USA > Georgia > Tift County > History of Tift County > Part 19
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In 1933, the Board of Regents asked permission of the General Assem- bly for "power to consolidate, suspend, or discontinue institutions and merge departments." The permission was granted upon the signing of the bill by Governor Talmadge on February 21, 1933.
On April 17, 1933, the Board of Regents announced its consolidation plans, which included the abolishing of many of the State units. The Board directed that the Georgia State College for Men be abolished and that a
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two-year College of Agriculture, to be known as the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, be established in its place. This was somewhat of a shock to the people of Tifton who were justly proud of the four-year col- lege. However, as they had always done, as soon as the objectives of the new college became known, the citizens rallied to its support and have been to a large measure responsible for its success.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College started its first term in Septem- ber 1933. The enrollment for the freshman class that year was 63. The September enrollment 13 years later was 467, including an overflow unit of 150 men students located at Spence Field, Moultrie, Ga.
Dr. J. G. Woodroof was President for the 1933-34 term. He was suc- ceeded by Mr. George H. King, who has been President to the present time, September 1946. In November 1942, Mr. King was also made Di- rector of the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station upon the death of Mr. S. H. Starr, who had been director since the founding of the Sta- tion in 1919. At the time Mr. King assumed double duties, Mr. George P. Donaldson, who had been with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College since its founding and had served for a number of years as Dean of Stu- dents, was made Executive Dean. This is the administrative setup at the present time.
ABRAHAM BALDWIN by E. Pickard Karsten
Abraham Baldwin, for whom Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, of Abac, near Tifton, is named, is also honored by having named for him Baldwin County, whose county seat, Milledgeville, was once the capital of Georgia.
Like Tifton's founder, Henry Harding Tift, Abraham Baldwin was a native of Connecticut. Born in 1754, he graduated from Yale at the age of eighteen and earned the reputation of being one of the best classical and mathematical scholars of his time. For part of the time during the Revolutionary war he was a professor of Yale, and for part of the war period he was a chaplain in the Continental Army.
At the close of the American Revolution Baldwin studied law. Georgia about that time offered inducements to immigrants and Abraham Baldwin came South, arriving at Savannah in 1784 and was immediately admitted as a councillor at the Georgia bar. He established his residence in Colum- bia County and so quickly gained the confidence of his fellows that they elected him to represent them in the legislature.
Possessed of a literary and scientific mind, Baldwin had a high regard for learning and he is credited with being the originator of the plan of
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the University of Georgia, formerly called Franklin College. He drew up its charter and persuaded the legislature to adopt it, and thus was instru- mental in establishing in Georgia the first state university in the United States.
In 1785 Abraham Baldwin went to Washington as a member of Con- gress and thereafter served either in the House or the Senate until his death.
The year after Abraham Baldwin entered congress his father died. Baldwin assumed the care and support of his six orphaned half-brothers and sisters. His father's estate was in debt but he paid off the indebtedness, quit-claimed his share of the inheritance to his brothers and sisters, and educated them, largely at his own expense. He never married.
To the Federal Convention which in 1787 framed the Constitution of the United States, Abraham Baldwin was a delegate from Georgia. He was active in the Convention and to him is credited the influence which resulted in the existence of the United States Senate. Baldwin and William Few were the two Georgia signers of the Constitution.
In 1802 Abraham Baldwin was one of the Georgia commissioners who signed the treaty of session of Georgia's western territory to the United States. That year also he was president pro tempore of the United States Senate from April to December but in 1903 he declined re-election be- cause he preferred the floor to the presiding officer's chair.
Nathaniel Macon in a conversation with Col. Tatnal declared Baldwin's eloquence of a high order and his reasoning powers equal to those of any statesman in Congress.
Of gentle manners but firm character and pure morals, of a high order of mind, well educated and with extraordinary eloquence, Abraham Bald- win was a man of rare personality and lofty attainments.
Faithful to his duties, Baldwin missed but one day from his seat in Congress during twenty-two years. He died suddenly at Washington, March, 1807. By his going a nation was saddened.
