8/19/2009 6:00:00 PM VICKERS/Little known facts about EC
By OVID VICKERS
Most educational institutions have a written history. Dr. John K. Bettersworth wrote the history of Mississippi State. The history of Southen Mississippi was written by Ms. Alma Hickman, and Jackson State University's history was penned by Lelia Gaston Rhodes. Few community colleges have a published history, although Gulf Coast Community College is an exception.
These histories are usually a compilation of facts: when a school was founded, short biographies of the presidents, and a record of the success of its athletic teams and alumni. Little of the interesting trivia of the institution is recorded. What follows is a sampling of what I consider to be some interesting facts about East Central Community College.
Although East Central was founded in 1928, a secondary school had been operating at the same location since 1912.
When General Sherman's army occupied Decatur in 1864, it is believed the army camped on what is now the front campus of the college.
Three former East Central students and a football coach have served as Adjutant General of the State of Mississippi. They are: Generals Pat Wilson, Glenn Walker, William Freeman, and Denver Brackeen who served as acting Adjutant General.
All of the records of the Leake County Junior College, which was located at Carthage and closed in the 1920s, are stored in the vaults at East Central.
Dr. L. O. Todd, the second president of East Central, was the first junior college president in Mississippi to hold a doctor's degree. Dr. Todd had also served as the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Public Schools.
Dr. Phil Sutphin, the current president of East Central, is the son of a college president. His father Dr. Felix Sutphin served for many years as the president of Wood College.
Dr. William McCain who later became the president of Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi) once was a member of the East Central faculty.
Two East Central faculty members, Lucille Wood and Ovid Vickers, were named among those selected as Mississippi's "Ageless Heroes."
A building on the East Central campus is named for each of the college's five supporting counties. They are Neshoba Hall, Leake Hall, Newton Hall, Scott Hall, and Winston Hall.
Two former East Central students have coached the U.S. Olympic basketball teams. They are Sue Gunter and Van Chancellor.
The song "Honkey Tonk Bedonkdonk" was composed by East Central alumnus. Billy Dean who appears on the Grand Ole Opry and who has appeared at the Neshoba County Fair, attended East Central where he played basketball.
East Central's third president Mr. Walter Arno Vincent first came to East Central to play football. He declared that he played in the first football game he ever saw. President Vincent recently passed away at the age of 93.
Wade Phillips, a news anchor for Meridian's WTOK television, is an East Central graduate.
The old president's home, located on the corner of Broad Street and North Eighth Avenue, was originally built by the Feldman family and was one of a line of private homes which stretched along the entire front campus of the college.
Dr. Gene Wiggins of Forest and Dr. Thomas Richardson of Rose Hill, both EC graduates, served simultaneously as chairman of the Department of Communications and the English Department at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Dr. Gerald Walton of Dixon served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, and Dr. Dan Young of Louisville served as Vice-Chancellor of Vanderbilt University.
The Decatur Unit of the Mississippi National Guard which was headquartered on the East Central campus and included many East Central students, was activated during World War II and the Korean Conflict, and left the campus for active duty.
The College yearbook, the Wo-He-Lo does not derive its name from an Indian word as is often thought but instead is composed of the first two letters of the words "Work, Heart, and Love."
For many years the state B-BB basketball tournament was played in the East Central gymnasium. The old gym was the first brick gymnasium constructed in East Central Mississippi.
Miss Lucille Wood, a member of the East Central faculty and former basketball coach at the college, has now taught longer in the Mississippi Community College system than any other individual. She has now taught for 55 years, and during her tenure as coach of the women's basketball team, won four state basketball championships.
The oldest standing building on the campus is Jackson Hall which still serves as a women's dormitory.
I am sure that anyone compiling a list such as this would be able to add to the above facts about East Central. Perhaps the most interesting fact about the college is that it has been successfully serving students for 81 years.
