Stewart Bell Jr. Archives
Handley Regional Library
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society
P.O. Box 58, Winchester, VA 22604
(540) 662-9041 ext. 17
archives@handleyregional.org
www.handleyregional.org
555 THL
Inventory created by Archives Staff 04/1990. Last revised 12/2022.
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.
USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.
TECHNICAL ACCESS: News articles have been digitized as PDFs and are available on a flash drive kept with the collection. A computer with a USB port is required to view these items.
EXTENT: 1.04 linear feet
DATE: 1871 - 2021
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Douglas Alumni Association Collection contains testimonies, articles, biographies, booklets, and other items from members of the Douglas School Alumni Association.
BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: The Douglas School was established May 31, 1875, through an agreement between John Linn, trustee for the Old School Congregational Baptist Church, and the Winchester School Board. The Old School Church was used for the school, and classes first met in 1878. The school was first called Winchester Colored School and in 1916 the name was changed to the Douglas School. Due to increasing growth of the student body, the school moved its 150 students and 6 teachers to a new Winchester location on North Kent Street in 1927. From 1940 to the 1960s, the building was expanded to accommodate the increasing number of students. Douglas School closed in 1966 following the integration of all students into the public school system. The building now serves as the Douglas Community Center.
RELATED MATERIAL: Oral history interviews with individuals who attended Douglas School are available. Please ask Archives Staff for assistance with the Oral History Collection.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Humbert, Judy. History of Douglas School, Winchester, Virginia: A Tribute to Endurance, Belief, Perseverance, and Success. Winchester, VA: Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, 2014
CITE AS: Douglas Alumni Association Collection, 555 THL, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA
ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.
ORGANIZATION:
BOX 1 A-M
Faculty, unnumbered leaves, typescript and printed (folder contains the following):
Faculty history
Faculty – individual, includes Effie McKinney Davis, Lovelena Lomax Marcus, Margaree Parks, and Ethel Wheeler
Faculty – Barksdale, Edwin - testimonies, news articles, records, 54 leaves, printed (photocopy)
Faculty – Notice to teachers regarding extension course, 1937, one leaf, printed
Faculty – Requirements for class credit for service personnel and veterans, Douglas School, April 20, 1953, 1 leaf, typescript (photocopy)
Graduation – Commencement Program – June 16, 1922, 3 leaves, printed (photocopy)
Graduation – Commencement Program – 1923, 1 item, printed
Graduation – Commencement Program– 1930, 3 leaves, printed (photocopy); Commencement Invitation– 1930, 4 pages, printed
Graduation – Commencement Program – 1932, 1 item, printed
Graduation – Commencement Program -1941, 5 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Graduation – Commencement – Valedictory Address by Arthur Gaither, 1947, 1 leaf, typescript (photocopy)
Graduation – Commencement Invitation – June 7, 1960, 1 leaf, printed (photocopy), 1 item, printed
Graduation – Commencement – Valedictorian Address by Charlena Marie Washington, 1964, 2 leaves, typescript
Graduation – Diploma – Washington, Charlena Marie, Douglas High School, Winchester, VA, June 10, 1964, 1 item, printed (in jacket)
Graduation – Baccalaureate Service and Commencement Exercises, June 1965, 3 items, printed
Graduation – Commencement Program – 1966, 1 leaf, printed (photocopy), 1 item, printed
History – Douglas School, unknown author and date, 2 leaves, typescript
History – Lease between School Board of the City of Winchester, 2 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
History – School Board Minutes, Abstracts from 1871-1950, compiled my Judy Hubert, 9 leaves, typescript
Library – Douglas School Library, 8 leaves, printed (photocopy)
Miscellaneous, 1 leaf, typescript (photocopy), 17 leaves, photographs (photocopy), 1 page, printed, 3 leaves, printed (photocopy), 1 item, printed
Music – Band and Glee Club activities
Music – Band Concert Ticket, 1960, 1 item, 1 leaf, printed
Music – “The New Blue Book of Favorite Songs”, 1941, 285 pages, printed
Music – Pen to raise funds for band uniforms, 1 item
News Articles, 1910 – 2016, dates unknown, digitized as PDFs. (Note: Articles have been scanned to allow keyword search but researchers should note that the poor quality of some original scans may make keyword searches inaccurate. Original articles are available on the microfilm of the Winchester Star. Please ask Archives Staff for assistance.)
