Eloise Williams Johnson, 1948 Ray City School Yearbook. Mrs. Johnson taught at the Ray City School from about 1936 to 1976.
Eloise Williams Johnson taught at the Ray City School from about 1936 to 1976. In 1939, she was teaching in the Classroom Building and Soup Kitchen at Ray City School. Eloise and her husband, Bernard L. Johnson, lived in the residence of her mother, Mrs. Nancy Mobley, on North Street in Ray City. Her mother was a widow and had partitioned off a part of her home into an apartment, which was rented by Marvin and Arlie Purvis. Eloise also operated Johnson’s Cash Store, purveyor of groceries, meats and feeds.
Eloise Williams Johnson 94, of Selma, AL passed away on March 13, 2008 at Warren Manor Nursing Home. She spent most of her life in Ray City, GA, where she taught school in Ray City Schools for approximately 40 years, retiring in 1976. Visitation will be at Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home in Selma, Al from 6 until 8 p.m. March 14, 2008, and at Music Funeral Home in Lakeland, GA, March 15, 2008, from 6 until 8:00 P.M. Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church in Ray City, GA with burial to follow at church cemetery at 2 p.m. Sunday March 16, 2008, officiated by Rev. Lee Graham and Rev. John Patton. She is survived by her son, James Travis Johnson and his wife Lou, granddaughters, Lisa (Steve) Anderson, Leslie (Charlie) Skelton, Allison (Dean) Smith, all of Selma, and Luann (Ray) Roberts of Prattville, and her great-grand-children Courtney Kendrick of Tuscaloosa, Kelly Kendrick of Prattville, Will Anderson, Katy Skelton, Kent Skelton, Meredith Smith, and Cole Smith, all of Selma.She is also survived by a sister-in-law, Jimmie Mobley, a niece Cathy Mobley, and nephew Steve Anderson all of Ray City, GA. She was a longtime member of Ray City Baptist Church and taught Sunday School and Training Union there for many years. Pallbearers are Steve Anderson, Charlie Skelton, Dean Smith, Ray Roberts, Will Anderson, and Buddy Purvis. The family would like to express appreciation and warmest regards to the complete staff at Warren Manor Nursing Home in Selma, AL. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Elkdale Baptist Church in Selma, AL.
Grave of Eloise W. Johnson, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.
Ray City School Yearbook 1948-1949 Special thanks to Chris Clements for preserving and sharing this document.
1948-1949 Yearbook, Ray City School, Ray City, GA
Teachers Mrs. Cornelius (Pearl Cornelius)………………1st Grade Mrs. Webb (Jessie Webb)…………………….…2nd Grade Mrs. Taylor (Emma Lou Taylor)………………3rd Grade Miss Barbara Comer…………………………….…4th Grade Mrs. Williams………………………………………..5th Grade Mrs. Patten (Mabel C. Patten)…………..……..6th Grade Mr. Joe S. Clements………………………………..7th Grade Mrs. Smith…………………………………………….8th Grade Mrs. McClure (Myrtle Hawk McClure)….…9th Grade Mr. Underwood……………………………………10th Grade Mrs. Johnson (Eloise Williams Johnson)…11th Grade Mr. Charles Woodrow Schmoe…………………Principal
Junior Class Herman K. Guthrie, President Edith Wheeler, Vice President Betty J. Huff, Secretary J. Bart Gaskins Mary L. Sirmans Jimmy Grissett Jimmy Gaskins Allie M. Warren Robert Hamm
Sophomore Class (9th Grade) Betty Jo Cook, President Billy F. Moore, Vice President Lullene Rouse, Secretary Wendell Clements, Treasurer Geraldine Sirmons, Junior Cornelius, Betty Rose Purvis, Bobby Buckholts, Hazel Croy, June Earl Dampier, Peggy Huff, Bobby Vaughn, Golie Warren, Talmadge Moore, Carolyn Wood, Ira McKuhen, Ava Lou Nix, A.C. Hesters, Wilma Ray, Billy Roberts, Faye Sirmans, Jack Knight, Evelyn Wheeler, James Rogers, Mildred Dampier, Jimmy Whitehead, Patricia Bradford, Bobby Williams, Meredith Futch
Eighth Grade Willie M. Luke, Charles D. Allen, Harry Cornelius, J. W. Temples, Donald Sirmans, Foster Griner, Thurmand Plair, Charles Luke, Franklin Baldree, James Williams, Sara J. Smith, Eloise Miller
Seventh Grade Mary Bush, Louise Bates, Hilda M. Gaskins, Hilda V. Gaskins, Elinon Grissett, Annette Jordaon, Jimmy May, Donald Mathis, Charles McKuhen, Hazel McCuller, Clyde Nix, Glen Putnal, B. Ray, Jimmie Robertson, C. Sirmans, Aulie Sirmans, Bennie Sirmans, Robbie Smith, Mary Vaughn, Betty Webb, Don Bennett, K. Walls, Helen Whitehead, Jessie Hamm, Carroll Williams.
