Georgia Normal College and Business Institute

January 8, 2013 at 12:22 am (Clements Family, Education In the Wiregrass, Lee Family)
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The Ray City History Blog has previously noted the Ray City Alumni of Georgia Normal College and Business Institute at Abbeville, GA. Georgia Normal College and Business Institute was established at Abbeville in 1897 and moved to nearby Douglas, GA in1908.

Georgia Normal College and Business Institute Abbeville GA

Georgia Normal College and Business Institute Abbeville GA

A number of the Clements family attended the Georgia Normal College and Business Institute including Lucius Jordan Clements, William Grover Clements, James Irwin Clements, Joe Clements, Chester Lee (son of Moses C. Lee and Amanda Clements),   Bessie Clements, and Hod P. Clements. D. C. Clements of Nashville, graduated from the business program in 1906.

Another alumnus from Ray City was Charlie Parham, who taught in Ray City and Berrien County schools over a twenty year period, and served twelve years on the Berrien County School Board.

Samuel I. Watson attended the Institute in the year of its opening, and later served on the State Board of Education. When S. I. Watson arrived at Georgia Normal College and Business Institute in the winter of 1899 he wrote back to the Editor of the Tifton Gazette:

Samuel Irvin Watson attended the inaugural session of the Georgia Normal College and Business Institute in 1899.

Tifton Gazette
March 3, 1899

A Berrien Boy in Wilcox.

Abbeville, GA, Feb. 27. – As I have reached my destination, I take great pleasure in writing an article to your paper from this place, as I have found everything pleasant, both my traveling and place of stopping.
    While there is whiskey of almost every description sold here I have not seen an intoxicated person since I came to Wilcox county.
    I find the people of Abbeville and surrounding country to be intelligent, sober, whole-hearted, enthusiastic, sociable and enterprising, and who give a hearty welcome to those coming to their city.
   The enrollment of the Georgia Normal College and Business Institute is about 300, and it has been in session only about five months; the school ranks among the best in Georgia.  The principal is a plain, unassuming gentleman, whom we all, as students, love;  this however, applies to the entire faculty.
    There are students here from Georgia and Florida, and scarcely a vacant room for boarding students.  This town will surely have to make more arrangements for the accommodation of the latter, if they continue to increase as they have in the very short time the school has been in session.
    There is a great problem that should be carefully and accurately solved by each and every one of us that contemplates attending some high institution of learning.  A great meany of our boys and girls leave their state to obtain a higher education than can be accomplished in our common schools, but we ought to remember that it is an honor to us to recognize our own state, and that we have fully as good schools and colleges as any adjoining state.
    I hope to have some of my Berrien county friends come with me next time.

S. I. Watson.

P. S. Why not the teachers of Berrien have two days in the examination for license this year?

—

Here added is the 1902 commencement announcement:

The Atlanta Constitution
30 May 1902

Georgia Normal and Business School Ends Successful Year.

Abbeville, Ga., May 29. -(Special.)-The fourth annual commencement of the Georgia Normal College and Business institute closed here tonight. This was the most successful term in the history of the college and the number of graduates were greater than ever before.

The halls of the college were crowded to its utmost capacity at every exercise to hear the speeches of the graduates. Those graduating in the commercial class are Addie Laura Collins, Webster, Fla,; R. F. Dowdy, Vance, Ga; Florence E. Huss, Franklin, Ohio; D. F. Burnett, Jr., Madison, Fla.; Ashley C. Snow, Abbeville, Ga.; Gertrude Blow, Ashburn, Ga.; James C. Story, Abbeville, Ga; A. M. Sykes, Wright, Ga.; Elijah R. Simmons, T. J. Townsend, Lake Butler, Fla.; R. D. Howard, Patterson, Ga.; Lucius J. Clements, Millstown, Ga.; Alvin V. Sellers, Graham, Ga.; Ralph F. Collins, Bushnell, Fla.

Those graduating in the teachers’ class are Mollie Lee Dorminey, Dormineys Mill, Ga.; S.S. Knight, Lake Butler, Fla.; Eunice McCullough, Melrose, Fla.; E. A. Rice, Dupont, Ga.; Myrtle Baker, Abbeville, Ga.; Ida Irene Vause, Edgar, Fla.; W. O. Young, Leland, Fla.; Henry P. Smith, Simmons, Ga.; Lillie May Maynard, Abbeville, Ga.; J. A. J. Pinholster, Brooks, Fla.; Bessie Clements, Milltown, Ga.; R. S. Johns, New River, Fla.; Theola Ruff, Fort White, Fla.; Lola Smith, Abbeville, Ga.; Murrel Futch, High Springs, Fla.; C. L. Cowart, Collins, Ga.; Joseph Coffin, Lake Butler, Fla.; H. D. Warnock, Leland, Fla.

