University of West Georgia - Chieftain Yearbook (Carrollton, GA)

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gram. The first laboratory school was Maple Street School of Carrollton, where work was begun in 1934. Some time later, a rural Carroll County school, Sand Hill, became the lab school. Thtough observance and internship, West Georgia students have had first hand experience of working closely with all types of students. This experience gave future teachers some degree of foresight into the years when they would stand before their own classes, endeavoring to raise the standard of educa- tion of this nation. In a program of extension, a new laboratory school was set up this year in the public school system of Newnan. I saw my sons and daughters West Georgia ' s pend their efforts in the for- Contributions To . . War Time Effort . outh Adminis- tration and the General Machine and Wood Shop. i After having been trained for vital war work such as welding, forge, sheet metal work, and machine shop work. West Georgia men and women were prepared to acquire positions in defense plants. The purpose of the Shop was to produce certain war materials and to train students who had enlisted in that work. Thus West Georgia aided in defending her America. War Cloud During World War II there was a sharp decline in enroll- ment. But with the end of that blow-striking era, came a record enrollment with an influx of veter- ans. Since then I have seen brave defenders of my country return to this great institution after hav- ing served in the Korean Conflict and the customary tenure of service to Uncle Sam. These men have an eminent place about the campus. West Georgia ' s library began Sanford Library i h 500 volumes in one of the present classrooms of the Administration Building, with Miss Anne Weaver as librarian. Miss Weaver and I have watched the continual growth of the library. The present building, Sanford Library, was built on the lower end of College Circle beyond Mandeville Hall in 1937. Named for the late Chancellor Steadman V. Sanford, the library in- cludes spacious reading rooms, stack rooms, and staff work rooms. Its collection of 14,500 books covers a wide range of subject matter and includes a reference collection, fiction, general reading, and a special section of Georgiana. I saw Mr. J. C. Bonner and £, , ,„ D. M. Braswell establish ath- Tobacco Bowl , . r wa i- letics as a part or west Georgia s varied program, since they believed that physical education should be recreation instead of an un- desirable task to be done. Such sports as tennis, basketball, and baseball were popular with the men. The girls participated in field hockey, soft ball, basketball, and archery. During World War II the boys ' varsity basketball team was crippled. But in 1946 they regained their territory. The Braves first eleven appeared in the fall of 1946 under Coach Earl Wheby. Although this first football team gained no victories, they set a prece- dent which is still enjoyed today. The most glorious sports event I have witnessed was the football sea- son of 1947. The West Georgia Braves were the first team to receive a victory and trophy from the newly created Tobacco Bowl in Tifton after defeating Norman Park. I watched those robust players, Kelly Grenga, Tip Goza, Angelo Grenga, Ray Robinson, and Johnny Robinson, to name just a few who fought so diligently for the well earned victory. I have seen a number of awards Awards 5g yp £qj. students as memorials to great men of the college. The Watson Award, established in 1940, is a memorial to Gordon Wat- son, late Professor of English. Five honorary cer- tificates are given each year to students who have attained distinction in their work, and who have exhibited those qualities of character, integrity, leadership, and courtesy. In 1953 the friends and classmates of Thomas A. Herndon, Jr. of the 1939 class established a memorial to him. Each year a sheepskin brochur is awarded to three or five freshmen who have best exhibited leadership, inter-

