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Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy

Richardson High School

The local high school for African Americans, Richardson, had a
number of notable graduates. One of them was Alfonso (Al) Lofton
(1945–1984), who graduated in 1963 as Salutatorian before joining
the U.S. Marines and serving in the Vietnam War. In 1968, after an
honorable discharge from the Marines, he was hired by the Department
of Corrections before joining the Florida Highway Patrol in 1970 and
becoming the state’s first black state trooper. Two years after his
retirement in 1982, after a distinguished career in which he won many
commendations, he died of multiple sclerosis.

At
Richardson High
School (RHS) in
1968 Coach
Glynn Presley
coached the
school’s boys’
state basketball
championship
team. His starting
line-up was Earl
Brooks,
Theodore
Fulger, Alvin
“Sloppy”
The logo of the athletic teams at
Richardson High School Merrick,
Johnny
Merrick, and
Bernard Zinnerman. Coach Presley said that Bernard Zinnerman
was the best basketball player he ever coached. Bernard Zinnerman’s
father, Uriah, was one of the original signers of the legal document
that led to racial desegregation in Columbia County. In 1966, Mr.
Zinnerman signed the legal papers to racially integrate our school
system, but it would take a few more years for Richardson High School
to close.
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