School Days: Subligna High School Class of 1949

Recently, my cousin Christa McWilliams set up a new group on Facebook called Subligna Community Members & Friends. Her idea was to bring people together to share old photos and memories about growing up in the tiny community nestled at the southern end of the East and West Armuchee valleys. It’s the same community where we both grew up–and where our ancestors go back (in a tangled web) for many generations!

The group inspired me to dig into the photo archives I’ve amassed over the years and share more here. When I started the Jordan’s Journey blog in 2012, I maintained weekly updates for a year. But eventually, I moved on to other things in life and have not updated this blog often since then. I can’t say that’s going to change, but I will try to share more going forward. That may be in the form of sharing photos more than writing original pieces. If you enjoy what I post, please let me know. That’s the single best way you can encourage me to keep going. And even better: contribute! I’d love to share old photos and stories from our broader shared heritage, especially if there is an Armuchee Valley connection. Lynne Cabe and Rhonda Locke have contributed outstanding content in the past. I’d love to have more people join the effort!

Today, I want to revisit the School Days series. In honor of the new Subligna group, I am sharing a photo of the Subligna High School Class of 1949. Esther Serritt shared this photo with me several years back. Mrs. Serritt is, unfortunately, no longer living, but I am very grateful that she took the time to label this photo.

Here are the folks in this photo:

Front Row (L to R): Ruby Scoggins, Thelma Kinsey, Laura Brock, Charlene Roper, Esther Serritt, Louise Roper, Eunice Johns.

Back Row (L to R): Doyle Milstead, Guy Pope, Billy Scoggins, Hubert Teems, Jerry Perkins.

Many of these names jump out to me. More than half of them are in my family tree! I’ve heard some of the names over the years, no doubt in conversations with my grandmother or parents. And, of course, my great-uncle—Guy Pope—who I always knew growing up is part of this class as well. (See an earlier school photo from Villanow with him).

You’d think I’d know the Scoggins folks in the Subligna photo since they share my surname. But I never knew them. That just goes to show how far and wide the family tree reaches, even in this tiny little valley. Are these Scoggins folks cousins? Yes. No question. Just not cousins I ever knew!

For the people I’ve been able to fit into the family tree puzzle, I’ve linked their name above to their entry in the Jordan’s Journey tree at Ancestry. I have not figured out who Billy Scoggins or Laura Brock are—though I am sure they fit in somewhere. If you know who those folks descend from, let me know so I can add them!

As a bonus, here is the program (also shared with me by Esther Serritt) from the commencement exercises for this graduating class. This is an exciting piece of documentation and part of the rich history of Subligna.