Emery Street School alumni gather here this weekend

Published 10:13 pm Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The youngest alumnus of Dalton’s Emery Street School is in her 50s and a member of a group that is gradually disappearing.

The school, which was open from 1886 to 1967, was a place where black children in grades 1-12 received an education in Dalton before integration.

The school building is now the Emery Center, a museum devoted in part to preserving the history of the school as well as culture from all the races.

The school’s alumni will get together beginning Friday at the center for a weekend-long reunion that will reunite people ranging in age from their 50s to their 90s, said Emery Street School alumnus Curtis Rivers, now the Emery Center director.

“We’re expecting a good turnout,” said Rivers, who anticipates approximately 150 former students and family members will attend. The alumni last met in 2005 and people came from as far away as California.

The festivities begin Friday at 6 p.m. with a “meet and greet” and registration. The reunion weekend is open to former students and their family members. An admission package for the weekend is $95 for all events. Admission to individual events, for those not planning to stay all weekend, varies.

At 7 p.m. Friday food will be served and alumni will be invited to perform in a talent show.

Saturday morning breakfast will be served beginning at 9 a.m. and at noon alumni will tour the center. Breakfast is $5.

At 6 p.m. Saturday alumni will meet at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center for a group picture, followed by a 7 p.m. banquet. Dr. Charles Easley, a former Morris Brown College professor, will be the guest speaker. The banquet admission is $45.

On Sunday the reunion will conclude with a church service in the center’s auditorium. The Rev. Edward Harvey, an Emery Street School graduate now living in Ohio, will be the guest speaker. Hands of Praise, a group that uses hand movements to interpret music, will be part of the program. The Sunday service is open to the public.

T-shirts commemorating the event are $15 and can be purchased at the center.