Winyah High Class of 1949 celebrates
Last Updated on 3/14/2010
Published on 6/16/2009
By Rounette Johnson
rjohnson72@sc.rr.com
Thirty-four members of the Winyah High School Class of 1949 strolled down memory lane Saturday as they reminisced about the good old days.
The class held its 60th class reunion on Saturday, June 19th at Pawleys Plantation Club House.
In 1949, 56 graduates left Winyah High School to begin the next part of their journey through life.
Amazingly, many of them managed to stay in contact after going their separate ways.
Mac Daniels, a 77-year-old Georgetown resident said he keeps in contact with each member and updates new addresses when necessary.
"We are a close-knit family," says Daniels. "We stay in contact and look forward to these parties."
School history
Winyah High School openened its doors in 1938 on the block encircled by Highmarket, Dozier, Cleland and Church streets in Georgetown.
It was described in news articles as the city's white and college preparatory high school.
It was desegregated in 1970. Then the school burned in 1981. It and Howard High School, which was primarily a black school, were merged into Georgetown High School.
Old memories
The classmates were excited and surprised to see old high school pictures on a slide show playing as they arrived at the party.
Jean Hiott of Greenville laughed at her hairdo in 1949.
She was a cheerleader and the feature editor of the Winyah Gators newspaper.
"We have a great group tonight," Hiott said. "We look fabulous at 77."
She has raised three children, has done a lot of traveling and is still working as a manager for a large cosmetic company based in Florida.
"My motto is live life to the fullest," Hiott said.
An added attraction to the party was classmate Andrew Smalls, also known as Andy, who serenaded the class with a rendition of "Blue Moon."
Smalls has been in show business for the last 25 years, so this personal appearance wowed the crowd.
From far and wide
Class members traveled from far and wide to attend the event.
David Feild traveled all the way from San Francisco so that he could attend his 60th class reunion.
He grew up in Georgetown and now he is a retired vice president and general manager.
Allene Boykin, a 78-year-old retired Spanish teacher, traveled from Bossier, Louisiana.
Two other classmates traveled from Tennessee and one traveled from Mississippi.
Jessie Wilson and Friends featuring Deborah Burgess entertained the classmates with soft elegant music while they enjoyed a delightful meal.
It was a joyous celebration and members of the class of 1949 look forward to their next class reunion in 2014.
Rounette Johnson is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Pawleys Island.
