STUDENTS & FACULTY of ETOWAH HIGH SCHOOL
- selected photos -

Picture
Cover emblem from 1952 school annual "The Chief" A respectful image of a Great Plains American Indian Chief, popular in the early 20th century; however, this image is not representative of the Cherokee of Southern Appalachians.
  • ​​Copies of "The Chief," EHS annuals may be viewed at the Henderson County Genealogical & Historical ​Society​
  • 400 North Main Street, 693-1531
​​​
  • Copies of years 1938 and 1960 are in the Etowah Reference Collection at the Etowah Branch Library.
Picture
First Grade Class of 1930. Based on a photo in "The Chief" annual and a county school record, the teacher is believed to be Christina Barnwell Garren. Mrs. Garren was paid $95/mo for the 1929-1930 school year, her first year at Etowah and her sixth year as a teacher. Photo courtesy of Jean Wells Huggins, Betty Morgan & Ruby Sproles.
1934 REUNION  -  CLASS OF 1931 ETOWAH HIGH SCHOOL
FRONT row, L to R: Anderson Banks, Dave Hawkins, Glen Allen, Leona Dalton Huggins, Ellen Fletcher Hawkins, Florence Blythe Couch, Goldie Banks Blythe, Marita Huggins, Beulah Allison Morgan, Johnnie Elmer Laughter, Ralph W. Jones - Principal.
SECOND row:  Beulah Cantrell, Lucille Laughter, Ada Laughter, Thelma Laughter, Olita Huggins "Cole," Frank Laughter, Gola McKinna.
THIRD row:  Willard Barnwell, Evelyn Huggins, Nannie Mae Laughter, Geneva Shipman Lyda, Josephine Long, Coy Greer, Thelma Drake.
FOURTH row:  Jewel Blythe, Alden Drake, Mary Banning, Archie Davis, Willie B. Laughter, Pete Byrd.
FIFTH row:  Herman Hawkins, Earl Gray, Harvey Laughter.
LEFT STEPS, front to back:  Bonnie Cantrell "Hazeltine," Alba Blythe, George Drake.
​RIGHT STEPS, front to back:  Ola Gash, Katherine Kilpatrick, Gladys Blythe "Mace," Carl Cantrell.  Photo and information, courtesy of Ray Morgan.
Picture
Miss Roberts, 2nd grade teacher & class, year unknown. The students are dressed in costume, perhaps for a play. Photo courtesy of Hellen Bell Freeman (1919-2014), class of 1938.
1947 or 1948 - Future Homemakers of America Club, ETOWAH HIGH SCHOOL
FRONT row, L to R: ​Evelyn Patterson (m. Bill Arrington), Ella Mae Galloway, ? , Eula Wells (m. Gaynard Morgan), Patsy Bates (m. Alvin Gilbert), Joann McClure (m. Harold Allison), Alma Baynard (m. Bruce Morgan), Jeannie Huggins (m. Ellis Revis), Beatrice Bell, Wilma Jean McCall, ?  , ? .  BACK row, L to R: Doris Blythe, Mollie Killian, ? , Betty Baynard, Myrtle Robinson, Eva Sentelle, ? , ? , Margie Edmondson, Sue Corpening, Sue Norris, Flossie Stepp, ? , ? , Aline Baynard, Ruth Garren.  [Photo provided by Jean Wells Huggins.  Names, best available information.  Help with identification is welcome.] ​
1947
Picture
1947 The Chief, Dedication page
 PictureCoach Clyde Peek
Coach Clyde Peek
1919 - 2014

Excerpts:
2008 letter to nominate Coach Peek to the
Henderson County Education Hall of Fame:


" Coach Clyde Peek served as the head men's baseball and men's basketball coach at Etowah High School in the 1950's.  ... During his [six year] tenure Coach Peek's [basketball] record was 149 wins against 25 losses. ... In 1953 Etowah won the district and regional championships before losing in the NCHSAA state championships. ... For four of Coach Peek's seasons, Etowah did not have a gymnasium.  They practiced outside and only occasionally got to use gymnasiums at other schools. ... Etowah was a school with a student population of less than one hundred, making it the smallest school in the county.  Coach Peek not only taught his players to win, but served as an inspiration. "

Coach Peek did not qualify for the HC Education Hall of Fame because he did not live in the county for 10 years.
Picture
1953 Chief - Coach Peek on right with basketball trophies. In 1953 Etowah won the district and regional championships before losing in the NCHSAA state championships.
1954 Etowah High School students outside the new gymnasium, dedicated 1951.
1954 The Chief

​1.    Sydny White
2.    Brady "Jr." Briggs
3.    Frank Case, "Toby"
4.    William Sanders
5.    Jimmy Allen
6.    Margaret Rogers
7.    Elaine Adcock
8.    Edna White
9.    Mae Garren
10.  Virginia Orr
11.  Harold Scott
12.  Woodrow Gibbs
13.  Roy Brogden
14.  T. C. Williams
15.  Katherine Dalton
16.  Jackie Hawkins
17.  Frances Hendricks
18.  Mary Johnson
19.  Ada Norris
20.  Lavada Norris

1954 students -  identified by
​Dorothy Dalton Brown
& Jean Wells Huggins
1956 Graduating Class - 11 girls, 11 boys
Front Row, L to R:  Peggy McCombs, Margaret Johnson, Sarah Lee Johnson, Betty Ann "Clair" Orr, Ruby Jones, Vera Moody, Mascot - Linda Faye Newman, Wanda Briggs, Minnie Hunsinger, Mary Ellen Ritter, Maymie Jo Summey, Joyce Allison.  Back Row, L to R:  Jimmy Phillips, Clarence Cecil Stover, Bobby Drake, Freddie Parris, Harold "Gene" Allen, Charles Robinson, Joe Allison, Jackie Newman, Harry Byrd, Joe White (not pictured, Charles Arrington).
1962 Basketball Team of West Henderson High School at Tri-County Basketball Tournament
​with 7 of 12 players and coach from Etowah, others from Mills River and Fletcher H. S.
In 1960 Etowah H. S. closed and students were moved to West Henderson H. S.

​1st row, L to R:  E - Dean Sumner, (...?), (...?), Carol ?, Don Sitton, E - Evan Flynn;
2nd row, L to R:  (...?), E - Ronnie Owens, E - Richard Gordon, E - Ray Huggins,
E - Coach Harry Woodson, E - Wayne Bell, E - Johnnie Gossett.
Photo courtesy of family of James Ray Huggins (1943-2018)
Graduates of Etowah High School, Classes of 1944 - 1960, attending the "All-Class Reunion"
May 31, 2014 at Mountain Farm in Horse Shoe.  Courtesy of Richard & Dorothy Brown