BHS 100 YEARS COMBO

2 - Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Ellen PriestPresident & Publisher

Chris ZoellerRegional Advertising Director

Cheryl CargillBusiness Manager

Contributing WritersJan Holloway & Ashley Randall

Advertising StaffRebecca Bell

Ann MackLaura Patterson

Graphic DesignKrena Lanham

Special thanks to Berkeley High School staff,Principal Steven Steele and Tookie Harrop.

Berkeley High School 100 Year Anniversary is a special publication of Berkeley High School and the Berkeley Independent. Berkeley Independent

publishes Wednesdays and online at BerkeleyInd.com.

History of Principals1912: Annie Hare McCants: Berkeley School1920: Rev. Harleston: Dixie Training1921: Richard Allen Ready: Dixie Training1922: M.R. Mahaffy: BHS1924: E.W. Rentz: BHS principal/superintendent1925: J.R. Miller: BHS1926: T.R. Collier:BHS1927: W.M. Bonner: BHS principal/superintendent 1939: J.B. Bradley: BHS 1952: S. S. Wigfall: Berkeley Training1954: Mr. Frank Gadsden: Berkeley Training1955: Mr. Joseph H. Jefferson: Berkeley Training1965: R. A. Berry: BHS1966: Clark Simpkins: BHS 1970: Bill Bonds: BHS1973: Frank Modica: BHS1979: Charles Hill: BHS 1993: Ben Hodges: BHS2007: Kim McLaren: BHS2012: Steven Steele: BHS

406 West Main StreetMoncks Corner, SC 29461

(843) 899-8810

323-B East Main StreetMoncks Corner, SC 29461

(843) 761-6397

What a great year to be a Stag at Berkeley High School and

celebrate our first 100 years of education in Moncks Corner!

The first hundred years have set the bar high for our faculty,

staff, and students in regards to high quality education and high

quality extracurricular activities. The next hundred years should

be a time when we hold on to our tradition of excellence and

reach even higher in all areas.

Without a doubt, Berkeley High School is a great school in a

great community that supports the school in all of its endeavors.

Without this great community support, we would not have our

great traditions.

Thank you to all who have served Berkeley well, and to those

who will come to help carry the torch of success for the hundred

years.

Steven SteelePrincipal

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - 3

By Ashley Randall

T he first entirely county supported public school in Moncks Corner was established on the south side of Main

Street in 1912. Prior to this only those whocould afford it received private education inPinopolis.The school had one teacher, Mrs. Annie Hare

McCants, and 11 students. McCants receivedher education from private tutors and latergraduated from Limestone College in Gaffney,SC. A 1949 article from The Stag Newspaperstates “though Mrs. McCants was the onlyteacher, there was still a showing of progresswith more students enrolling each year.”Because of the growing enrollment a two-

room school was built and an additionalteacher, Ms. Kate Edens, was hired.About 1916, a brick building with two class-

rooms was erected near the current intersec-tion of Highway 17-A and Main Street. Bothelementary and high schools were locatedthere. The Class of 1922 was the first to grad-uate from the school. Some sources say 1922was the same year Berkeley High Schoolreceived accreditation, while others say theschool was not accredited until 1926.To accommodate a growing student popula-

tion, the building was enlarged twice andeventually contained 17 classrooms, an officeand a library. In 1925 a separate auditoriumwas built next to the school and remained untilit was torn down in 1964. Mrs. McCants wasnamed principal and remained in that positionuntil she retired in 1945. While the student population continued to

outgrow its current building a new two-storybrick structure was completed in 1929. It was January 1930 when the school was

officially ready for use. W.M. Bonner ofMcClellanville was superintendent of the con-solidated school districts. His son Walter Bonner recalls living with his

family in the downstairs of the girls’ dormito-ry. “The high school was really the place tobe,” said Bonner. “The auditorium served as amovie theater and place for community andathletic events.”Walter Bonner left Berkeley High School in

1948 and went on to pursue a degree atErskine College.Bonner’s older brother Henry was a World

War II veteran and returned after the war as ateacher. He worked his way through the ranksand eventually became county superintendentduring the time of integration. “The funny thing is that for the last 2-3 years

of my father’s career as district superintendentof Moncks Corner, my older brother Henrywas actually his boss.” Said Bonner.From 1920-1949 many students lived in dor-

mitories. The population of the county wassparse and rural with limited transportationroutes so the option of free room & boardallowed students to reside in the dorms duringthe week and return home on the weekends.History records show that a total of 1,050pupils were enrolled for the 1949-1950 ses-sion.The student population continued to outgrow

the building and construction began on anoth-er campus at 406 West Main Street in 1955.Though it was built in phases and first onlyhoused 7th and 8th grades, the first class tograduate from this building was in 1958. Thebuilding continued to educate grades 7-12until a junior high school was built in 1963.In the fall of 1969 Berkeley Training High

