Hazlewood bond outlasts any brick and mortar

TOWN CREEK — Hazlewood High School alumni will gather Saturday for an all-classes reunion on sacred ground – the Golden Bears football field.

A powerhouse in football, Hazlewood High was closed in 2009 after 90 years as a pillar of the Town Creek community in Lawrence County. (The students were shuffled to R.A. Hubbard in Courtland, which was subsequently shuttered in 2022.)

And even though the school building was demolished last fall, the community continues to support Hazlewood with banquets honoring championship teams and coaches, class reunions, and alumni Facebook groups celebrating the accomplishments of the next generation in the “Hazlewood bloodline”, even though the next generation is carrying on the tradition at new schools.

The Golden Bears won 44 state championships, including 11 in football, but sports titles are not the reason alumni keep coming back. Love for school, community, and each other is the enduring legacy.

“The closeness of a small community with everyone lending a hand when needed, most everyone knowing your name and your family is what makes this place special,” said Janet Slaton Parker, a 1976 graduate who spent 37 years as a paraprofessional at Hazlewood Elementary School.

“I am proud of the people who proved to the world that big things can come from a school such as Hazlewood. Blessings go beyond just sports, it goes to the hearts of the people that still believe in Hazlewood.”

We’re the school with the true spirit

My grandmother, my mom and dad, aunts and uncles on both sides, my brother and I, and lots of cousins all graduated from Hazlewood. Most families from Town Creek would likely have the same story.

Last Sunday, the football stadium parking lot was filling up as Class of 1990 alumna Angela Garner Wilson delivered more than 400 T-shirts. Class of 1965, Class of 1972, Class of 1988, Class of 2001: They all gathered around Wilson’s truck to talk about schoolmates, play with grandchildren, and make plans for Saturday.

Someone brought their leaf blower to make sure the space was clean and ready for the crowd to bring life back to the stadium. 

“It’s going to be nice to see that field covered in purple and gold again,” said Andre King, Class of 1988 and a member of the 1985 state championship football team. “The students and teachers made it special – everyone was friends. We never had a racial problem & we were winning in all sports.”

Wilson is the engine making this event happen. 

“I just felt it was needed,” Wilson said. “After our Class of 1990 reunion, other classes said they wished they would have one, but so many wouldn’t participate. I decided to try to do it for the whole school, and if we got five from each class to show up, that would be great. I just decided to do it and see where it would go.”

Little did she know how far it would go.

“The turnout has been way bigger than I expected,” Wilson said, proving that the Hazlewood spirit is alive and well.

And with the number of people expected, the crowd might rival an old-time Hazlewood-Courtland game.

A handicapped-accessible area will be set up near the field’s entrance, and thanks to local Coca-Cola and Pepsi suppliers, sodas and water will be available to keep folks hydrated. 

Come on fans, let’s hear it

For many, like 1989 graduate Paul Byrd, the reunion is a chance to see friends before it’s too late.

“Real life met us early with the loss of two classmates: Benjamin Almon and Frankie Crisler,” Byrd recalled. “With God’s grace and mercy we pressed forward to accomplish many life goals. At our recent class reunion, the energy was very special with both Black and white, young innocent kids then and adults now, embracing real-life concepts 30+ yrs later. Yes, we won a football championship that year and represented the school’s standards, but I’m more focused on the love we still have for each other today.”

Class of 1977’s Kucera Kerby said schools and churches make small towns like Town Creek thrive and because of that Hazlewood will always be part of her life.

“I want to be able to see people I haven’t seen in years. And also to keep Hazlewood alive. In small towns people grow close, and since I’ve been here all my life, that made the school a big part of my life,” the former majorette said. 

All for the Bears

Ritza Gargis Brumley, a 1969 graduate, recalled Hazlewood as a caring community. 

“It was certainly more than sports, it was an atmosphere of acceptance and caring that was always present. Students and teachers looked for the best in everyone and expected it,” she said. “I always felt like my teachers and classmates were family.”

Tonya Lipscomb, Class of 1991, agreed with Brumley’s assessment of the school community. 

Lipscomb’s son, Keenen Porter, was a member of Hazlewood’s final graduating class in 2009, when the school was closed permanently. 

“It felt like a part of me died,” Porter recalled. “People love Hazlewood because it was a big family and nothing but love was shown – that’s why the bond is so strong.”

Stand up and holler

Class of 2006 graduate Tempestt Wilson recalled how the school’s closure hurt.

“I don’t have a school to visit on homecoming or events to participate in as an alumna,” she said. “My father, Derrick Wilson, graduated from Hazlewood and won a basketball championship. I have six track and field championships, and I’m grateful I got to share that with my dad before he passed in 2021. So many kids didn’t get to experience that.

“We had many great athletes come through, but also doctors, excellent educators, entrepreneurs, and other successful people. I hope this event will be a new tradition to keep Hazlewood alive.”

So many people from every decade shared their stories that I couldn’t include them all, proving that once a Golden Bear, always a Golden Bear.