Sixth Grade Betty Bates, Robert Carter, Bobby Cook, L.C. Cook, Elizabeth Cone, F. Cornelius, F. Dampier, Lamar Fender, Wendell Garner, Eugene Harpe, Jule Holton, Jeraldine Jordon, Kenneth May, Kim Moore, Jack Patten, Betty Roberts, Vernon Roberts, Bobby Sammons, Lenora Sirmans, Judith Smith, Frank Studstill, David Suggs, Elizabeth Temples, Brown Vaughn, Grace Williams, Hubert Miller, Betty J. Warren, Mary Scarbrough, Londell Griner, Wilson Stone.
Fifth Grade Jack Barnard, L. Conine, Richard Burnett, Bobby Croy, Carlton Garner, Billy Gaskins, Bruce Gaskins, Jr. Harpe, Travis Johnson, S. Etheridge, J. McCullers, Everette Roberts, Jim Roberts, Leon Sirmans, Billy Smith, Ray Smith, J.T. Smith, Charles Snipes, Frank Wood, Sam Griner, Remer Bostic, R. Noles, Billy Mathis, R. Noles, Willene May, M.L. Brantly, Joyces Chavous, Pam Cook, I.L. Exum, B.J. Myers, Wynelle Myers, N. R. McDonald, J. C. McSwain, C. Robertson, A. Sammons, M. Sirmans, W.J. Smith, Evelyn Snipe, Mary Warren
Fourth Grade Charles Cook, William Ray, R. Sirmans, M.B. Swindell, M.B. Suggs, Eloise Warren. Jr. Logon, Carolyn Croy, Norma Harrod, Leroy Wilson, Franklin Cribb, Edna Fountain, Virginia Harpe, Charles Baldree, Betty Akridge, Dorothy Mathis, Clarice Allen, Phyllis Fletcher, Katie Luke, Dorothy Hendley, Betty Cook, Julian Mathis, Henry Gaskins, Pearl Avery, Carlton Sirmans
Veterans June H. Sirmans, Barney J. Akridge, Ned Browning, L.C. Hughes, James E. Jefferson, Clarence A. Luke, Perry C. Myers, Ira G. Register, Howard D. Temples, John W. Walker, Lonnie C. Alexander, Chester E. Moncrief, William Allison, Robert W. Barber, James H. Conner, Lamar E. Fountain, John H. Greene, James C. Harris, Reva L. Rice, Albert W. Warren
Advertisers Advertisers in the 1948-1949 Ray City School Yearbook included Adel Grocery Company, Adel Trading Company, Bank of Ray City, Boyett Sprayer Manufacturing, Farmers Motor Service Company, Fletch and Mac’s Garage, Glidden’s Truck Company, H.A. Swindle General Merchandise, Holton Furniture Company, Jenkins Chevrolet, Jim Paulk & L. Nooe Sawmill, Johnson’s Cash Store, Lanier Motor Company, Lovein Funeral Home, Mail-Me-Monday, Murray’s Service Station, Nashville Stationery and Printing Company, Nehi Bottling Company, Nichols Builders Supply, Patten’s Concrete & Block Industry, Perry Auction Company, Schroer Implement Company, Snow’s Laundry, Stalling’s Feed & Seed Store, Star Laundry and Dry Cleaning, Swindle and Mathis Grocery, Swindle’s Cash Store, Tom Hewitt Auto Company, Valdosta Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Victory Soda Shop, and Waldron-Howard Allis-Chalmers Farm Machinery and Equipment.
