Remembering an iconic treasure – Drakesboro Community High School

All that’s left is a head stone and a sign that reads, “Drakesboro Community High School, Grades 1-12, 1930-1964”. The stone sits inside a fenced plot, much like a plot in an old Western cemetery.

Just as any other headstone, it marks the final resting place of something that once was alive and flourishing. Also, as with any other headstone, it gives a beginning and an end date.

What we have all come to realize over the years is that it’s not the birth date or the death date, it’s the dash. That little line between the start and finish dates. The dash is what tells the real story. The history of the dead is in the dash.

(Leader-News photo/David Grant)

The dash for DCHS is the story of a segregated high school in Muhlenberg County. The story of pride and school spirit, from 1930 to 1964.

The school graduated 417 young men and women, some of whom went on to achieve great things in life. They became college grads, teachers, military personnel, principals, coaches, amazing collegiate athletes and community development leaders as far away as Chicago. It produced nurses, cosmetologists and amazing mothers and fathers.

This success was a feat. The textbooks were tattered and some desks were broken, throwaways from the school across town. Still, the school thrived.

The educators mended the books and repaired the desks. To name a few, they were Ms. Carrie Harris, Mrs. Leslie Shively Smith, Mrs. Dorothy Martin, Mr. William Traylor - who later became principal - and then principal Mr. H.C. Mathis and wife Eloise Mathis. What was missing from the literature was filled in with the knowledge of the instructor, and learning went on.

In 1962, a skinny, bald-headed little boy took his first steps into the hallowed halls of what would become his first introduction to education, and the importance of it. That little boy was me. My first grade teacher was Ms. Meacie Dukes. She taught first and second grade, due to the lack of teachers.

DCHS is where I first learned to read and write, to add and subtract. I was lucky enough to get one more year at the school. My second grade teacher was Mrs. Dorothy Bibbs. This was where I was taught to think and express my thoughts. Those early formative years helped to shape me and create the free thinking individual I am today.

All this took place while the country was moving forward. Much of the nation had already began the transformation to integrated schools. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. The Little Rock Nine had already paved the way and established their place in the history books, yet it took nearly a decade before the ruling was put into place in Drakesboro. Meanwhile, learning at DCHS continued and the dash remained strong.

In 1962, the transformation in Muhlenberg County began. By 1964, the transition was complete and it was officially the end of an era. The dash was complete and the end date was set.

Those who attended school there still remember the grand times once had at the Drakesboro Community High School. They have passed the stories down to their children to carry on as well.

There were ups and downs, trials and tribulations but all things considered, it was a magnificent life that spanned only 34 years. A short life, in the big scheme of things. But as with any life, the story is not about the birth date or the death date. The true story lies between those dates. The true story is in the dash.

In 2008, a “Legacy of Legends” wall was created to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Class of 1958. The wall was created by Sonja O. Smith and another former graduate of the school, Helena Bomer, at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Central City. Otis Cunningham, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, was gracious enough to allow the wall to be placed in the social area of the church for viewing.

In 2015, the “Legacy of Legends” wall was expanded to include professions of the children of the 417 graduates of DCHS, under the title, “Look How Far We’ve Come”.

In honor of Black History Month, this writer finds it fitting to acknowledge this fine institution and the many contributions the school and its graduates, and their children, have made to this community and beyond.

The “Legacy of Legends” wall can be viewed at Ebenezer Baptist Church by appointment. Contact Pastor Otis Cunningham at 270-754-5350 or Helena Rhodes Bomer at 270-754-4680.

My Country Education

My country education, creates a new revelation. Legible penmanship was taught, All while I was learning 0-0 = naught. Books and equipment were decades behind, These conditions forced us to use our entire minds. No TVs, movies once a week, No bad influences kept us meek. A four-room high school taught us well, Prepared us as leaders, to help blaze the trail. The Lord’s Prayer was part of our daily ritual, It shaped our lives and made us spiritual. We listened, learned and admired our teachers, who struggled so hard, just trying to reach us. We became professionals, parents, preachers and teachers, The school’s effort was not in vain... they did reach us. Indelible marks we’ll leave behind, Hoping we’ve challenged today’s youth minds. Yes, it took a village to raise us to be smart, Our morals and learning all came from the heart.