TIFT COUNTY INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL by Mrs. N. Peterson
Prof. E. O. Bynes, Principal
In writing of the growth of the Tift County Industrial School, I should give credit where credit is due. I shall begin with a bred and born colored boy by the name of Johnny Wilson, son of Henry and Maria Wilson, who came to Tifton with Capt. H. H. Tift. Henry helped to build the saw mill and worked as a mill hand as long as he lived. Aunt Maria, his mother, is still living in Phillipsburg. She is very old but her
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mind is quite alert, and she can relate many interesting facts concerning the early history of Tifton.
Johnny Wilson received what training he could from the ramshackle negro schools of Tifton. He was ambitious for an education; so he went to Booker T. Washington's School in Alabama ; finishing there he returned to Tifton, fired with a determination to do something for the colored school children.
He taught for several years in the old Unionville School house, located next door to the first old Shiloh Baptist Church. He appeared time and again before both the county and city boards of education pleading for assistance to build a decent school building. He always received a vote of sympathy and a promise to aid financially as soon as they were able.
He was not easily discouraged. He next solicited the aid of his white friends. Mrs. H. H. Tift and Mrs. N. Peterson helped in every way they could. As was Capt. Tift's custom, he donated six acres of land on which the present school building is located.
Johnny's next move was to appoint a group of his young colored friends to begin raising a building fund. This task he accomplished by giving sup- pers, dances, and other public forms of entertainment. It was not long before they had enough to enable them to start on their new building. They tore down the old school house and salvaged all material available for the new structure.
When the public and the county and city boards of education realized his determination to succeed they came to his rescue and donated $900.00 in order to complete the building in time for the opening of the fall term in 1917.
Mrs. Tift and Mrs. Peterson were asked to name the school, but we felt that Johnny Wilson deserved that honor; so he gave it the name of Tift County Industrial School. When he had accomplished his mission, he resigned to accept a better job in the Augusta schools, where he remained until his death.
This wooden two-story building took care of all the negro school children in the Tifton school district for ten or twelve years. With its meager equip- ment and poorly trained teachers the school did not make the progress that it should have made during these years. There are many colored men and women in Tifton who owe their start to one old faithful teacher who mothered the school through all of its trials and tribulations. I am speak- ing of Lucy Mckinnon, who could never qualify for even a third grade certificate. This handicap did not keep her from coming before the board each year to take the examination. The board was finally forced to drop her from their rolls on account of strict laws requiring all teachers to hold higher grade certificates.
Top-The one-room school attended by the beloved Bishop Arthur Moore as a boy.
Center-Omega Consolidated school, typical of the school in each district of the county.
Bottom-The Brookfield Consolidated school, successor to the one attended by Bishop Moore.
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In 1928 the county board of education hired Prof. J. M. Deas from Adel as principal of the school. From that day the school has steadily moved forward. Prof. Deas was not only an educator of note but a splendid execu- tive. He was his own truant officer going out and compelling the parents to send the children to school.
He next began working for a larger and better building. It was not until 1931 that the city and county boards with the Rosenwald aid granted the request to build a new brick building-the cost not to exceed $10,000. The negroes agreed to raise $1,500, the city $1,500, the County $2,500. Rosenwald $4,000 and to furnish same. This left a deficit of $500 which the county finally decided to pay.
Aside from his school duties Prof. Deas did much to raise the standard of living among the negroes of Tifton. He reminded them that as a race they had a duty to perform toward society for making a better community in which to live and rear their families. All Tifton joined with the negroes in their sorrow over the sudden death of a true friend of education and humanity. He laid a firm foundation on which his successors found it easier on which to build.
Prof. Emerson O. Bynes was elected principal of the Tift County In- dustrial School in 1941. He had hardly begun his work when World War II slowed down his activities as it did all other schools in the county. However, with the government aids and other donations from other sources he was able to make progress. In 1941 with Mrs. Hazel Brantley as NYA supervisor and his students doing all of the labor, they were able to complete their vocational building and equip it at the cost of about $4,000.
