Alexander Wilson High School - Wilsonian Yearbook (Graham, NC)

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V , i Benin ffisfzfry lt was a crisp, September morning in T949 when we sixty-seven wide-awake freshmen entered the portals of Alexander Wilson High School to begin another mile of our journey. Since our class was very large, the group was divided into two sections, section I, which was under Mr. Abernathy and section A, under Miss Teague. The first thing of importance was the election of officers. Mr. Abernathy's group chose the follow- ing: Jerry Holt, president, Carolyne Parrish, vice president, Billie June Coble, secretary, and Vernell Ashley, treasurer. Miss Teague's group chose these members to lead their class: Bill King, president, Bobby Thompson, vice president, Peggy Tingen, secretary, and Janet Capps, treasurer. During our first year in high school, we, as freshmen, enioyed many interesting and exciting activities, but vacation time soon rolled around and our summer months were filled with various events. As September rushed upon us, we found our- selves beneath the portals of our beloved school. Again this year, however, Mrs. Fisher was adviser of section l, while Mr. Abernathy had section A. Mr. Abernathy's section elected the following as their class officers: Peggy Ray, president, Patsy Holt, vice president, Billie June Coble, secretary, and Bobby Lawrence, treasurer. Mrs. Fisher's section elected these as their leaders: Charlotte Leonard, president, Bobby Thompson, vice president, Janet Capps, secretary, and Betty Jones, treasurer. It became necessary for Mrs. Fisher to join her husband in Asheville, so Colonel Edwards succeeded her as adviser to section l. By the time we were sophomores, we had learn- ed the schedule of our daily work and were kept very busy, we thought. We finished the year, but lost a few classmates. In IE Our iunior year began with a total of forty-eight members who were united as one group with Mrs. Robbins as adviser. The first big job was the selec- tion of leaders. After much thought, these were our choice: Burke Loy, president, Charlotte Leonard, vice president, Patsy Holt, secretary, and Bobby Lawrence, treasurer. The iunior year was a very important one for us, because we were allowed to participate in more activities. This really pleased us and fed our ego. Next we had the duty of selecting our marshals, who were Camilla Isley, chief, Patsy Jo Hunter, Peggy Tingen, and Janet Capps. Soon came the time for us to select our class rings, this occasion was one of our happiest high school experiences. Before we knew it, we were faced with the preparation of the Junior-Senior Banquet, the theme of which was Singing in the Rain. This gala event was held at Alamance Hotel where we had a wonderful time. Vacation time soon rolled around, and again we were happy and carefree boys and girls. Our senior year began with a bang, and everyone was eager and willing to work hard, for our goal was well in sight. The following officers were chosen: Burke Loy, president, Bobby Law- rence, vice president, Patsy Holt, secretary, and Bob- by Thompson, treasurer. Peggy Ray was elected by the student body to serve as president of the Good Citizenship Council. During our senior year there were many import- ant offices to be filled. In October we elected the Hootin' Owl Staff. Next was the selection of our superlatives, then we chose our mascots, Jacque- line Bailey and John Doss. Soon our annual staff was chosen. As the last lap of our iourney draws nearer, we rejoice that obstacles have been overcome and our goal-graduation-is no longer a dream. PATSY HOLT Historian

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WMP JEAN ROGERS THOMPSON PEGGY VIRGINIA WAGONER CAROLYN KOVVINA WEBSTER Jeanie Peg Cathy Fair and gentle, good and true, Not married, but willing to be. Hwllef' lleafls are truer few Words dignified and dependable too. Glee Club 1' will do. FHA Club l, 2, 37 Softball 3, Glee Glee Club 35 FHA Club T. Club 3, 4, Wilsonian Staff 4, Typist, Hootjn' Owl Staff A, Proofreader. SENIOR CLASS POEM Our last four years at Wilson High have been highways of time. Each year has been a different road, each task a hill to climb. The freshman road was very new and paved with bewilderment, We laughed and sang, and suddenly, the first year had been spent. Next, we traveled the sophomore road, where the flowers of knowledge grew, Sometimes we left our merry way to look and pick a few. As down the junior road we went, so carefree, happy and gay, We studied some, played much more, and left work for another day. Now we're seniors on the roads once long, but now so short instead, We've passed the half-way mark, and look, the road is forked ahead. There we see the highway signs pointing like fingers of fate, And each must ask himself this question, which road shall l take? Day by day and step by step, our high school roads are ending, And as we leave these treasured streets, this mes- sage we are sending: Dear School, There's none can take your place, For you leave a memory that time cannot erase. CAMILLA ISLEY Poet

