
Pioneer” to
the
I also sent a copy to Barbara
Ruth
Nicholson Collins Sampson, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James M. Nicholson
(he was
principal [called superintendent] and English teacher and his wife was
Home
Economics teacher). Barbara had never before seen a copy of “The
Pioneer” and
was extremely grateful to receive it. She filled me in with many
details of
persons in the senior class and what became of them.
In the faculty picture were six
teachers:
Mrs. Allison (mathematics), Dr. and Mrs. Nicholson (English and Home
Economics), Mrs. Frank Shuler (Biology and Latin), Mrs. W. C. Hughes
(History),
and Mr. Clarlence Shuler (Typewriting). Of the six, five were still
teaching at
Union County High some of the time when I was a student there from
1943-1947.
Typing was not offered during my years there, and Mr. Clarence Shuler
had gone
on to other pursuits. I count it a great honor to have studied under
the other
five, although their areas of instruction had changed and several other
faculty
members had been added by the 1940s.
To close out this series from
“The
Pioneer,” I will end with a portion of Mrs. Frank (Gertrude) Shuler’s
message
to the Class of 1936. She reminded them that all of life would not be
“ease and
pleasure, and you’d be no good if it were.” On finding their life work,
she advised,
“Even though all places of service seem to be overcrowded, remember
this:
there’s always room at the top, but it isn’t a ‘Rest Room.’ ”
Mrs. Shuler ended her message by
quoting
from poet Edgar A. Guest’s “My Creed.” This seems to be the best way to
end
this series from a delightful look back at 1936:
To live as gently as I can,
To be, no matter where, a man;
To take what comes of good or
ill;
And cling to faith and honor
still;
To do my best and let that
stand*
And then should failure come to
me,
Still work and hope for victory.
To have no secret place where-in
I stoop unforeseen to shame and
sin.
To be the same when I’m alone
As when my every deed is known.
To live undoubted, unafraid
Of any step that I have made;
To be without pretense or sham,
Being just what men think I am.
To leave some simple work
behind;
To keep my having lived in mind.
If enmity I ought to show,
To be an honest, generous foe.
To play my little part nor
whine,
That great honors are not mine.”
[*The next line seems to have been omitted here to keep rhyming sequence in order in the two-line pattern of the verse. I could not readily find a copy of Guest’s poem to check for the missing line. –EDJ]
c2005 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published July 28, 2005 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated August 7,
2009
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