Lawrence “Sandy” Morrison/Hume School 1st grader (phone interview on August 1, 2025)
[LIGHTLY EDITED FOR CLARITY/READABILITY]
SM: I went to the Hume School for one year, the first grade, starting in 1942. It was a three-room schoolhouse with six grades. As you can imagine, by modern standards, that was pretty primitive. My family found that [out] so and took me out after the first year, and I went to paid-tuition for me to go to the Alexandria Public Schools, and I continued through high school in the Alexandria schools.
The significant thing that happened, as you can see from the sign in front of the [Arlington Historical] Museum and the 1950s, in the late 1950s, the Arlington school system changed radically. For instance, Hume was closed when they built Oakridge [Elementary School]. What had happened, and again, this is from my distant recollection, the [Arlington] County Board had been traditionally very conservative Democrats, part of the [Harry F.] Byrd machine, which you might study elsewhere. Yes, that was ousted by a group called the ABC, the Arlingtonians for a Better County, a non-partisan or a bipartisan group. Along with that, the state allowed an elected school board. And that changed everything. They elected the School Board, supported by the County Board, [which] built new schools. For instance, Oakridge, Washington-Lee [High School], which was where I had gone to high school in the 1950s, was going half day. And I think about 1954, they built Wakefield [High School]. So the whole system changed with the political overhaul of the county government in the 1960s. Actually, excuse me, in the middle 1950s, I guess.
Do you want any discussion of the County Board and the elected School Board? I think that’s important: the Arlington ABC Movement and the elected School Board. I think it changed completely from Arlington public schools being a second thought to being a leading educational system. All right. What school do you go to?
Chris Park: I’m going to be going to the [Arlington] Career Center this year.
SM: Okay. See, that would not have been thought of in the days of the Hume School. And the other, of course, major event that changed was the integration of the schools, which I’m certain you have run across in your studies. And Arlington again, the more liberal County Board and School Board really led the state and the integration of the schools. So Arlington, in my opinion, when I was the first grader at Hume, Arlington was almost in the Dark Ages of education and, through the course of my school years, became a leader in the country.
CP: Do you have any profound memories of the Hume School?
SM: Not really, I remember walking–I lived fairly close–so I walked up those long steps. They would ring the bell when school was gonna start. And there, the first grade was in the classroom, which is now the entrance to the Museum on the first floor, on the right side. Second grade, first, then second grade, were in the same room.
CP: Are there any, like, specific stories?
SM: No, you got to remember, I was only six years old. That’s a long time ago.
CP: Do you have any hopes for the future of Arlington Public Schools?
SM: I think we should keep going just as we’re going. As you talk about the Career Center, I’m not certain I like the idea of this school that they’re building as part of the Amazon system. I like the idea of county school houses. For instance, at the Career [Center] system, I guess you are allowed to participate in the athletic teams at one of the high schools, is that correct?
CP: Yes, it is.
SM: That, I think, must be a bit of a strain, but the mere fact that we have the Career Center and the flexibility that gives people like you, that’s a real step forward.
CP: Thank you, Mr. Morrison.
