Armuchee Valley Elementary School, Class of 1991

Today’s entry in the School Days series is quite different. Whereas the previous school photos were taken in the 1930s, today’s school photo was taken in 1990. It is, in fact, my 5th grade class from Armuchee Valley School. I love how this photo is labeled with all the names–making any detective work much easier!

The names in the photo are as follows:

  • 3rd Row
    • Mr. Ron Peck (principal)
    • Jordan Scoggins
    • Amy Gray
    • La Tasha Madden
    • Peggy Bedwell
    • Richard Austin
    • Mrs. Keith (5th grade teacher)
  • 2nd Row
    • Christy Gray
    • Crystal Barnes
    • Pamela Terry
    • Freda Cargal
    • Evan Bailey
    • James Grady
  • 1st Row
    • Scottie Tate
    • Monroe Willix
    • Jacob Jarvis
    • Danielle Willingham
    • Christina Martin
    • Harley Gordon
    • Anthony Gray (not pictured)

I recently discovered that one of my classmates here is actually a cousin. Freda Cargle and I both descend from Madison Green Clement (1823-1901) and are 4th cousins once removed! I suspect I am related to more of the students here, but I just haven’t tracked down those connections yet. I do note three Grays in the bunch. I recently visited the Anderson/Gray cemetery in Subligna–a cemetery tucked away in the woods that had never even been inventoried on Find A Grave until I added it–and learned how the Gray family (distantly) fits into my tree. Knowing the patterns of Armuchee Valley families (and how I’m discovering more and more I’m related to almost everybody in the area in one way or another), I suspect the Grays here in the photo from 1990 are descendants of the family in Anderson/Gray cemetery. If any of you know more about this, let me know.

It’s also worth noting that this class was the last to graduate from Armuchee Valley School. The school burned in 1992, forcing all students to finish out the year at Naomi. Armuchee Valley was never reopened.

Let me know if anyone out there has class photos like this (or even more casual shots from school days) from Armuchee Valley or anywhere else in the area. I’d love to feature your photo here on the Jordan’s Journey blog.

A note of thanks goes to Nelda Scoggin Reynolds for her help in making the connections between all the graves from the Anderson/Gray cemetery. I couldn’t have done it without you, Nelda!

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