Ponchatolua Colored School Class of 1946 Remembers the Past (Reprint The Drum Newspaper)

May 11, 2002 was the 55th class reunion for Ponchatoula Colored School (Rosenwald Elementary School & Perrin Jr. High School) class of 1947. In a reunion, the Ponchatoula Colored School students discussed the events of the past and the experiences they had there. 

The school was established in the 1900. The school was housed in Tasker Chapel AME. New Zion Baptist was used as a school. A organization called the Brotherhood Hall.also held school in their hall according to The Drum Newspaper  publisher. Eddie Ponds,  Some people held schools in their homes 

As time passed, the need for a larger facility to educate black students was necessary. Several black community leader knock on the doors to collect money to purchased land for J. R. Abel. After acquiring the land the Rothbum and William Lumber Company and Rosenwald donated materials, and labor to build the new school. The building was completer in 192l. The black children continued their education in the new four-room Rosenwald. 

Ponchatoula Colored School was located on the same site as Perrin Early Learning Center. Black and white students were not allowed to meet after school during that time of segregation, unless there was a fight happening. 

Our school has always been patriotic under Professor Reeves. Every time he rang the bell, each class marched to class in line. Upon entering the classroom, we prayed, sang "My Country Tis of Thee" as told by Mrs. Ella Ash Badon, and recited the 23 Psalms. 

Several students picked up chips and started a fire. In one classroom, there were 56 children. As cold as it was, we gathered around the old wood heater to warm up the room. "During that time, the community was involved in raising the children," said Mrs. Badon. 

They were sisters, Mrs. Ella Ash Badon and Mrs. Ruby Ash. Both of them were teachers. The love that teachers have for their students is evident from Mrs. Ruby Ashe's perspective. My students wouldn't leave my class when I taught first grade, said Mrs. Ruby Ashe. When it was time for the first graders to be promoted to 2nd grade, they would cry on their way to their new class room she said.

Professor David Charles Reeves
Photo Credit: Gwen Carter

From the janitor to the principal, everyone cared about the children. Preston Kenny's dedication to children was admired. He made benches from apple boxes for the cafeteria and classrooms by hand. Quite a jolly man he was. He worked as a barber after school. 

Professor Reeves was a peacekeeper. He negotiated a plan with the white principal Tangiphaoa Parish School Board asking that the white students be dismissed before the black students. This was to avoid afterschool fights between the black and white students.  Professor Reeves started his principalship in 1928.

Former students noted that black students started school in July and were dismissed in March to pick strawberries. Those were hard times, and some people talked about walking a long way to school. The black student had hand me down books from the white schools during the hard times in the 1940s. However, that didn't stop black students from studying hardand succeeding. 

As Norma Watkins Stallworth recalls, "I remember marching to class, keeping time, and collecting wood to start a fire if it was cold." Reeves often walked the community collecting money for the March of Dimes she also noted. Professor Reeves was highly regarded by Ethel Cooper Porter. When he rang the bells for classes, he had a mysterious way of grabbing everyone's attention. The bell seemed to talk to you because you understood what it meant. Reeves was fair in all his dealings with people. He was an outstanding educator.

"There were many hard times. I picked up many buckets of coal to keep the room warm," Mildred Elliot Richardson said. In one room, Professor Reeves taught two classes. Rattan was his favorite switch to keep us in line, especially the boys. In home economics class, I learned how to sew and made all the clothes for my children. Reeves demanded and accepted on the best his students had to offer. He went to the homes and asked the parents to send their children to school to get an education. Under Professor Reeves' leadership and administration, the school continued to grow. A junior high school was established in 1951 at Perrin. Professor Reeves dedicated his life to improving his students' academic, vocational, and civic education. In order to accomplish this, he increased the number of subjects, teachers, and facilities.

During his tenure we went from four-room elementary school with five teachers to an eighteen-room elementary school and Junior High School with seventeen teachers. A well-equipped woodworking shop offered students pportunity to study woodworking, and a home economics department provided them with the opportunity to study homemaking. In the auditorium and gymnasium, students could hold assemblies and participate in athletics. 

During the 1940s, every young man worked and did not miss a day of school or sleep in class since he needed the education and money to buy clothes. A student named Joe Brumfield worked at Carruth Drug Store.  The black students had to make the transition from Ponchatoula to Hammond to finish high school. Mrs. Dorothy Andrews, a teacher, used to write on the chalkboard with her left hand and erase with her right hand as soon as she finished writing. Two of Ponchatoula most admired, and loved teachers Mrs. Ruby Ash Loves and her sister Mrs. Ella Ash Badon. 

Fifty-four years ago, in 1947, we proudly accepted out grade diplomas from Professor Reeves. Long before the Army's slogan "be all that you can be" or the United Negro College Fund slogan " a mind can be a terrible thing to waste" Professor Reeves reminded us daily that we could be anything we wanted to be, and he did not allow us to waste our minds. We appreciate him being a model educator for his teachers and students. They gave us the best they had to offer. He demonstrated that teaching is a twenty-four hour creative profession, which provide students with the desire to learn and motivate them to be their best. 

"Professor Reeves taught us to be proud and not just to be good, but stride to be better. Reeves realized long before it was a popular saying," it take a community to raise a child." He worked hard to get the. parents and community to become involved in the education of the students.

The class reunion attendees honored him and their former teachers by remembering and recognizing the solid foundation they bestowed upon them. 

Written and Published by Eddie Ponds, Editor and Publisher of The Drum Newspaper

Reprinted by Nurturing Our Roots