By Kara Crump
Staff Writer
An All-Class Reunion was held at the JL Acres Venue in Henderson on Friday and Saturday, August 30-31. This two-day event was held for the students of three different schools: Chester County High School, Vincent High School and Chester County Training School.\ Chester County Training School was the first black school opened in the county and began in 1932. The school was located on Highway 45 North, opposite of Cool Springs Baptist Church. The principal serving was J.A. Vincent. The first graduating class of Chester County Training School was in 1936 with seven black students officially receiving their diplomas. The second graduating class of 1948 provided the Chester County Training School with its second principal, J.M Trice. Eunice Barnes Robinson was the valedictorian of her class in 1960—the class that changed Chester County Training School to Vincent High School. “We didn’t want to be called a ‘training school,’” she said. “We didn’t like it. That’s when our class changed the name of Chester County Training School to Vincent High School—named after our old principal, Mr. Vincent,” explained Robinson. The decision became official in February of 1963. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in public schools on May 17, 1954, with its Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ruling (Source: education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/supreme-court-outlaws-racial-segregation-us-schools/). Chester County Training High School which eventually became Vincent High School were segregated schools for black students. Henrietta Kellum Lusk was one of those attending the reunion event this year. Lusk is a part of the class of 1969—the last graduating class of Vincent High School’s segregated students. In 1970, the black students officially joined the white students at Chester County High School, and it has been that way ever since.
While the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation, it took 16 years for Chester County to abolish student segregation ultimately. This is one of the biggest reasons why the All-Class Reunion hosts these events: to celebrate how far the black community has abundantly prospered, reunite with old friends, reminisce about the past years and to catch up on the here and now.
Friday evening was the “Meet and Greet,” Saturday morning featured a brunch and a fancy ball-like dinner was held on Saturday evening—the theme was “Masquerade.” The main course included applewood tenderloin, chicken breast, whole green beans, mashed potatoes and rolls with desserts of pound cake with fruit or chocolate pie. Elizabeth Saunders gave a presentation about putting the “old” Vincent High School (current day’s Chester County Alternative School located at 186 Luray Ave) on the National Historic Register listing. This is an honor that signifies that the building is an important part of America’s cultural heritage worthy of preservation. Holly Chism gave the scholarship updates to the community—The 2023 Chester County High Scholarship recipient and graduate is Aunetria Arnold.
The Scholarship Arnold was awarded is called the “Chester County Training School/Vincent High School Scholarship.” Her parents are Dennis and Nijel Arnold, Jr. Her great-grandparents are Emerson (deceased) and Lorraine Arnold, all of Henderson. The $1,000 scholarship she received is in honor of Zenobia Maples who graduated from Chester County Training School in 1954. Mrs. Maples attended the reunion this past weekend. Kim Phelps presented a memorial tribute and Michele Stevenson performed a song for the event. Roll call (of each class year) was done by Barbara Reeves and Janice McHaney-Pirtle and entertainment was provided by “Lil” Johnie Williams. The end of the night included door prizes, entertainment from the DJ booth and dancing. Renee Phelps was the 2024 Committee Chair and Kimberly Jones was the 2024 Committee Co-Chair of the All-Class Reunion event. The next reunion event will be held on September 4-5, 2026. The All-Class Reunion committee is currently looking for new committee members to host the 2026 reunion event. If interested, email allclassreunioncomittee@gmail.com or by mail to: All Class Reunion c/o Quincy Jones, PO Box 19A Henderson, TN 38340.
