Misty Watson
CHATSWORTH — Not many people honoring Lula Gladden on Sunday afternoon had ever met her.
But they know the legacy she left behind.
Gladden’s influence on her students and on Murray County High School lives on 65 years after her death. That is why members of the Murray County High School Alumni Association inducted her into the organization’s Hall of Fame on Sunday at the school.
“Not many this afternoon knew her, but she was a wonderful teacher,” said Mary Dill, a former educator who inducted Gladden into the Hall of Fame. “The name rings many bells. She was a teacher, an innovator. ... She was a person who tried to instill in the minds of all she came in contact with a thirst for knowledge.”
Also inducted were Jerry Barker, a teacher and engineer; Dr. W.A. Crump, a former teacher who is deceased; Frank Higdon, a retired executive for Shell Oil; Johnny Langford, who works in pharmaceuticals in Saudi Arabia; and the Rev. George Ross, a retired Baptist minister.
Jerry Barker
Barker says some of his “fondest memories” are from his time at Murray County High School.
“Some of the best people I ever met were right here in Murray County,” said Barker, who graduated from the high school in 1958.
Barker has traveled the world and had various careers since graduating. He was in the Navy for 13 years, which included a tour in Vietnam.
He returned home and opened a television and radio repair business while attending Dalton Junior College. He transferred to the University of Georgia where he received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education, said his aunt, Martha Sue Burnette, who inducted him into the hall of fame.
“He moved to Douglasville, where he taught electronics and coached baseball and basketball,” Burnette said.
Barker later began working as an engineer for Optimal Systems in Atlanta, and he worked in Iran and Thailand. He worked in Taiwan for the state of Georgia recruiting companies to move manufacturing operations to Georgia. He is currently teaching again.
“I don’t really know how to say thank you,” Barker said. “There are people who influence your life growing up, and the one teacher who influenced my life the most was Mr. M.D. Jackson who taught agriculture.”
When Barker took an aptitude test in the Navy, he realized just how influential Jackson was.
“I made high scores in mathematics,” Barker said, adding he didn’t do very well in high school math classes. “Mr. M.D. Jackson taught us math, and we didn’t even know we were learning it.”
W.A. Crump
France Adams became an English teacher because of Crump, his 10th- and 11th-grade English teacher at Murray County High School who is now deceased.
“I had the privilege of being in Dr. Crump’s class,” Adams said. “He was a wonderful teacher. He was an inspiring teacher. He was different. He made English class interesting. He made us want to learn.”
Crump’s high school career was interrupted when he joined the Army in 1944 to serve in World War II. He returned to graduate in 1947. He attended college at the University of Georgia where he received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education. He later received a doctorate’s degree from Georgia State.
Crump taught at Murray County High School in the 1950s. He coached tennis and girls basketball.
“He was mild-mannered,” Adams said. “I never heard him raise his voice here at school.”
Crump later became the principal at Spring Place Elementary School and then became an administrator and counselor for the state Department of Education. He was an assistant commissioner of operations at the Georgia Department of Corrections. He taught criminal justice at Georgia State.
Betty Jo Crump, his widow, accepted the award on her husband’s behalf.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “His first love was teaching.”
Lula Gladden
Gladden was one of the original faculty members at Murray County High School. She wrote the school’s alma mater, the institution’s official anthem. Gladden Middle School is named for her.
Gladden graduated from the Sumach Seminary as the first female to graduate from that high school, Dill said. She went on to receive a college degree from Peabody College.
“She helped those in need,” Dill said. “Often she was known to give to the less fortunate, and often she gave all she had.”
When Gladden first began teaching, she stayed with her students because travel was more difficult then, Dill said. By staying with her students, she saw the importance of teaching adults.
“She started teaching her students’ parents at night,” Dill said. “This was long before the federal government saw a need for adult literacy programs.”
Jerry Swilling, a relative of Gladden’s who accepted the award on behalf of her family, said it is a “pleasure, privilege and honor.”
“I was a mere lad when she passed away in 1944,” Swilling said. “I don’t know anything about Miss Lula other than what I’ve been told. ... The alma mater is important. That brings unity to the students, a sense of honor and pride, a sense of belonging.”
Frank Higdon
Higdon is “a classic example of someone who has experienced the American dream,” said his lifelong friend Becky Whaley, who inducted him into the hall of fame.
Higdon, a 1957 graduate of Murray County High School, grew up in Cisco in a home without running water or plumbing. He retired as a financial manager of commercial products after 33 years with the Shell Oil Company. He now lives in Rockport, Texas.
“In America, you reach for the stars because you have the potential to make your dreams a reality, and they have become one for Frank,” Whaley said.
As a youth, Higdon knew how to play baseball, but he never saw a basketball game until he was in 10th grade at Murray County High School, Whaley said.
“He decided the next year he would go out for the basketball team,” she said. “He went down to the pasture and built him a goal and practiced every day.”
Higdon made the basketball team as the starting point guard and quickly became a standout player, Whaley said. He made the Georgia High School All-Star Team and went to Lincoln Memorial University on a basketball scholarship. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from there.
“His determination and tenacity resulted in success for him in high school basketball,” Whaley said. “The very same qualities also lead to his eventual accomplishments that are particularly commendatory.”
Higdon said he is “honored” to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“This (school) has provided us all a good foundation in education,” he said. “Another important thing I got here was the belief I could be successful in life if I made the effort.”
Johnny Langford
Langford has traveled around the world many times but says he believes he learned “important core values” at Murray County High School.
Langford, a 1972 graduate, lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he works in pharmaceuticals.
“It’s a real honor to be here today,” he said. “My important core values were learned in my formidable years in Murray County — work hard ... the value of friendship ... the value of academics ... the idea of goal setting. I hope to be able to set an example for others. I hope someday someone can say I made a difference.”
While in high school, Langford was “well-rounded,” said his friend Debra Crump, who inducted him into the hall of fame. Langford was a member of the marching band, where he served as drum major for two years, was a member of Beta Club and the Science Club and many others.
After graduating with honors from the high school, he went to the University of Georgia where he graduated from the school of pharmacy, Crump said. He worked at Corner Drugs in Chatsworth, and then at Hamilton Medical Center before moving to Saudi Arabia.
Langford was the pharmacy director at King Fahad National Guard Hospital and was instrumental in beginning the Saudi International Trading Company, the largest pharmaceutical distribution company in the Middle East, Crump said.
Langford serves as the chairman of the board for the American International School and as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America in Riyadh.
The Rev. George Ross
Ross says he doesn’t deserve to be inducted into the hall of fame.
“I’m the most undeserving one of these who have stood today to be inducted,” Ross said. “I remember so well my days at Murray High. My goal was to get out of school. ... I could name every teacher that we had that was patient, and if they hadn’t been, I would probably still be in school.”
Ross said almost 10 years later, he was called into the ministry so he went to Clear Creek Bible College in Pineville, Ky.
“I knew I needed to better prepare myself so we (Ross and his wife, Jaunita) gave away and sold and borrowed everything that we could,” he said.
Ross returned to North Georgia where he was a pastor at Damascus Baptist Church in Calhoun, Mill Creek Baptist and at Center Point Baptist for 31 years.
While in high school, Ross played football and ran track, said his nephew Anthony Ross, who inducted his uncle. The Rev. Ross received many recognitions and held key positions in the Georgia Baptist Convention and the North Georgia Baptist Association. Since retirement, Ross has been a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Chatsworth.
George Ross said he is “honored” to be inducted as the first minister in the Hall of Fame.
“I’m undeserving,” he said. “If there’s anything that has ever been accomplished in my life, it’s because of the grace of Jesus Christ.”
