Page 47 - some-stuff-i-wrote-and-some-stuff-i-didn't-(2011)-h-morris-williams

Some Stuff I Wrote and Some Stuff I Didn't (2011) H. Morris Williams

Column October 14, 2007

FERRA’S FOUR SPECIAL GIFTS

Just before Ferra Anita Appell Glaze (CHS 1938) died last year, she stipulated
that some of her most cherished school-related possessions be left to our School
Museum. Here are just four of the items she donated.

*Her 1938 CHS school diploma. An outstanding student, Ferra prized her high
school diploma above all other documents. The signatures on her diploma are
the names of four of our county’s outstanding past citizens: R. O. Williams
(School Supt), Jerome F. Eastham (CHS principal 11 years), L.C. Owens (School
Board Chairman), and Dr. T. H. Bates (Chairman of the Board of Trustees).

*A color photograph of Ferra wearing her floor-length, formal graduation dress.
This photo has a historical significance because this was the last year CHS
students wore formal attire to their graduation ceremony. Starting the next year
(1939), CHS seniors wore caps and gowns and have done so ever since.

Ferra noted that, “My Graduation Dress was aqua blue marquisette made on old-
fashioned lines, trimmed in pink ribbon.”

*A marvelously detailed 40-page scrapbook that covered every year she was in
school starting in 1927. The scrapbook is a glimpse into school and community
life in the 1930’s. There are newspaper clippings, photographs, a list of Lake
City’s mayors from 1894-1937, and even the 1938 class history which she wrote.

*Her 1938 class ring, which I am told she valued so highly that it seldom left her
finger during the 69 years she owned it.

Ferra was a warm, dignified Southern belle in the old tradition. She never went
outside unless she was ‘dressed to the nines.’ She pronounced each word
carefully and always used proper grammar. Her handwriting was textbook-
perfect, and she always sent personal notes on special occasions. Her posture
and bearing were always upright and she was a captivating conversationalist.

She had many outstanding ancestors, including her two grandfathers.

Her paternal grandfather was Dr. Jacob Frank Appell (1840-1902), a physician,
who graduated from Harvard in 1866.

Her maternal grandfather was Frank Deferro (1844-1910), a local lawyer and
judge who specialized in refereeing bankruptcy settlements.

Both died in Lake City.

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