Webb Alumni Association Holds 55th Annual Homecoming Celebration

The Webb Alumni Association celebrated their 55th year at Webb Public School on Labor Day Weekend.  Some of the various events included line dancing, card playing, a talent show, a boots on the ground competition, a fashion show and an impersonator revue.  Food trucks and local vendors were on hand throughout the weekend.

   Webb School began as a one-room school in the late 1800s to provide an education for Black children in the McKenzie area.  Originally named Booker T. Washington High School, the name was changed to Webb School in 1927 to honor the contributions of John L. Webb.

   “Let me talk about class 57,” said Daisy (Nolen) Dudley of McKenzie who graduated in 1957.  “We had a small class.  But we were a good class, I’ll have to say that.  And school, to us, it was great.  And we had a good time.  And we learned.  And that was the best thing.”

   Dudley, now 86,  was the lone graduate of the class of 1957 and represented the earliest class in attendance this year.  She said she remembers her time at Webb quite fondly and learned a lot from her teachers.

   “Our teachers were very dedicated,” Dudley said.  “They made sure that we learned what we needed to.  And I think you can listen to the others and see that Webbites are everywhere and doing well.”

   The last class to graduate from Webb was in 1966.  All future classes were merged with McKenzie High School.  But Webb School Alumni persisted and purchased the building on May 8, 1976.

   Webb Alumni Association now has eight chapters across the country including Champaign IL, Chicago IL, Milwaukee WI, Cedar Rapids IA, Nashville TN, Huntingdon, West Carroll and McKenzie.

   Peggy (Ford) Hillsman drove the furthest this year, making the long drive from the Cedar Rapids chapter in Iowa.  Hillsman, who graduated in 1966, grew up in Huntingdon.

   “We were the last class,” Hillsman said.  “It’s pretty close to 10 hours by the time we stop and eat and stuff like that.  But I don’t think I’ve missed too many of these in all that time.”

   Joyce Hillsman Pate, who graduated in 1958, came all the way from Chicago for homecoming.  Pate grew up in McLemoresville but attended high school at Webb. 

   “I was the first in my family to graduate from high school,” Pate said.  “The first out of 12 kids.  But I did have an older brother who graduated with me because he skipped a year or two in between.”

   Although Pate left McKenzie shortly after graduating high school, she did say she enjoyed her time at Webb.  Now 86, Pate said she is often mistaken for someone much younger.

   “People tell me I look the same as I always did,” Pate said.  And I say ‘do you mean I’ve been looking this old all my life?’.  But it was a wonderful time of my life, you know.  I was young and I had a lot of questions about everything in life.  And it’s been a beautiful time.”

   In 2016 the alumni association celebrated the opening of the Webb School Historical Museum.  Inside the museum are things like yearbooks, old photographs, scrapbooks, class photos and other historical artifacts.  

   Ike Gilbert Jr, who was one of four attendees this year representing the class of 1966, opens the museum to the public each Tuesday at 11am.  Gilbert said he will stay as long as anyone wants to visit and view the artifacts in the museum.  The museum is located at 938 Walnut Street in McKenzie.