A large number of his students went into the service of their country, and so far the records prove they rendered valiant service.
During the past three years the school has almost doubled its attendance necessitating enlarging the building. Several of the smaller colored schools in the county were closed and two steel buses were bought to bring their children to Tifton to school. He now has a teaching staff of 23 as against 13 when he took charge. With the assistance of a well organized P-TA he has been able to add $1,200 worth of play-ground equipment to the campus, pay $200 for a new curtain for the stage, pay $1,200 towards buy- ing new chairs for their auditorium; he has $1,000 in the bank for instal- ling new sanitary equipment throughout the buildings. The P-TA serves hot lunches to about 600 pupils daily. They have installed a public address system with a loud speaker. The office is well furnished with the latest cabinets and cases, a typewriting machine, and three mimeograph machines. The library is fairly well equipped.
They have a fine music department, a good glee club of both boys and
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girls. They publish a school paper twice each year. They are fully accredit- ed in the association of high schools.
TIFT COUNTY'S FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
Mr. W. R. Smith 1906-1910
After the establishment of Tift County the Grand Jury met in October and named the following men to constitute the first county board of educa- tion : Mr. Briggs Carson, Mr. J. N. Horn, Mr. G. W. Crum, Mr. P. D. Phillips and Dr. F. B. Pickett. Dr. Pickett is the only surviving member of the original five. He served continuously and most effectively until his services on the draft board of World War II became so heavy that he had to resign from the board of education.
On Nov. 3, 1905, the members of this board having received their com- missions from the state superintendent of education, Mr. W. B. Merritt, met and were duly installed by Col. H. S. Murray. Mr. Briggs Carson was appointed chairman and Mr. J. N. Horn as acting secretary until the election of a county superintendent. The time for the election was set to take place on Dec. 4, 1905 after being advertised for ten days in the Tif- ton Gazette.
Mr. W. R. Smith and Prof. Jason Scarboro announced as candidates for this office. They took the required examination and both qualified. A secret ballot was taken and Mr. Smith was declared the nominee having received three of the five votes cast.
After making satisfactory bond, Mr. Smith was sworn into office and assumed the duties as Tift County's first commissioner of education Jan. I, 1906.
A special meeting of the board of education was called for the purpose of arranging a schedule of teacher salaries. The county had been notified that her apportionment of funds for the year would be $4,619. With his in- formation the following rates were fixed.
White teachers-First grade license $30.00 per mo. for five months White teachers-Second grade license. 25.00 per mo. for five months White teachers-Third grade license_ 20.00 per mo. for five months Colored teachers-First grade license. 25.00 per mo. for five months
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Colored teachers-Second grade license __ 18.00 per mo. for five months Colored teachers-Third grade license ___ 15.00 per mo. for five months
Mr. Smith's salary was fixed at $300.00 per year with no maintenance fund or traveling expense. At that time the state did not put any money into the salary of county superintendents. His work was doubly hard on account of the fact that his home was in Eldorado and he did not own any kind of conveyance. This did not deter him in the least in starting out on foot to accomplish all that had to be done. How he ever covered the county and did the work that was done is almost unbelievable. He tells of one occasion on coming into Tifton late one night after walking all day speaking in interest of local tax and did not have enough money to buy a train ticket to Eldorado; so he climbed the three flights of steps to the courtroom in the Bowen Building and slept on one of the hard wooden benches. The next morning he started on the same mission, speaking at three different schools that day.
Before the opening of the schools in the fall the board voted to raise Mr. Smith's salary to $60.00 per month. He assured them that he was being paid all he was worth as he had to learn by experience how to con- duct the county's educational affairs. He also stated that as long as the school children had to sit on soap boxes instead of comfortable desks, he should not accept any more pay.
The first real work the board, with Mr. Smith's assistance, had to do was to establish the school districts. This work meant that existing lines had to be changed, some new schools established and a few eliminated. This was not only a hard task but one fraught with many misunderstandings, quarrels and hard feelings, which in the end made Mr. Smith so unpopular that he was not only defeated when election time came again, but suffered indignities of which the county should always feel ashamed.
