The Whitby Grade School no longer exists. Burned down in ~1974, the school was for grades 1 through 8. At the end of the school year in 1970, the Whitby Elementary School was closed and no longer had classes.(Thanks to Fannie H. for this Update!)Children were then bused to Princewick Elementary. The School at Whitby was possibly one of its oldest buildings. Church sermons were held there in the 20's before the building of the Whitby Church in ~1938.
NOTE: The same newpaper article cited above on the closing of the Whitby School in 1970 quotes Ms Ivory Garten (School Custodian) as saying that the school was built some 75 years earlier. That would make the date of this structure as 1895! Is the Whitby Grade School this old?
Thanks to my Mom and the Whitby 1954 grade school book, I was able to get this picture. Can anybody tell me anything else about this structure? There are links to another view from the school as well as the school faculty at the bottom of this page. By the way, that is Mr Bennetts car (maroon) next to the school.
Next to the "Black Church" in Whitby (click here to see West Whitby Map for the "Black Church" called Parcel No.2 Church lot on Map to the upper right) there was also a school for blacks who lived in Whitby. It was single room structure. My Mother recalls a woman named Mrs. Peelish was the teachers name. Does anybody have any information on this School as well?
The following was Contributed by Betty Powell.
I started to school there in 1941 and Mrs. Hattie Christian was teaching 1st and 2nd
grade and the classroom was on the first floor to the right of the front
door. There were too many children for one classroom the following year and
the second grade was divided and some of us were sent to the 3rd and 4th
grade classroom. So, Mrs. Mae Warden (my aunt) was my teacher for the 2nd
grade. Then, Mrs. Yaples taught me in the 3rd and 4th whose classroom is the
first floor classroom shown in the picture. Mrs. Alta Hedrick taught me in
5th and 6th and her classroom was directly overtop of the 1st grade classroom.
Mr. Ira Bennett was principal and 7th & 8th grade teacher and his classroom
was directly over the 3rd and 4th classroom. We had water fountains and a
sink with running water, but we had outdoor toilets. They built the kitchen
after I left there in 1949. (UPDATE: The kitchen appears to have been built in ~1952. This was after conferring with my Mother, Jack Sisk and both of the Bragg brothers. Thanks folks!) At some point during my eight years there, Mr.
Bennett was called to the Army and I can't remember (Mr. Richmond) who was principal during
his absence. Of course, that was during World War II.
Thanks Betty Powell.
