Hardaway High School celebrates its gold (and crimson) anniversary

The building smelled new because it was, but on the first day of school in 1965, Jim Railey didn't inspect the sparkling surroundings or check the credentials of a talented faculty that Principal Dewey Renfroe had assembled.

"I just thanked the Lord that I was in a school that had air-conditioning," said Railey, who was a student the morning the bells first rang at Hardaway High School.

Opening a high school was a new adventure. When the board of education authorized Hardaway's construction in 1964, Muscogee County hadn't built one from scratch since Baker opened in 1943. The new facility was built on a site set aside when the school system purchased an old dairy farm for a junior college that became Columbus State University.

The building was ready by September 1965. The question was whether the community was ready for it. Most people in town graduated from Columbus, Jordan or Baker, and generations of African-American students had gone to Spencer. Folks were reluctant to send their sons and daughters to a school that had no traditions, much less a football team.

At least the name was familiar. The school was named after Benjamin Hurt Hardaway Jr., a veteran school board member best known for putting up buildings and bridges.

Renfroe, a Little All-American quarterback at Troy State University and former basketball coach at Columbus High, was appointed principal. He had been principal at Richards Junior High School, a few blocks from the impressive new campus.

He arrived with plans and dreams. He built his faculty around band director George Corradino and choral conductor Robert Eakle and commissioned them to compose an alma mater and a fight song. He hired Sam Pate, a science teacher who brought live critters to school. He appointed Ruth Ball to dean of girls and put Dot Bruner in charge of the main office. He lured Jane Deaton away from Baker to be a counselor.

The nucleus of that staff would stay at Hardaway for years to come, touching the lives of thousands of students and creating an aura of stability unseen in today's schools.

They became the Golden Hawks and, as a Marine, Renfroe chose crimson and gold as the school colors. "We finish to begin," was adopted as the school slogan.

But in a system where students studied in tropical temperatures, air-conditioning was a major attraction. As a sophomore, Railey had sweated at Jordan, so comfort was on his mind when he and 1,536 other students walked into Hardaway that first day.

So what if he was walking into history?

"What I wanted most was to make the baseball team," he said. "It never dawned on me that we were starting a team from scratch and that we would be more like a pickup team."

Nor could the sturdy young catcher and National Honor Society member imagine that 50 years later he would still carry warm feelings for that school. He sent two children to Hardaway and helped start the Hardaway Alumni Society in 2006.

This week, Railey is participating in a celebration of the school's golden anniversary.

"Schools have changed dramatically," he said, "but we still need to help them."

Banning bell-bottoms

In half a century, Hardaway has had only four principals -- amazing in a school that has had 14 head football coaches and educated several generations of young people

"Mr. Renfroe can be credited with our stability," said Matt Bell, Hardaway's principal since 2006. "It was easy for the rest of us. He laid the groundwork and we have just kept things moving."

Roger Hatcher, Keith Seifert and Bell came after Renfroe. In comparison, nine different superintendents have led the school district in those 50 years.

"I never thought I would stay for 13 years but I'm glad I did, for I enjoyed every year," said Hatcher, who now works in the School of Education at Columbus State.

"It was an excellent school when I took the job and we tried to improve on what was there. The staff was dedicated to the task. Students bought in, and parents always supported what we did."

Hardaway was a middle-class school in a middle-class neighborhood. Renfroe reflected those values, asking students to "behave in a refined manner." In an early edition of the school newspaper, he invited students to build a program of pride.

"We have a tremendous responsibility to uphold, a great name, one that is known for creating great giants of buildings and bridges, as well as one associated with the highest ideals of education," the principal wrote.

Renfroe installed dress codes that would not be tolerated in today's schoolhouses: No blue jeans and no Beatles haircuts were allowed, and girls couldn't wear boots above the calf.

Billy Kendall, the current president of the alumni association, remembers when Renfroe came out against bell-bottoms and plaid pants. "At first he spent a lot of time on dress codes, but as time went on he loosened up a bit."

Howard comes home

When Dewey Renfroe called, Sammy Howard left a state championship contender in Mississippi to take over a team that was winless in 1969 and had gone through three head coaches in five seasons.

For the Phenix City native, coming to Hardaway was coming home. But there were moments when he doubted his decision.

"El Edmunds came with me as line coach, and after our first practice he said, 'What in the heck have we done?' We had great kids, but many of them didn't know how to get down in a stance," said Howard, who later was mayor of his hometown.

The Hawks went 4-6 in Howard's first year and became the surprise of the city with records of 7-3 and 6-3-1 in 1971 and 1972. Howard left for Glenwood School after three seasons but not before accumulating a scrapbook of memories. One that makes him laugh came during a Thursday night game with Central of Macon at Garrett Stadium in Phenix City.

They played in Alabama because the Chattahoochee Valley Fair was in Columbus. Central was on its way to a state championship and its coach was the colorful Goot Steiner.

"I knew we were in trouble when their captains took off their helmets for the coin toss. It was Steve Dennis who played at Georgia and Neil Callaway who went to Alabama. They had flattops at a time when everybody else had long hair," Howard said.

In a game that was the hardest hitting contest either coach had ever seen, the outmanned Hawks matched the visitors yard for yard. All of a sudden, Howard looked across the field and saw two Phenix City police officers talking to Steiner.

"I hurried over to see what was going on. Some redneck in the stands had called the law and said Goot was cussing. Fans could hear him because there was nobody there. I had to talk them out of arresting him," the retired coach said.

Hardaway missed a short field goal that would have won it and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

Howard built a winning record despite unexpected student transfers during the desegregation of local schools. The racial atmosphere at Hardaway remained calm and one of the reasons was Wallace Davis, a former Carver High star that Howard hired as an assistant coach.

"He was running a public swimming pool when I went to see him. Someone carrying a gun came through the gate. Wallace went up to him, slapped him and pulled the gun out of his swim trunks. He told the fellow to go home, and he did," said Howard.

Their friendship continues today. Two men from different backgrounds learned from each other about coaching and about life.

Hardaway has never won a state football title and has only one region title to show for half a century of play. But under head coaches Grady Elmore and Dwight Jones the Hawks enjoyed 10-2 seasons in 1980 and 1998. Meanwhile, the school has established strong programs in baseball, golf and softball.

"We've had some great moments," Bell says, "and sports is still important to school pride."

Traditions never end

Fifty years ago, Debbie Hess was Hardaway's first Homecoming Queen, and Cadet Lt. Col. Steve Hicks commanded the school's first ROTC unit.

The first graduating class received their diplomas in a 1967 ceremony in the school auditorium, and that was only the beginning. The school was honored as a national School of Excellence in 1985, and the symphonic band toured Russia in 1986. Hardaway added the International Baccalaureate Degree in 2001 -- one of 4,000 IB schools in 152 countries worldwide.

Matt Bell came to Hardaway as head basketball coach in 1996 and was an assistant principal for six years. As principal, he doesn't worry about dress codes.

"I remember when cellphones were an issue, but today we have bigger things to worry about," he said. "We worry about getting students in the door so we can engage them in learning. You have to choose your battles."

Like his predecessors, Bell is an involved leader. When the alumni society called to discuss the school's 50th anniversary, Bell personally produced a video that covers Hardaway's past. Students previewed the video and learned the origins of school traditions that have stood the test of time. He'll be there at the alumni society's Birthday Bash on Nov. 19.

Fifty years after that first day of air-conditioning, Jim Railey will also be there, proudly forecasting a positive future for his alma mater. "People like Matt Bell are carrying the tradition forward," he said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 10:32 PM with the headline "Hardaway High School celebrates its gold (and crimson) anniversary ."