Pennington High School - Yearbook (Blountsville, AL)

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made many sacrifices to educate their sons and daughters. We have never found such a holy zeal to light educational torches in hands of sons and daughters. It seems they all started at Blountsville. Two sons are at University of Alabama. A daugh- ter finished at Blountsville and is teaching. An- other is about to be graduated, while another is in school. We asked the mother how she and her hus- band managed, and she modestly answered, Well, we just made up our minds to give our children an education and figured it out that at Blountsville the way they live it would be about as cheap to furnish them with clothes and things to eat at school as to keep them home, so we tried it out, and it worked, and we won't let up until all of them have finished their schooling. Back of this is a human interest story of tre- mendous power and determination. It means that not only parents work themselves, but that the children work when home and work when at school. It was worth a trip to Blountsville to shake hands with such a mother, but there is another story to come. Married Students Knowing how the 40 or more students worked at their books and on their projects, and in keep- ing house, at the close of our address we turned to the boys about to be graduated and said half jokingly: Boys, we are sorry the way you have had to batch , and if you can fool some girl into marrying you before we leave, we will do it free. We never thought any more about that, but hardly had we reached the principal's office before a stal- wart young graduate with diploma and marriage license in hand, came in, leading a fine young wo- man, a daughter of the mother of whom we have just written, and asked me to unite them in holy bonds of wedlock, and we did. It seems the young man had been carrying a marriage license a week or more hoping he would get to use it. Here is wishing the young couple every good thing which can come to such a couple. It was a dreary day, but somehow things got bright after we tied the matrimonial knot and sent out into married life two young people, educated and prepared to set up a modest home. Too young, perhaps so, but who really knows what is best? 160 A curious thing about the student body at the State Secondary Agricultural School at Blounts- ville, is that most of them are boarders, for the little village, which is proud of its school, is un- able to furnish any great number of pupils. Pro- fessor Pennington said out of the more than 400 graduates he could count the number on the fin- gers of one hand who remained in town. This means the school is sending out prepared men and women into every part of Alabama. We are told that at one time Bishop McCoy studied at Blountsville or nearby, that Bill Dickson was graduated from the school, and on the campus is the home where Bill Carns, Mechanical Super- intendent, the Birmingham News-Age-Herald, spent his boyhood. Pupils enrolled last year num- bered 214, this year 258. Entertained at Lunch After the commencement address, we were entertained at lunch in the cafeteria by the fac- ulty. It was an appetizing lunch and served beautifully. We congratulate the principal on hav- ing such a loyal and capable faculty. Here is a list of them: J. B. Pennington, Principal, teacher of vocational agriculture, with a B. S. from Auburn, C. O. Davis, instructor in vocational agriculture also has his BS from Auburn R. C. McCulley, Coach and teacher of mathematics and history also a B. S. from Auburn, and Miss Alma Bentley, teacher of home economics B. S. from Auburn. This gives Auburn a quartet of fine teachers doing excellent work. Miss Fannie Cleveland is the lovely representative on the faculty from Alabama College. She teaches home economics and has her B. S. Miss Hattie Finley, who teaches English and history, has her B. S. from Peabody College. We now come to two who have their A. B.'s from Uni- versity of Alabama. They are teachers in Junior high, Misses Lottie Handley and Doris Porter. W. P. Albritton, teaching science and mathematics, has his A. B. degree from Erskine College. Miss Alta Finley, graduated from the Sherwood School of Music, Chicago, is the teacher of music and expression. She put on two popular plays at com- mencement which were well acted. The school has one of the best libraries we have seen. All books are new as the fire somewhile back

