Pennington High School - Yearbook (Blountsville, AL)

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Birl Bryson Mr. Birl Bryson, the present principal of J. B. Pennington High School, is a native of Blount County and is a graduate of the school. Mr. Bryson was born September 26, 1923, to Arthur and Bertha Beasley Bryson on a farm three miles north of Blountsville. In 1937, after attending Mt. Hebron Elemen- tary School, he entered J. B. Pennington High School. Because of his father's ill health, he left school in 1941 to help on the family farm. On September 1, 1943, Mr. Bryson became a member of the United States Army. He spent six months at Camp Fanning, Texas, and was then sent to the Pacific Theater where he joined the 43rd Infantry Division. He served in New Zea- land and in the New Guinea and Phillipine Cam- paigns. After the war ended, he joined the First Cavalry Division in Tokyo, Japan, performing guard duty for six months in the Bank of Japan and at the Imperial Palace. Following his honorable discharge from the army on March 6, 1945, Mr. Bryson worked in various positions for eighteen months, trying to find a satisfactory vocation. During this time he realized his need for more education. He deter- mined to further his education and reentered J. B. Pennington High School. He completed his high school education and graduated in May, 1948. The following fall, he entered Jacksonville State College where he complete requirements for a B. S. Degree in Secondary Education in Decem- ber, 1951. On June 10, 1949, Mr. Bryson was married to Miss Margie Bryan of Cleveland, Ala. They are the parents of three children, Sammy, born Jan- uary 7, 1953g Susan, born August 2, 19585 and Jan, born July 17, 1965. After his graduation from Jacksonville State, Mr. Bryson came back to J. B. Pennington as a science teacher. He continued his education and in August 1962, received his M. A. from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee. On July 1, 1959, Mr. Bryson became principal of our high school following the retirement of Mr. Penning- ton. During Mr. Bryson's administration the school facilities have been enlarged and improved. An addition was made to the Vocational Agriculture Shop. The grounds were improved by closing the private drive on the north side of the building and converting this land to tennis courts, parking space, an athletic field. Additional parking space for busses was arranged behind the dormitory. A modern, well-equipped, well-lighted lunchroom was completed in January, 1968. Probably the most far-reaching development was the purchase of 20 acres of property on the west side of highway 231 by the School Improve- ment Corporation, which was organized in 1967. . 4..- M ff uf The Bryson Family I 67

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John Burton Pennington John Burton Pennington, principal of J. B. Pennington High School, at Blountsville, Ala- bama, from 1917 to 1959, ranked as one of Ala- bama's outstanding educators. Indeed, education and school were the focal points of his life and that of his family. The Pennington family moved to Lamar County, Alabama, from South Carolina where they had been farmers. It was here that John Burton Pennington was born to John Burton, Sr. and Martha Holly Pennington. These industrious parents instilled in their eight children the need for learning, and of the four boys and four girls in the family, six chose to go to college. The par- ents continued to exert a great influence over the lives of their children, even though Martha Pen- nington died in 1912 and her husband in 1920. The young John Burton Pennington received his elementary education at Vernon, Alabama, and at other rural schools in Lamar County. Upon completion of elementary school, he entered high school at the Sixth District Agricultural School at Hamilton, Alabama, where he graduated in 1910. After graduation from high school, he enrolled at Alabama Polytechnic Institute fnow Auburn Universityl. While attending college, he worked to help pay his expenses, but he always main- tained a high scholastic average. He graduated from Auburn with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in chemistry. It was in 1913 that John Burton Pennington entered the teaching profession. His first employ- ment was at the Secondary Agricultural School at Albertville, Alabama. Among his many duties there one was the teaching of agriculture. As a result of his outstanding work at this school, in 1917 he was asked by the state superintendent of education to become principal of the State Secondary Agricultural School at Blountsville, Alabama. In 1915 Mr. J. B. Pennington married Florice Lorene Wade, of Walker County. The young cou- ple moved to Blountsville in 1917, and he began to work toward providing an institution which would contribute more and more to the students and the communities it served. The Penningtons 166 were the parents of three children. One died in infancy, the other two, Martha Ruth and John Burton, Jr., grew up in Blountsville where their parents continued to work in the school and com- munity for forty-two years, Mr. Pennington as principal and Mrs. Pennington as librarian. Martha Ruth married Phillip Lyon Healy from up-state New York. They make their home in Sanborn, New York. They have two children, John Phillip Healy and Patricia Healy Pynn. Always eager to learn more, Mr. Pennington did post graduate study at several colleges in- cluing, Auburn University, the University of Peabody College for Teachers where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1931. During Mr. Pennington's year at Blountsville, there were many challenges which confronted him, not the least of which was the task of re- building the school after it was twice destroyed by fire. When the State Secondary Agricultural School was made into a county high school, many felt it was fitting for the school to bear the name of the man who had worked so long and hard for its betterment. In 1941 a resolution was passed to change the name of the high school at Blounts- ville to J. B. Pennington High School. Upon the Pennington's retirement in 1959, the faculty, student body, former students, and friends honored them with a day of appreciation. Many former students and friends showed their affection for the couple by attending the pro- grams held in their honor. Although education was a prime interest of John B. Pennington, it was by no means his only interest. He was a member of the Board of Stew- ards of the Blountsville Methodist Church, and a member of the Alpha Tau Alpha and Phi Delta Kappa fraternities. He was also a Mason and a member of Zamora Temple of the Shrine in Bir- mingham. Mr. Pennington was instrumental in the char- tering of the Bank of Blountsville and was for years a member of its board of directors. At the time of this death on July 15, 1962, he was chair- man of the board of directors.

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J.B. Pennington High School 1970 J. B. Pennington High School of 1970 has much to be proud of, especially its rich heritage. The great number of distinguished alumni speaks well for the past administration and faculties. Although the school today is different in many 1'espects, there still remains much of the spirit of dedication and loyalty among the students, faculty and the citizens of the community that has existed throughout the history of the school. The Ninth District Agricultural School was established to meet specific needs of the youth at that time, primarily, scientific farming. Today this is only a part of our curriculum. The school curriculum has been modiiied as changing times have created new needs. The school today, as in its early history, is attempting to meet the needs by offering a comprehensive program. The enrollment is now 590 students in grades 7 through 12 with 24 faculty members, five teach- er aides, one custodian and five lunchroom em- ployees. Sixteen buses travel a total distance of 656 miles daily transporting the students to and from school. Approximately 7579 of the students who enroll in the 7th grade graduate with ap- proximately 457b of the graduates enrolling in an institution of higher learning or a technical school. My ambition as principal of the J. B. Penning- ton High School of 1970 is to see that the school continues to offer the very best for youth of this communityg that the good name of the school be upheld and protected so that the many alumni may proudly refer to the J. B. Pennington High School as my school . 168