By Valerie Sliker, Courtesy Wagener Monthly
The A.L. Corbett Class of ’65 hit the road once again bound, this time, for the SC State House. It was a breezy, cool first-of-Spring day with the white tea olive blooms and the pink Judas tree buds surrounding us as we gathered at the foot of the Wade Hampton monument.
The class took seats in the balcony to observe the House of Representatives as they concluded their deliberations for the day. Before closing, Representative Bill Taylor introduced the Class of ’65 and had them stand. Taylor highlighted the class history from the one-room schoolhouse and being the last of the segregated schools. The representatives gave the class a standing ovation.
When the House adjourned, the State House photographer took an official photo of the class with Representative Bill Clyburn and Representative Joe Jefferson outside between the columns on one of the State House porticos. The class then had thirty minutes in the comfortable main lobby to chat with these legislators as well as with Representative Lonnie Hosey.
Representative Bill Taylor, coming from a television interview, then guided the class into the emptied House to explain the legislative process. He took the time to explain the traditions, the mace, the Well, and the speaking and voting process.
“I’m privileged to serve you and represent you in the House,” Taylor began speaking with the class. “It looks chaotic from up in the balcony, but there is a lot going on. I have a bill about driving under the influence of electronics. We voted on the education committee today. It has had 4 sub committees and it will be on the floor when we come back.” The House is taking a furlough until April 3.
“We try to be real transparent. Every vote we take, you can sit at home on your computer or smart phone and see everything I see on a dashboard. Click on it and you can see every vote, every bill, every amendment, everything.”
The class made a presentation to Representative Taylor, took a group photo, and then moved to the auditorium for a private greeting from Senator Tom Young, Jr. followed by the viewing of a documentary about the State House and then an official tour given by Ms. Kathryn Padgett.
The State House treated the class with great honor. The day was educational as well as beautiful, from the pink and white marbled floor to the steel, wood and copper dome.
Thirty-nine students graduated from A. L. Corbett High School in 1965. Most of them had transferred there in seventh grade and had come from the Sardis Elementary School in Salley, SC. Sardis was built in 1954 when the state consolidated one and two room schoolhouses into multiroom structures and taught black students from first grade through sixth and was a feeder school for the A. L. Corbett High School in Wagener. Sardis Elementary closed in 1974, soon after school integration in 1970, and its students were bused to A. L. Corbett.
The A.L. Corbett Public School was also established in 1954 and was rated as the fifth most modern in the nation at that time. At its inception, A. L. Corbett housed elementary grades 1 – 6 and high school grades 7 – 12. Currently, it is a middle school.
Read more about the class and the school history.
