|
Preserving the Past
Published October 21, 2009
It’s been close to 70 years since first cousins Leroy Diggs of East Columbia and Tenola Franklin of West Columbia first climbed the steps of the Columbia Rosenwald School.
“We used to race up those steps,” Diggs remembered. “When you got to the top of that porch up there, you were a good 6’4” off the ground.”
Though they don’t do much racing up stairs anymore, Franklin and Diggs are glad to see their old school getting new life.
The Columbia Rosenwald School was built in 1921 to serve African-American children in and around East Columbia. In the 1940s, the Green Hill African- American School consolidated with the Columbia Rosenwald School, and then in 1948, Columbia Rosenwald closed and students were moved to the Charlie Brown School in West Columbia. Until about five years ago, the school had been in use as a haybarn. Now, it’s been moved, set on a new foundation, restored and is to be used as a children’s museum. The school will be dedicated Saturday afternoon, after a morning full of music and games from the 1920s.
Games are something Diggs remembers fondly from his school days. He started at Columbia Rosenwald School in 1938, when he was about 7 years old.
“When it was wet, the girls couldn’t play, but the boys could play under the building,” he said. The school stood in a low spot, and was built high to keep it from flooding.
When the students needed new play equipment, the teacher was resourceful.
“There were a lot of pecan trees around the school,” Diggs said. “The teacher would have us pick up pecans and she sold them and bought us a baseball and bats and gloves. Then we could play baseball.” She also got her students a basketball that way, he said.
Franklin started at Columbia Rosenwald School in 1941, after it was consolidated with Green Hill.
“I was in third grade. I guess I was about 9 or 10,” Franklin said. “We had prayer in school, every morning. When we got to school, we played for a little while, and then school was taken in and we had our devotions, and then class work.”
She and Diggs both remember getting up early and walking several miles to and from school. But they didn’t mind it.
“They were some happy days,” Diggs said.
“My favorite subject was English,” Franklin said. “The teachers I was under were just perfect.”
Diggs’ favorite subject was mathematics, once he learned his multiplication tables.
“That’s what flunked me, was mathematics,” he said. He hid the fact that he didn’t know them for a long time, but when his teacher found out, she sent a note home to his parents — by one of Diggs’ sisters.
“My older sister was good at mathematics. She was just an A student in everything,” he said. “That night, she took me and we went over and over and over those things. The next morning, I knew my times tables from 1 to 12. That’s where I started gaining. My best subject was mathematics. My son took after me with that.”
There were times when Diggs wasn’t able to go to school because his parents pulled him out for work.
“I really did enjoy school. I just didn’t get enough of it,” he said. “In those days, if somebody wanted you to work, they’d take you out of school and send you off to the job. There wasn’t anything you could do but go. It messed up my school. I flunked in two grades on account of me being out so much. That’s one reason I dropped out.” He stayed in school till he was about 16.
Though he wasn’t able to finish his education, Diggs wanted to make sure his future family would.
“I said when I got married and got kids, I was going to guarantee them a high school education,” Diggs said. “It happened, too. I have four kids and they all got a high school education and then went to college.”
Family was part of the reason Franklin got involved with fundraising for the school’s restoration.
“I have children and great-grandchildren, and they are really interested in seeing me work with the school further,” she said.
Today, thanks to the efforts of alumni, the Columbia Historical Museum, many grants and many volunteers, a person wouldn’t guess the Columbia Rosenwald School was ever a hay barn. The dark wood floors inside are in good shape, and the place smells pleasantly of new construction — lumber and paint.
“It’s beautiful,” Diggs said. “It looks like a different school from the inside. From the outside, it looks the same, except it’s not sitting up as high.”
Franklin said seeing the school restored and ready to be used for education again is wonderful.
“It means a lot,” she said. “That was the beginning of our life. What I got out of it has carried me a long way.”
SCHOOL DAY SATURDAY
The dedication and grand opening of the Columbia Rosenwald School will start at 9 a.m. Saturday. From 9 a.m. till 1 p.m., tours of the museum and school will be given. From 10 a.m. till noon, there will be Gospel music and songs from the 1920s and children’s games from the early 1900s. From noon to 1:30 p.m., hot dogs will be served. The dedication program starts at 2 p.m. The Columbia Rosenwald School is at 247 E. Brazos in West Columbia. Call 979-345-6125 or 979-345-3123.
Mary Openshaw is a features writer for The Facts. Contact her at 979-237-0155.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print
|
|
|
 |
|
Click for all
Top Ads listing
|