Those graduating in the scientific classes are Carlotta L. Townsend, Lake Butler, Fla.; Sampie Smith, Shepperd, Ga.; M. L. Purcell, Glenville, Ga.; Maude Avant, Patterson, Ga.; E. F. Fender, Griggs, Ga; H. J. Dame, Homerville, Ga.; I. S. Smith, Simmons, Ga.; Louis Smith, Simmons, Ga.; Mary Lizzie Paxson, Abbeville, Ga.; W. E. Carter, Louis, Ga.; N. M. Patten, Milltown, Ga.; W. B. Cornelius, Homerville, Ga.; Mark L. Morrill, Atlanta, Ga.

The commercial graduates are Elijah R. Simmons, Citra, Fla.; John D. Dorminey, Dormineys Mill, Ga.; Mark L. Morrill, Atlanta, Ga.; Helen S. Bomberg, Jasper, Fla.; S. F. Rogers, Abbeville, Ga.; L. M. Carter, Louis, Ga.; B. H. Dorminey, Dormineys Mill, Ga.; B. B. Maynard, Newton, Ga.; J. Louis McLeod, Abbeville, Ga.

When William Grover “Bill” Clements attended Georgia Normal College and Business Institute,

“He stayed at the dormitory which was run by the President of the Commerce Department. The charge for living at the school, including meals, was $9.80 a month which his parents paid for in syrup and bacon from the farm. It was a co-educational school.

Bill said, ‘The ladies lived downstairs and the gents up. I had a Yankee sweetheart. She was the sister of the Principal’s wife. There wasn’t much time for social activities then but I did play on the baseball team. I played first base and sometimes I was the catcher.’  He modestly didn’t want to admit it, but was one of the star hitters on the team.

  …the total enrollment was about 200 students at that time. Bill was graduated with honors, the leader of his class, and he was offered a job on the faculty. He turned it down though, preferring to go back to the farm and help his parents send the twins through school.” – Madison County Carrier, April 16, 1981 

Transcription courtesy of Ron Yates, http://www.yatesville.net/

The twins were Joe and Irwin Clements of Rays Mill, GA, students at the business institute in 1904:

A personal mention in the September 9, 1904 edition of the Tifton Gazette. Irwin and Joe Clements, and Chester L. Lee headed to college.

Commencement speaker Reverend John W. Domingos, of Tifton, reported this description after his visit to the college in 1905 :

I never had the pleasure of a visit to the delightful little town of Abbeville ’till last Saturday.  When I arrived on the grounds, and went into their school buildings, met the teachers, and examined a little into their fixtures and outfit, I was suprised to find a school of such proportions in the little city of Abbeville.
    There are on the grounds three spacious buildings, standing side by side all of them two-story buildings; two of these are built of wood, and the latest, a new building is of brick.  In the first of these, on the left as you approach them, phonograpy, or short hand, and type writing and telegraphy are taught on the first floor. On the second floor the intermediate classes are taught; and the museaum is also located on this floor.  In the middle and main building, on the first floor, are four class rooms; on the second floor are the auditorium, the music room and the laboratory. In the third, the new building, on the first floor, the work of the business department includes book keeping, banking, etc.  On the second floor is the principal’s recitation room.  This is a fine room, and can accommodate 100 pupils.  The library is also located on this floor.  It now contains between tow and three thousand volumes ans some of these are choice and costly works.  The books are very appropriately arranged, and are kept in splendid book cases.  There are twenty-two of these, four feet in length, with four shelves to the case.  In seventeen of these the books range in sections: Educational, fiction, literature, encyclopedias, language and mathematics, poetry, science, etc.  The other five are devoted to periodical literature, magazines, etc.
    Prof. W. A. Little is the principal of this school.  He is a man of rare gifts, push and energy, and is assisted by an able corps of teachers.  This is the listed course of study: Scientific course, teachers’ course, complete commercial course, accountants’ course, music course, shorthand, telegraphy, penmanship, post-graduate business course.
    They have had in the school this year, I was told, some 200 boarding pupils; but they have no dormitories; the pupils board in families in the town.  The principal told me that they have matriculated this year, in all, nearly 300 pupils…
    I give you these facts, Mr. Editor, for — people to think about a little.  The phenomenal success of this school is simply due to a few things.  First of all, of course, to the efficiency of the teachers, but very largely to two other things; first, they have good work-shops, or good buildings in which to do their work, and good material and implements with which to work; in the second place, they have the hearty co-operation of the people.  The school is the pride of the town.  Give a teacher or preacher your sympathy and co-operation and you can expect something of him;  withhold it, and you cannot get the best result.  Don’t put a man in an ice box, and then curse him for not sweating.
     We have a fine town; why may we not have one of the largest and best schools in all this country?