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In all of our travels in Alabama, we have never seen so much honeysuckle as lines the highway from Garden City to Blountsville. It covers the banks, fills the gullies, climbs around fences and festoons trees. It was in full fiower and the per- fume at times was almost overpowering. We saw few fields, as the valley is narrow, but we did see some wonderful apple trees. Early settlers of Blount County grew a considerable quantity of corn even back in 1817, and yet not enough to sup- ply the constant stream of immigrants which kept pouring in or passed its boundaries. In 1817, it was a most profitable crop, selling at 82.00 a bushel, in 1818, at 81.50 a bushel, and in 1819 scarcely any sale, as by this time best land had been filled. We are bringing out these facts because it is an agriculture school that is now flourishing at Blountsville. Blount County residents realized enough money from crops to pay the first install- ment on their lands, when they were thrown open for entry at Huntsville in July 1819. It seems difficult for us who live in the Twen- tieth Century here in Birmingham when the mill- ing and banking industries have been so developed to realize that only about a century ago, when Jefferson County was a part of Blount County, that the early settlers had no mills for grinding corn, but pounded it into meal in a mortar, or made it into hominy. Wheat was raised in 1817, but it is not known when the first mills were built. It is said a mill, expressly for wheat, was built by Dr. Hanby, on Turkey Creek, in what is now the upper part of Jefferson County. We spoke of the fine old apple trees on the road from Garden City to Blountsville. The County is noted for its fruit, particularly apples, and Blountsville is the center of the apple country of the county. We recall when we first came to Bir- mingham back in 1884, it was a familiar sight to see covered wagons from Blount filled with choice apples. Their introduction to the county dates from 1817, for it was then John Fowler came, and in five years he had imported many varieties from East Tennessee. This was before there was any fruit inspection. The name and fame of Fowler's Apples became widely extended, and considerable quantities were marketed. We stopped to chat on our return trip to Garden City with Farmer Chamblee, and on telling him we had forgotten the name of the man who first brought in apple trees, he immediately said, Oh, You are thinking of Fowler and so his name is kept fragrant through his association with apples. Operates 160 Acre Farm We had plenty of time to talk with Professor Davis who teaches vocational agriculture, and we regretted the heavy and incessant rain kept us from goingover projects and the farm. When J. B. Pennington, Principal State Secondary Agricul- ture School, Blountsville, took charge, grounds took in about two and a half acres, while now they embrace 14 acres, and besides, the school owns and operates a 160 acre farm. This means the boys have a chance to profit not only in the usual garden projects, but to get in close touch with real farm- ing. Principal Pennington is thoroughly posted and up-to-date in farming as he specializes in voca- tional agriculture. He is a veritable human dy- namo, and generates energy in others. Every boy has to take vocational agriculture and every girl has to enroll in home economics. As a whole, we know of no student body doing more real work than is being done by pupils at Bloontsville, It isn't any place for drones. A drone would soon die of lonesomeness, for everybody is busy at work Books have their proper place, but work also is a major in the school. There is a modern brick dormitory for girls. It will accomodate 40, and is the only one of its kind ever seen by the writer. Three girls occupy a room. In the basement is a row of kitchenettes. The girls do their own cooking. How does it work out? It's worthwhile knowing. The bedroom and the kitch- enette for three girls cost them 83.00 a month. The boys have two wooden dormitories. A room for two boys costs 83.00 or 31.50 each a month. Kitch- enettes for boys, for they batch , are for four, two rooms go together. There are accommodations for 40 boys. How It Is Done This gives you an idea of the cheapness of rooms and the chance to live at a minimum cost. Here is the way it works out. Most students come from farm homes. A large part of what they eat is raised on farms from which they come, and is sent by parents, but more than this, the girls, during the fruit and vegetable season, put up in their kitchenettes all kinds of canned goods, as well as preserves, jellies and pickles, in glass. We talked to a bright-eyed mother who lives near Guntersville. Her husband is a farmer but both of them have a passion for learning and have 159

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burned all the old ones. The library has outgrown its quarters and soon will be moved. Everything about the school evidences the fact that the phys- ical property is well cared for. We saw more window boxes in classrooms than we have seen elsewhere. Window boxes around the stage were by far the best display we have run across. It seems they came from the department of Profes- sor Davis, who has the reputation of being a wizard when it comes to coaxing flowers to grow and bloom. List of Graduates The following were graduated at the State Sec- ondary Agricultural School: Vernice Alldredge, Ralph Banister, Lexa Bickwell, Mattie Lee Black- wood, Bonnie Bynum, Carl Chamblee, Aileen Clapp, Anna Duke, Ottis Dunlap, Virgie Dunlap, John Faust, Velma Faust, Aubrey Fowler, James Garner, Braxton Garren, Pronce Gibbs, Ruby Good, Copeland Graves, Fred Graves, Alton Har- ris, Mattie Harris, Taska Hart, Girthel Hill, Ray Hollis, Emmett Holt, Ray Ingram, Opal Johnson, Fred Knight, Cordie Laird, Carlton Lovell, Mae Moses, Lillian Suttles, Robert Tidwell, Bernice Wade, Cecil Warren, Violet Warren, Oleta Whit- man, Jewel Wilder, and Carroll Wilson. Fine Grammar School There is a fine grammar or elementary school at Blountsville as was to be expected. J. P. John- son, superintendent, is assisted by Mrs. J. P. John- son, and Misses Guenda Power, Rhessa Hendrix, Alma McWhorter and Mae Alldredge. We regret that owing to heavy rain and the fact we had to hurry to catch a train to keep a banquet engagement Wednesday night at Bessemer, we were unable to mingle with some of our friends at Blountsville. It does not grow in a business way as towns more fortunately situated on railroads, but it is pretty self-contained and has many things which makes living pleasant. Its schools, churches, lodges, clubs, and societies play their part. It has a bank, a heading mill, and some progressive mer- chants. It is the center of a large poultry trade. 1. THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS-AGE-HERALD May 12, 1929 by Frank Willis Barnett State Secondary Agricultural School Campus 1929