Local News

Douglas High alumni reunite

Marc Valero | Highlands Today
Published: December 24, 2012

SEBRING - They didn't have the amenities, but they had teachers who cared and a spirit to succeed, E.O. Douglas High School alumni said as they gathered around "the old oak tree" Friday to reminisce and unveil a granite monument.

About 80 attended the event, which kicked off a weekend of reunion activities for the alumni of the school that served black students in the days of segregation, from 1923 to 1967. The campus now serves as the offices for the School Board of Highlands County.

"It has been about 60 years since I've been here, but I will never forget the old oak tree," said Barbara Hobbs.

There are not many left from her graduating class, she said, noting that more than half are gone.

She remembered that Principal Samuel Nixon Jr. stressed that whatever you do, do your best.

Hazel Henry Price said E.O. Douglas was a fun place to be and brought back a lot of memories.

They didn't have all the amenities and they were in army barracks that were heated by a wood-burning stove, she said.

They also had hand-me-down books.

"When we did get new books we fought over them," Price remembered.

Despite that, they didn't dwell on what they didn't have, but focused on what they did, she said. "We had some of the best teachers."

Robert Saffold handed out reunion souvenir booklets with historical accounts and news stories about the school.

"We have so much to be thankful for," he said. "(E.O. Douglas) made me a better person."

Among those who attended the event were James Lavonne Green and his wife, Elaine, of Pompano Beach.

James was in the 1962 graduating class.

The granite monument, which was unveiled after a one-hour program, includes the names of the school's principals and the years they headed the school.

mvalero@highlandstoday.com (863) 386-5826