Special Thanks to Chris Clements for sharing Ray City School records.
1949 Ray City School 3rd grade
1949 Ray City School 3rd Grade Roster
Harold Scarboro – Harold Duane Scarboro [Scarbrough] -born December 16, 1939, a son of Elmo Clifton Scarbrough and Ruth Martin. His father helped build Moody Air Force Base. The family home was a two-dollar-a-month rental place in the Lois community on the Ray City and Hahira Road. Harold’s grandparents, Lela and Charlie M. Scarbrough, rented the house next door, and uncle Paul Allen Scarbrough was nearby. His brother, Charles Scarbrough, was a Ray City Senior in 1949.
Christine Akeridge
Leon McCullers – Leon Franklin McCullers, born October 30, 1940, a son of Leroy McCullers and Verdy Martin. His father was a farmer and a veteran of WWII. His siblings, Dorothy McCullers and James Wesley McCullers, also attended the Ray City School.
Martha D. Flowers was a daughter of Ola Browning and James H. Flowers. Her parents were lodging with Lewis D. Browning in a home on the Ray City & Nashville Road in the Lois community. Her father worked as a farm laborer.
Bob Cook – Robert Eugene Cook – born July 26, 1936, a son of Isaac Clayton Cook and Mattie E. Sirmans. His father’s occupation in 1940 was fishing. He was a brother of Betty Jo Cook and Bertha Nancy Cook. The Cooks rented a house on Jones Street, Ray City, GA.
Betty Burkhalter – Betty Madie Burkhalter, born March 4, 1938, a daughter of Phillip I Burkhalter and Edna Gertrude Brantley. Her father was a farmer. When she was a toddler her great grandfather, Gus Calhoun, lived with the family.
Edward Carter
J. D. Cone – John Dewey “JD” Cone, born May 27, 1940, was the son of Dewey Lesley Cone and Velma Sowell Cone. In 1940, the family lived in the Lois community, just west of Ray City, on a rented farm. JD’s father worked as a laborer. By 1942, JD’s father took a job with Henry Gornto working on his farm about a mile and a half southeast of Ray City.
Dorothy Skinner – Dorothy L Skinner, born July 23, 1940, a daughter of Payton Shelton Skinner and Mary E. Akridge Skinner.
Wilmer Smith
Bonnie Fountain
Wendell Browning
Deloris Barnard – Iris Delores Barnard, born August 19, 1939, in Ray City, GA, a daughter of Charlie Jackson Barnard (1909-1970) and Lola Lee Davis (1919-2009). She was the granddaughter of Andrew Jackson Barnard and Nettie Ray Barnard, residents of the Lois community just west of Ray City. She was the sister of Ann Barnard and Charles Barnard.
Grace Carter
Marion McKuhen
Mary Justic
Earl Warren
Lawana Snipe – LaJuana Jean Snipes, born January 4, 1940, a daughter of Arthur Leonard Snipes (1907–1962) and Louise Elizabeth Garner Snipes (1909–1997), and a granddaughter of Asa Duggan Garner and Bessie Yopp Garner. She was a sister of Donald Dale Snipes (1943-2016). The Snipes lived in the Lois Community just west of Ray City. Sometime in the 1940s the Snipes moved to a house on the south side of Jones Street in the middle of the block east of Ward Street. In the late 1950s the family moved just outside the Ray City city limits on the Adel Highway.