Georgia Normal College and Business Institute was established at Abbeville, GA in 1897. In 1908 it was moved to Douglas, Ga. in nearby Coffee County.

In 1908, the Board of Education of the City of Douglas petitioned for a charter to form the Georgia Normal College and Business Institute at Douglas in Coffee County, GA. Judge William Chester Lankford, an alumnus of the school, was a member of the Board of Education in Douglas and served on the Board of Trustees of the Institute.

Students at Georgia Normal College and Business Institute. Albany, Georgia, 1911. Hod P. Clements (back row, 3rd from left) later became a banker in Ray City, GA. Image courtesy of Berrien County Historical Foundation http://www.berriencountyga.com/

Students at Georgia Normal College and Business Institute. Douglas, Georgia, 1911. Hod P. Clements (back row, 3rd from left) later became a banker in Ray City, GA. Image courtesy of Berrien County Historical Foundation http://www.berriencountyga.com/

 

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Ag Teachers go to War

September 12, 2012 at 12:49 am (Education In the Wiregrass, Lee Family, New Lois School, Ray City School, WWII)
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St. Elmo Lee, 1939

St. Elmo Lee, 1939, served with the 902nd Artillery at Leyte, WWII

On October 24, 1942 vocational agriculture teacher St. Elmo Lee gave up his classrooms at Ray City  and New Lois, GA for the U.S. Army.  He was inducted at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, GA for the duration of the war. He was single, 5′ 9″ tall and weighed 134 pounds.

St. Elmo Lee enlisted as a private, eventually serving as a sergeant in Battery C, 902nd Field Artillery Battalion 77th Division.  He fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations from March 30, 1944 to November 22, 1945 during which time he was involved in amphibious assaults and  campaigns on the Marshall Islands, Southern Philippines, and Ryukyu Islands.

U.S. howitzer fires on Catmon Hill, Leyte, Phillipines. October 20, 1944.

U.S. howitzer fires on Catmon Hill, Leyte, Philippines. October 20, 1944.
St. Elmo Lee, of Ray City, GA participated in the Battle of Leyte with the 902nd Field Artillery Battalion. In November 1944 the 902nd provided artillery support for the 77th Division operations in the Battle of Leyte.

In November 1944 the 902nd Field Artillery Battalion provided support for the 77th Division operations in the Battle of Leyte. In April 1945 the 902nd was with the 77th Division in the first attack on the Ryukyu Islands, seizing the islands west of Okinawa, and later moving to Okinawa itself.

St. Elmo Lee continued to serve until the end of the war.  He was returned to Fort McPherson, GA for his discharge on January 1, 1946.

Among the decorations he received were:

  • Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Stars and One Bronze Arrowhead
  • Philippine Liberation Medal with one Bronze star
  • Good Conduct Medal
  • American Campaign Medal
  • World War Two Victory Medal

After the war, a pamphlet was published to honor the contributions of Georgia’s agriculture teachers, A Memorial to Georgia Teachers of Vocational Agriculture who fought, suffered, died and worked to win the war.

Among the area agriculture teachers who served were: St. Elmo Lee, of Ray City and New Lois schools,  J. V. Wynn from Nashville and Poplar Springs schools; W. C. Thigpen, Jr. of Barney; W.E. Rooks and Hal Godwin, of Homerville; K. N. Phillips from Ocilla; and J. I. Musselwhite, of Willacoochee; R. E. King, Jr., of Clyattville and Lake Park; John Hensley of Hahira;  H. C. Dorminey from Tifton; and Tom M. Cordell, of Abraham Baldwin.

1946 war memorial to Georgia teachers of vocational agriculture.

1946 war memorial to Georgia teachers of vocational agriculture.

 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN TEACHERS ENTERED THE SERVICE

One hundred and fifty-seven teachers of vocational agriculture left their classrooms and entered the Armed Service between 1941 and 1945. More than two-thirds of these served in the army, about one-fourth in the navy, and the rest in the Marines.  