News Articles, 2020, printed
BOX 1A N-Z
Newspaper – Douglas Beacon—May, 1939, seven leaves, mimeograph (photocopy)
Poem – No title (the subject is Douglas School) by Catherine Williams, c. 1940s, 1 leaf, manuscript (photocopy), transcript, 1 leaf typescript
Principal – Gaskins, Kirk N. Sr. –biographical sketch and timeline of school, 8 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Principal – Gibson, Powell W., 2 leaves, printed
Principal – Quiett, John H. –biographical sketch, 2 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
Program – Miss Douglas/Declamation Contest, Douglas School, March 23, 1945, 1 leaf, mimeograph; transcript, 1 leaf, typescript
Prom 1964 invitation, 1 item, printed
Prom Program – Douglas School, n.d., 7 leaves, mimeograph (photocopy)
Sports – Basketball tournament programs (folder contains the following:)
Tri-State Athletic Union March 23-24, 1956, 4 pages, printed
Sports – Program, 1965 Athletic Banquet, Douglas High School (shaped like a basketball), 6 pages, mimeograph
Students’ Handbook – Douglas School, Winchester, VA, no date, 7 leaves, printed
Veterans Who Attended Douglas
BOX 2 – Yearbooks
Yearbook pages- 3 leaves
Yearbook – Panorama, 1955, 6 leaves, printed (photocopy), 20 pages, printed, 2 copies, note: 2nd copy includes inscriptions from classmates
Yearbook – The Doug-Out, 1956, 41 pages, printed
Yearbook – The Doug-Out, 1959, 48 pages, printed
Yearbook – Memoirs—Class of 1966
BOX 3 – Alumni Association
Alumni News articles, resumes, essays regarding alumni of Douglas school, unnumbered pages, printed (photocopy)
Alumni – Interviews, essays written by students of Warren Hofstra’s History of Virginia class,1990, 19 items, 7 leaves, typescript; 99 leaves, typescript (photocopy); 16 leaves, manuscript (photocopy):
List of Interviews
Persons interviewed/mentioned |
Author |
Essay title |
Alsberry, Siomone Tolliver Curry, George Childs, Charlene Nelson, Ronald Harris, Bushrod |
Leila O. Wood |
Oral history interview based on an interview with Siomone Tolliver Alsberry |
Brown, Minnie Nickens, Marcellus Jr. Cooke, Portia Triplett Roberts, Helen Rhodes Young, Carolyn Harris, Bushrod |
Richard Lumpp |
Why remember Frederick Douglass School? |
Brown, Minnie Cook, Mary Nelson, Ronald |
Anne-Marie Gibbs |
Essay of three Fredrick Douglas alumni |
Childs, Charlena Washington |
Christian Bartlett |
Unity versus deprivation |
Cooke, Portia Nelson, [Ronald] Jr. Alsberry, Siomone Roberts, Helen Nickens, [Marcellus] Cook, Mary |
Adeela Al-Khalili (2 copies) |
“A wonderful time to remember”: Life at the Frederick Douglass School |
Cooke, Portia Triplett Roberts, Helen Rhodes Cook, Mary Street, Mary |
Kelly A. Morgan |
“It’s just been a wonderful time to remember…” |
Davis, June Gaskins |
Mendy Lane |
Oral history project 1 |
Finley, Taylor Finley, Sue |
Eric Michael |
Were we really better off forty years ago than we are today? |
Harris, Bushrod Curry, George Roberts, Helen Rhodes Jones, Jean Finley Nelson, Ronald Childs, Charlena |
Amy Charles |
The Frederick Douglas society |
Harris, Sharon Wiliam Jones, Jean Finley Roberts, Helen Rhoades Curry, George Alsberry, Siomone Harris, Bushrod |
Susan S. Peer |
Frederick Douglass School – family and pride |
