August 18, 2018, was proclaimed by Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington as “Remember Henderson High School Day” and remember they did.
The former Henderson High School (HHS) building on Charles Street was opened from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to all former Bulldogs interested in touring the school one last time. Most recently known as Henderson Middle School, the building will no longer be used by the Vance County School System due to a recent consolidation of the area’s middle and high schools.
The HHS Class of 1968 held its 50th reunion in conjunction with the proclaimed day. Those in attendance, including alumni and former educators, remembered friends, relationships and events that changed the world in what proved to be a bittersweet reunion.
John Charles Rose, owner/operator of WIZS, was on the scene to interview attendees. You may listen to the audio clip of those interviews by clicking here. Below are some recollections of a few of those interviewed:
Mayor Eddie Ellington –
“It is awesome to get everyone together in Henderson like this. I talked to the group and told them that all roads lead home.”
Phil Holmes (Class of 1968) –
“1968 was a wonderful, but tumultuous year – the year that changed the world. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in Memphis, Robert Kennedy was killed, Lyndon Johnson didn’t run for reelection and our school burned. There was turmoil, riots and music.”
“I’ll never forget sitting in John Paul Jones classroom and hearing that fire alarm and I thought ‘Here we are, I’m a senior and there aren’t many fire drills left.’ We walked out the side of the building and we hear sirens and I thought ‘Man, what a coincidence – sirens and a fire drill.’ I looked up and saw smoke and our school was on fire. That was traumatic for all of us.”
“The great thing is they got our auditorium back in shape so when we graduated, we could have it in our high school.”
“We were a mischievous class. We never hurt anybody but we always had something going on.”
Evelyn Edwards (Class of 1968) –
When asked what made the Class of ’68 so special, Edwards jokingly replied “We burnt down the school! The fire started in a Home Economics class, which I had just left, so it wasn’t me!”
“Football in Veterans Field was date night number one. You’d go to the game, you’d cheer and you went to the pep rallies. You didn’t miss a game.”
“We were a good group of guys and girls and we respected ourselves, each other and the teachers. We weren’t perfect and we did get into some mischief.”
“It’s overwhelming [being back in the school]. You walk down the halls and think ‘I went there, and there.’”
Laura Hunt Hedrick (Class of 1968)
“I was in short-hand class when the fire alarm went off and the girls left their things and their pocketbooks because we thought it was just a drill. That night I was so sick from the smell [of the fire] that I threw up all night long.”
“We were a close-knit group. You get upset thinking about this closing as a school but are also proud of what you did here.”
“This has been beyond our wildest expectations. I didn’t think this many people would be interested enough to come.”
Jim Hogsett (Class of 1962)
“John Rose III [former general manager and president of WIZS] was my very best friend and I’ll never forget him. He and I were in the [radio] business together before going down separate paths. I’ll never forget when he had this little home radio station and rigged up a tower. I’m blessed to have known him.”
“I’m looking at this stage [in the former HHS building] and remembering folks I’ve seen performing there that later became part of the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame. Kitty Wells was the first country music star up on the stage and there was also Roy Acuff and Ferlin Husky. That was right here in little ol’ Henderson, NC.”
“I never thought I’d live to see the school close.”
Mac Choplin (Class of 1969) 
“I have wonderful memories of high school football, friends, great teachers and relationships that never go away. The feeling today is like coming through those doors again for the first time – exciting.”
“The Class of ’68 provided a wonderful tribute and brought a lot of people together. We’re seeing people we haven’t seen in years and hopefully, it won’t be as long seeing them next time.”
Mark Pace
“I didn’t graduate from Henderson High, but my father taught here from 1962 to 1971. We used to live in a little, white house behind the school. I used to play out in the ball field as a kid and learned to ride my bicycle in the parking lot.”
“I was 8 years old when the school caught on fire and I had never seen anything like it before. I cut out the articles from the Dispatch about the fire and put them in a scrapbook my mother had given me. I started putting other interesting articles in my scrapbook and that set me down the road of being a local historian and I’ve been doing that for 50 years now.”
“I remember National Guardsmen camping out on Veterans Field when they had riots here in the 1970’s.”
“Eleanor Roosevelt spoke from the stage in 1941. This is a significant place with a significant history. This building was built by people from Henderson, it was designed by someone from Henderson; it is Henderson. Henderson has lost a lot of its historical architecture over the years and this is one we need to save.”
Wayne Adcock (former principal of Henderson Junior High School and former superintendent of Vance County Schools)
“I was a principal for ten years when it was Henderson Junior High School and it was one of my favorite places. We had about 1,000 students here.”
“Henderson High School was the place to go to school. Those of us who lived out in the county wished we could go to Henderson High but we couldn’t because we didn’t live in the city.”
It’s safe to say that Henderson High School holds a special place in the hearts of many local residents and that the connections, whether made through personal experience or handed-down recollections of family members, run deep.
