Manning Training School alumni dedicate historic plaque

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For more than four decades, graduates of Manning Training School could look at Manning Elementary School and see their former alma mater.

But they had no link to that history until May 23, when former faculty, staff and students came together to dedicate a historical marker at the school, which previously served as the black school until full-scale integration in the early 1970s.

“We are delighted to have you here to participate in this momentous ceremony placing this historical marker,” said Manning Training School Class of 1969 member Timothy Miller, who presided over the ceremony, which featured the Manning High School JROTC Color Guard and “The National Anthem” sung by Class of 1967 member Annette Kennedy.

“With progress comes pros and cons, gains and losses” said Miller. “We have gains in that schools are now desegregated, but when we left Manning Training School behind to start over at a new school, this school ceased to exist but in our memories. Now, we have a way for no one to ever forget Manning Training School.”

The Rev. W.J. Frierson, councilman for Clarendon County Council District 2, said he left the school as a junior and went to the all-integrated Manning High School as a senior.

“We left everything: our colors, our mascot and our motto, but we kept them written on our hearts,” Frierson said. “So, I am thankful to God for those who took the lead in getting this marker placed. This is a commemoration of what we all were made of, and so many of you have come out today to show you love old Manning Training School.”

Sen. Kevin Johnson, a self-proclaimed “military kid who moved around a lot,” spent his first grade year at Manning Training School, he said.

“I cherish the fond memories of where it all began,” he said. “My first grade teacher, Ms. Thelma Woods, was also my mother’s first-grade teacher. I can remember her to this day and my time at Manning Training School. Funny that I cannot remember my second-grade teacher., when I went to Manning Primary School at the start of full integration.”

Johnson said the building that served as Manning Training School has went by many different names.

“History: That’s what it is all about,” he said. “My daughter, Kim, knows this building as Manning Middle School, and today, students know it as Manning Elementary School. We know it as Manning Training School. All of us have very fond memories, and we will be able to look at that marker out there and remember Manning Training School.”

Dr. Ehren Foley, coordinator for the South Carolina Historical Marker Program with the State Historic Preservation Office, said the program dates back to 1936, and was patterned on similar programs in Virginia and New York.

“One of the reasons that the marker programs developed was as a way to interpret important aspects of state and local history to travelers who hailed from far flung places and were not familiar with local stories and local landmarks,” he said. “The presences of a state marker shows that someone in that community was willing to take the time to fill out an application, to reach out to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and, ultimately, to bear the cost of casting and erecting the marker.”

Foley said the “history of Manning Training School is a testament to the determination of the local community to see that their children received the best education possible.”

“From its origins in the early 20th century, when the Slater Fund helped to finance Clarendon Training School, to the later Rosenwald School and finally to the 1953 building, the history of Manning Training School traces the constant drive to secure quality education for the African-American children of Manning; this in a state where racial segregation and unequal funding all too often meant the black schools remained underfunded, undersupplied and languishing in inferior facilities.”

Clarendon County Archivist Nancy Cave congratulated students and faculty present at the May 23 ceremony, and asked them to donate materials related to the school to the archives for safekeeping.

“The history of this county is the people of this county, and part of that history is Manning Training School,” she said. “We are especially interested in any information you have on Manning Training School. We have a few items, a few yearbooks, but it’s not nearly enough to tell the story of the wonderful contributions made by the graduates of Manning Training School.”

Clarendon School District 2 Superintendent John Tindal said it “spoke a lot” of the alumni that so many gathered for the marker dedication.

“I’ve always heard a lot of people love Manning Training School,” Tindal said. “I’ve been here since 2002, and I’ve always seen that to be true. I commend you for preserving the history of this great school for those who will come this way for many years to come.”

Photo galleries featuring those attending the marker dedication ceremony will be posted throughout the day Friday.