Graham High School - Graham Yearbook (Bluefield, VA)

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SCHOOl The first schools in Bluefield were established many years ago. One of these was on Emory Court; another on Hockman Pike. Two or more schools were located at various times on the site now occupied by Graham High School, erected in 1913 (so states the cornerstone of the building). Our school was much smaller then and yet it housed the grades and high school classes. Graham grew - slowly at first but more rapidly as years went by. A new gym was added, and several partitions taken out to pro- vide a library and house the home economics department. At this time, 1937 , the grades were moved to a new building. Then Graham became truly a high school, retaining only the seventh grade of the elementary school. More recently classes have been held in a frame structure known as Holbrook House, the basement, the former book- store, and the auditorium. Students will remember many things as they leave Graham, for somethings have become a tradition. Among these: The Hallow- ween Carnival, at which time a King and Queen are crowned; the interclass tournaments in basketball, held after the regular season is over; the club formals; the Junior -Senior banquet and prom; the trip to Washington for the Senior class; the school paper and annual; the class plays; and the athletic teams. It would be impossible to name all these associated with the growth of the school but mention must be made of: A. S. Greever, superintendent of Tazewell Schools for over thirty years; S.N. Huffard, a loyal Bluefielder who served on the School Board for twenty -nine years; Z.T. Kyle, the principal for a number of years and under whose leadership the school was remodeled. More re- cently we had T. M. Gillespie as principal and Hugh Cassell as supe rintendent. But time marches on and Paul Goodman, J. L. Walthall, and L.N. Dalton serve as board member, superintendent, and principal respectively. Bluefielders are looking forward to the erection of a new high school across the railroad from the present structure. A bridge will connect the new building with the present one (which will then house the junior high school and part of the, elementary grades). As a whole the school has had able leadership and every one feels fortunate to have as principal Lewis N. Dalton, who we feel sure, will guide Graham to better and higher things and help students stick to their slogan, Finish the Job.

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STAFF Louise Wetzel English Greta Gillenwater Foreign Languages Iris Harman History and English Kathleen Damron Mathematics Ann Haner History Lawrence Bradley Head Coach Josephine Wingate Seventh Grade Minnie Sue Webb Librarian Nancy Trenton English Carmen Carter Seventh Grade

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John Beard Betty Chafin Vice President Secretary THE PAST The fall of 1948 saw our dignified Seniors enter Graham High as lowly freshman. How inej erienced we were! Though lacking quality, we possessed quantity, numbering well over a hundred. We elected Bill Backus our president. The year passed and we learned our way around and became a part of the school family. The sophomore year we began to take part in sports and to be known a little better. Having no one better than Bill, we reelected him presi- dent. Then almost before we knew it we were jimiors. We chose Aunt Cathy ' s Cat as our play and had a wonderful time practicing for it. The big event was the banquet and prom we gave the Seniors. Bill had been such a good president for two years that we chose him a third and made plans to elect him for a fourth time. At last it came-our Senior year. Having added and subtracted senior members we were ninety -five in number, the largest class to graduate from Graham up to now. We are looking forward to our play, the trip to Wash- ington, the prom, and commencement. It has been fun, but we have begun to realize that life is not all fun and are thinking seriously of what we shall do when we leave Graham. Wanda Ruble T reasure r