Nelson, Ronald Harris, Bushrod Alsberry, Siomone |
Wendy Landrum |
[no title] |
Nickens, Jimmy |
Jeffrey Lloyd |
Segregation and its effects during the 1950s and 60s |
Nickens, Marcellus Jr. |
Kristin Bartholomew |
One man’s look at his school |
Prather, Garfield |
Donna Brown |
Separate but equal: integration |
Roberts, Helen Rhodes Harris, Bushrod Curry, George Cook, Mary |
Ann Granston |
Memories of Frederick Douglas |
Robinson, Iona Harris, Hester Harris, Sharon |
C. Watts (manuscript – photocopy) |
What do you do when you are denied? Coping mechanisms for discrimination |
Young, Carolyn Street, Mary |
Mary Beth Stevenson |
Frederick Douglass: community pride |
Young, Carolyn Nelson, Ronald Fields, Patricia Roberts, Helen Rhodes Alsberry, Siomone |
Donna Patterson |
“Not to equal, but to excel”: a look at student life at Douglas High School |
Correspondence- Announcement of Douglas Alumni Association Annual Meeting, May 26, 1985 (typed on 1940 stationary)- 1 leaf, typescript
Finances- Final Statement Dinner Dance Oct. 23, 1972- 3 items, manuscript
Membership Card – Douglas School Alumni Association- 1 item, printed
Minutes and Officers – Douglas School Alumni Association, 1969-May, 1981, 19 pages, manuscript
Douglas Alumni Association Newsletters – August, 2000-August, 2015
Douglas Alumni Association – Program, Banquet 1948, three leaves, printed (photocopy)
Program – 1988 Douglas Alumni Association Dinner Dance, 10 pages, printed (2 copies)
Ticket – Douglas Alumni Association Dinner Dance – 1985, 1 item, printed
Ticket – Douglas Alumni Dinner Dance, 1990, 1 leaf, printed
Ticket – Annual Douglas Alumni Dinner, October 7, 1995, 1 leaf, printed (2 copies)
Landmark Designation – National Register of Historic Places Nomination (completed), April 21, 2000, 28 leaves, typescript on printed form (photocopy)
Landmark Designation – Virginia Historic Landmark, 1999, 1 leaf, printed
Renovation- Renovation, Restoration and Expansion project of Douglas School building by Winchester Public Schools (folder contains the following):
Historic Douglas School Steering Committee Agendas and Minutes, 2019 – present
Groundbreaking
News articles
BOX 4 Douglas Memorabilia
Sweatshirt
Mug
Paperweight
Clip- “Douglas School, 1927-1966, Winchester, VA, A State and National Historic Site”- 1 item, plastic
Letter “D” from cheerleading sweater- 1 item
BOX 5 Trophies
Trophy- Douglas Midget League Champion 1961 Recreation Department
Trophy- 1966 Athlete of the Year, Randolph Martin, Douglas High School
BOX 6 Trophies
Trophy- Most Valuable Player 1963-64, presented by TACS (Teen Age Club) to Clarence Curry
OVERSIZE
Photographs/Posters - Created by Charles Harris, displayed at Douglas School Open Houses, Douglas Dinner Dances and other events
OVERSIZE
Scrapbooks, Douglas High School, “The Barksdale Years”—scrapbook of athletic events at Douglas High School from 1953-1966 under Ed Barksdale, contains scans and photocopies of news clippings as well as an alumni tribute to Barksdale in 1986; 1 oversize scrapbook, unnumbered pages, printed. All materials compiled by Jimmy Dix.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs and other images belonging to this collection may be accessed online through http://handley.pastperfectonline.com/