These teachers scattered to the four corners of the earth. To the damp humid jungles, to the freezing temperature of the Aleutians, to the barren sand-swept deserts, they went to do their bit for Uncle Sam. But no matter how far away from home, their thoughts stayed in Georgia.

Seven of these men made the supreme sacrifice. Some of the men were injured; they came back maimed for life, wearers of the Purple Heart. Some were captured and suffered the horrors known only to “prisoners of war.” Many were decorated for courageous actions. All made courageous contributions to winning the war.

The accumulated stories of these teachers would probably fill a book. Some were baptized in fire with American forces that swept across France and into Germany itself. Others fought from the decks of ships or cheated death in flaming battles of the skies. Still others who may have wanted to get in the active fighting were assigned to shore stations in this country or abroad.

But all of the men have stories to tell-if they wanted to talk. It is highly probable that the experience of the men give them a more international point of view. They have seen enough to convince them that this is now in reality one world. And they have had an opportunity to see where Georgia and her agriculture fit into the scheme of things.

Today, some of the teachers are returning to the classrooms they left behind; some are teachers of vocational agriculture in new fields; others are instructors in the newly developed Veterans Farmer Training Program.

Georgia is glad to welcome back her sons. They have done a good job where they were and there is still a job for them to do here. It is good to see the official family of vocational agriculture getting back together again.

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St. Elmo Lee Was a Blessing to FFA

September 8, 2012 at 12:10 am (Education In the Wiregrass, Lee Family, WWII)
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In the summer of 1940, St. Elmo Lee arrived in Ray City, GA.  That fall he began his teaching career as the Vocational Agriculture teacher at Ray City School.

St. Elmo Lee, 1940, Senior Photo, University of Georgia.

St. Elmo Lee, 1940, Senior Photo, University of Georgia.

The Nashville Herald
August 8, 1940,  front page

New Agriculture Teacher For New Lois and Ray City

      S.E. Lee of Cairo arrived in Berrien county this week to assume his duties as agriculture instructor in the Ray City and New Lois schools for this year.
      Mr. Lee is a graduate of the University of Georgia the past June, and comes highly recommended for the work he is to do.  He is making his home in Ray City.
      J.G. Tatum handled the Ray City agriculture classes last year, while E.R. Fowler had the New Lois classes.

Transcription courtesy of Skeeter Parker

In the summer of 1940 St. Elmo Lee was a young man of 22, a fresh graduate of the University of  Georgia. He was a son of John Henry Lee and Willie Myrtice Rehberg, born in the midst of World War I on March 17, 1918. A product of Grady County, Georgia, he had attended Reno Grammar school, and graduated Cairo High School with the class of 1936. Afterward he attended South Georgia College before transfering to the University of Georgia.

At UGA he studied agricultural education, and was Secretary of Gaffau.

The name of Gaffau Club comes from the initials of Georgia Future Farmers of America, University Chapter, a national organization. Its purpose is to promote guidance as a basis of choice for vocational teaching, and to provide recreation and fraternal relationships for students preparing to teach vocational agriculture and to perform duties of advisors of high school F. F. A. chapters. Any student who is regularly enrolled in agricultural courses at the University of Georgia and who has been a member of a local Future Farmers of America chapter or is specializing in teacher training in the Division of Vocational Education is eligible to active membership.

World War II intervened in Mr. Lee’s tenure at the Ray City School.   On October 24, 1942 St. Elmo Lee gave up the classroom for enlistment.  Mr. Lee served his country for three years as a Sergeant in the United States Army, 77th Division.

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WWI Registration Certificate of James Isaac Lee

February 26, 2012 at 12:55 am (Lee Family, WWI)
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James Isaac Lee (1876 – 1953)

James Isaac Lee was born in Berrien, Georgia, USA on 4 Feb 1876,  a son of Mary Eleanor Parrish (1849-1909) and John Lee (1842-1902).

His father, John Lee, was a Confederate veteran, having served with Company K, 5th Georgia Regiment and with Company E, 54th Georgia Regiment. His mother, Mary Eleanor Parrish, was a daughter of Molcy Knight and the Primitive Baptist minister, Elder Ansel Parrish.

James grew up on his father’s farm, located ” in the forks of Five Mile Creek and  Ten Mile Creek in what was then Berrien Co, GA (since 1920 in Lanier),”  about six or seven miles northeast of present day Ray City, GA.