Willard Bates – attended the New Lois school by 1952
Bobby Smith
Earl Snipe
Kenneth Griner
Myrtle Myers
Billy Sirmans – Billy Lawton Sirmans, born October 14, 1939, a son of John Abner Sirmans and Lettie Studstill. His father was a veteran of WWI.
C. Fountain
Gene Baldree
M. Fountain
R. Dampier – Ronald Edward Dampier, born December 12, 1940, in Ray City, GA, a son of J W Dampier and Ardie Kent Dampier,
Johnny Wood – He was a son of Jewel and Remer Wood. His father was a smoke house operator. The family home was on Jones Street and the smokehouse was in the back yard. People would come by the house to buy smoked meat. Johnny Wayne Wood later moved to Savannah. He came back to Ray City and worked as the Chief of Police.
M. Smith
Bobby Pevy
Carol May
Alvis Sauls – a son of Alvis Sauls (1914-1989) and Kathleen Warren Sauls (1917-1977)
Available school yearbooks show William Reginald “Bill” Etheridge attended the Ray City School at least from 1948 to 1954. He was a classmate of Gloria Grissett, Robert Cornelius, Preston Driskell, Carson Avera, Martha Green, Elizabeth Garner, Richard Vaugh, Betty Myers, Duggan Snipes, Henry Lewis, Charles Ray, and others.
About 1955, the Etheridge family moved to Gainesville, FL where Bill attended Gainesville High School.
1949 Bill Etheridge, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1954 William “Bill” Etheridge, 7th Grade, Ray City School, Ray City, GA
1957 Bill Etheridge, Gainesville High School, Gainesville, FL
1959 Bill Etheridge, Gainesville High School, Gainesville, FL
Class of 1960, Bill Etheridge, Gainesville High School, Gainesville, FL. William Reginald Ethridge. FFA 10; Golf Team 9,10,11, 12; GG-Club 9,10,11, 12; Inter-Club Council 10; Sports Hall of Fame 10; Future Teacher 11, 12; Secretary-Treasurer 12.
Class of 1960, Bill Etheridge, Gainesville High School Golf Team, Gainesville, FL
Class of 1960, Bill Etheridge, Gainesville High School Golf Team, Gainesville, FL
Emily Britton, Wesleyan College senior portrait, 1947.
Emily Britton, Wesleyan College senior portrait caption, 1947.
Ostensibly Emily is majoring in religion, but her real major is an important man named Pledger. Her religious sincerity, her straightforward honesty, her sympathetic listening ability and her warm friendly smile endear her to all Wesleyannes. Emily, with her sparkling eyes, and untiring energies in a variety of fields, have made her a real asset to Wesleyan.
Emily Britton, Wesleyan College accomplishments, 1947.
Emily Britton Camilla, Georgia Religion
Pres. Freshman Commission; Hiking Club 1; I. R. C. 1, 2, 3, 4; Sophomore Council; Advisor to Freshman Commission 2; Glee Club 3, 4; Chairman Macon Church Activities on “Y” 3; Junior Marshall; Dance Club 4; National Methodist Church Scholarship 4; Vesper Choir 4.
†
Obituary
Emily Elizabeth Britton Parker 6/21/1925 – 11/2/2017
Emily Elizabeth Britton Parker, 92, of Macon, Georgia, went to her eternal home on November 2, 2017. At the time of her death, she resided at McKendree Village in Hermitage, Tennessee. The Reverend Pledger Wilson Parker, a member of the South Georgia Conference, and Emily were married for 67 years prior to his death in 2014.
