If the impact of the old Merrill High School was at risk of slipping into the past, the grand opening of the Merrill Historical Museum last week should go a long way to easing that worry.
Classmates, some with the help of their children, along with friends and others interested in a decades-old piece of Pine Bluff history streamed through the building at 1203 West Pullen Ave., site of the old campus. In all, some 100 showed up, many of whom raised their hands when asked if they had attended the all-Black high school that was in existence from 1886 — just a few years after the end of the Civil War — until 1975, despite three fires, two of which were from arson.
Mary Banks Lee, just a few days from turning 99 and a member of the class of 1945, was there with her daughters, Gayle Morris and Rosemary White, who graduated from the school in 1970, the last year Merrill served as a high school. Lee smiled when asked about her experiences at her old alma mater, saying she was pleased to have found some of her classmates among the rooms of photos and memorabilia that make up the museum.
White said a few of her classmates left to attend Pine Bluff High School after integration took hold and school choice became an option, “but a majority stayed at Merrill for the very active extra-curricular activities that were offered,” she said. She went on to list her many classmates that included sports figures, ministers, political figures, a presidential aide, a federal judge and state and local leaders.
Maxine Lamb Vaughn, who had turned 87 the day before the event on Thursday, graduated in the 1950s. She stood, poised over her walker, and scanned the photos in one of the rooms.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“This is so special, so very, very special,” she said.
Vaughn said she was in the first band at the school and was the drum major. She also sang in the choir. One of her favorite teachers was Edna McPherson, who taught history.
“She made it so real,” Vaughn said. “In her class, we listened when the Russians shot off Sputnik. Mrs. McPherson had the radio on.”
Outside, under a large canopy, chairs filled as class of 1964 member Juanita Currie, the latest in a long line of individuals who have worked as volunteers to bring the museum into existence, took the microphone to welcome guests. She said the museum was separated in different ways, one area showing the chronology of how the museum came into being as well as separate rooms that display the administrations of the school’s five principals.
Roger Swift, class of 1958, who gave opening remarks, said the structure was not just a museum “but a living archive of Merrill spirit” that touched on “the lessons, the dreams and the triumphs that took place in these halls.”
“This will be a living testament to the resilience, excellence and pride that shaped the students that attended the school,” he said.
Following Swift at the podium was Jennifer Barbaree, Pine Bluff School District superintendent, who said the school represented “nine decades of leaders, innovators and dreamers” and that the museum was a “reaffirmation of the Merrill spirit that still lives.”
Proclamations were read by Pine Bluff Mayor Vivian Flowers and Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson, with Robinson saying that one’s footprints tell where one has gone but also where one is headed, adding that he was “so happy for this day because I know it took a lot of perseverance to get here, and I thank you.”
The museum restoration started in earnest in 1986, but shortly afterward, the main part of the school was destroyed by arson. A one-story building was erected and served other purposes, but then the museum effort took it over and started the long slog to turn the building into what it is today.
“We picked up the $245,000 mortgage on the building and paid it down to $165,000,” Currie said, referring to the Merrill Alliance, which now owns the building. “Then Simmons Bank, which had carried the note, in an act of good faith to the community, forgave the debt. It probably didn’t hurt that one of our board members, Clifton Roaf, was also on the Simmons board.”
Currie said the museum “is a work in progress” and invited the public to donate photos and any other memorabilia — particularly uniforms — to the museum. She also directed the public to go to the museum’s website, merrillmuseum.com, for more information about the facility, which will be open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until noon and 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
