[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO DIXIE/BERKELEY TRAINING SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 2010

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
institution that helped to educate some of South Carolina's brightest 
minds and contributed significantly to our state's history. The 
Berkeley Training School, like so many schools established to educate 
African American children, was vital to its community and its students. 
I pay this tribute as its alumni are preparing to hold a Grand School 
Reunion on September 3-5, 2010, to celebrate the school's anniversary 
and the contributions of this tremendous institution.
  Berkeley Training School began as Dixie Training School in early 1880 
in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. It was originally planned as a short-
term program to last just three months in a local church. The local 
school superintendent, Mr. I. Percher, was so impressed by the program 
and its teacher, Mr. J.L. Mitchell that he extended the school's term 
to eight months.
  In 1900, a one-room schoolhouse was constructed to house Dixie 
Training School. Mr. Essex Reid organized the effort to build the 
school, and Mrs. Annie Williams was hired as the teacher. It didn't 
take long, however, before the school outgrew its small building. A 
building committee was organized and charged with raising $6,700 for a 
new four-room school. Mr. Steven Reid made the first $5 donation, and 
the community stepped up to raise $5,500. Reverend James Van Wright was 
instrumental in securing support from local citizens for the school 
using the mantra ``a dollar a day.'' Philanthropist Julius Rosenwald 
contributed the remaining $1,200 that was needed to complete the 
project. The new four-room schoolhouse opened in 1920.
  Also, in 1920, Richard Allen Ready became principal, and three 
teachers were hired Ella Forest, Wilhemena Alston, and Laurieene Shine 
Heywood. Mr. Ready served the school faithfully for 32 years. During 
his tenure, Alberta Garnett Dupree received the first Dixie Training 
Certificate in 1924. The name of the school was changed in the 1930s to 
Berkeley Training School.
  After Mr. Ready's death in 1952, Mr. Swinzon S. Wigfall, Sr. was 
named the new principal. He served just two years and was followed by 
Frank Gadsden, Sr., who oversaw the school's move into a new building 
in an area known as ``Mitten Lane'' on Highway 17A. The move included a 
new principal, Joseph H. Jefferson, Sr., who remained in this position 
until the school was merged with Berkeley High School in the 1970s. Mr. 
Jefferson went on to become an area superintendent and Berkeley 
Training School ceased to exist as a separate entity.
  Over its 90-year history, a number of students who attended Dixie/
Berkeley Training School have distinguished themselves in all walks of 
life. A few notable alumni include: the late Lt. General Henry Doctor, 
Jr., the first African-American Inspector General of the Army; banker 
Elijah B. McCants; businessman Joseph Sanders; Dr. Syrus Alston; 
lawyers Dorothy Manigault and the late Donald Gadsden; funeral 
directors the late George Holman, Milton Scott and the late Octavious 
Gethers; building contractors the late Oscar Haynes and Sass Burden; 
School Superintendent the late William Baylor; educator Dr. Lela 
Haynes-Session; R. Delores Gibbs, MD and Henry Marion, MD; artist 
Robert Alston; Henry Harris, CPA; Franklyn Scott, DDS, PC; Robert L. 
Wilson, Jr., MSW, New York City Deputy Commissioner of Children 
Services; and my wife and partner for the last 49 years the former 
Emily England to name just a few.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the contributions of Dixie/Berkeley Training School. This remarkable 
school was a beacon for Moncks Corner and all of Berkeley County. It 
helped shape the lives of hundreds of students who spent their 
formative years at this institution, and they, in turn, have made a 
lasting impact on our state.

                          ____________________