By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Under a crystal blue sky, those who taught, learn and ran E.A. Harrold in recent years provided the perfect contrast with their green.
Wearing the primary school color of E.A. Harrold Elementary wasn’t a mandate as part of E.A. Harrold Day, which was declared by the City of Millington and Mayor Terry Jones. But those full of the Hornet school spirit sported their best green as Millington Municipal School Superintendent James “Bo” Griffin hosted a ceremony to celebrate the nearly 100 year legacy of the institution and mark it’s closing as a place of everyday education.
Griffin and other distinguished guests met outside the historic venue under a shade tree to reflect on the impact of E.A. Harrold on the city of Millington since the early 1920s.
E.A. Harrold Elementary came to be during the 1973-74 school year. Prior to that formation, Harrold was the black school of Millington.
According to some records the school opened in 1922. Then known as Millington Junior High School, the first building took shape at the corner of Wilkinsville Road and West Union in the Harrold community. The classes ranged from elementary to junior high with the senior classes at Woodstock High School.
From principal Cornell Wells to the final leader of the school Patricia Speight, many educators called the classrooms at Harrold home including Carolyn Hunter.
Hunter served at the school as a Kindergarten then second grade teacher for 25 years starting in the 1980s.
“It brings back a lot of memories,” she said of being in attendance. “Harrold was an absolute wonderful place to work because everybody cared about everybody. The alum at this school through the years good time and bad, this school always pulled together. It was just a really, really nice from the kids, parents, teachers and principals. We were blessed.”
The final three principals of the school (1997-2021) were a part of the program celebrating the school. After the prayer from Minister Dennis Lewis of Mt. Zion Hill Church and the proclamation from Mayor Jones, Speight took to the podium to introduce her colleagues Tanya Mabry and Dr. Amanda Compton.
A few faces in the crowd were all smiles looking at their former administrators like 2015 Millington Central High School Valedictorian Jason Jiang
Jiang currently is the field auditor for a fundraising and awareness organization at St. Jude Research Hospital.
“It’s great seeing some of the old teachers,” he said. “It just brings back memories when I was young. There are a lot of things I don’t remember but there are a few things I do remember. I went K through 5 here. I do remember the nap times. After Kindergarten never had nap time again. And I do remember snack time. There were some good snacks.
“The teachers didn’t have a direct impact on my career but they did help shape who I am today as a gentleman and my prospectives in life,” Jiang added.
Hunter said the philosophy under the leadership of Mabry, Compton or Speight was the same at Harrold.
“Putting the children first was our priority absolutely,” she said. “It makes me feel great to see our children doing great things as adults. I taught Kindergarten at first and then second grade. You start them out and push them out. We always hated to see them level.
“But that was our charge in life,” Hunter continued. “A lot of time we never saw them again. The hard deal was to give the children a really great foundation because with a great foundation you can do anything. We strived to supply that foundation for our kids at EA Harrold.”
Mabry reflected on her time at Harrold and seeing former students like Lauren Mabry come back to be teachers. Compton noted hot the community was the backbone of Harrold.
The school that started as an all black institution went through desegration in the 1970s. Then it went through changes as E.A. Harrold High School to an elementary school that served up the sixth grade.
All that history was represented when Speight, Mabry and Compton released white and green balloons to honor the legeacy of E.A. Harrold, “Once a Hornet, always a Hornet.”
“Almost 100 years of people here, just stay connected,” Jiang concluded. “Millington is a small community, so we just have to stay connected. It was great seeing so many people I know. Some from my graduating class at Harrold are started throughout the country. The school will live on forever.”