Emily was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 21, 1925, to The Reverend Charles Britton, Jr., and his wife, Eleanor. Since her father was a member of the South Georgia Conference, Emily spent her childhood in several South Georgia communities. After graduating from A. L. Miller High School in Macon, she attended Wesleyan College, graduating cum laude in 1947 with a degree in Christian Education. She later pursued graduate studies in Library Science at Georgia Southern College, University of Georgia Extension Service, Georgia College at Milledgeville, and Mercer University.
Emily was the Director of Christian Education at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church for three years. She was also the Head Librarian of the Junior Department of Macon’s Washington Memorial Public Library for four years, an Elementary School Media Specialist for nine years, and a school teacher.
She was actively involved in the South Georgia Conference as a youth and as an adult. Emily organized the South Georgia Conference Ministers’ Wives Retreat and served as President for two years. She was an avid participant in the Women’s Society of Christian Service and United Methodist Women on the conference and local church levels. She was active in the life and ministry of the churches Pledger served, often working with college-age students. After his retirement from the pastorate, they connected with Mulberry Street UMC, where they particularly enjoyed being part of the Interest Group Sunday School Class and the “Scampers” Camping Group. In 2010 they moved to Nashville to be near their daughter, Cherie.
Emily was devoted to her family. She was the consummate hostess and loved to cook for family, friends, and the many people that ministry brought into her sphere. She loved hiking, camping, and bird-watching, was a charter member of the Georgia Wilderness Society, and was active in the Ocmulgee Audubon Society. She also served on the Board of the Friends of the Library. Emily loved attending cultural events and playing and teaching board games. She possessed a powerful will and boundless energy. It can truly be said of Emily: “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of our Lord.”
Emily is survived by three daughters: Giglia Parker of Loma Linda, California; Karen Parker DeVan (Jim) of McDonough, Georgia; and Cherie Parker (Jack Keller) of Nashville, Tennessee; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
A graveside service officiated by The Reverend Dr. Peter van Eys was held on November 6 in the Westview Cemetery in Atlanta. A memorial service, officiated by The Reverend Creede Hinshaw and The Reverend Jimmy Towson, was held at Mulberry Street UMC on November 7. Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home in Nashville was in charge of funeral arrangements. – Book of Remembrance, Southe Georgia Conference, United Methodist Church.
Special Thanks to Chris Clements for sharing Ray City School records.
1949 J. P. Skinner, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Betty Flowers, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Carson Avera, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Marie Smith, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Preston Driskell, second grade, Ray City School, GA. Born June 3, 1941 a son of Helen Gaskins and Roy Driskell. Died September 5, 2005.
1949 Gloria Grissett, second grade, Ray City School, GA.
1949 Robert Cornelius, second grade, Ray City School, GA. His father drove a school bus for the Ray City School.
1949 Helen Corey, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Martha Green, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Jack Roberts, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Elizabeth Garner, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Richard Vaughn, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Betty Myers, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Bill Lindsey, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Betty Harnage, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Charles Ray, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Duggan Snipe, second grade, Ray City School, GA His family lived in a home on Jones Street next door to Lessie and Rossie Futch
1949 Henry Lewis, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Charles Sirmans, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Willie Sauls, second grade, Ray City School, GA. Born July 1, 1939 a son of Rhoda Register and Alvis H. Sauls.
1949 Frank Warren, second grade, Ray City School, GA. Born December 7, 1939 a son of Mattie Selph and William Warren. Died February 10, 2013; buried Pleasant Cemetery, near Ray City, GA
1949 William Etheridge, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Hubert Smith, second grade, Ray City School, GA
1949 Leonard Maynor [Maynard], second grade, Ray City School, GA. Born September 5, 1939, a son of Lillie A. and Luther Maynard. Died 1975; buried Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Berrien County, GA.
