Quick Poll

When was the last time you've been summoned for 'Jury Duty' – within the last 0-6 or 7-12 months or 1-3, 4-5 or over 5 years or never?

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Monday, January 23, 2012 in Local

Photo by Alex McRae

Willie Robinson was at Howard Warner from grades seven through 12, graduating on May 26, 1952.

Howard Warner Memories: Willie Robinson proud Class of 1952 graduate

By Alex McRae

The Newnan Times-Herald

You can't put a price tag on a piece of the past, but even if you could, Willie George Robinson wouldn't dream of parting with the diploma he earned as part of the first 12th grade class to graduate from Newnan's Howard W. Warner High School.

"It's pretty special to me," Robinson says. "There probably weren't but 29 or 30 of us in that whole class and I'm proud to have it."

Robinson was born near Senoia in 1933 and the family moved to Newnan when he was a child. Robinson attended Ruth Hill school through the sixth grade, then entered Howard Warner School, which opened in 1935. Robinson was at Howard Warner from grades seven through 12, graduating on May 26, 1952.

Before Coweta schools were integrated, the Howard Warner School served as the city of Newnan's African-American high school. It officially closed in 1969.

Robinson remembers that all the girls at Howard Warner took home economics and "learned how to cook." The boys took shop class and concentrated on construction work, even building what Robinson calls a "miniature house" in the school shop.

Ms. Georgia Callaway -- the school music teacher -- was the home room teacher for the twelfth grade during Robinson's senior year. Homeroom activities were held in the small building just west of the school that still stands today and now serves as headquarters for CAFI, Community Action For Improvement.

Minnie Robinson, director of CAFI's Newnan Service Center for decades, by the way, has been married to Robinson since 1954.

The walls of the CAFI office are still adorned with the large photographs of African-American icons Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune and George Washington Carver that hung in the building when it served as a home room area of Warner High.

After homeroom activities, seniors moved to the school building for classes. Robinson admits he wasn't too excited about class work, but enjoyed sports and played basketball and football. Both sports were coached by longtime Coweta educator Henry Seldon, for whom the stadium at Northgate High is named. Grant Stevenson served as assistant coach for both teams, Robinson says.

Robinson played quarterback on the football team. "We were pretty fair," he says. "We did all right, I think."

The basketball team was better, according to Robinson. The team captain was Ralph Alford and the players were obviously dedicated since they played and practiced on outdoor courts located next to the school.

"I guess it was cold playing out there during the winter," Robinson says. "But we were young and running all the time so we didn't mind. We had a good time."

The Warner football and basketball teams played against other all-black high schools, including Griffin, Carrollton and LaGrange. Basketball tournaments were held in Griffin, whose black high school had an indoor gymnasium.

Several of Robinson's classmates have passed away, but he remembers them all fondly. He doesn't have a printed list of classmates, but can still recall Annie B. Mitchell Thompson, Gwen Gilley, Mary Hill, Ernest T. Rowe, Eloise Walker, Alena Arnold, Robert "Pop" Berry, Charlie Long, Ralph Alford, Richard Walthall, Grady Sears and Bernice Sutton Poythress.

Mose Martin finished attending Warner when the school only offered eleven grades, but came back to school after the twelth grade was added so he could get a full high school diploma.

"He wanted to have that," Robinson said.

School discipline was serious business at Warner and boys who got in trouble "Got a little whuppin'," Robinson says. On a lighter note, the school hosted a yearly graduation dance. Graduation ceremonies were held at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, a short walk from the school on Pinson Street.

After high school, Robinson served for three years in the Air Force, including a tour of duty in Thule, Greenland. While in the service, he married Minnie.

Robinson worked in the automotive industry in Detroit for a while, then held several jobs in the Atlanta area before moving back to Newnan and working 36 years at local industry American Can before retiring.

Robinson favors the effort to preserve the Howard Warner School and hopes it will remain a fixture in the community it once served for years to come.

"I think they need to take care of it," he says. "I have lots of memories there."

The Howard Warner Committee appointed by Newnan City Council will hold a special called meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Zion Hill Baptist Church, 87 Pinson Street, Newnan. The purpose of the meeting is to gather input from the community regarding proposed uses for the Howard Warner school facilities.

•••

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES OF HOWARD WARNER SCHOOL WITH THE TIMES-HERALD

The Newnan Times-Herald is asking for the community’s assistance in learning more about the historic Howard Warner School and the man for whom it is named.

Before Coweta schools were integrated, the Howard Warner School — built in 1935 — served as the city of Newnan’s African-American high school. The school on Savannah Street officially closed in 1969 and was used in the 1970s as the central administrative office for the Coweta County Board of Education.

The Howard Warner facility consists of two structures, the original school, built in 1935, and an additional school structure added in 1955.

If you attended Howard Warner school, or know someone who did, please let us know. We’d like to talk to them and publish those memories and experiences in future editions of the newspaper.

We are also soliciting photographs of students, faculties or activities that took place at the Warner facility. If you have photos, please let us borrow them and copy them for use in the paper. They will be returned.

A volunteer citizen committee is currently studying potential uses for the facility. In recent weeks, the committee has solicited suggestions and comments from citizens, community organizations, churches and civic clubs as they work to determine uses for the facility that will best serve the city and community.

If you have information, you may send it by mail to The Newnan Times-Herald, P.O. Box 1052, Newnan, GA 30264, or you may drop off materials, including photographs at the newspaper offices, located at 16 Jefferson St. in downtown Newnan. Email comments and digital photo submissions are also welcome. Please send them to news@newnan.com.

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.