Williamston High School - Skewarkee Yearbook (Williamston, NC)

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Closs History BARBARA PEELE Historian The forest was silentg the animals were still, and afnong the members of our tribe peace reigned supreme. Our little settlement, Skewarkee, was well satisfied with the world-all was well. Peace was short-lived, how- ever, for all too soon the white man came to our little settlement and began to sow his culture amid our in- habitants. The white man's work was good. He renamed our little world Williamston, and having promoted peace and good-will between the Indians and himself, he placed all of us on a reservation. He wanted the Indians to learn the white man's ways so he took all the papooses and put them in a Wigwam-this he called school- and the year was 1945. The teachers had many problems, for their new and eager students were living in an unfamiliar world. Somehow we managed to survive the first five years and to pass the work the white man required. We had learned to speak and write this new, strange language called English. We learned to recognize our names when written. The boss white man was pleased with our progress, so plans were made to build a new and larger build- ing so our younger brothers and sisters could come learn the white man's ways too. We were glad to give the old building to our brothers, for we looked forward to blazing new trails each day to our new campus. The white man's ways were no longer strange and mysterious to us. We didn't quite understand his science, so one day he sent us on a long, long trail that led to Chapel Hill, where we were astonished to see huge ma- chines in an odd shaped building called a planetarium. By this time we believed we knew everything, but the white man believed differently. He had another place for us to gog he called it high school. Going to high school was the greatest experience of our lives. We were mixing now with other tribes, but we took a special liking to the Farm Life Tribe and invited them to join our pow-wow. The Farm Life Tribe joined us in our new experience and we learned to live happily together. Now the time had come for us to learn something of the white man's way of government and governing people, so a student council was organized. We began to take organized trips with the various organizations within our school. We traveled with the band and the glee club, and we brought back superior ratings for the white man to cherish. Our strong, young warriors battled warriors from distant tribes and captured many important trophies. During the second year in the white man's high school, we sponsored our first dance. We shall never forget that dance, for it was the annual Valentine dance. When we became Juniors, we felt like kings and queens. Our exhaltation vanished quickly, for we soon learned that many chores had to be performed. They included selling refreshments, picking up paper in the ball park, and cleaning up the cafeteria after dances. A new club was founded by the white man to train us to become teachers. The Future Teachers of America was charted to provide us with this needed training. Now for the first time we became actors in our class play. We produced The Ghost House, and it proved a successful venture. We were possessed of vivid imaginations, we dreamed of the future. We used our imagination when we prepared the theme for our annual junior-Senior banquet. We used the large colonial mansion with colored servants providing the entertainment and food. We named our banquet Colonial Days. We were well pleased with the results of our imagination, but after that 'night of nights' we were ready to return to reality and wait and ponder the future. At last we were Seniors. We would receive a diploma from the white man as a token of our work in his school. We would achieve our life-long desire. We would graduate. Because we were Seniors and because we had been good Indians, we were granted the privilege of visiting New York City. We were awe-struck at the sights we saw. We gained much experience, education, and happiness as a result of our tour of the world's largest metropolis. Now we could have rings, so we chose our green stone settings. Some of us decided to purchase class pins. We voted on the kind and style of calling cards, as well as our official invitations. During our Senior year we made a book. This book was our annual, the Skewarkee. Those meetings of the staff were filled with work, joy, laughs, music, refreshments, and gossip, with the accent on work. We hoped our efforts would result in a success. To make our Senior Year perfect we were given a brand new gymnasium. How beautiful and roomy! During our first game the floors were slippery. It was said we played horizontal basketball, nevertheless, we won. We finished the last year of the white man's school. Our tribe had decreased in number but had increased in knowledge, strength, stature, and ability. We were glad that we had been given this opportunity. We appreciated the efforts of our faculty to educate us, their patience with us, and their understanding of our problems. Our principal had done well by us when he planned our course of study. He had given us sub- jects which would better prepare us for life in the future. It was with heart-felt emotion that we thanked all who were responsible for our final victory-graduation. Our history is one of sincerity and love. Our twelve years together have been fruitful. We shall never for- get our trials and struggles during the best of all years-school days. We have embraced the white man's cul- tureg his God has become our God, and through Him we have gained wisdom, strength, tolerance, and courage. Through His power we know that our tribe will be forever united.

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