James I Lee married Valeria Sirmans on November 19, 1902.  She was a daughter of Hardeman Sirmans and Elizabeth Knight, and a granddaughter of General Levi J. Knight.  In fact, James I Lee and Valorie Sirmans were cousins, both being great-grandchildren of William Anderson Knight. In 1910, James and Valeria were working the farm they owned in the 1144th Georgia Militia District, the Rays Mill district. In 1920 Valeria Sirmans and James I Lee were living at Ray City, GA. They owned a farm next to Martha Sirmans. 

At the time of the 1918 draft registration for WWI, James I Lee gave the address of their farm as located on the RFD #2 mail route out of Milltown, GA.  (this was prior to the formation of Lanier County). James was 42 years old at the time of registration.  While he had been too old for the earlier registrations which sought men between the ages of 21 and 31, the third registration, conducted on September 12, 1918, required men up to age 45 to appear before the draft board.  James’ draft card shows that he was a self-employed farmer of medium height and build, with grey eyes and dark hair. He was physically disqualified for the draft as a result of “heart failure.”  However, James was issued a registration certificate. All men who registered were given bluish green certificates to prove they had registered. The certificate was embossed with an eagle at the top and merely stated the name of the registrant, date, and location of draft board. The Thomasville Daily Times-Enterprise admonished, “If you have reached the age of 18 years and not yet 46, you must register on September 12…you will be given a Registration Certificate to show you have complied with the law.  This certificate should always be carried.”

1918 Registration Certificate of James Isaac Lee. Image courtesy of Edith Mayo.

1918 Registration Certificate of James Isaac Lee. Image courtesy of Edith Mayo.

 Draft Registration

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Mollie Idelle Lee

April 17, 2011 at 5:41 am (Georgia State Womans College, Lee Family)
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Mollie Idelle Lee, 1937. Freshman at Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA.

Mollie Idelle Lee, 1937. Freshman at Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA.

Mollie Idelle Lee was born Feb 28, 1919 near Ray City, GA  in  that part of Berrien County that was cut into Lanier County in 1920.   She was the youngest child of Mollie Clements and William David Lee.

Her parents owned a house that was built  from a kit ordered from a Sears catalog (see Ray City’s Mail Order House).  Idelle Lee was enumerated in her parent’s household, along with her siblings, in the census of  1930.

In 1937 Idelle Lee attended Georgia State Womans College (G.S.W.C.), now known as Valdosta State University. There, in addition to her academic studies, she was a member of the Glee Club.

West Hall, Georgia State Womans College, 1937, Valdosta, GA. The institution is now known as Valdosta State University.

West Hall, Georgia State Womans College, 1937, Valdosta, GA. The institution is now known as Valdosta State University.

The 1937 Pine Cone, the GSWC yearbook, describes the activities of the Glee Club.

   Presenting an entirely different plan this year, the Glee Club not only appeared in their annual concert before the people of Valdosta in the Winter Quarter, but also made a tour of neighboring towns during the Spring Quarter.
    The entire club of thirty members entertained at various school functions.  A special Christmas program was featured this year.  The triple quartet was heard on Sundays in the churches of Valdosta and in radio programs from Thomasville, Georgia and Gainesville, Florida.

1937 Glee Club at Georgia State Womans College.

1937 Glee Club at Georgia State Womans College.

After college, Mollie Idelle Lee married Frank L. Carter.  In the 1940s the Carters lived in Florida.

Grave marker of Carol Lee Carter (1944-1950), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Grave marker of Carol Lee Carter (1944-1950), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Their first child, Carol Lee Carter, was born on New Year’s Eve, 1944 in Dade County, FL.  Sadly, Carol died before her sixth birthday.  She was buried at the Lee family plot in Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

The Carters later returned to Georgia. Frank L Carter died July 6, 1988 in Lanier County, GA.

Molly Idelle Lee Carter died November 1, 2005 in Lanier County, GA. She was buried along with her parents and others of the Lee family connection at the family plot in Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Grave marker of Mollie Idelle Lee Carter (1919-2005), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Grave marker of Mollie Idelle Lee Carter (1919-2005), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

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Mary & Saunto Sollami Buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery

April 17, 2011 at 12:02 am (Beaver Dam Cemetery, Lee Family)
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As mentioned in previous posts, Mary Elizabeth Lee, daughter of  William D. “Bill” Lee and Mollie Bell Clements  of Ray City,  married Saunto Richard Sollami.   The Sollamis made their home in Thomasville, GA.

Mary Lee Sollami died  December 1,  1993 in Thomas County, GA.  Saunto Richard Sollami died December 6, 2003.   The are both interred at Ray City in Beaver Dam Cemetery, in the Lee family plot. Also buried at Beaver Dam is their infant son, born January 3, 1945.

