John Shearer: Brainerd Class of 1976 Shows Bond To Current School

Since opening in 1960, Brainerd High School’s mid-century style building and surrounding grounds and fields appear to have changed little.
 
And for several members of the Class of 1976, their strong feelings of love for their alma mater have not changed, either – despite the passing decades and the continually changing students and teachers.
 
“I love Brainerd,” said alumna Belinda Sears Smith. “I have fond memories, and, you know what, I got a solid education. I really did and I was prepared when I got to college. I was prepared to go forth and do what I needed to do without fear.”
 
The class plans to do plenty of reminiscing about these positive lessons learned and the fun times from the Brainerd High of old when they celebrate their 40th anniversary in early September.
 
But they also feel a strong desire to help the Brainerd of the present. What started as an idea by one class member, Theresa Bonds Gopher, to donate some money to the school in memory of a particular person has resulted in a college scholarship gift from the entire class to this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian.
 
“We ended up naming it the Spirit of ’76 Memorial Scholarship,” said Ms. Smith. “That way it will cover all those persons not with us right now. I know they (the late former classmates) would want to see these young people continue to do well.”
 
Although class representatives say it is small, they did put a lot of thought into the scholarships by coming up with a dollar gift that involves the number of the year they graduated – ’76 – plus the number of years since they graduated – 40. And they say they would love to be able to add $76 yearly to the scholarship, Ms. Smith added.
 
Dealing with numbers worked perfectly for this year’s valedictorian, Aaliyah Bell, and salutatorian, Isaiah Smith, because they both said math is their favorite subject.
 
“Everything else was easy, but math came real quick,” said Ms. Bell. “My granddaddy (Carver Wright) used to help me go over everything when I was smaller.”
 
Ms. Bell – who went to Hillcrest Elementary and Dalewood Middle School before Brainerd -- said she plans to begin her college schooling at Chattanooga State, with the long-term goal of studying pharmacy.
 
That was also inspired by her grandfather, as she said that after he became sick one time, some nurses came to help him, and she became interested in the field of healthcare. A cousin is also a pharmacist and has spoken about enjoying the work, she added.
 
She said she is ready for college and believes the support of such Brainerd teachers and staff members as Latricia Watkins, Lisa Wilkes, Tina Lutz and others will help her.
 
“They sit down and help you when you need something,” Ms. Bell said. “If you need any personal help, they will help you, too. I know when you go to college, you might not get (the help). Professors will be ‘work, work, work.’ ”
 
The 2016 Brainerd salutatorian, Mr. Smith, definitely knows he will have to work in college, too, as he is attending the Air Force Academy preparatory school in Colorado with hopes of being accepted into the adjacent regular academy in 2017.
 
“I’m a little nervous,” he said with a smile in the college and career guidance classroom at the school last week. “I have basic training for two weeks and then prep school for 10 months.”
 
The former Brainerd Army Jr. ROTC cadet and 800-meter track runner, who went to East Lake Academy, said he was looking online when he learned of the Air Force Academy programs. “I was doing research through the different military branches and I stumbled across the academy and I said, ‘This will be a great fit for me.’ So I applied,” he said.
 
And yes, he wants to be a pilot.
 
Literally reaching for the skies is definitely what the class of 1976 hopes to encourage the current Brainerd students to achieve with the scholarship program that is being enacted.
 
And the graduates, who are now in their late 50s, want to do what they can to help the school.
 
“A part of it is Brainerd pride and we still have that and we want to see it go forward for the students and for the community,” said Ms. Smith, who is chairman of the reunion committee. “We want Brainerd to stay a good place for kids to go to school.”
 
They actually first presented a scholarship to the school in 1986, and hope to spearhead future school and community activities.
 
Part of this is that they have so many great memories of attending Brainerd and want the school and community to be vibrant.
 
“We had a lot of fun in this class,” recalled class member Hosea Pierce, the reunion communications/media chair, as he, Ms. Smith and class treasurer Eleanor Corbin gathered at the school to present the scholarship checks. “I think about every member of this class, and we’re friends and had some kind of relationship one way or another and it was a lot of fun.”
 
Added Ms. Smith, “It was fun knowing everybody, and there was a matter of we knew we were here to get our lessons and we did that. But we just had fun along the way.”
 
 Ms. Corbin said she feels a strong connection to the class, even though she graduated early. “I came out the summer before, but was still in the class,” she said. “And it has still been wonderful being with my classmates and talking to people I never would have talked to.”
 
Ms. Corbin has served as Brainerd High PTA president for several years and works part-time as a receptionist after receiving an associate degree in accounting from Chattanooga State. Mr. Pierce retired from the Electric Power Board as a community relations specialist and formerly served as Dr. Shock for the EPB safety program.
 
Ms. Smith, meanwhile, received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Alabama A&M and is a personal and career counselor at Chattanooga State and teaches job skills.
 
When the three attended Brainerd High in the mid-1970s, they said that it was a school that had a large percentage of both black and white students. As has been documented over the years, it started as an all-white school in 1960, and its nickname for about the first 20 years was the Rebels, not its current Panthers. Confederate flags were a part of football games and other sports events in the 1960s.
 
That eventually created some tension as black students began enrolling there in the late 1960s. The Rebel conflicts came to a head in the fall of 1969 with protests from both sides.
 
The three members of the class of 1976 – who are very proud of their connection to the American bicentennial year and the popular “Spirit of ‘76” term that was often used – said racial harmony was slowly improving when they enrolled.
 
“There was still a lot of segregation, and a lot of us not being used to them (the white students) and them not being used to us,” said Mr. Pierce. “It was the way people were raised back then. Now it’s different.”
 
Added Ms. Smith, “We learned to make things work in the midst of it.”
 
They proudly added that a number of firsts for Brainerd occurred at that time, including the first black class president, the first black homecoming queen, and the first black Mr. Brainerd High School.
 
There was also plenty of simple and universal fun they remember. They jokingly recalled that the early-to-mid-1970s was the era of bell-bottom pants, Afro hairstyles, mini-skirts and hot pants.
 
It was also a time when most students received strong parental support, they added.
 
“Parents back then were parenting differently,” Mr. Pierce said. “They said that you are going to school and you are going to make it happen. That was the mentality parents had back then and they are not holding you back.
 
“They said that you can make it. That’s a part of who we are now and what made us what we are now.”
 
Graduating student Mr. Smith said he has been aided by trying to have a positive attitude and by family support.
 
“You can do whatever you want to,” he said. “You’ve just got to put your mind to it. That’s really the most important thing. That and never giving up.”
 
The Class of 1976 plans to get together for a meet and greet and have a ball game at the school on Friday, Sept. 9, and hold a dinner/dance the next day. Anyone wanting more information can email celebratebhs1976@gmail.com.
 
Besides reminiscing, the reunion leaders also hope to share with fellow class members the efforts to help the current school. That is obviously very important to them, too.
 
“We still care about them even though we have graduated,” said Ms. Corbin.
 
Jcshearer2@comcast.net