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Aaron Buckalew, class of 1939. Briefly these are only a few precedents, though revised somewhat, which have been handed down to West Georgia students. I watched with pride as West Georgia matured in respect of stature and as new meaning was added to the school as an educational institution. Growth In Stature To say that one organization had excelled more than all others would be to fail to give due credit to any of the many others that have been created. One of the most popular and note-worthy groups has been the choir which first began with separate men ' s and women ' s glee clubs. Through the years these have united to constitute a choir which is not only highly respected here in the college commu- nity, but also widely known for its annual series of appearances in various high schools, civic clubs, colleges, and churches. The West Georgia College Debating Team has played a prominent role as it has brought to life the words of its motto, Investigation, Discussion, Ac- tion. The first organization of West Georgia to appear publicly was the Y. M. C. A. chapter in- stalled by a student. Fielding Towns. Another group to achieve much renown has been Alpha Theta, first known as the Dramatics Club whose first presentation was Oscar Wilde ' s The Impor- tance of Being Earnest . Mu Zeta Aplha was cre- ated as an honor science club To give recognition to outstanding students in the sciences and to offer a means of expressing themselves in the scientific field. Alpha Psi, devoted to those students inter- ested in home economics, has not only given those students an opportunity to broaden their interests in this field, but has on many occasions assisted in social activities and in the making of costumes for plays. The first Chieftain, edited by Stewart Martin, present mayor of Carrollton, was published in 1934. Through the years it has been the aim of the annual to typify life at West Georgia and to present to its readers pleasant memories and important events of each school year. Behind the cherished year-books have gone myriad frustrated hours of ceaseless labor in efforts to give the students publications of which they could be proud. This effort was not in vain for on several occasions the Chieftain has won high- est awards in its class throughout the nation. The Chieftain ' s sister publication, The West Georgian, made its first appearance during the fall quarter of 1933 under the editorship of Franklin Dorsey Parker. Today this student publication rates among the best small college newspapers in the South and has received on several occasions honors from the Associated Collegiate Press. It stresses student expression, student solutions to problems and campus relations. The Voluntary Religious Association of which all students are considered members upon enroll- ment in the College, has continued for the duration of the life of West Georgia to stimulate the spiritual life and thought on the campus and is climaxed each year with Religious Emphasis Week. The Future Business Leaders of America and the Student National Educational Association were established to broaden the interests of students in those fields. The Veterans ' Club, organized in 1946, had as its purpose to help each other in both social and school activities and to encourage more veter- ans to attend college. During the years other clubs in coperation with various departments have been created. Some of these have been abolished or reorganized under new names, but many have helped in securing for West Georgia a reputation for providing a wide range of interest and opportunity for leadership and originality for its students. Since West Georgia was estab- lished to emphasize teacher edu- cation, obsers ' ' ance and practice teaching were vital parts of the educational pro- Laboratory Schools

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est, participation, and scholastic standing in social science. As a memorial to the late Delbert Clark, nationally known leader in adult education, an award may be presented annually for outstanding achievements in the field of adult education. Foun- ders Day Awards may be presented annually to friends of West Georgia College who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural and eco- nomic life of the college. Numerous scholarship and loan funds are avail- able to worthy students. Because of these funds and awards, students have determined to go the second mile in order to rise scholastically and culturally. The education of rural teachers Three Year Georgia College was based on the belief that the rural school can and should contribute to the solution of many of the problems of its community. In 1940 a third year of work for students in teacher educa- tion was added in order to prepare those students for rural positions. Another great stride had been taken to give future teachers an insight into the lives of those students with whom they worked. The teachers had to know how to discover the specific needs of the community and they had to be conscious of the relation of the school com- munity to the regional and national scenes. Looking back, I recall that there ttrst Era Jja j been a decade of progress of Progress beginning in 1 9 3 5 . By that year the faculty had grown to 1 5 . Through those first ten years of growth, I saw numerous advancements take place. The growing enrollment demanded new buildings. In 1936 Mandeville Hall for girls was erected just beyond Adamson. This hall, with the establishment of Sanford Library in 1937, at the extreme west end of the front campus, extended College Circle to form a complete semi-circle of buildings. These newly erected buildings stand where once stood a large red barn. The year of 1938 saw the completion of the present auditorium- gymnasium-dining-hall building, located behind Melson and the Administration Building. Old Ay- cock Hall which once stood at the present site of the Science Building, was at different times used as dining hall, clasrooms, the little store, and boys ' s dormitory. This building was destroyed by fire in 1940. By this time, the library had become inade- quate for the needs of the school and was remod- eled and a reading room was annexed in 1940. The placement of Miss Downs as Registrar in 1941 marked another peak in the progress of the first era. She had been a member of the teaching staff since 1934. Men and women will forever remember her for her helpfulness and hospitality to new students, for her friendliness and cooperation with old stu- dents and for her interests in their varied activities. Again I was tremendously Second Era pleased to see another era of oj rogr progress begin. Through the next decade many competent members were added to the West Georgia faculty. To begin this turn over in staff, Miss Marion Crider came in 1945 to the mathematics department. Following her were Mr. C. K. Boroughs (1946) in social science and English, Miss Dora Peete (1946) in the business education department. The year 1948 brought a man who has endeared himself to all West Georgia students, Dr. William H. Row, the present dean of the school. Dean Row came here in the speech and dramtics department. Mr. J. Carson Pritchard began his work in the adult education department in 1949. Sand Hill laboratory school was given a new principal, Mr. Quinton Prince, in 1951. To continue this influx of new professors, in 195 3 came Mr. CoUus John- son, associate director of adult education. Miss Dorothy McNabb, women ' s physical education, Mr. Floyd Wirsing, science department, Mr. James Overton, business administration, and Mr. William Sessions, English. At the beginning of the winter quarter in 19 51, West Georgia ' s men happily abandoned the bar- racks on the hill and occupied modern new Aycock Hall, a building dedicated to a man who helped found West Georgia College, Mr. J. A. Aycock.