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Z7 cfplzccy After a hard day's practice with the New York Yankees, I went to my apartment, which I shared with my two teammates. I had been home only a few minutes, when I had a surprise visit from Burke Loy, a classmate of mine, now a famous Hollywood celebrity. After getting comfortably seated, we started our conversation. One by one we talked about our classmates. We recalled that Julia Freshwater, Jean Rogers, and Peggy Tingen, who married before they grad- uated, are now rearing their families. Soon after graduation Clara Albright and Walker Moore married, and now own a big dairy farm near Graham, which in addition to their young son, Walker, Jr. keeps them busy. Carolyne Parish and Glenn Thompson married soon after graduation and moved to Texas, where they fell heirs to an oil well, thus making them very wealthy. Ruth Capps, a private secretary for a big busi- ness man, who recently became wealthy, is now her boss's wife. After a year of beauty culture, Peggy Ray, owner and operator of Queen's Beauty Shoppe, married Bill Turner, who now manages the A8rP Store in Graham. Frances Smith, Carolyn Webster, and Shirley Carden, married soon after graduation, are very successful housewives. Jimmy Carson, the most talented boy in the class of '53, has become a famous band leader, and his wife, the former Peggy Wagoner, probably has plenty of headaches caused by her husband's practice. From the class of '53 have come a few outstand- ing businesswomen, who are Reba Atkinson, the first woman to become a manager of a Roses' 5, IO, and 25c Store, Jane McPherson, owner of Jane's Smart Shoppe, in Burlington, Peggy Covington, a well-known dress designer. All of these have been very successful in their fields. Camilla Isley, who finally worked her way to success as an actress, is now the leading lady on a television show, Billie June Coble is a struggling I x I I , ' Y J... cornedienne on television, Nancy Isley is one of the most popular Powell Models in New York, and the singing rage of the year is Jeanette Mangum. Three of the best typing students of our class,' Shirley Johnson, Nancy Dodson, and Patsy Coble,l are now successful secretaries. Patsy Jo Hunter is a medical secretary, at Ala- mance County Hospital, in Burlington. Ben and Don Martin, who now own Martin Brothers' Dairy in Alamance County, are the leading' dairymen of North Carolina. I Herman Pendergraph operates a garage ini Graham, where he has a booming business, while- his cousin, Scott Pendergraph, is one of the mostl popular news commentators in the United States.l. The teaching profession has not been ignored byr the class of '53, because Jerry Doss is the agriculture? teacher at Alexander Wilson, Patsy Holt teaches their first grade at the Methodist Orphanage in Thomas-- ville, Maxine Martin is the typing teacher at Burling- ton Business College, and Gail Dixon, who in her' spare time writes books, is head of the English De-- partment at Elon College. Jo Anne Owen and Janet Frazier, partners in at children's nursery, have one of the largest andl most modern nurseries in North Carolina. Bobby Thompson is rapidly becoming one of the' biggest politicians in the South. Many people think he'll be president some day. After a long hard struggle, Bobby Lawrence ist now head of the Advertising Department off Burlington Mills, Inc. Several members of the class entering the fieldl of medicine are: Elizabeth Mullins, now a prominent? doctor, Janet Capps, head nurse at Watts Hospitall in Durham, Betty Jones, one of the .best surgical nurses in North Carolina, and Carolyn Abernathy, an. X-ray technician at Memorial Hospital in Charlotte. My classmate and I had talked and talked untill we were really weary, so we decided to get some I, rest and finish our discussion at a later date- probably in l963. JERRY HOLT Prophet l f I ' 1 I I I I I g