PICAYUNE — During a poignant tribute to his family's legacy, John H. Napier III donated his mother's high school diploma to Picayune Memorial High School on Monday.
Standing in front of his father's memorial plaque at Picayune Jr. High Napier, author of "Lower Pearl River's Pineywood”, delivered the following speech:
"Memory, both personal and group, is a solemn thing and the stuff of history but it is elusive and fades like the signatures on this diploma. The last rememberers of the dead also die, leaving "oblivion's swallowing sea", Thomas Hardy. I am here today to share with you some memory of Picayune and its public schools, as well as to obey the Sixth Commandment.
"Picayune's public schools began a century ago, shortly after it was incorporated in 1904. My grandfather Eastman Francis Tate, called "the Father of Picayune", gave land for the fist Picayune High School on the site of the former East Side Elementary School and was first president of its board of trustees. His third child was my mother, Lena Mae Tate, born here May 1, 1895, at a house on the east side of South Harvey Avenue. She was valedictorian of Picayune High School's first graduating class, May 17, 1912. The class consisted of three girls. More about her in a minute.
"Her future husband, Dr. John H. Napier, Jr., was also valedictorian of his class, the second class — 1913 — at Pearl River County Agricultural High School at Poplarville. After World War I Army service and receiving his B.S. at Mississippi A. and M. College, he went first to Arizona and then California. There he received his M.A. at the University of California. and a Ph.D. from Standford. In 1943 he brought our family back to Picayune as Superintendent of Picayune Public Schools until his untimely death in 1949 at the age of 52. He oversaw the building of this school.
"Four of my first graduated from Picayune High, as did my late brother Eastman Francis Tate Napier in 1950. I taught here briefly in fall of 1946. For 40 years and three generations we were part of Picayune's public schools and they of us.
"Lena Mae Tate graduated from Judson College with a B.A. in 1916 and received two more diplomas there in Voice and Piano in 1917. Then she worked for a year in her father's Bank of Picayune before going to Washington, D.C. at the close of World War I as an early career woman, an auditor in the Internal Revenue Service for nearly four years before marriage. Later in life she became the only Director of the Bank of Picayune and Vice President of Tate Insurance Agency, beside being wife, mother and homemaker. She didn't need woman's lib — she was way ahead.
Thank you all for coming and sharing in memory."
llllllll
The diploma was handed over to Dean Shaw to hang at PMHS. The intimate ceremony took place at the Junior High, the site of the former Senior High — built on land donated by Napier's grandfather, Eastman Francis Tate.
Napier's wife Cameron accompanied him to Pearl River County for the presentation. The couple currently reside in Montgomery, Ala.
Features
Related Photos
Donating memories
- Features
-
-
These walls are talking and they have stories to tell
Thirteen captivating days of historic home tours via an authentic double-decker bus, candlelight reenactments at Friendship Cemetery, dining, boutique shopping and walking tours in Columbus, Miss.
-
PRCC dental hygiene students brighten kids’ smiles
Approximately 60 children left Pearl River Community College’s dental hygiene clinic with bright smiles Friday, Feb. 3, after participating in the annual Give Kids A Smile event.
-
Planning ahead makes a difference in landscape
Even though it’s cold outside, now is a good time to stroll through your yard with pencil and paper in hand, noting what worked and what didn’t in your landscape last year. Viewing it during the bare-bones winter season will help you see where changes should be made.
-
“Words With Friends” kidnaps innocent brain cells
“All our words are but crumbs that
fall down from the feast of the mind.”
— Khalil Gibran -
Mr. Know it all: ‘A River Runs Through it’ Montana
Q: I was watching a DVD of the movie “A River Runs Through It.” Where was the movie filmed? — V.A.D., Carson, Calif.
-
Tweet, tweet: Can you hear the mockingbirds singing?
One of the best free shows I’ve witnessed lately was a boisterous mockingbird who also had mastered a pretty showy dance routine, jumping up and down in the top of a sweetgum tree.
-
History brought to life: Local woman portrays African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman
Gwen Williams, a.k.a Miss Chocolate, is portraying famous ‘conductor’ for the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, for local children in recognition of Black History Month.
She says, “In high school we always did Negro Spirituals, but never really appreciated what they were about or how significant they were in the Underground Railroad. -
Pawdi Gras coming to Picayune February 25
The Senior Center is hosting its first Mardi Gras parade for pets and calling it Pawdi Gras 2012. The event will be held on Goodyear Blvd from 10 a.m. (registration at Jack Read Park) to 1 p.m. (ending at Jack Read Park) and awards will be given for both the court and regular parade crew. Registration is $25 for regular crew and $50 for court. All registrants will receive an official t-shirt and proceeds will benefit the Senior Center, SPCA and local animal rescue.
-
Mary Ellen Bright
Mary Ellen Bright is this week’s Picayune Item Super Senior because of her high-energy, task oriented, community service which has spanned decades.
She and her husband, Dan, have two children, three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and have been married for 52 years. -
Tis the season to obliterate the candidate
Dr. Stanley Watson/Syndicated columnist
We still have several long months to go before the presidential election and we wonder how the slandering on both sides can get any worse. Apparently our election system requires opponents to destroy one another. By the time the election is over the citizens will have been ill informed and distrustful of the nations leadership no matter who wins. Winston Churchill was right when he said our system of government was the worst except for all the other systems. Even after the election is over we will still not know if the winner is the fittest or the unfittest survivor. - More Features Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