Gravemarker of Mary Lee Sollami (1915 -1993), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Gravemarker of Mary Lee Sollami (1915 -1993), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

In memory of Saunto Richard Sollami (1919-2003), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

In memory of Saunto Richard Sollami (1919-2003), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Infant son of Richard and Mary E. Lee Sollami, Jan 3, 1945. Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Infant son of Richard and Mary E. Lee Sollami, Jan 3, 1945. Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

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Obituary of Ruth Lee Sherman

April 16, 2011 at 5:45 pm (Beaver Dam Cemetery, Lee Family, Uncategorized)
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Ruth Amanda Lee was born  April 30, 1910 near Ray City in Berrien County, GA .  Her parents, Mollie  Bell Clements and William David  “Bill” Lee, were third cousins.

Siblings  of Ruth Amanda Lee (Children of Mollie  Bell Clements and William David  “Bill” Lee):

  1. Martha Vivian Lee
  2. Ruth Amanda Lee
  3. Willie Edna Lee
  4. Mary Elizabeth Lee
  5. Moses Clements Lee
  6. Mollie Idelle Lee
  7. Sancel Lee, died at 15 months

Ruth’s early childhood was spent in a small log cabin her family owned near Ray City.  When she was about seven years old, her parents ordered a house from a Sears catalog (see Ray City’s Mail Order House).  The house, a complete do-it-yourself kit, was delivered to Ray City by train.  When fully assembled it was a seven-room, three-bedroom home, a spacious improvement over the two room cabin that was their former abode. Ruth A. Lee was enumerated in her parents household, along with her siblings, in the census of 1920 and 1930.

Later, Ruth A. Lee married a Mr. Sherman and they made their home in Lakeland, GA.

 Ruth Lee Sherman
LAKELAND — Ruth Lee Sherman, 91, of Lakeland passed away early Sunday morning, Oct. 1, 2000 in the Lakeland Villa Convalescent Center after a lengthy illness. She was born in Berrien County and had lived in Lakeland most of her life. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Lakeland. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Lee Sollami and Willie Edna “Bill” Johnson and one brother, Mose Lee. Survivors include, two sisters, Idelle Lee Carter and Vivian Lee Exum, both of Lakeland; a number of nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2000 in the Lakeland Chapel of Music Funeral Services, Inc., with burial following in Beaver Dam Cemetery in Ray City.

Grave marker of Ruth Lee Sherman (1910-2000), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Grave marker of Ruth Lee Sherman (1910-2000), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

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Mary Lee, G.S.W.C. Graduate

April 14, 2011 at 9:55 pm (Georgia State Womans College, Lee Family)
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Another daughter of  William D. “Bill” Lee and Mollie Bell Clements, subjects of the previous post, was Mary E. Lee.  She was born February 6, 1915 in Berrien County, GA. Like her older sister, Vivian Lee, Mary grew up at Ray City, GA and went on to attain  a college education.

Mary Lee of Ray City, GA at Georgia State Womans College (nka Valdosta State University)

Mary Lee of Ray City, GA at Georgia State Womans College (nka Valdosta State University), 1933

While Vivian Lee attended Norman Institute at Norman Park, Ga.,  Mary Lee went to Georgia State Womans College in Valdosta.

Later,  she married Saunto Richard Sollami. He served in the Army Air Corp during WWII.  The Sollamis made their home in Thomasville, GA.

Mary Lee Sollami died in December,  1993 in Thomas County, GA

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Ray City’s Mail Order House

April 13, 2011 at 6:00 pm (Lee Family)
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In the early 1900s rural consumers found they could purchase almost anything from mail-order catalogs, including homes.  About 1917, one Ray City couple did just that.

The Avondale, Sears mail-order home ordered by Mollie and Bill Lee, of Ray City, GA in 1917.

The Avondale, Sears mail-order home ordered by Mollie and Bill Lee, of Ray City, GA in 1917.

 Sears Catalog Homes (sold as Sears Modern Homes) were ready-to-assemble houses sold through mail order by Sears Roebuck and Company. Over 70,000 of these kit homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. Shipped via railroad boxcars, the kit included all the materials needed to build a house.  Many were assembled by do-it-yourself homeowners with the help of friends, relatives, and neighbors, in a fashion similar to the traditional barn-raisings of farming families.

