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UNSUNG HERO
Mrs. Grace Moon: Lay Great American - Christian - Trailblazer
All things bright and beautiful,
All things great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
A verse from the first poem learned by
Grace Moon Lay as a small child growing
up in Barrow County, Statham, Georgia,
that helped to shape the life of this great
American citizen, educator, scholar,
Christian, community leader, daughter,
mother, pioneer, and woman of strength.
She is the only child of the late Dr.
Hampton C. Moon and the late Mrs. Mary
Parks Moon. Dr. Moon served as a
minister, professor, principal, and
teacher. Mrs. Moon also served as a
teacher, a counselor and missionary
worker.
She was nurtured in a culturally,
stimulating environment during her
formative years where educational issues
were discussed, and political issues
debated. Articulate debates of world
affairs was a way of life for her parents
and uncles who were educators and
inventors. Her grandmother, the late
Margaret Moon, was on the cutting-edge
of education, teaching the newly freed
slaves to read and write.
Mrs. Lay's home life was based on two
of Jesus’ Commandments: Thy shall love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul
and mind; and thy shall love thy neighbor
as thyself.
She received her early education in the
Barrow County schools where her parents
served as principal and teacher. Her
parents desired a culturally, fulfilling
environment as well as an academically,
stimulating one thus, in sixth grade, she
was sent to the Union Baptist Institute, a
private black school supported by various
associations. She remained there until
she graduated with honors six years later.
Her scholarly ways brought her face-to-
face with the works of William
Shakespeare, Henry Wadsworth Long
fellow, Langston Hughes, Rudyard
Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William
Blake, Herman Melville, Emily Dickin
son, Sophocles, Edgar Allen Poe and
many other authors, poets and philo
sophers whose works she can still recite
with the fervor and flavor of the authors.
After high school, she attended
Georgia State College, presently Savan
nah State College, where, at the invitation
of the music department, she sang
soprano in the school's trio. She
flourished academically and graduated
from Georgia State's Normal Program.
Mrs. Lay returned home and began her
educational career teaching for two years
in the Walton County School District and
then returned to her beloved Barrow
County to share her knowledge and
culture for forty years. She taught for
twenty years but her thirst for knowledge
and her yearning for the halls of ivy sent
her to Ft. Valley State University where
she completed her Bachelor’s Degree
after marrying and having three
daughters. Today's Intelligence and
Creative Abilities Tests would label her a
genius because she excelled in all the
academic disciplines, as well as industrial
and visual arts. Excellence is her
trademark.
After all her children were grown and
formally educated, she attended the
University of Georgia and earned a
Master’s of Education Degree.
Mrs. Lay enjoyed her entire career but
cherishes the sixteen years she served as
principal of Bethlehem Elementary
School, Bethlehem, Georgia. Under her
leadership, the school offered a sound
core curriculum, as well as chorus, drama,
public speaking and competitive events
such as field days and county fair
exhibits. She w j as a pacesetter, serving the
first hot lunch supplement in the county.
The school experienced unprecedented
growth necessitating the construction of a
new building. She spearheaded the
purchase of the land for the new site and
coordinated the donation of timber for the
school's construction. Bond referendums
and local option sales tax, to build new
schools, were unheard of in those days
and then superintendent, E.V. Harris, re
cognized her as an outstanding
educational leader.
Other Barrow County assignments
included Fairfield Elementary, Austin
Chapel Elementary, and Statham
elementary. The respect and admiration
of her students and colleagues led to
naming her Teacher of the Year and the
dedication of the 1970 Glenwood
Elementary and High School yearbook to
her.
When the Barrow County School
District integrated its schools, Mrs. Lay
was selected to integrate the Statham
Elementary School's faculty. She
completed her sterling educational career
in her beloved hometown of Statham
where she serves as historian and member
of the Barrow County Historical Society.
She is truly a legend in her owm time.
She has been a devoted member of the
Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. Bogart,
Georgia for most of her adult life, and she
confessed Christ as her Savior at an early
age. Mrs. Lay truly believes that “the
Lord has no hands, but my hands, and no
feet, but my feet.” She drew the plans;
formed and chaired the building
committee; secured the loan for the
financing; and retained the contractor to
construct the present church and
supervise the construction. Her
commitment to “give of your best to the
Master” led her to have the church's wood
w'ork painted several times. Knowing that
light dispels darkness, led her to donate
new' chandeliers for the church's
sanctuary. Mrs. Lay has spent her life
unselfishly, bringing light into a dark
world. Her work with the character of
man led her to conduct numerous
vacation Bible schools, organize the
junior choir, the usher board, and sponsor
the senior choir. She purchased a piano,
played, or paid a musician. Mrs. Lay
sponsored a combined community choir
musical during the 1996 Christmas
Holidays to tell the story of Jesus' birth
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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 21