The Clarke County Education Foundation is thrilled to announce the Mary P. Reynolds Memorial Scholarship, which will grant financial assistance to one student from the Clarke County High School graduating class each year. This scholarship will be named after Mary P. Reynolds, a remarkable member of our community, and the first African American graduate from Clarke County High School. Reynolds was the only African American student in the high school’s Class of 1965, and her trailblazing contributions towards equality have made an indelible impact on our Clarke community. The CCEF is continuing this scholarship with a $500 contribution in her memory.
The scholarship was started in 2018 by the Reynolds family and offered privately by the family until this year. The scholarship is open to graduating CCHS seniors who plan to attend accredited colleges or universities. Academic achievements and community service will be a consideration for selection, and applicants are also required to provide an essay explaining why they consider education vital to their lives. Our goal is to provide deserving students with the resources they need to achieve their dreams, just as Mary P. Reynolds’ life successes did for so many individuals.
To launch this scholarship, we welcome contributions from community members and organizations such as yours. We thank you for your support in any amount that you can donate. Your generosity will undoubtedly make a difference in our students’ lives and serve as a tribute to Mary P. Reynolds’ memory.
To further honor her memory, an unveiling ceremony took place at J-WMS on April 19th, 2024. The occasion was a time for celebration with many speakers, student presentations & JWMS Band performance. It concluded with a mural unveiling.
J-WMS student, Lia Staples researched and presented the history of Mary Patricia Reynolds personal life.
Thank you all so much for being here today. I am extremely grateful and fortunate
to have the opportunity and honor to introduce to you the life of Mary Patricia
Reynolds; the first African-American to graduate from Clarke County High
School, which at the time, was this building!
Mary Patricia Reynolds was the first student of color to graduate from Clarke
County High School. She graduated in 1965 and moved to CCHS for her senior
year from Johnson-Williams High School (now known as Josephine City School).
She had five siblings and she went by Trisha at home, but she went by Pat at
school.
Most parents at the time were very prejudiced and taught their children that
students and people of color were lesser or worse people and these parents tried
to scare their children so that they would stay away from people of color. But
when Pat came to Clarke County High, most students were very excited and
happy to meet her! They treated her the same as they would any other student
and were glad to be friends with her. Mary was a very reserved person, a shy or
quiet student, but she was also pleasant to be around, and overall a really sweet
character.
Unfortunately, there were some students who didn’t feel the same as others and
were extremely rude and offensive to her and treated her as far less than equal.
She often was the first student to be seated in the classroom, most likely
because she did not want to be out in the hallways where she could more easily
be bullied. She always sat in the back of the classroom and essentially only
spoke when spoken to. No matter how she was treated, she never fought back.
She bit her tongue and held her head high no matter what. Pat never complained
about her issues to any of her friends, only to her mother. Every morning before
school, her mother gave her pep talks and told her to stay calm and controlled at
school. She had amazing self-control and never gave in to the taunting and
bullying.
Originally, her mother gave her the option to go to Clarke, but she turned down
the offer. Though after a while of careful thinking, she changed her mind on her
own and decided that she wanted to go. Mary was a very good student who
loved to participate. She was in Future Home-Builders of America, played on the
basketball team, and took most of the advanced courses along with French. Pat
loved to help out, but often preferred to do more behind the scenes work.
When Pat switched schools, she had to go through many hardships, and didn’t
get to spend her final year of high school with her friends from Johnson-Williams.
She could have graduated valedictorian, but her grades from JWHS were not
transferred to CCHS. Mary had to ride a bus separate from the white
schoolchildren and many of her friends were really confused as to why. At some
point, Mary’s mother lost her ride to work and lost her job because of her
encouraging her daughter’s education at Clarke County High School.
Trisha joined the Marine Corps after high school and passed away at the young
age of 46. When she passed, it hurt many hearts all over. Many people left
yearbooks and orange and blue flowers on her grave. For some students in the
Class of ‘65, their senior year was very different for them because they knew
history was being made right in front of them, but for some, they paid really no
attention to Pat’s skin color and treated her as just another student in the school.
It should be known that Mary’s actions were just as important, or even more
important than other famous African Americans who were and are making
history, such as MLK, Rosa Parks, and many, many more, because she didn’t
have an entire nation backing her up behind a television screen, only her family
and friends there to support her!
Please send donations with Mary Reynolds in the memo line to CCEF at PO Box 1252, Berryville, VA 22611. You can also contact us at ccefinc.berryville@gmail.com for more information about the scholarship or if you have any questions.
