FHS CLASS OF 1977 PRESENTS TWO BENCHES to Fairfield High School (left to right): Joe Gallegos, Connie Ferguson Standridge, Cynthia Allen Rikard, Allen Lehman, Steven Potillo, Harold Johnson, Edward Johnson, Jr., Kay Phillips Robinson, Renee Gregory Reynolds and Michael Johnson. (Photo by Nicole Schaefer)
Forty years after graduating, and just in time to offer a place of respite during the long & hectic hours of the Fairfield Boys Invitational Basketball Tournament, the Class of 1977 gifted Fairfield High School with two 6-foot benches.
A bronze plaque was also given to the school commemorating a milestone of FISD history that will forever only be associated with the Class of 1977; and was the inspiration for the bench inscriptions.
Engraved into the first bench is “Twelve Years Hand in Hand… /September 1965 – May 1977” with the second bench reading “…We Never Walked Alone/Class of 1977”.
Giving background to the inscriptions, the plaque is entitled ‘The First to Walk Together’ and reads as follows:
In order to achieve desegregation, Fairfield ISD implemented the “Freedom of Choice” plan in 1965. In the fall of that same year, 17 black students began attending classes on what had been formerly all white campuses. Complete desegregation was accomplished within the district by the start of school in 1971.Harold Johnson and Steven Potillo enrolled as 1st graders in September of 1965 and in doing so bestowed the honor of being the first class of integrated Fairfield students for all 12 years of their public education to the Class of 1977.”
This interesting tidbit was revealed as preparations were being made for their 40-year class reunion, held during Homecoming weekend this past September.
All class members were very much aware that they had been the first freshman class on what was the new high school campus in the fall of 1973, but the fact that they were actually history makers had never been consciously recognized.
After sharing the story with several classmates, it was decided that the chosen class gift of two benches should be engraved so as to hint at the moment in time that could be claimed by the class.
It should also be noted that the inscription gives a nod to the song chosen for their graduation by Mrs. Eva Lois McIlveen, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Then several weeks later it was suggested that a plaque also be placed at the school recognizing this major change to the FISD school system, the class, and the two students, Harold Johnson & Steven Potillo, who made the difference for the Class of ’77.
When asked to reflect upon that first year in public school Mr. Johnson and Mr. Potillo both stated that their teachers, Mrs. Steward and Mrs. Wood, were instrumental in helping them to feel welcome but at the tender age of six years old the magnitude of desegregation was lost on them.
Harold Johnson’s reply to the question if he remembered being upset that he would not be attending school with his friends on the Dogan campus was “Being upset was not an option. It was decided Fairfield Elementary was where I was going to attend school. I never asked my mom why I had to go there. It worked out ok. I met new people. I believe it was an adjustment for all of my classmates, not just me.”
Steven Potillo commented that in preparation for starting school “My mother told me to hold my head up, be proud of who you are, obey the teachers and don’t worry about the other kids.” Sound advice for 1965 and 2017!
It would be reasonable to assume that students who experienced desegregation, especially in the higher-grade levels, might have dealt with negativity, fear and uncertainty of their changing world and might have had difficulty adjusting to the new environment. But these are not the memories of the Class of 1977.
Connie Ferguson Standridge, class president at the time of graduation, made the formal presentation to FHS Principal Von Wade Thursday morning December 7, 2017 in the Johnson Activity Center where the plaque has been installed with the benches to each side.
Class members attending the presentation were Joe Gallegos, Renee Gregory Reynolds, Edward Johnson, Jr., Allen Lehman, Connie Ferguson Strandridge, Kay Phillips Robinson, Michael Johnson, Cynthia Allen Rikard, Melvin Soloman, Yulanda Fantroy Reeves and honored classmates Harold Johnson and Steven Potillo.
Representing Fairfield ISD were school board members Kim Whitaker, Greg Gibson and John Fryer, Deputy Superintendent Melisa Cox and FHS Principal Von Wade. Families of several class members were also present.
Mr. Potillo summed it up quite well when he stated, “I think our class was always together and we all got along and had a good time.”
