Our History · In their own words
Recollections
The history of Lyons High School is more than dates and buildings. It also lives in the memories of the people who went there, worked there, and shared life with generations of LHS students. Here are a few of those recollections.
Charles Rawls, Class of ’49
Charles Rawls remembered several “firsts” from his years at LHS:
“The class of ’49 was the last class to graduate from the 11th grade. From then on it was 12 grades. The class of ’49 was the first class to ever publish an annual and to have an organized high school baseball team. Prior to then the only sport was a football team. I played on that first baseball team.
“In ’49 there was no gym, band, cafeteria or science labs of any kind. We used the agriculture building for a dressing room to put on our football and baseball uniforms. We were also permitted to use the building as a smoking room.”
Charles’s recollection later led to some interesting discoveries. Records indicate that the Class of 1950 was actually the last to graduate after 11 grades. An LHS yearbook from 1924 was also discovered, predating the 1949 annual, and that yearbook showed that Lyons High had a basketball team known as the Lions.
That doesn’t diminish Charles’s memories. It simply illustrates one of the pleasures of looking back: one recollection often leads to another discovery.
Bill Carter, Class of ’60
Bill Carter remembered being part of a generation that saw the LHS campus begin to change:
“The class of ’60 was the last class to go from 1st grade to graduation at the same campus. When the new school was opened for grades 1-7 we were going into 8th grade.”
Based on Bill’s recollection, that would place the opening of the new elementary school around September 1956.
Jimmy Alexander, Class of ’64
Jimmy Alexander remembered the transitions that eventually brought the Lyons High School name to an end:
“The last class to graduate from Lyons High School was in 1970. In 1971, Lyons High School was combined with Lyons Industrial High School and renamed Lyons Senior High School.
“The last class to graduate from Lyons Senior High School was in 1987. In 1988, Lyons Senior High School was combined with Toombs Central High School and was renamed Toombs County High School, by which name it is still called today.”