As an add-on, Sears offered the latest technology available to house buyers in the early part of the twentieth century. Central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity were all new developments in-house design that “Modern Homes” incorporated, although not all the houses were designed with these conveniences. Central heating, for example, not only improved the livability of houses with little insulation but also improved fire safety, a worry in an era when open flames threatened houses and even entire cities, as in the Great Chicago Fire (1871).

As demand decreased, Sears expanded the product line to feature houses that varied in cost to meet the budgets of various buyers. Sears began offering financing plans in 1916. However, the company experienced steadily rising payment defaults throughout the Great Depression, resulting in increasing strain for the catalog house program. More than 370 designs of Sears Homes were offered during the program’s 32-year history. The mortgage portion of the program was discontinued in 1934 after Sears was forced to liquidate $11 million in defaulted debt. Sears closed their Modern Homes department in 1940. A few years later, all sales records were destroyed during a corporate house cleaning. The only way to find these houses today is literally one by one.

One Sears mail-order home was purchased by Mollie and  Bill Lee of Ray City, GA.

Mollie  Bell Clements and William David  “Bill” Lee both grew up near Ray City, GA.  Mollie was a daughter of  Martha J. Baskin and David C. Clements. Bill was a son of Moses C. Lee and Amanda Clements.  He was educated at the Green Bay School near Ray City, where he was a member of the Advanced Literary Society.

Mollie and Bill were married February 22, 1905 in Berrien County, Georgia. As newlyweds, they made their home in a two-room log cabin.  The Census of 1910 shows William and Mollie living  in Georgia Militia District 1144, the Rays Mill District, with their two young children, Vivian  Lee and Fannie Lee.  Bill was farming on his own account. By 1917, the Lees had four more children,  Ruth Amanda Lee, Willie E. Lee, Mary E. Lee, and Moses Clements Lee.  Clearly, it was time for a bigger house.

About 1917,  Bill and Mollie ordered a “Modern Home,”  The Avondale, No. 151, from the Sears Modern Homes Mail Order Catalog.  The materials were probably shipped via the Georgia and Florida Railroad to Ray City, then carried by wagon to the construction site.  The Lees purchased additional interior components to complete the house from the Sears & Roebuck store in Valdosta, Ga.  The home would have been assembled completely by manual labor, as electric power was not yet available in Ray City in 1917. The house had seven rooms, and the common features of the time, like 12 foot ceilings, plaster walls, wood floors, and bay windows.  Over the years the Lees modified the original floor plan of their Sears home, adding on to the back of the house to enlarge the kitchen and rear bedrooms, and adding a sun room off the master bedroom.

Nearly 100 years later, the house still stands near Ray City.

Houseplans for The Avondale, mail-order house sold by Sears & Roebuck.

House plans for The Avondale, mail-order house sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co.

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Vivian Lee ~ Graduate of Norman Institute

April 12, 2011 at 7:23 pm (Education In the Wiregrass, Lee Family)
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Martha Vivian Lee was born May 13, 1908,and raised at Ray City, GA. She was the daughter of William D. “Bill” Lee and Mollie Bell Clements. Her father, rented a farm on one of the settlement roads at Ray City.

Brand Hall at Norman College, Norman Park, GA

Brand Hall at Norman College, Norman Park, GA

Vivian Lee graduated from the Junior College scientific program at Norman Institute, Norman Park, GA.  The  June 5, 1927 edition of the Atlanta Constitution (full transcript below) reported the ceremonies.

The college celebrated Commencement with four days of activities, beginning Friday evening, with a program presented by the grammar school graduates, followed by the inter-society contest in piano, reading and declamation. On Saturday night, the senior play was presented to a large audience. Dr. H.F. Loomis, pastor of the First Baptist church of Daytona Beach, FL, delivered the baccalaureate sermon.  On Monday morning, the Bessie Tift society and the Excelsior society debated the subject, “Resolved, that President Coolidge was justified in vetoing the McNary-Haugen farm relief bill.” L.H. Browing, president of Norman Institute, delivered the diplomas to the graduates. Rev. G.W. Christopher, Baptist pastor at Whigham, Ga., made the literary address to the graduates of the junior college, the high school and the commercial department, and Frank Clark, county school superintendent, addressed the alumni.

After college, Vivian Lee returned to Ray City to live with her mother and father. The January 3, 1929 edition of the Ray City News noted in the personal mentions:

 Mr. Bill Lee and daughter, Miss Vivian,  are visiting relatives in Tampa, Fla.

In the census of 1930, she was enumerated in her parents’ household. The occupation data of the census shows that she found employment in a law office as a stenographer .

