Memories Come Alive In Oriental

Schoolhouse Reunion

By Charlie Hall, Sun Journal Staff

John and Fay Bond peddled their bicycles to the old schoolhouse on Church Street eary one morning this week -- to visit. More than 60 years ago, they walked there each day to attend class.

The two historic brick school buildings, located beside town hall, are now upscale condominiums. But, in the 1930s, the Bonds remember when they were the center for learning and recreation in what was then a small village of fish houses and lumber mills.

The bonds, now in their 80s, will be among former students gathered on June 16, 2007 for a schoolhouse reunion.

She is a town native, born here in 1923, attending elementary and high school, which in those days went only to the 11th grade. John Bond's family moved here from Bertie County in the summer of 1935, and he was a high school graduate in 1940. The two knew each other in school, but didn't begin a serious courtship until after they had graduated, just prior to the start of WWII.

"That age group didn't single date," she said. "We went out in groups. Everybody went together." They finally dated some after school, shortly before he joined the Navy. "We did most of our courting by letters," she said. They started their 62-year marriage just before the end of the war in 1945, the first couple married in the current First Baptist Church building.

From their school days, they remember when the tiny gymnasium was located at the site of the current town hall. She recalled it was a converted utility building, and there were bleachers on just one side of the court. It was a tight fit. "The court was just large enough to play basketball," she said. "But, it was too small to take the ball out. We had to prop our foot on the wall when we took the ball out."

The old gym was later moved to the other end of the block and enlarged. It burned, reportedly in the 1960s.

The Bonds attended many classes that had combined grades. Assembly was held in the second-floor auditorium in the elementary school. And, there were outside toilets. There was no cafeteria during her school days, so she walked home for lunch each day. "Those that came on the bus brought their lunch," she said.

The principal was T.J. Collier who also taught French. "He was very strict, but he was a good teacher and a good principal," she said.

Discipline was not a problem, but there was detention hall for misbehaving, albeit a different criteria than today. She recalls the senior class being sent to detention for eating Black Cow suckers, a chocolate and caramel hard candy. For the record, she was not in that class.

Organizers of the reunion hope former students will bring photos, yearbooks and memories to the 2 p.m. Saturday event. Oriental's History Museum has an array of books, photographs and yearbooks from the old school. Memoabilia includes a band uniform, May Day dress and athletic trophies.

According to the book At Home in Oriental - 1878-1945, the two-story elementary school was built about 1915. Before that, school was held in what was the Dan Parri Store, now a parking lot for the First Baptist Church. Soon after opening, the Oriental School made history by putting the first motorized school bus in the state on the road in 1917.

By 1920, the school was the site of a five-week summer school to train teachers, which later was affiliated with Duke University as the Sea Shore Summer School. The second building, the flat-topped high school, was erected about 1930.

Among the museums school artifacts is a copy of the first Oriental School yearbook, a 1923 publication that was donated by longtime resident Norma Smith. The 55-page soft cover book was printed on magazine-quality slick paper, with a hefty advertising section that includes 5-cent Orange Crush.

E.R. Perry was the principal that year, along with nine female teachers, all prominently noted with "Miss" before their names. The senior class had 11 members, with seven girls and four boys.

According to many of the museum's records, the major sport at the school was basketball. In the years prior to the county schools centralizing in Bayboro, Oriental was one of many county towns with its own school. Others included Hobucken, Alliance and Arapahoe.

Much of the sports competition was within the county. In one reunion book, it was noted that Oriental High School boys' basketball team won the county championships at least four straight years in the 1940s. In 1948, Oriental defeated Hobucken for the local basketball championship by a 12-7 score.

OWN A PAGE FROM ORIENTAL'S HISTORY BOOK!

For information on units that are for sale at the Schoolhouse, call:

Judi Heit, Broker/GRI/ABR

Mariner Realty Inc.

PO Box 750, Oriental NC

800-347-8246