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Published Wednesday, February 22, 2012 in Local

Special

Mary Barber is fifth from left in this group of members of the Howard Warner High girls’ basketball team when she was a student at the Newnan school. They are standing on the outdoor court where the team practiced and played — no matter the weather.

Howard Warner High School: Lack of first-rate facilities didn't stop athletes

By Alex McRae

The Newnan Times-Herald

In recent weeks The Newnan Times-Herald has been sharing stories from former students of Howard Warner High on Savannah Street as the City of Newnan studies future uses for the building that served as a city school for African-Americans.

Students who shared memories about their time at Howard Warner High School agreed that the teachers were top-notch, the classes were strict and they left Warner graduates prepared for future success.

They also agreed that in the days before Coweta schools were consolidated and desegregated, school facilities for African-American students were not on par with facilities at all white schools.

But students said they were not discouraged by classroom equipment that topped out at chalkboards. A lack of first-rate athletic facilities was never a hindrance to success on the field or court, either.

The Howard Warner football teams practiced at the school but played games at Pickett Field on Wesley Street at the same venue used by Newnan High School before Drake Stadium opened in the 1960s.

Basketball was another matter.

Howard Warner never had its own gymnasium. Students practiced and played games on the school's outdoor courts, no matter the weather.

Former athletes said they didn't mind, but were relieved that tournaments were held in Griffin, whose all-black school had a gymnasium

Mary Barber was both an excellent scholar and outstanding basketball player at Howard Warner High. In several photos shared by Barber, she is shown alone and with teammates on the outdoor court at Howard Warner. She is also shown in the graduation photo for the Howard Warner Class of 1949.

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