Our high school days were full of activities that gave us all new experiences none of us had encountered before. As freshmen in high school, we were given the chance to attend pep rallies, join clubs, be involved in different organizations and attend dances. We could not attend the Junior-Senior dance but got to attend the Coronation Ball.

This dance was held each year in November and was the highlight of fall. It was held after football season and at the beginning of our basketball season, during the Thanksgiving vacation. This is when we crowned our King and Queen and announced their Court. All of this was voted on by the student body, and as freshmen, we got to participate. Being at a dance with seniors made us look forward to the day we were seniors and had the privileges afforded to only seniors!

The first Coronation Ball that I attended, Kay Walker (Moore) and Mike Moore were crowned Queen and King and some of the members of their court that I remember were Leon Mason and Gail Wiley (Morgan). Kay was one of the prettiest girls in the school and had a sister, Pat, that was a year ahead of me, and they were both cheerleaders on Mrs. Perkins’ squad. They lived in the summer home that I now live in presently on the river. Mike was a star football player and later became a dentist in Washington and is married to his beautiful wife, Tish. In our senior year, we crowned Bobby Hardy and Brenda Dixon (Hardy) as our King and Queen.

Later, as seniors, our class saw to it that there was a live band playing music for all of us to dance and decorations were all around the gym, thanks to our girls! We were not to be outdone by other classes ahead of us. It was always held in the gym because of the tile flooring that we could not scratch up. Horace had to remove the scuff marks but he did so with a big smile because he knew his students had a big time. My freshman year, I had to let my dad drive me and my date, but my sophomore year, Bill Litchfield invited me to double date with him. Now, this was the first time I had ever car dated, and I truly appreciated it. He borrowed his Mom’s gold Pontiac, and we were big time heading to the Coronation Ball with our dates in our suits and the girls with their corsages properly pinned to their dresses (usually by their moms).

The Coronation Ball will forever be remembered by all that attended. It was one of the activities that was offered that no one wanted to miss. Looking back, we were so lucky to have teachers who made sure we enjoyed our days in high school. We should be appreciative to the ones that helped make it possible. “It takes a village to raise a child” is the saying that applies to our high school days. They will never be forgotten by me.

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C. The Original Washington!

 

— Harold Jr.

Harold Robinson Jr. is a native of Washington.