Successful public servants of Stokes leave legacies that linger. Their unselfish labor, commitment and achievements echo for years through their successors. Such was the case with those who served the black community as educators at the Walnut Cove Colored School (WCCS) in the previous century.

Their echoes were heard on March 13 when Kelli Pearson, an official from Lowe’s, came to the old school in Walnut Cove to help celebrate. The occasion? A $1 million grant given by Lowe’s to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to save the local school and 14 others built by Julius Rosenwald in the early 1900s to educate African-American youth.

Rather than make a lengthy presentation speech, Pearson instead requested to hear from those who attended the school decades ago. “I want to hear the story,” she urged, “because there’s such a rich story to the Rosenwald schools.”

The stories that began to pour forth from the former students paid tribute to the African-American teachers and principal who served the school in the heart of the primarily black neighborhood of London in Walnut Cove. Cora Hairston, Catherine Bailey Goolsby, Roberta Sleigh, Kathleen Williamson, Sally Joyce, Jesse Armstrong, Ethel Martin, Christine Jessup, Principal Troy L. Williamson and doubtless others.

Mable Fulton Johnson, a former student there, told how the teachers enforced strict rules but were encouraging at the same time, “They made us want to go out and take over the world.” Their encouragement propelled her to become a teacher herself. She was the head librarian for years at the school that now serves as London Elementary School.

Buford Bailey, a Walnut Cove native and now a Forsyth County Commissioner, agreed with Johnson, “The teachers encouraged me, ‘You gonna make something of yourself.’” He said all he knew how to do then was work in tobacco and wondered what in the world he’d make of himself.

When Bailey’s days were done at the London school—it did not have high school grades—he went to Winston-Salem at the age of 14 and continued his education. “This school afforded me the opportunity to make something of myself. It’s where I got my start,” he testified.

The WCCS was built in 1921 and had only five teachers who taught two classes each. As did other Rosenwald schools, the London school served as a community center and a hub for meetings.

“The role Rosenwald schools played in the educational and civic lives of communities throughout the South cannot be underestimated,” said Larry D. Stone, chairman of the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.

The school and its educators certainly played a large role in Ralph Mitchell’s life. Mitchell, born in 1928 just across the street from the school, began to hang around the facility when he was five and a half years old. Since he was underage, there was disapproval of his presence there. “After about two or three months, they forgot,” he said with a smile; he was part of the school from then on.

“We had some good teachers here,” Mitchell recalled. “Mr. Williamson was one of the best I’ve ever seen. He encouraged us to do something.”

The efforts of Principal Williamson and his staff to make a difference in their students’ lives extended beyond school hours. Williamson took Mitchell and others to his home near Reidsville. It was a large property of about 1,500 acres and gave evidence of wealth. This glimpse of successful black Americans inspired Mitchell and his friends. Mitchell credits that experience with being part of the reason he went to college and became an agriculture teacher.

Frank Dalton, another former student, recounted how his dad traveled to Raleigh to talk to the governor and other state officials. The goal was to get a bus for the black students to travel out of county for high school since there were no high school educational opportunities in Stokes County

“They didn’t go just once,” Dalton told how his dad and others from Walnut Cove had to push their agendas in Raleigh. The efforts paid off. Dalton says they got a “junk bus,” which they repaired and utilized. He was the driver of that first bus.

Johnson spoke more about the link between the neighborhood and the school: “We have been truly blessed. People in this community have been hard-pressed for finances, but they managed to make a way. We didn’t have frivolous things, but we certainly had the basics. It has been a difficult journey, but somehow we have made it through.”

The common theme at the awards gathering of about 50 people—approximately 10 of them former students—was that the difficult journey was made possible largely through the public servants who taught at the school and put a thirst for education into their students.

Mary Catherine Foy was one of those students who left the WCCS determined to go even farther. She caught a Greyhound bus at 6 a.m. every weekday morning “to get to where I was going,” she said. The bus which took her out of Stokes County for high school brought her home at 6 p.m. Foy remembers that she really never saw Walnut Cove until each weekend.

The legacy of the colored school carried forth into the next generation. Charles Mitchell, the first black licensed electrician in Stokes County, stated that he had many of these same teachers as they made the move to the new London school, “I’m proud to have known and been instructed by these people.” He laughingly reminisced of how Principal Williamson would cut a switch from a nearby tree and “take it to you.”

This firm discipline was part of the program at the WCCS. Edward Hairston, a longtime Stokes County educator who began his educational journey as a first grader at the old school, explained more fully: “These teachers expected excellence. It was here that I developed a vision for what I could become, that shaped my life. . .The personal concern of the teachers—we can’t underestimate that.”

Hairston talked about the far-ranging vision of these long ago educators—to propel children to be the best they could be and to pull together for the good of all. He urged people to “grab a little bit of the vision” that was present in the WCCS and surrounding community.

In 1954, the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education ordered schools to be desegregated. Most the Rosenwald schools still in operation were closed at that point. Many of the buildings were torn down or fell into disrepair as did the WCCS which had closed in 1952. Frank Dalton had told how the site became “an eyesore to the community,” a place where people came to drink alcohol and hang out.

Dorothy Dalton, whose daughter Dana hosted and coordinated the grant presentation on Friday, had a vision to rescue the once stately old school. Frank called “Dot” Dalton, “the push,” the one who “had the brainstorm to restore this building.”

Through her efforts and those of people all over the county as well as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the building was restored and is now used for town and zoning board meetings, weddings, receptions and as the Walnut Cove Senior Center.

“Preserving these historic structures and returning them to be valuable gathering places is important to our nation’s history and the communities where they are located—both worthy goals Lowe’s is proud to continue to support,” stated Chairman Stone of Lowe’s.

Greg Hairston, who attended the newer London school under the tutelage of some of the same teachers who taught at the old school, addressed the crowd, “I’m proud of what goes on here. . .to have a facility in the community to keep dreams alive; I’m thankful.”

Commissioner Bailey told how restoring the old school in London brought the black and white communities together, “This school has been good for the entire county.”

Greg Hairston agreed, “It took the efforts of everyone working together; the color barrier was broken.”

“The Lowe’s contribution will help to preserve these iconic landmarks of monuments to African American history,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “In a time of great racial inequality, Julius Rosenwald worked with communities across the South and Southwest to improve educational opportunities for African Americans. These schools represent a critical link to our national heritage, and we are pleased to work with Lowe’s in preserving these important places that tell America’s story.”

Of the 5,300 Rosenwald schools, vocational shops and teachers’ homes that were constructed between 1918-1932, no more than 10-12 percent remain standing. They have been put on the list of American’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

The celebration of the Lowe’s grant award in Walnut Cove was attended by many local officials, including NC House Representative Bryan Holloway; Stokes County Commissioners Dr. Ron Carroll, Leon Inman and Ernest Lankford; Walnut Cove Mayor John Hodgkin; Walnut Cove Town Manager Homer Dearmin; Walnut Cove Town Commissioners Lora Carter and Polly Goolsby; Mike Stout of Preservation North Carolina and members of the Walnut Cove Senior Center Board and Advisory Council.

Other public servants of Stokes who have gone on but are remembered for their efforts in preserving the school include Dorothy Hairston Dalton, the architect of effort, and three other dedicated and founding members: Joe H. Hairston, Ralph Hairston and Barbara P. Watkins.