Meet Karen Hancock Blackwelder

JUNE 13, 2014 – Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the consolidation of the city and county school systems. As part of that, we’re recognizing people who are a product of the school system who now work for the school system.

Karen Hancock Blackwelder, who graduated from Reynolds High School in 1968, is a physical therapist at Lowrance Middle School.

Here's what she had to say:

Karen Blackwelder

“I started elementary school at Lowrance Elementary School (1956-1960). Memories include my walking to school each day. My home was located beside Hanes High School.  (You can imagine my surprise when I was assigned to Lowrance School as a home base school when I first started working at the school system.  I literally returned to the same school and was assigned an office on the same hallway as my FIRST GRADE class in 1956. (DEJA VU!)

“I remember that my mother used to sit outside a classroom window in a lawn chair in order for me to stay in school during the first grade! She and a few other mothers were allowed to sit outside the window so that their children could see them. Slowly, one by one, the mothers all disappeared from their spots outside the windows. In those days (1956) none of us had attended day care or preschool.

“For me, starting FIRST GRADE was my very first time being separated from my mother and it was quite an adjustment. Mrs. Hayes, my first grade teacher, had a classroom full of crying children for a few weeks!

“My family moved and I finished Elementary School at Brunson Elementary School (1961-1962). Memories include being assigned to a family who lived close by to the school as my place to go in case of a nuclear war. Yikes!  We actually had a drill one day that involved walking with others to the home address of where we would go if we had to evacuate the school because of pending nuclear attack from Russia.  I remember thinking that, if there were a war, I had no idea how I would ever see my family again. My home was located off of Coliseum Drive and that seemed so far away!

“I attended Wiley Junior High School (1963-1965). It was during my days at Wiley when I first became involved with lots of extracurricular activities.  The feeder schools for Wiley were Brunson and Whitaker.  My world quickly expanded as I met many more students. My strongest memory is the day that Kennedy was shot. We were in a second-floor classroom with Mr. Webb, a history teacher.  Suddenly, the loud speaker came on to a radio broadcast as we all learned that Kennedy had been shot.  I remember Mr. Webb staring out the window for a long time, turning around with tears streaming out of his eyes, and reassuring us that we would all be OK. I also remember that many parents started coming to school early to pick us up.

“I graduated from RJR Reynolds High School (1966-1968). By this time, my life was pretty much a blur.  I had become involved in student government, cheerleading, service clubs and getting to know even more students.  The feeder schools for Reynolds were Dalton Jr. High School, Children's Home, and Wiley. There were many inspirational teachers at Reynolds during that time – many women and a few men who had devoted their entire lives to teaching! English and History were especially intense classes–- there were "rules" for each class – standing when asked a question to answer (putting all of us on the spot on a daily basis ­– not doing homework was really not a good option!)

“In perspective, my teachers all tried their very best from the first grade to high school to prepare me for what lay ahead. For me – I went to college, others went to Vietnam, and others became ‘hippies.’

Just last year, we had a 45th year reunion in September at Brookberry Farms.  Of our graduating class of about 500, about 80 of us showed up.  About 50 have passed away and the memorial to them was very impressive.

“I am very proud to say that I grew up in the Winston-Salem Schools, as did my family. My father (Marvin Hancock) graduated from Reynolds in 1944, my mother (Nancy Mecum Hancock) in l945, my sister (Shari Hancock) in l976 and my daughter (Wendy Kulp Gilbert) in l993.  Needless to say, we have a shelf for all of those yearbooks.

“When I first started working in the school system in 1986, I was pleasantly reminded that the schools are just a wonderful place to learn about all aspects of life. There is something almost magical about the anticipated ‘opening of school’ each year as well as the ‘ending of the school year. The energy surrounding the students, teachers, and parents always fills me with hope and excitement!

I did not stay working in the schools for all of those years, but returned to work at Forsyth Hospital in the 90's. Ten years ago I returned to working in the school system. I especially like getting to know the students, their families, and seeing their growth and maturation through their years. In my role as a school physical therapist, I often can follow and keep up with students whom I have known for their entire school years.  It is a blessing to me to have this opportunity and very inspirational!”