When the work was completed the following school districts were estab- lished : Ansley, Branch Hill, Brighton, Brookfield, Camp Creek, Chula, Eldorado, Emanuel, Excelsior, Fairview, Filyah, Fletcher, Glover, Hard- ing, Hat Creek, Little Creek, Midway, Mt. Zion, Myrtle, Nipper, Oak Ridge, Old Ty Ty, Omega, Pearman, Pine View, Salem, Ty Ty, Vance- ville. There were about a dozen colored schools located in the county.
In 1906 the board of education voted to pay $200.00 on the new artificial stone building being erected at Ty Ty, provided they would agree to wait until the end of the year for the money. They also voted to pay MIr. J. F. Ross $20.00 per month to transport the children in the Ty Ty district to the Ty Ty school in a one-horse wagon. Was this transportation the be- ginning of our fine steel bus system of today? Let's take a little trip back to the Brookfield community. I always enjoyed talking with Mr. E. P. Bowen, Sr., about the school situation as they were when he was a young-
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TIFT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Top row-E. L. Patrick, Omega District, chairman. R. G. Harrell, Tifton district.
Center row-W. D. Doss, Chula District. M. H. Evans, Ty Ty District. Bottom-J. C. Branch, Chula District.
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ster in school. In one of our early conversations he told of years before there was a railroad anywhere in this section of Georgia how his father used to take his wagon and gather up the few children who lived great distances apart and take them to and from a little log school house just a few miles north of the present day thriving Brookfield community. If I should be asked to choose the first bus line this would be my first choice. Out of this frontier determination to acquire knowledge has come the sturdy Bowen line that has been and still is among Tift County's most suc- cessful builders.
In 1907 after seeing the results of having highly trained teachers work in the schools, the board of education ruled that in order to teach in the county, a teacher must hold a first grade certificate, attend normal school, have had three years experience in teaching and must not be addicted to the liquor or tobacco habit.
In February 1908, Mr. Smith asked the board for the privilege of closing all the schools in the county in order that his teachers and pupils might attend the opening of the new Agricultural and Mechanical School and also inspect the first agricultural train to stop in Tifton. Little did we dream at that time that this same little school with only 37 pupils, on open- ing day, would develop into one of the greatest educational institutions not only in Tifton but the entire state. I proudly refer to Abraham Baldwin College.
In March 1908 Ty Ty was the first school in the county to apply to the board for a seven months term. This petition was granted, the board agreeing to pay one-half of the extra months expense.
Mr. Smith worked hard to secure local tax, longer school term, better paid teachers and greater improvement in every respect for the entire school system. When his four years' work was ended he had remodeled every old school building, painted every one white both inside and out and secured as much up to date equipment as possible with the limited funds he had. The school fund had increased from $4,619 to $16,000; 33 teachers in- stead of 21 functioning in 28 white schools.
Much ground had been broken, foundations laid, construction begun but hard tasks still lay ahead for those who were to follow and take over the helm.
The picture represents the entire faculty of Tift County's first school year. When we consider that at that time Georgia had no state salary schedule nor any uniform length of term; that it was almost impossible to find anyone willing to board the teachers, especially the women, we feel that this special group should be hailed as the new county's real pioneer teachers and should receive special commendation for their work.
Mr. Smith moved to St. Marys when he left Tift County and has been actively engaged in all movements for the betterment of Camden County
Miss Maude Burns (Mrs. W. T. Smith, Sr.)
Ladies standing in the back row, left to right, Miss Carrie Fulwood, Miss Florence Hill, First corps of Tift County Teachers (1907) and Tifton Gazette correspondent
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for thirty-five years, having served the county as superintendent of educa- tion for several terms. His health failed a few years ago forcing him to retire. His many friends in Tift County were grieved to hear of his death a few days ago.