School lost part its student body when the construction of Goose Creek High School wascompleted. However, as a result of Brown v.The Board of Education, the student body ofBerkeley Training High School was integratedwith the student body of Berkeley High in1970.After more building shifting and the opening

of Stratford High School in 1982, constructionbegan on a new Berkeley High School in2001. The class of 2004 was the first to gradu-ate from the new and current facility.As Berkeley High School celebrates it’s

100th anniversary, there are 1,386 studentsenrolled. Students, faculty, alumni and thecommunity look forward to the special pro-gramming that will take place throughout theyear in celebration. “What captures theessence of Berkeley High School today is thethird and fourth generation students,” said cur-rent Principal Steele. “They have as much loveand pride in their school as the family thatcame before them.”

The History of Berkeley High SchoolJerry Jones and Mary Jolly picturedin front of campus in the early 40’s.


By Ashley Randall

For more than 20 years, the original Berkeley High School offered room and board to its students.

Because transportation was a problem formany families in the area, students couldstay in dormitories from Monday untilFriday free of charge, and then return homeon the weekends. A few students howeverlived a far enough distance away that theystayed in the dormitories all the time. At thetime the dormitories were established, therewas only one paved road in BerkeleyCounty, Highway 52. Any high schoolpupil in the area not already served by ahigh school was eligible to stay in thedorms. A girls’ dormitory was built in 1921and a boys’ dormitory in 1922. The superintendent and his family were

house parents for the girls’ dorm. Therewere about 30-35 girls who resided in thedorms. The principal and his family werehouse parents for the boys’ dorm. The dormi-tories remained in use until 1949.In between the two 2-storied wooden build-

ings, was a Mess hall with rooms for eightgirls upstairs and for a Matron who also

worked as the housekeeper. Both boys andgirls dined together in the Mess Hall. Two ser-vants prepared their food.“I remember eating salmon patties and grits

for breakfast just about every morning,” saidJosie Worsham Smoak, who lived in the dor-mitories for five years. “On rare occasion wewere served sausage patties.”

The students were responsible for theupkeep of their own rooms, but the Matroninspected their rooms daily. “We slept withfour girls to a room and each had our owncot,” said Smoak. “Our only source of heatwas a small coal stove and we had to makethe fires ourselves.”According to a history of the school, girls

were also required to help in the Mess hall.They were divided into groups and assigneddays to help. Their chores consisted ofsweeping, setting tables and washing dish-es. The boys’ only responsibility was to spe-cialize in athletics. Depending on the sea-son, they played football, basketball, andbaseball.As more roads were paved and two addi-

tional high schools were built in the county,there was no longer a need for dormitories.They were closed in 1949 and the buildings

were used for additional classrooms and activ-ities. The wooden buildings were finally torndown in 1957 to make room for a new wingfor an elementary school. A new high schoolwas built several blocks away.

Charles Mizzell, Lorraine Cox, Josie Worsham, Letha Worsham, Richard Johnson, George Morris and Mary Bell McClain in front of the dormitories. The dormitories opened in 1921 and closed in 1949.

Berkeley High School Dormitories


1910s1912:1 First school opens on Main St. with

Annie Hare McCants as principal 1916: Brick building with two classrooms

constructed just east of present dayalternative school

1918: Dixie Training School was built atthe cost of $6,700 with communityhelp. Men were asked to donate “adollar or a day.”

1920s1920: Dixie Training, a four room wooden

structure was opened. It was sup-ported by Julius Rosenwald. Firstprincipal was Rev. Harleston

1921:2 Professor Richard Allen Readybecame principal. First dormitoriesbuilt at BHS. R. A. Ready namedprincipal at Dixie

1922: Second dormitory added as boys’dorm. McCants remains elementaryschool principal & M.R. Mahaffynamed high school principal/super-intendent

1922: BHS first graduating class1924: E.W. Rentz named superintend-

ent/principal. First Graduate fromDixie School

1925: J.R. Miller named high school prin-cipal. Auditorium seating 800 builton Main Street Campus

1926: T.R. Collier named BHS principal. 1927: W.M. Bonner named high school

principal/superintendent1929:3 Separate high school building

established for BHS

1930s1930: Dixie Training High School was

renamed to Berkeley Training HighSchool

1930: First Basketball teams establishedand coached by Frank Gadsden @BTHS

1938: Beta Club established at BHS1939: J.B. Bradley named principal of BHS1939: First yearbook, Drama Club, FFA &

Glee Club started at BHS

1940s1940: Forensics Team & JV football estab-

lished 1941:4 Stag Line newspaper & Baseball

team began1942: First band organized at BHS, 4-H

club introduced on campus, Span-ish Club began

1945: Football team wins district champi-

onship. Girls’ Basketball winsDistrict 7 Championship for firsttime at BHS

1946: First newspaper at BTHS. Girls’ Bas-ketball repeats District 7 champi-onship win at BHS. Cheerleadersfirst appear in annual

