As you walk into Guidance, glance up at the walls filled with the rich heritage that has helped to make Germantown High what it is today. Then stop at the Class of ’44 and realize that Dabney Wellford, president of that class, is more than just a picture on that wall…he’s a picture of a rich heritage that has helped to make this school, this city, and this country what it is today.
Sitting with Dabney at age 89, he reminisces over times before his birth. Times when his great great grandfather James Winchester helped found Memphis and sent his son Marcus to be the first mayor. Times when his grandfather sailed around the world on the Shenandoah, actually being deemed a “pirate” at one point for sinking Yankee whaling vessels after the end of the Civil War. Times when his father was the president of the Shelby County Farm Bureau, traded a family home for the 275 acre farm on which Wellford still currently resides, and grew 90 acres of strawberries. Times when his mother who majored in Latin at Vassar College, served as one of two teachers in a Cordova school, and at age 98 documented her own life on paper, calling her “sharp until the end.”
Back in his time as a student at Germantown, a bus picked him up daily at his house on the corner of Dexter and Appling, approximately the northern most point of the lines at that time, and dropped him off for his typical day of school. Most students at that time lived in the more rural areas south of Germantown and even near the current White Station area.
Consisting of only eight faculty members at the time, one who was the principal, Ralph Hunt, who served as the geometry teacher, only a few classes, four at that time, had actual desks, his first class taking place in the auditorium. Days were spent taking plane geometry (his most challenging course), history, English, Latin, and agriculture classes (home economics was just for girls).
A two-sport athlete his senior year, Wellford joked that he was coerced into being the 10th man on the squad by the coach while his true talent was track.
As he turned the pages of his senior classmates, he stopped at Bruce Law who later became the mayor of Germantown and later jailed for paying someone to kill his wife. He then followed the life of Bob Cox, whom he called “Mr. Everything,” who completed a short stint in the Marines before playing football at the University of North Carolina.
With no proms, seniors participated in a production put on by all seniors with the assistance of the faculty, and the final commencement marked by a speaker from the Army whom Dabney “thought was never going to stop talking.”
Wellford’s graduating class consisted of only 14 girls and 8 boys, a few leaving before senior year to enlist.
Graduating top in his class, holding the highest average up to that point in the school’s history, Wellford completed a few months at William R. Moore, preparing at the time for a future in farming. However, he soon entered the Army Air Corps, stationed in Colorado, developing friendships clearly until the end as his memories became clouded with tears of one who recently passed away a few months ago.
Once his time was completed in the armed forces, Wellford attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, showing up one week late to classes and “almost froze to death” riding a bus . After majoring in agronomy and animal husbandry, Wellford returned to Memphis.
Realizing that farming may not be the best route for him, using what we term today as a “head hunter,” Wellford was sent to the National Cotton Council based on his skills, actually turning down the first job offer due to travel. The next job offer was from the same company by Dr. M.K. Horne though Horne first dismissed Wellford as a potential employee, stating “I’m not going to waste my time talking to a chicken farmer.”
Wellford’s time at the Cotton Council was well spent as he helped draft legislation for the Agricultural Act of 1977, using Wellford’s own words in the document. He even penned the “cotton” article of the 1968 World Book encyclopedia. Though retired since 1986, working a few years later as a consultant, Wellford currently serves as the current director of the Shelby County Farm Bureau.
Even at 89, Wellford is still going strong, competing in the National Senior Olympics this July in Minneapolis showing off his tennis skills.
Stating he has no regrets, Wellford, with all his stories, serves as more than just a picture on that wall in Guidance; he serves as a model of what life has been and can be beyond the walls of GHS.
Sitting with Dabney at age 89, he reminisces over times before his birth. Times when his great great grandfather James Winchester helped found Memphis and sent his son Marcus to be the first mayor. Times when his grandfather sailed around the world on the Shenandoah, actually being deemed a “pirate” at one point for sinking Yankee whaling vessels after the end of the Civil War. Times when his father was the president of the Shelby County Farm Bureau, traded a family home for the 275 acre farm on which Wellford still currently resides, and grew 90 acres of strawberries. Times when his mother who majored in Latin at Vassar College, served as one of two teachers in a Cordova school, and at age 98 documented her own life on paper, calling her “sharp until the end.”
Back in his time as a student at Germantown, a bus picked him up daily at his house on the corner of Dexter and Appling, approximately the northern most point of the lines at that time, and dropped him off for his typical day of school. Most students at that time lived in the more rural areas south of Germantown and even near the current White Station area.
Consisting of only eight faculty members at the time, one who was the principal, Ralph Hunt, who served as the geometry teacher, only a few classes, four at that time, had actual desks, his first class taking place in the auditorium. Days were spent taking plane geometry (his most challenging course), history, English, Latin, and agriculture classes (home economics was just for girls).
A two-sport athlete his senior year, Wellford joked that he was coerced into being the 10th man on the squad by the coach while his true talent was track.
As he turned the pages of his senior classmates, he stopped at Bruce Law who later became the mayor of Germantown and later jailed for paying someone to kill his wife. He then followed the life of Bob Cox, whom he called “Mr. Everything,” who completed a short stint in the Marines before playing football at the University of North Carolina.
With no proms, seniors participated in a production put on by all seniors with the assistance of the faculty, and the final commencement marked by a speaker from the Army whom Dabney “thought was never going to stop talking.”
Wellford’s graduating class consisted of only 14 girls and 8 boys, a few leaving before senior year to enlist.
Graduating top in his class, holding the highest average up to that point in the school’s history, Wellford completed a few months at William R. Moore, preparing at the time for a future in farming. However, he soon entered the Army Air Corps, stationed in Colorado, developing friendships clearly until the end as his memories became clouded with tears of one who recently passed away a few months ago.
Once his time was completed in the armed forces, Wellford attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, showing up one week late to classes and “almost froze to death” riding a bus . After majoring in agronomy and animal husbandry, Wellford returned to Memphis.
Realizing that farming may not be the best route for him, using what we term today as a “head hunter,” Wellford was sent to the National Cotton Council based on his skills, actually turning down the first job offer due to travel. The next job offer was from the same company by Dr. M.K. Horne though Horne first dismissed Wellford as a potential employee, stating “I’m not going to waste my time talking to a chicken farmer.”
Wellford’s time at the Cotton Council was well spent as he helped draft legislation for the Agricultural Act of 1977, using Wellford’s own words in the document. He even penned the “cotton” article of the 1968 World Book encyclopedia. Though retired since 1986, working a few years later as a consultant, Wellford currently serves as the current director of the Shelby County Farm Bureau.
Even at 89, Wellford is still going strong, competing in the National Senior Olympics this July in Minneapolis showing off his tennis skills.
Stating he has no regrets, Wellford, with all his stories, serves as more than just a picture on that wall in Guidance; he serves as a model of what life has been and can be beyond the walls of GHS.
