It’s always special when former classmates who shared a unique period in history get together, and an upcoming reunion of J.J. Jones High School graduates in Mount Airy will have added significance.
This will include a number of activities centered around the auditorium of the former all-black campus on Sept. 2, including the official unveiling of a plaque commemorating the site’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places last year.
The Jones alumni normally would have held a reunion in 2021 as part of an every-other-year meeting schedule, but that gathering was cancelled due to lingering issues with the coronavirus.
So the historic commemoration is planned for Sept. 2 to kick off a weekend of reunion activities for those who attended J.J. Jones. The school served African-American students in this area from 1936 to 1966, when it closed due to integration.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing with getting on the National Register,” said Edward McDaniels, a local resident who graduated from J.J. Jones High and serves on a reunion committee.
In honor of that occasion, Sept. 2 will be Family and Community Day on the grounds, according to J J Jones High School Alumni President Nancy Bowman Williams (Class of 1965).
The alumni group owns the auditorium, with other parts of the former campus long held by the Surry County government and leased to an agency operating a resource center that includes various agencies
Reunion organizers say the public at large is invited to Family and Community Day, which will give everyone the chance to celebrate the National Register status and the J.J. Jones heritage overall.
“This is for the community,” said McDaniels, who believes it is important for youth to be involved.
Old pictures and other mementos typically are displayed during each reunion, which once again also will include the wrapping of a maypole with colorful ribbons.
“That was a traditional activity at the school every year,” Williams explained.
While no specific times for the Sept. 2 slate of activities could be obtained from reunion planners Wednesday, these are expected to get under way around mid- to late afternoon and continue through the early evening.
The gathering also will include a fish fry at a cost of $12 per person.
Oldest-surviving graduate
Planners also are excited about the possible attendance on Sept. 2 of the oldest-living graduate of J.J. Jones High School, Sadie George, a member of its inaugural commencement Class of 1941.
George still lives in Mount Airy and is believed to be around 100 years old.
“She is the last one of them,” McDaniels said of that pioneering group of grads.
“We’re hoping that she can be there for the unveiling of the plaque,” Williams said of George.
Up to 150 former Jones students are expected to be present for the reunion weekend as a whole.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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