1946: First alma mater written by RichardA. Ready for BTHS

1948: David Casey and Joe Kay are thefirst boys sent from BHS to Boys’State. Vera Wyndham and BettyHutchinson are the first girls sentfrom BHS to Girls’ State

1949: Dormitories closed at BHS. Firstclass required to attend for 12 yearsto receive a diploma. StudentCouncil started at BHS

1950s1950: First yearbook at BTHS. Football

Team District 7 Champs at BHS.Boys’ Basketball District 7 Champsat BHS

1951: First Queen of Hearts Contest atBHS

1952: Mr. S. S. Wigfall principal of BTHS.State provided school busses forBTHS. First football team at BTHS

1954: Mr. Frank Gadsden principal of BTHS

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1955:5 BTHS new construction completed.The older building housed R. A.Ready Elementary School. An his-torical marker stands where the oldschool stood. Cherry Hill (1876-1955) school closed. Students weresent to R. A. Ready. Other feederschools that closed wereCordesville, Oakley and Whitesville.Mr. Joseph H. Jefferson principal ofBTHS. Last class to graduate fromthe old building of BTHS

1956: First class to graduate from the newBTHS building

1957: First marching band at BTHS. Lastclass to graduate from the old cam-pus of BHS. Boys’Track team organ-ized at BHS. Mile Relay team brokethe state record.

1958: Boys Football Team at BTHS wonthe AA state championship forDistrict 6

1960s1960: BHS Football State Champs1960-61: Foreign language offered for first

time at BTHS via ETV. 1963-1964: Girls and Boys basketball

teams won Class AA state champi-onship under Coach Watson and

Coach Anderson at BTHS.1964: Berkeley Junior High building com-

pleted & T.E. Johnston named prin-cipal

1965: Felder Cook principal of BerkeleyJunior High. R. A. Berry principal ofBHS

1965: Token integration begins at BHS.Girls Basketball team won the StateChampionship under Coach Ander-son at BTHS.

1966: First African-Americans graduatedfrom BHS. Clark Simpkins namedprincipal of BHS

1967: Bill Bonds named principal ofBerkeley Junior High

1969: Last year for Goose Creek studentsto attend BHS

1970s1970: Bill Bonds principal of BHS. Berkeley

Jr. High renamed to Berkeley Mid-dle with Billy Caddell as principal.Rev. Joseph E. Myers, Jr principal ofBerkeley Middle Annex (6th grade).BTHS and BHS consolidate.

1971: ROTC begins. National Honor Soci-ety introduced

1973: Frank Modica principal of BHS1974:6 Girls Tennis team begins. Flag team

added to band1978: Volleyball started for girls. Cross

Country introduced1979: Charles Hill principal of BHS

1980s1981: Football state champs 1982: Part of Berkeley students

reassigned to Stratford.

1990s1993: Ben Hodges principal of BHS1994: Football State Champs1996: Football State Champs

2000s2003: New BHS is open2006: Historical marker placed at original

site of BTHS by Class of ‘53 & ‘562007: Kim McLaren principal of BHS2009: Football state champs2009: Part of Berkeley students -

reassigned to Cane Bay

2010s2011: Historical marker placed at BTHS by

alumni association2012: Steven Steele principal of BHS

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1. Football programs from the 1950s

2. An article printed in The Berkeley

Democrat of the 1981 Division

1-AAA State Football Champi-

onship Stags team

3. BHS girls basketball team,

1974-19754. Berkeley Training School

Basketball Team, 1948-1949


Berkeley Training School, 1920-1955

Memories of Berkeley TrainingHigh School Come Full Circle

By Jan Holloway

What started off as a small schoolturned into a much larger visionthat would impact the lives of many

children. Soon, many took interest, andbecame involved in the growth and improve-ments of what became Berkeley Training HighSchool.The Dixie/Berkeley Training School, the first

public school for blacks in Moncks Corner,began in 1889. Its first term was a mere threemonths long, taught by a woman named Mrs.Foster in a local church. Construction of what would be named Dixie

Training School began in 1918, and was com-pleted in 1920. Many residents of MoncksCorner rallied around the project, donatingtheir time and money to support the newschool. It caught the attention of those livingfarther away as well, and people traveled tothe area to help in building the new location. The first principal was a Methodist minister,

Reverend Harleston. Teachers were LaurlineHeyward and Belle Frost. In September of1920, Professor Richard Allen Ready waselected principal, who served in the positionfor 32 years. During Ready’s tenure, the DixieTraining School was renamed in the 1930’s toBerkeley Training High School. Ready was succeeded by Switzon S. Wigfall,

