Neely Ward School

On February 2, 1927, I. C. Enoch filed an affidavit granting an additional five acres of land for public school use. The agreement stipulated that the land would be used for the Neely Ward School as long as it was needed for educational purposes. If the land was no longer used as a school site, ownership would revert to Enoch or his heirs.

Later in 1927, Leonard Miller constructed a permanent brick school building on the Neely Ward property using materials left over from the Bledsoe School. The brick structure consisted of two classrooms, three cloakrooms, and a water room used for drinking water storage. Two outhouses were also built, and later a windmill and storage tank were erected to supply water.

Miss Lennie Osburn was hired as the first teacher at a salary of $100 per month. Her first students included Jack, Herbert, and Alvin Neely; Glen and Howard Harrington; and Sarah and Lula Mills.

Items purchased for the school included desks, chairs, erasers, a stove, three joints of stove pipe, one damper, a coal box and shovel, an axe, a water bucket, three dippers, a broom, and one ton of coal.

In 1930, Boyd Crooks began teaching at Neely Ward. Soon afterward he married, and the couple both taught at the school. Among his students were James, Loretta, Lottie, and Doyle Turney.

Myrtle Reed Young taught at Neely Ward from September 1933 to May 1937. Among her students were Billy Bickett; Mary, Percy, and Joe Dewbre; George “Ike” Williams; and Billie Newman. She later recalled that a large circulating coal heater kept the building comfortably warm during the winter months. Young lived in the west room of the building and held classes in the east room. Her first class consisted of twelve students representing eight grade levels.

With little recreational equipment available, the children often played with sticks or invented their own games. Mrs. Young also recalled a severe sandstorm that “blackened the sky as dark as night,” frightening both her and her students. To keep their spirits up while the storm passed, they sang together inside the schoolhouse.

Former student Percy Dewbre later remembered that some children could not afford shoes, and money was collected to purchase shoes for them. He also recalled that each child was responsible for watering and caring for one of the elm trees planted on the school grounds.

Other teachers who served at Neely Ward School included G. Pendleton, Reba Murray, Faye Odom Ainsworth, J. Love, W. Johnson, Roger and Ann Harvey, Myrtle Kennedy, Willie Nettles, and Ethel Shelton.

During the early years of the school’s operation, parents provided transportation for the students. Before a school bus was acquired, John Crowley was hired to drive a “school car.” He would collect children who lived east of the school, drop them off, and then return to gather students from the west. In 1930, a school bus was purchased, and George Williams was hired as the driver. His wife, Marie Williams, occasionally filled in when he was busy with farm work.

Students who completed the eighth grade at Neely Ward attended high school in Morton. Initially, automobiles were used to transport students to Morton, but eventually a bus route was established for them.

By the late 1940s, school funds had become limited. To raise money for needed supplies, the three teachers at the time—Myrtle Kennedy, Willie Nettles, and Ethel Shelton—organized a community play titled "An Old Fashioned Mother". With assistance from local residents including Hadley Kern, Marie Williams, Bill Martin, Slim Henry, and Cecil Masten, the play was performed for paying audiences. The production was a great success, and the group later traveled to Bledsoe and Bula to perform additional showings. Proceeds from the performances helped purchase playground equipment for the school.

As the population of the surrounding area increased, enrollment grew and the school eventually required three teachers. The teacherage (teacher’s residence) was converted into an additional classroom to accommodate the larger student body.

The Neely Ward School also served as an important community center. The building hosted box suppers, parties, church services, musical events, and community plays. One of the most popular activities was the singing and singing classes, which drew people from across the area.

Enrollment began to decline during the 1950s, and in 1953 the Neely Ward School consolidated with the Morton school system. The final teachers at Neely Ward were Ruth Whitecotton and Myrtle Kennedy, both of whom later continued teaching in Morton.

The last student expected to graduate from Neely Ward was Doris Dewbre. However, because she was the only student in her class, she was permitted to attend Morton for her seventh and eighth grade years.

Following the school’s closure, the land reverted to an heir of I. C. Enoch and was later purchased by B. O. Hurley. Today, the property—including the Neely Ward School building—is owned by the heirs of Vennie Evans.