Later, Vivian Lee married Thomas Pate Exum and lived in Lakeland, GA.

Vivian Lee Exum died 21 Nov 2001.

Atlanta Constitution
June 5, 1927  Pg B8

Norman Institute Commencement.

   ” The commencement program of Norman Institute came to a close Monday morning with the delivery of diplomas.  Rev. G.W. Christopher, Baptist pastor at Whigham, Ga., made the literary address to the graduates of the junior college, the high school and the commercial department.
    The inter-society contest in piano, reading and declamation was held Friday night. The winning contestants were: Piano, Frances Sims, Savannah, Ga.; reading, Miss Maude Hendley, Bainbridge, Ga., Excelsior society; Raymond Harvey, Pine View, Ga., Excelsior Society.
    Preceding the contest Friday night the grammar school graduates presented an attractive program under the supervision of Mrs. J.F. Morris. Those receiving certificates of graduation from the grammar school were: Sarah Gawin, Philadelphia; Jack Jones, Jacksonville, Fla.; Walter Jones, Tampa, Fla.; Le Roy Post, Holly Hill, Fla.; Luculle Trutt, Thomasville, Ga.; Judson Wilder, Lakeland, Fla.; A.D. Williams, Jr., valedictorian, Tampa, Florida.
    The Senior Play was presented Saturday night to a large audience.
    D. H.F. Loomis, pastor of the First Baptist church of Daytona Beach, Fla., preached the baccalaureate sermon.
    President L.H. Browning delivered the diplomas to the graduates Monday morning.  The following received degrees:
    Junior College (scientific) – Hughes Browning, Norman Park, Ga.; Benton Fillingim, Cuthbert, Ga.; Vivian Lee, Ray City, Ga.; Claude Reynolds, Norman Park, Ga.; Harvey Simpson, Hahira, Ga.
Normal – George Elton Clark, Norman Park, Ga.; Elois Hoffman, Faceville, Ga.
    High School – (Classical) Mildred Callan, Norman Park, Ga.; Esther Graham, Barney, Ga.; George Scott, Barney, Ga. (Scientific) Wayne Christopher, Whigham, Ga.; D. Alson Griner, Lennox, Ga.; John Hoffman, Daytona, Fla.; Kathleen Jones, Enigma, Ga.; Edith Lodge, Whigham, Ga.; Stanley Newton, Norman Park, Ga.; Arnold Scruggs, Barney, Ga.; D. Maurice Smith, Cairo, Ga.; Lucy Nell Tompkins, Norman Park, Ga.
    Normal – Olis Harrell, Pavo, Ga.; Eloise Overton, Norman Park, Ga.; Louise Parker, Orlando, Fla.
    Commercial Department – Lillie Anthony, Vero Beach, Fla.; Lizzie Barrett, Monticello, Fla.; Elnora Brewer, Morgan, Ga.; Anna Mae Browb, Ocalla, Fla.; Charlie Coleman, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Paul Dozier, Damascus, Ga.; Katherine Erwin, Tampa, Fla.; Inez Keerce, Hahira, Ga.; Elizabeth Martin, Knights, Fla.; Mercer Mitcham, Omega, Fla.; Sanders Morgan, Fort Meade, Fla.; Gwuynnie Morgan, Thomas Morgan, Norman Park, Ga.; Ida Moss, Perkins, Ga.; Grace Mugridge, Cairo, Ga.; Elizabeth Murray, Arlington, Ga.; Clarence Watkins, Putman Hall, Fla.; Roy Wlech, Fort Pierce, Fla.; Nada Wills, Norman Park, Ga.
    Violin – Elizabeth Martin, Knights, Florida.
    Previous to the baccalaureate address Monday morning the semi-annual inter-society debate took place, the subject being, “Resolved, that President Coolidge was justified in vetoing the McNary-Haugen farm relief bill.”  The affirmative was presented by J. A. Thompson and George Scott of the Bessie Tift society, and the negative was defended by Harry Simpson and Claude Reynolds of the Excelsior society. The Judges gave the decision to the negative.
    Frank Clark, county school superintendent, made an address to the alumni which was followed by announcements of some special work done and some work to be undertaken next year.  He called attention to the large number of normal diplomas; 21 B.Y.P.U. diplomas; 171 seals on books in Sunday school teachers’ training course; 39 red seals; 27 B.Y.P.U. seals on Pilgrim’s Progress. He also announced that work on the new dormitory for boys will begin at once and will be ready for occupancy by January.

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