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HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GA„ THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1951
'Fessor Gooden Ahead
Os His Time In Education
An ex-Alabama farm boy, who i
had a crew hair-cut before it be- |
came a college boy fad and has
kept it cut that way as consist
ently as he has maintained his
faith in youth, has probably had
a greater influence on the spirit
ual and cultural life of Houston
county in the 20th century than i
any other individual.
And that influence has been
good, clean, wholesome and chal
lenging, the thousands of former
students he taught will attest. 1
James Madison Gooden, now a
supervisor in the state depart- (
ment of education in Atlanta,
came to Perry in 1919 and was
superintendent of Perry schools
for more than a quarter century,
keeping the school here well out
in front of the great majority of
schools in the state—in educa
tional opportunity for boys and
girls and in community service.
Ahead of His Time
Fessor Gooden was way ahead
of the times in education as well
as in his hair-cut.
A commencement bulletin he
Issued to patrons of the school
WE “OLD FELLOWS”
Are More Proud Every Year
Os All The Good People
And Good Business of Our
*
\
Great Old Houston County
PERRY LOAN & SAVINGS BANK
Established 1889
Member-Federal Deposit PCDDV r* A
Insurance Corp. r HKK I, uA.
I and taxpayers in May, 1932, right
| in the midst of the Great Depres
sion, shows just how far ahead
| he was.
It contains much of the mate
rial which was used in support of
Georgia’s Minimum Foundation
Program which was to come
i along, slowly, 20 years later. And
it recommended many of the
things for which the framers of
the MF program are being so
loudly praised for—2o years af
i ter Jimmy Gooden was pleading
for them.
Adults Failed
Look at these excerpts from
that 1932 bulletin:
“This period of depression
through which we are now pass
ing—we hope we are ‘passing’—
i has definitely proved to all of us
that the adults of this generation
are not prepared to manage this
present-day civilization.
“A system of education must be
built up which will fully equip
each generation for the ever com
plex and changing
which will inevitably arise. These
sudden changes must be antici-
pated and our children must be
prepared for these gigantic re
sponsibilities when they come.
“We hear economy on every
hand—and well „we should—but
when we attempt to practice false
economy we suffer seriously. If
our educational system is weak
ened during this period of stress
and starin, how can we hope to
prepare this generation and oth
ers to follow, for responsibilities
which promise to be even great
er?”
(That plea was made before
World War II and the A-Bomb
made “even greater” and more
complicated the responisbilities
of which Mr. Gooden warned.)
Spending Too Little
"Our educational system is be
ginning to function in a small
way compared to what it should
be—and especially is this true in
Georgia. It would be nothing
less than a calamity for the ef
ficiency of our schools to be less
ened at this time.
“The criticism is made that ‘ed
ucation is costing too much.’ Is
this true? Our nation spends only
38 percent as much for education
as it does for luxuries (like to
bacco, drinks, candy, jewelry,
cosmetics, etc.)—while Georgia
spends only 28 percent as much
for education as it does for these
things.
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i v ;• • ® >
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J. M. GOODEN
Fisherman, Too
“Georgia spends less than any
of the Southern states.”
Then followed tables showing
expenditures for luxuries and for
public schools.
“These tables plainly show us
where our hearts are. We are
more interested in material things
than we are in human beings. No
people will ever attain substan
tial progress—material or spirit
ual—as long as this is true.
“We think more of the grati
fication of our selfish desires
than we do of our children.
“Do you wonder why we are
having a period of depression?”
Then follows a table of county
expenditures and official reports
of the Georgia Education Jour
nals showing that Houston ex
penditures per pupil were less
than the average of several
schools in this area —and teach
ers’ salaries lower.
“Yet,” the report continued,
“we are spending less per pupil
and getting larger returns, as our
school is among the few with full
accreditation.
Perry Improvement
“The Board of Trustees of the
Perry Public Schools are econom
ical, conservative yet progressive
in the operation of our schools.
The system is in better condition
financially than it has been in
13 years.
“This financial report is a cred
it to this school district. It
shows that the people of the dis
trict are loyal to their school and
Legislators
Os Houston
Are Named
Predecessors of Rep. Charlie
Williams, of Warner Robins, as
Houston county’s representatives
of the Georgia General Assembly
form a long list of some of the
county leaders down through the
years.
