BY CAROL MOSLEY
Special to the Telegraph
The massive room at Belle Oaks Barn was packed with hundreds of former teachers and staff from the early beginnings of Brooker Elementary School, along with family members and current students from the new charter school.
It was an opportunity to honor the decades of educators who taught the children and to celebrate the community spirit that would not let the little town of Brooker go without a local elementary.
Belle Oaks Barn owners Doug and Michelle Green provided use of the space and staff. Hills BBQ & Catering from Gainesville cooked up chicken breast and brisket along with loaded mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. The school’s food service specialist, Dora Broome, made her famous cakes for dessert.
Belle Oaks Barn is a wedding and event venue with a huge barn decorated in country elegance style and adorned with antiques. There is also a small chapel on the premises for wedding ceremonies and numerous outbuildings to serve other uses. The Greens are supporters of the charter school where Michelle is a volunteer art teacher.
The alumni reunion was also a fundraiser for Brooker Community School. Emcee Regina Parrish made it clear that, now that the community came together to get the school up and running, it still needs the ongoing financial support of the community. She pointed out the many items that would be up for silent and live auction later on and encouraged everyone to dig deep into their pockets when they bid or purchase tickets for the drawing.
It was easy to see why Parrish was chosen, or rather “voluntold” as she put it, to be the night’s emcee. Her wry sense of humor brought numerous eruptions of laughter. And, her storytelling of Brooker’s history and characters filled minds with old memories and reminded everyone of the deep roots of this small community. Aside from her humor, she has history of attending school and growing up in Brooker. She also served as school secretary, school board member and clerk of Union County for 20 years.
The Wards are a founding family who originally owned much of area that is now Brooker. Emra Priest Ward (1836-1904) and his wife, Margaret Godwin Ward (1846-1906), donated the land on which the Brooker Baptist Church now sits. Their son, Thomas Phillip Ward (1869-1921). built the steeple for the original church. Two of Emra and Margaret’s great-granddaughters, Debbie Martin Johnson and Susan Martin, traveled from Jacksonville to attend the reunion.
Parrish acknowledged the sisters and told how the town of Brooker was originally called Ward City. The town of Brooker website relates the story this way. “In 1838, a settlement called Ward City was established in this area. The town was named after an early settler, E. P. Ward, who is buried in the First Baptist Church of Brooker’s cemetery. In 1892, Thomas R. Collins petitioned for a Post Office and became postmaster in 1894. He named the post office after the old Brooker Bridge across the Santa Fe River. The bridge was named after Ed Brooker, a farmer in the area. Due to confusion about whether to call the town Ward City or Brooker after the post office, the citizens decided to drop the name Ward City and used the name of the post office, Brooker.” Parrish said, “So, if you were taking the train you would be coming to Ward City, but if you were getting your mail you were getting it in Brooker.”
Parrish went on to describe the community spirit. “A school is not only bricks and mortar. It is the life and experiences of each person in this community. A school will keep a community alive and prosperous. As all of you know, Brooker is a tight-knit family. We have strong family ties and very deep roots. Our school has produced many solid citizens. They have reached high expectations and they have used their skills and abilities beyond their beginnings. This (school) has been an effort by some of these alumni to keep Brooker School open. All of us in attendance here tonight are very fortunate to have had the Brooker experience.”
“In the early 1900s, a man named Hugh Butler Crosby founded a school on the property that is presently occupied by Dee and Otis Testone. … It is said that some of the timber in their house was from the old school. This school served many students and staff until 1928.”
At that point, 92-year-old Marilyn Crosby Vellenga approached the emcee and said she wanted to clarify some history. She noted that her father, Hugh, was one of 14 children. “Oh Lord!” exclaimed the emcee. “Fourteen siblings! That’s a good woman.” Parrish noted that there were three Crosbys in attendance representing four generations of Brooker Elementary attendees.
She continued with the history. “In 1916, the school board of Bradford County provided a school for the families of workers in the lumber yards. … In 1928, a new school was constructed as an elementary and junior high.” The current, more modern building was constructed in 1967 to replace the older school. Parrish told a story of her time as secretary at the school when she started to receive obscene phone calls. Along with the sheriff a plan was concocted in hopes of catching the caller, who never showed up, “but the insurance man happened to come by and almost got arrested. The obscene calls stopped after that, darn it!” she proclaimed, as the room erupted in laughter.
In attendance were old timers, such as lifelong resident Jack Hazen, who is a supporting member of initiating the new school and was an original student at the old elementary built in the late 20s. Aside from his personal history of being born in Brooker and attending school there himself, Hazen explained why he felt it was important to him to contribute to the new school. “This school is a real asset to this end of the county and to Brooker.” Other early school members acknowledged were Alma Leta Dyal Sparks, Marilyn Crosby Vellenga and Helen Barry Crosby.
After dinner it was time for the live auction, which was called by experienced auctioneer David Stalnaker. First up were the elaborately decorated homemade cakes, created and donated by resident bakers. A tray of Lynn Melvin’s banana pudding went for $175. The dozen or so cakes with names such as Oreo cake, Reese’s cake, hummingbird cake, 10-layer cake, triple chocolate cake went for anywhere from $75-$250. A strawberry cake brought in a whopping $475.
Then came the nonedible items. A pair of certificates to Bradford Sportsman’s Shooting Range with a value of $500 was gotten for $300. Other items included a chartered fishing trip or a jaunt to Wild Adventures. When the bidding got a little slow, Parrish stepped up to remind everyone why they were there. “You’ve never seen a U-Haul following a hearse, so spend that money!” A hand-carved bench with a giant Redfish as a back, donated by Peggy Stanwix-Hay, settled on a bid of $1,000. And the highest-valued prize of the night, two tickets to an Atlanta Braves game was donated by Ramona and Harold Jackson. The tickets, valued at $3,500 were a bargain at the $2,500 they brought in. The final event of the evening was the drawing for a prized Henry rifle, won by Kelly Dyal for his son, experienced rifleman Kaleb.
The night wrapped up by announcing the winners of the silent auction items. Attendees caught up with old friends as staff and volunteers cleared the tables and stacked the chairs. The reunion fulfilled numerous goals. It raised needed funds for the new school while honoring those who educated and nurtured students through the decades. It acknowledged the roots that formed so long ago and have spread throughout the region. And, it showed gratitude for the people and community spirit of Brooker that jumps into action when the need arises. This coming together grew the community roots even a little stronger that night.
