🎶Hail Lincoln High School
Hats off to you.
Ever you'll find us, loyal and true.
Firm and undaunted, ever we'll be.
Hail to the school we love, as we
fight, fight, fight! 🎶
Every Labor Day for many years, local citizens celebrated black life in the Boot Heel of Missouri with food, fun, and fellowship. No matter how far away participants may have traveled or what achievements they acquired, fond memories drew them back home each year. Their school experiences played a big part in any successes, so showing off for former principals and teachers was a highlight of the weekend! It was the greatest form of appreciation one could pay these underpaid mentors! They held special places in our hearts and left an indelible mark on us all.
Activities took place in Wyatt, Charleston, and nearby Sikeston, Missouri. It was a combination class reunion and community social event and a way for those who had moved away to reconnect. During the day families participated in old fashion horse shoe throwing, picnics, and barbecues. But the evenings were reserved for dressing up and dancing! Needless to say, libations of every type flowed freely. It was called The Old Timers Weekend! (click the caption to read a 2006 article from the Sikeston Standard Democrat) Wyatt Old Timers Club
Sadly, there hasn't been an Old Timers celebration for awhile. Interest had begun to wane, even before the Pandemic! Just like our beloved Lincoln school, there is very little to remind us that once we had a vibrant and thriving black culture in our home town. I guess that's why I felt compelled to gather from the dust every little piece I can to share with you. Family, this is where your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents lived, died and forged pathways to where you reside now!
In my previous post, you can see a glimpse of Lincoln school as I remember it. Searching the internet, the local library and newspaper, I'm still hard pressed to find a formal picture of my alma mater. I even contacted SEMO state university in Cape Girardeau. A resource told me about the Charles F. Bowden papers (a former principal of historical relevance). An archivist searched and sent me a picture of a home economics club in front of a building assumed to be Lincoln shown below. They said it was from a 1950 yearbook. This view of the school is unfamiliar and I don't recall the advisor's name so I'm a bit skeptical. The caption reads: Southeast Missouri District New Home Makers of America, Miss Greta E. James, Advisor.
Lincoln has had an eclectic history (the little I'm able to find). It was rumored to have been used as a hospital during war time (which war I'm unsure). A place for refugees during the historic Great 1937 flood, and it was nearly destroyed by fire in 1931. It was also mentioned in a 1963 lawsuit that challenged the Separate but Equal status quo in the area. During the 1970 Urban Renewal project, it was partially razed leaving only the newer gymnasium. It is now the C. F. Bowden community center.
I shared my attempt at research with a former Charleston High School classmate, Shirley Robinson Bryant. She is now a librarian at the Clara Drinkwater Newman Library in Charleston. Shirley has promised to send me every thing she finds regarding Charleston's Black Culture. She was kind enough to supply the following article in my search for Lincoln school history.
[Transcript] Article from Enterprise Courier, July 9, 1931
Headline: LINCOLN SCHOOL GUTTED BY FIRE FRIDAY NIGHT
(Heroic Work of Fire Department saved Building from Being Totally Destroyed)
Fire of an unknown origin almost totally destroyed the Lincoln School building. A two-story brick in the southwest part of the city, Friday about midnight. The damage is estimated at $3,500.00 with $2,500 insurance.
It was the belief of some that the fire may have originated from fireworks which had been thrown through a window though there was no one residing in that immediate community who had noted any shooting of fireworks that evening.
There is no other school building in this district for colored students and it is not considered economy to repair the building, said a member of the board of education. The building was a four-room affair with a hallway both up and down stairs between the rooms. It had been constructed from the material which was used for a Baptist school many years ago on the site upon which stands Eugene Field grammar school.
No plans have yet been made for its repair or the construction of a new building.
It is known that the State and other educational interests are anxious that a good building be located here for educational purposes. Charleston is looked upon with much favor by the State and other interests as a suitable location for colored people and it is understood that each stand willing to appropriate liberally for that purpose.
The opportunity should not be passed up. A prompt meeting of the board of educations would be had. Influential citizens should be called in for consultation. It is less than two months until the next term of school opens. No time should be lost.
