History Is Alive in Marion, Alabama!

INTRODUCTION    When I attended the Lincolnite Biennial Meeting in Los Angeles in 1991, a little pamplet called the Lincolnite Directory was on sale as a fundraiser for the National Office of the Lincolnite Association. It consisted of 14 pages, 136 names and addresses of alumni; the addresses of the several chapters with names of officers. There were also about five paragraphs of history. It sold for ten dollars. I thought, What a wonderful idea! But why not a more complete and richer directory? Two years later in Marion I addressed the idea to Lincolnites. They were overwhelmingly positive. I started to collect names and addresses and biographical briefs. Feelings were even more positive at the next meeting in Fort Wayne in 1994. More bios were submitted, but not in large numbers. It was at this point that I thought Lincolnites preferred to keep their lights under bushels, because there appeared to be some reluctance to submit information about themselves. I continued to collect information, including only addresses and phone numbers in some cases. Again in Marion, in 1996, I made my last big pitch for the directory, and collected more bio sketches, addresses and phone numbers (some of which changed several years later, especially area codes). I have been hard at work since then, without realizing from the beginning that I had taken on a gargantuan task. My guess is that high schools don't ordinarily publish directories, and with understandable reasons. However, Lincoln School on longer exists, except in spirit. There will be no more Lincoln School graduates and alumni. It seems to me that there should be some kind of accessible record in one place, preferably in book form, that lists all graduates and many non-graduating alumni, complete with addresses and phone numbers, including some of their achievements. The directory says in effect, This is who we are. Lincoln School was an unusual place in the heart of Alabama Black Belt country. It was a special place. Significantly, I am not sure that graduates from the mid-fifties to the school's demise in 1970 fully realize the struggle and pain that went into the development of Lincoln School. Their time was when the institution was a public one - not terribly different from any other public school. I say this because I received only about 25 biographical sketches from people who graduated (or attended) after 1959. Twenty-five. But between 1960 and 1970, 581 individuals graduated from Lincoln - more than one quarter of the total (about 2,000 graduates) from 1880 to 1970. I believe it is important to continue to try and reach this large number of "missing" graduates. They are now at the height of their careers and work. The 1960 graduate is now approaching fifty years of age. It has just come to my attention (summer of 1997) that a Lincoln School graduate was featured in Ebony Magazine (June 1997). The article is entitled "Wal-Mart's $11 Billion Executive." David E. Jackson was a member of the Class of 1967, and the son of one of my classmates. There are others like Mr. Jackson. They may not ride herd over 11 billion dollars, but are doing other important things. We may not be able to attribute their success to Lincoln School, but they are of us, and we of them. Whether one drives a bus or a cross-country semi-trailer, is a Ph.D. college professor, works in the post-office, or is a domestic servant, he/she is one of us. This is our book. Each alumnus or alumna - graduate or not - is entitled to space in - The Lincoln School Alumni Directory. The format of the directory is such that names, addresses, phone numbers, and biographical information can be easily added should there be a need for a second edition. Some alumni were clearly reluctant to submit information about themselves. One woman, a friend and longtime high level school system administrator, when asked to submit information about herself said, "Oh, they don't need to know all that about me!" Another friend said, "You know about me. You write what you want." The latter was a career US Postal employee, but he is much more. In addition to having had a creditable artistic career in music, his three daughters ( one set of twins) are successful as a social worker, a nurse, and a Ph.D. in educational administration. Lincolnites may be self-effacing. It is as if they say, "Of course I have done many worthwhile things. I'm from Lincoln School and don't need to talk about it. Everybody knows that." While they have no need to "talk about it," others need to know what has happened to Lincoln School alumni, what we are doing, and what we have done. The Lincoln School Alumni Directory can be used advantageously by many in different pursuits and professions: genealogists, sociologists, historians, archivists and others. Most of all, it can be used by alumni. Publishing the directory has been an expensive, time-consuming, bittersweet labor of love, and sometimes exasperating. There were times when I considered abandoning the project. It proved to be much more difficult and demanding than I had ever dreamed, coupled with computer system snags, program application "crashes" and hang-ups, etc. But I don't back off easily. Once I commit myself to something, I have to go to the end. I put the project in the context of basketball games between Knox Academy and Lincoln School back in the 40s. I just gritted my teeth and kept jumping, passing, and running as hard as I could. They were fierce and titanic struggles, and we won some of those games. I hope you will think that The Lincoln School Alumni Directory is also a winner.    We'll Forget? No, Never!   City of Marion, Alabama Marion History