Sr. in 1952 and then followed by Frank E.Gadsden, Sr. in 1954. Gadsden served as prin-cipal for the final year of the school’s opera-tion in that building in 1955. Berkeley Training High School moved to a

new building on Hwy. 17A. With the newlocation came another new principal, JosephH. Jefferson, Sr. who remained in the positionuntil the school integrated with Berkeley HighSchool in 1970.Joe Sanders, currently the president of the

BTHS Alumni Group, attended the schoolfrom 1946-1958. Sanders recalls many memo-

ries of his time at the school, including histime as a school bus driver there.“Most of the bus drivers were students at the

school,” said Sanders. “They began driving atthe age of 16, and were paid a monthly salaryof $35 for driving the route every day.” One of the fondest memories Sanders has is

of his mentor, Addie May Wilds Rivers, whowas with the school from approximately 1950-1970. She mentored many students, guidingthem as they approached graduation, and intocollege and career paths. Sanders recalls an article Rivers gave him

called, “Is Your English Holding You Back?”He kept that article in his wallet for manyyears, but eventually lost track of it at somepoint. As he maintained contact with Rivers,years later during a visit, she asked him if heremembered it.“All of the teachers and mentors at the

Berkeley Training School really cared aboutthe students. That’s what made a difference inour lives,” said Mr. Sanders. “People like Mrs.Rivers kept me ‘on track’ so to speak.”Richard Dixon, of Allstate Insurance in

Moncks Corner, was a member of the lastgraduating class from Berkeley Training HighSchool in 1970. Their class motto for that yearwas “Knowledge conquers all things, forknowledge is power.” Dixon remembers the principal Joseph H.

Jefferson, Sr. being particularly influential inhis decision to continue his education in col-lege.“He had a way with words,” said Dixon. “He

would challenge students by using big words,and when asked what the word meant, hewould say ‘Go to the dictionary.’“Jefferson instilled the dream in us that we

could do anything. He encouraged us to go tocollege, and then come back to the communityand make a difference,” Dixon recalls. “Thus,it comes full circle.”


1. Senior Trip to WashingtonDC, 1952

2 Senior Trip to WashingtonDC, 1960

3. Senior Trip to WashingtonDC, 1961

4. Class of 19445. Block B Club, 19536 Berkeley Training High

School Choir7 Once Stag, always a Stag.

Class of 1952 reunites

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100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Wednesday, September 26, 2012: 8 PM there will be a re-broadcast ofthe first assembly program on Berkeley Cable channel 6 featuring ShawanGillians (2000) and Benji Motte (1982)Friday, September 28, 2012: Homecoming GameFriday, October 5: BHS Alumni Band Night at BHS v. HHS football gameFriday, October 12: Assembly with Dr. Carla West Roberts (1988) and Julia Richardson Wright (1963) (Block 4)Monday, November 12: Assembly with Reverend Willie Hill (1969) Julia Wright and Tanya Trescott Harper (1969) (Block 1)Monday, January 14, 2013: Assembly with Dr. Beth Fleming Barnes (1991)and Tootsie Dennis Kline (1958) (Block 2)Monday, February 4: Assembly with Martha Berry (1977) and Dr. KeironKennedy(1997) (Block 4)Monday, March 4: Assembly with Ryan (1991) & Doug Stewart (1988) andBennett Whitlock(1944) (Block 4)Monday, April 22: Assembly with Markley Dennis (1966) and Dr. OrsonRavenel (1982) (Block 1)Monday, May 6: Assembly with Bruce Ellington (2010) and Usha Gilmore(1996) (Block 2)Saturday, May 11, 3 PM – Final Celebration on the BHS front lawn

To watch Assembly programs, visit the District Home Page - > Departments - > Office of Technology- > BCSD Live Video Feeds.

Assembly programs will also be rebroadcast onChannel 6 of Berkeley Cable.

Due to limited space, the auditorium will be reserved for students and the featured alumni and their guests.The public is invited to join in our celebration via livebroadcast on the internet. For more information aboutupcoming events, contact Tookie Harrop at 843-899-8814or email [email protected]


1. Watson Mims, Sally DreherRogers, Elaine Rogers Horsandand Joanne King Bryant

2. Patty and Ben Fleming3. Ethalee Gethers Davis and Brenda

Stewart4. Elliott Bishop West, Former

principal R. A. Berry, wife Ellenand Raddy Bates

5. Sharon Fashion, Rebecca Cooper,Yvonne Cooper Carter

6. Thomas Brittle, George Brittle andPete Grady Johnston

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BERKELEY HIGH TURNS 100!The staff and alumni of Berkeley High School recently kicked off their 100-year anniversary celebration with a special program.

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Documents

BHS 100 YEARS COMBO