Schofield gathering shares Founder's Day lessons

Feb. 4—One of the most prominent educators in Aiken County's history was the subject of a tribute Saturday afternoon at Friendship Baptist Church, as more than 200 local residents and visitors gathered to salute the memory of Martha Schofield, largely known as the namesake of Schofield Middle School.

The Founder's Day event had educator Harold Finigan as the keynote speaker and included input from a variety of ministers and other educators from the Aiken area and beyond, sharing insight on the life and legacy of the Quaker woman who moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina during Reconstruction and would be remembered largely as a teacher, abolitionist and suffragist.

Finigan, an educator who is based in Darby, Pennsylvania, was described as "on a mission to educate and to promote sustainability and historic preservation," with decades of experience in teaching social studies, health, business and information technology from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Rev. Lester Smalls, president of the legacy committee for Martha Schofield alumni, also addressed the gathering, challenging his listeners to appreciate the occasion. "This occasion's about a lady who followed the will of God, and certainly she strove, even through sickness and through the barriers of resistance and prejudice and all kinds of challenges, she continued to strive to fulfill that goal, to establish an institution that will instill betterment in our lives, so we just thank God for this day," he said.

The word "capacity" came to mind in connection with Schofield, said Smalls, who is also pastor of Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

"In other words, the capacity to endure. First of all, she had the capacity to love. She had the capacity to sacrifice. She had the capacity to continue to push even when she felt like she couldn't go any further, but she never lost sight of the mission of God, and when I think about this day ... I just want to shout 'hallelujah,' when I look back from whence we've come."

The afternoon also included recognition of a variety of award recipients, all under the category of "Working the Legacy." Among them were "cafeteria workers at Martha Schofield in the '60s," including Rosa Davis, Geneva Key, Elizabeth Jenkins, Louise Adams and Louise Seawright."

The list also included honorees in such roles as educators, public servants and ministers. Names included Willar Hightower Jr., William Clyburn, Beverly Clyburn, Willie Alma Finnie, Richard Johnson Jr., Willie J. Lanham, Earnest G. Smith, Alexander Pope Jr., Lessie Price, James Gallman, George A. Anderson, Thelma J. Robinson and Mike Weaver.

Among other speakers was Bobby Donaldson, an associate professor of history at the University of South Carolina, sharing insight from the writings of writer, abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, who recalled in 1888 that "it is not well to forget the past," which Douglass described as "the mirror in which we may see the outlines of the future."

Black people "must keep the past alive until justice is done," said Donaldson, who also offered perspective from Mary McLeod Bethune, a Sumter County native largely remembered as an educator and philanthropist.

Donaldson, in addition, touched on the 1946 senior class from Schofield High School. That class' president was one of Donaldson's grandmothers, Ruby Doris Williams.

"Mama, as I called her, was the wisest woman I knew. I am a professor of history because she too was a historian. Her love for history was shaped and molded on the grounds of Schofield," he said.

"Her nickname on the campus was 'Granny.' They said Mama was an old soul, and as I look at her life, she was just that. She was the only woman in our family to finish high school. She had aspirations that were cut short," he said, recalling his childhood as a resident of an Augusta government housing project where "Mama" served in such roles as nurse, social worker and counselor.

"Those critical skills, she learned at Schofield, but Mama was not from Aiken, the city. Mama was from the suburbs, living at the intersection of Highway 278 and Green Pond Road. You may have heard of it. We call it Petticoat Junction," he said, triggering laughter and applause.

She rode to the school every morning on the back of a truck, he said, recalling her understanding on the biblical concept of not conforming to the world, but being transformed, instead, "by the renewing of your mind."

Donaldson added, "I'm grateful that Mama's mind was transformed at Schofield."

Saturday's event, as indicated in the booklet, was dedicated in memory of Ada Lee Boynton, who was a musician at Friendship for more than 50 years.

The program also listed several prominent Schofield alumni, including Matila Evans (first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina), Irene Trowell-Harris (first African American woman to achieve the rank of major general) and James Gallman (first African American to receive a masters in mathematics from the University of Tennessee).

Also saluted was Janie L. Mines, whose mother taught at Schofield. Mines, in turn, was the first African American woman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Martha Schofield, as remembered on the middle school's website, moved to coastal South Carolina as a representative of the Freedmen's Bureau.

The account adds, "She became deeply interested in the former slave population and the multitude of problems they faced. In 1868, because of health problems, she moved to Aiken, South Carolina with the firm determination of founding the first school for the benefit of African American youth."

Her creation became known as Schofield Normal and Industrial School. The founder's love and altruism, "combined with sterling common sense and purpose," ensured the school's success, despite the fact that she began her teaching without equipment or financial aid.