1949 Betty Rose Harnage, second grade, Ray City School, GA. Daughter of Stancy Ray and George Harnage.
1949 unidentified, second grade, Ray City School, GA
Gloria Jane Grissett, the youngest daughter of James and Lillie Grissett, attended Ray City School, Ray City, Berrien County, GA. Her siblings, Jimmy Grissett, Anna Martha Grissett, Elinor Grissett, and Stephen Grissett, all were students at Ray City School.
1949 Gloria Grissett, second grade, Ray City School, GA.
1949 Gloria Grissett, seventh grade, Ray City School, GA.
In 1960 and 1961, Gloria Jane Grissett attended Valdosta State College. In those years her Ray City classmates at Valdosta State College included Julia Gretchen Schroer, Alva Jo Lindsey, Nell Sangster and Huey Perry Barker.
Gloria Jane Grissett of Ray City, GA. 1960 freshman at Valdosta State College.
Gloria Jane Grissett of Ray City, GA. 1961 sophomore at Valdosta State College.
Special Thanks to Chris Clements for sharing Ray City School records.
Winona Williams, Ray City School, Class of 1949, Class President; Ray City Girls Athletic Club; 4-H Club; Girls Basketball Team; Yearbook staff; Senior Superlative: Best Athlete.
Talton Rouse, Ray City School, Class of 1949, Vice President; Basketball Team; Yearbook Staff.
Jean Studstill, Ray City School, Class of 1949, Class Treasurer; Ray City Girls Athletic Club; Senior Superlative: Prettiest Girl; Yearbook Staff; Girls Basketball Team
Murray Comer, Ray City School, Class of 1949. Basketball Team; Senior Superlative: Most Bashful; Yearbook Athletics Editor. Later attended Valdosta State College and the University of Georgia.
Carey Register, Ray City School, Class of 1949; Senior Superlative: Most Likely To Succeed; Yearbook Staff: Editor-in-Chief;
This building, which was originally located where the kindergarten is now situated and was later moved further back from Pauline Street to its present location. The entrances to this building were on the north and south sides. A central north-south hallway ran through the building. On the east side were two big classrooms for the 1st and 4th grades, and a small room used as the Soup Kitchen. On the west side were 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade classrooms. There were no bathrooms in this building, or in the main brick school building for that matter. The toilets at that time were outdoor toilets. the Ray City school did not get indoor toilets until after WWII.
The teachers in this wooden building were:
1st Grade: Mrs. P.M. Shultz 2nd Grade: Miss Josephine Collier 3rd grade: Eloise Johnson 4th grade: a young unmarried teacher
Other Ray City teachers around that time were Jesse Francis Webb, Hazel Tabor, Dorothy Chisholm, and Mary Peele, James Garland Grady. Julius Glen Tatum was an Ag teacher.
This building housed the original “soup kitchen” lunchroom at Ray City School. Off of the 4th grade classroom was a small room which was used as the lunchroom. It measured about 10 feet by 12 feet and was equipped with a cook table, but no sink counter. A big cast iron wood-burning stove occupied one corner of the room. There were counters and benches along two walls where the children ate. The lunchroom ladies could not feed many children at a time. The charge for lunch was 10 cents, but not all children could afford to get a hot lunch. Many brought their lunch from home and ate in the school yard.
Mrs. Hun Knight worked hard to bring the soup kitchen to the school and worked in the kitchen. Mrs. Eula Swindle Hall was the first cook. She was followed by Mrs. Allie Purvis Starling. Leila McConnell also cooked. Martha Burkhalter was a lunchroom “waitress.” Agnes Knight Guthrie also helped in the kitchen. For the paying students, soup was served every day, with brown whole-wheat flour biscuits and butter. The kitchen was supplied with surplus government commodities supplemented with fresh produce that was brought in by local farmers in trade for their children’s lunches. Rossie Futch brought in sweet potatoes in trade for a hot lunch for his children.
Later, after the first school cafeteria building was constructed on the Ray City School campus in 1941, the small soup kitchen was turned into a trigonometry classroom for the high school students.
Ray City History Blog 