Proud Gillsville Elementary Serves Two Counties

 

Gillsville Elementary is sort of unusual-well, as far as that goes, so is Gillsville itself.

 

The school, once a high school-elementary school combination, sits in Banks County, but most of its students are from Hall County, according to its principal, Ralph White.

 

The town is in Hall County and its seven-establishment business section is located about a fourth mile across the railroad and down Ga. 52 from the school. Folks here-like Reo Frankum who runs most of the stores-are mostly Hall Countians. “Yeah, but out the window is the Grove River precinct voting place,” says Frankum, pointing to what appears to be a former railroad depot.

 

Ralph White, who says he has taught school at Gillsville 17 years, 10 as principal, says the unusualness of the town goes further than that. He says when the students become high school age they split “about half and half” in going to either Banks County or East Hall High.

 

And White is real proud of his school. He takes visitors down to see what he says cooperative effort between Gillsville and Banks County is doing to utilize the former high school building which was put up about 30 years ago.

 

“Three years ago the PTA paid $500 to paint it and then they spent $400 on wiring last year. Recently Banks County Commissioners furnished $1800 and the PTA the rest of $2,600 for converting the building to a gymnasium. At present, there’s been $1,600 spent on the new floor," White says.

 

The facility, though in the process of conversion, is now being used as a practice gym for Gillsville Elementary’s basketball team, for physical education and a community meeting place White says.

 

White can think of other ways the town and county have helped the school. He says former Mayor Roy Hooper was responsible for getting the city commission to provide the grading, landscaping and grassing of the school grounds. Then the PTA and other volunteers have helped to get it done, he says.

 

“We used to have a high school and elementary school here up through 1954. However, in 1955 the elementary went into the present brick building and the high school students split up and chose either Banks County or East Hall High, “ White explains.

 

White, who has an A.B. from Piedmont College, and a M. Ed. from West Carolina, stays busy as principal and as a teacher. He is particularly proud of the school’s small student body of about 200 students. He feels this gives the teacher a chance to work closely with each student. Also, he feels the close tie with the farm country which surrounds Gillsville means a lot to the student.

“We’ve stayed within 10 students of having the same number in the student body for the past 10 years. Some schools talk about how crowded that get. Well, we’d like to have more students,” White says emphatically.

 

In addition, White says, the school has used approximately $15,000 in federal, Appalachian, and state money in improving the school’s operation in the past three years. He says most of the money went for teaching equipment.

 

White, who has one son at the University of Georgia-his son also attended Gillsville Elementary-lives in Banks County with his wife Mabel.

 

“Yeah, we try to do as good a job as we can preparing these children for high school and college. We even check up on ‘em after they’ve left so we can see how well we’ve helped them or how we need to improve ourselves.

 

“I guess that’s it mostly-trying to get these children ready for high school and college.” Coming from a man who grew up on a farm and taught school while he completed much of his education, the words mean a lot.

 

 

Source: “The Daily Times”, Gainesville, Ga. Wed., March 27, 1968

 

Contributed by Iris Thompson Fry

 

Transcribed 2005 by Jacqueline King

 

 

Copyright © 2005