TIFT COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION Mr. R. F. Kersey 1911-1916
Mr. Kersey's administration as superintendent of Tift County Educa- tion was not one to be envied. A good many people in the county had not as yet accepted the changes that had been made during the previous adminis- tration. This antagonism combined with other difficulties created a difficult situation for a man of Mr. Kersey's easy-going nature to handle.
The high standard set for teacher qualifications coupled with the fact that it was next to impossible to secure homes for them made the hiring of high-grade teachers almost prohibitive. Employment of local talent be- came necessary. Many of these were young men and women with little or no experience who could not qualify for more than a third grade certificate. Naturally there began a decline in curricular activities.
Mr. Kersey also inherited part of World War I which did not add anything to the morale of the county. The thinking public soon sensed that the educational status of their county had reached a low ebb and that something must be done to relieve the situation.
An educational department had been set up in the original plan of work in the Twentieth Century Library Club; so the members of this organiza- tion volunteered their services whenever or wherever needed. They con- ferred with Mr. Kersey and the members of the board of education and made some suggestions that both seemed to appreciate and promised to co- operate in every plan that would work for the betterment of the county.
One of the first suggestions acted upon was the holding of a teachers' in- stitute at the end of each month. The club women served a free lunch each month. Some of the members assisted in arranging programs for these meetings that were both helpful to the teachers in their work as well as entertaining. In order to vary the monotony of those teachers living away from home the women would entertain them occasionally over the week- end in their homes. This courtesy the teachers appreciated very much.
I remember on one occasion having two young ladies over the week-end. In the course of conversation I asked them how they entertained themselves in the evenings. One, being rather witty said, "On clear nights we put ourselves to sleep by counting the stars through our roof; on nights when it rains we keep busy moving our bed from place to place trying to keep it
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dry." Each of these girls walked three miles each morning in opposite directions to their schools. Can you feature even one of the students doing such a thing at the present time ?
"Adopting a Rural School" became the slogan for our Educational Pro- gram in our club. Two women were assigned to each of the twenty-eight schools. They were told to adopt any method they saw fit to help improve the school and community. Visiting the schools back in those days was almost impossible. Automobiles were very few and the roads so bad that about the only contact was through the teachers and patrons when they would be in town. A great deal of good work was accomplished however. Books were lent to be read to the children. Some small libraries were started in a few of the schools which made provision for taking care of them. I got caught in rather a predicament in the school that had been assigned to me. On one of my visits I told the children if they would make up money and buy a book case I would see that they got enough books to fill it. In less than a week they sent me twenty dollars to buy their book case with the order that the books must accompany it. Maybe I did not have to get busy to carry out my promise. An SOS was sent out to my friends to come to my rescue. I never knew how the news reached a Boston, Massachusetts libra- rian, of whom I had never heard, but to my utter surprise one morning the expressman unloaded a large box on my porch; and on opening it, I found nearly one hundred good books suitable for school children. It did not take me long to get them out to my little school and Camp Creek School was the proud possessor of the first rural library in the county.
Dr. M. L. Brittain was then state superintendent of education for standardizing all schools in the state. Some of the conditions to be met were: all buildings should be in good condition; there were to be no broken window panes; buildings should be well heated; all wells must be covered ; each child should have individual drinking cup; sanitary toilets must be installed ; each school must have at least one or two shelves of books toward a start on a library; and must own a good dictionary. All floors must be oiled to allay the dust ; a square of tin must supplant the old germ laden sand box under the stove; the schools were urged to put up basketball courts or any other playground equipment possible ..
In order to stimulate the schools to quicker action the club women came into the picture again. Some very valuable prizes were offered, including a piano donated by one of the members who had moved away. They assisted the teachers in arranging and holding box suppers to raise funds for much of the equipment they had to buy. They secured nearly all of the books for the library shelves ; donated a number of good pictures for each school room, potted plants for windows; most of the schools were supplied with shades and curtains; cut flowers were always in evidence on the teachers' desks. Seven schools entered the contest for the piano and all worked to-
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