[End of transcipt]
Noted in this article was the fact that Lincoln school was built from leftover materials of a Baptist school located on the site of the Eugene Field grammar school. The investigation of the fire was marginal and inconclusive although it was suggested it was arson within the black community. The article does end with an urgent plea to the school board to find a suitable solution for displaced black students as soon as possible. This fire took place during the Jim Crow Era and no one would have entertained the mixing of races, even temporarily for educational purposes.
There was mention of the heroics of the fire department. Like most poor communities we relied heavily on these men in the case of emergency. In 1931, I doubt Charleston had fire hydrants. To be sure if they did, none would have been in the black community. However, we did have was an open sewage ditch (The Grabbo or Grabow Ditch) that ran directly in front of the school, homes and businesses of black residents on Elm Street!
It makes my blood boil, to think of the health hazards this presented for black families, especially children, who like myself used to walk and play in this area! [I recall ruining a good coat one time jumping from one side of the ditch to the other!) Sometime in the 1990s the ditch was covered over by the Mississippi Health Department. A portion of it is located directly across the street from the Bowden Center. Twelve years ago, The Healthy Heart Coalition, advocates for health and wellness in Mississippi County, petitioned to get it paved for use as an exercise area. It is now called Lincoln Trail (a nod to Lincoln school) and is comprised of a 0.2 mile loop that the community can use to walk and jog! A nice grassy picnic area is located nearby.
Lincoln school was never up to par with the white schools in town. The curriculum was geared toward teaching the rudiments of literacy: basic reading, writing, and math. Textbooks were often hand me downs from the white schools. Very few college preparatory courses (chemistry, foreign language, geometry, etc.) were offered. Charleston is a farming community and the powers that be I suppose did not think aspirations rose further than the cotton and soy bean fields many students worked in at the time.
Our teachers were dedicated and very professional. I can't remember any of them dressed in attire other than suits, ties, heels and stockings. They tried hard to supplement our meager education with modern techniques and studies. Many taught us during the school term while working to attain their own college degrees during the summer. A few were not much older than the high school students they taught. (We had more than one teacher-student dating relationship that I recall!)
By the mid 1960s Lincoln had graduated its last senior class. Elementary students were dispersed to Eugene Field, A.D. Simpson, or Mark Twain schools. The remaining ninth graders were transferred to Charleston High School, a white school with a history of graduating only a couple of black students.
This final push for full integration did not come organically but did happen without violence, which was a blessing for the time! I found evidence of this in a law suit filed by a black Charleston resident in 1963. It's an interesting read. (click here to read a briefing of this law suit).
My memories are vivid of my Lincoln school days. I attended there from grades one through nine. I remember each teacher: 1st grade- Ms. Agnes Carmon; 2nd grade - Ms. Ruby Ogden; 3rd grade - Ms. Collier; 4th grade - Ms. Hennings; 5th grade - Ms. Bennett; 6th grade - Ms. Willa Hamilton; 7th grade- Rev. Wilson; and 8th grade - Mr. Fred Gordon. They lived and went to church in my community. They shopped at father, A.J. Harris' store and others lived in the apartments he rented at 206 So. Locust street.
Going home to Charleston is not as meaningful as it once was. Years ago, we could see the ghosts of our black culture icons: We boasted several eateries, Bessie Snow's Cafe, Currin's Creole Cafe, Mr. Chili Kidd's ice cream shop, Haynes cafe and movie theater, Harris grocery store and Renfro store down on Vine Street. I miss the notorious Badland and even the segregated crow's nest we had to crowd into to see movies at the McCutchen theater uptown.
NOW WE DON'T EVEN SEE THE GHOSTS!!
I asked once, what happened to the trophies, yearbooks and other memorabilia. Did they ask the community if they wanted to keep anything before Lincoln was demolished? I was told that for awhile things were stored in the old Russell hotel. But from there, its been a dead end. Wherever you are do what you can to preserve your family and ethnic heritage. They are critical parts of your identity....who you really are, deep inside!
Your Family Griot, Carolyn Harris Betts
