When I was q kid, I attended Mt. Pisgah School. Now then, it was an entire school—Kindergarten through 12th grade in the same building. Nowadays there a separate structure for elementary, middle school, high school.
We were the Mt. Pisgah Rams collectively. All the teams carried the same mascot. Not anymore.
In the late 70s what the county would call an ambitious undertaking (and what we would call a colossal mistake) happened. The school district decided to consolidate four high schools into North Central High School. They also took the seventh and eighth grades with them. Junior and Senior high were to be in the same building.
And that’s how it was for decades. And everyone eventually lost the bad feelings because time heals all wounds. We still had the Rams and the kids were pretty proud of their small schools. Our elementary school boasted the best scores in the county. We have a lot of elementary schools here due to our population.
I remember going to the old store in the pictures. Places JW Sowell’s Grocery was a massive part of the community back then. We didn’t go to town every day when I was a kid. Going to town was an event. I remember going to JWs and grabbing a snack after practice and waiting for my mom to pick me up when I attended Mt. Pisgah as a fourth or fifth grader after football practice. We could still do that then because insanity had not yet been released upon the world.
JW was a gruff old fella. He was nice enough to the kids. I remember a can of Hawaiian Punch and Andy Capp’s Hot Fries. And I can taste that combination of flavors in my mouth right now writing this.
I took of the trash today and mad this a side stop. It counts as a wander because I didn’t stick to the path.
Mt. Pisgah would have served our community for one hundred years come 2024 but, in an ambitious move, they’ve consolidated the elementary schools now as well. They not only picked at the scab this time, they tore it off. And the feelings came out with the blood.
We fought for years to keep this from happening. But “progress” can’t and won’t be stopped sometimes.
That last picture is a kind of view of the world left behind. So many memories just left in a pile.
But I can still see it as it was if I close my eyes.
Get off the highway.
Seegars
Searching The South 