Beginning in 1822, the repre
sentatives have been Tuttle H.
Moreland, Thomas Gilbert, Sam
( uel Williams, Carlton Wellborn,
I Arthur A. Morgan, Edward En
gram, Osborn Wiggins, Joseph
Culpepper, Hugh Lawson, Wil
liam Cole, James M. Kelley, Jas.
E. Duncan, John H. Dupree, Mer
edith Joiner, Hardy Hunter, John
Ladler, Byron Bateman, William
H. Rudd, John E. Dennard, Mat
thew G. Sikes, John J. Hampton,
James A. Bryson, David M.
Brown, Jno. Killen, Isaac Holmes
Solomon Fudge, John Herring
ton, John Woodard, David O.
Smith, William B. Bryan, and
James W, Belloin.
After 1850 there were Josiah
Hodges, James A. Pringle, N. G.
Lewis, Philip B. D. H. Culler, D.
W. Taylor, James W. Hardison,
William A. Matthews, W. A.
Tharpe, Madison Marshall, Wil
liam P. Gilbert, William J.
think more of their children than
they do of material things. You
have voted bonds to the amount
of $85,000 in two separate issues
with only one dissenting vote,
and immediately following this
you voted a 5-mill maintenance
tax—all in the past 10 years.
“You have built a school that
stands as a monument to your
lofty ideals and tells to the world
that you put more emphasis on
human value than upon material
things. AND MAY THE DAY
NEVER COME WHEN THIS
COMMUNITY SHALL BE DIS
LOYAL TO ITS CHILDREN!”
Then the bulletin was filled
with proud references, by name,
of children of the school—all of
whom J. M. Gooden loved, indi
vidually and collectively, and in
whom he has great faith.
I *
Compliments of
Perry Veneer
Company
/
For Over 30 Years
Producers of Quality
VENEER CONTAINERS
For Fruit and Vegetables.
Perr y
Veneer
PERRY, GEORGIA
Green, William R. Brown •
Ezell, G. L. D. Rice,
Brown, C. D. Anderson, L B
Alexander, J. W. Matthew’s, C c
Duncan, MR. Felder, Jo e i' R '
Griffin, George Ormond (color
ed), H. Simmons (colored), Geo'
T - Fea S in i C. H. Richardson'
w - p - Simmons, S. B. Brown’
J. R. Wimberly, Buford M, Davis’
Alexander L. Miller, Joshua F
Sikes, Edwin Martin, W. C. Wins
low, W. M. Gordon, J. M. Gray
Elbert Feagin, M. F. Etheridge’
Chester Pierce, E. L. Dennard’
C. J. Gray, A. S. Giles, William
S. King, O. M. Houser, S. S. Tay
lor, Robert E. Brown.
Since 1900 there have been C
C. Richardson, S. S. Taylor, Rob
ert E. Brown, J. H. Davis, T. V
Feagin, R. N. Holtzclaw, T. H
Rentz, J. V. Hobbs, A. B. Greenei
J. C. Hartley, S. A. Nunn, Louis
L. Brown, Emmett Houser, C H
Jackson, J. P. Duncan, J. w.
Bloodworth, J. P. Etheridge,
W. W. Gray, Hubert Aultman
and Charlie Williams, the pres
ent Representative.
Woolfolk Murder
Shocked Nation
Nation-wide shock followed the
murder of nine members of the
Woolfolk family in Houston coun
ty on the night of Aug. 5, 1887,
and the whole country followed
the case which stirred fever
pitch interest in Houston and
Bibb counties for years.
There is still controversy about
the case and the trial which fol
lowed.
Young Tom Woolfolk was
charged with murdering with an
axe his father, stepmother, six
stepbrothers and stepsisters that
ranged in age from 20 years to 18
months, and an aged aunt, 82.
Two years after, in 1889, he
was brought to trial in Houston
county, convicted of the murders
and sentenced to be hanged.
A'n appeal for a new trial post
poned the execution for 15 mos,,
but in October, 1890, he was
hanged publicly in the presence
of an estimated 5,000 people at
Perry.
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in The Home Journal.