As the Statesboro High School Class of 1965 commemorates the 60th anniversary of their graduation, the class has proudly raised $33,500 to endow a permanent “forever” SHS Class of 1965 Scholarship at Georgia Southern University.
The SHS Class of 1965 was the very first class to graduate from a new high school built on Lester Road, which, in 1965, was on the very edge of Statesboro. Prior to their senior year, SHS was located on Grady Street, where the present Statesboro Fire Department stands.
Although the “old academy” nearby was built in the early 1900s, the “newer” SHS was built 1922. This building had no air conditioning, and by the time the Class of 1965 began high school there in 8th grade, many of the open windows had no screens to keep out birds and insects.
When the SHS Class of 1965 began their senior year at the new school on Lester Road (now Coach Lee Hill Boulevard), many things were very different.
The roads around the new SHS were unpaved, requiring “mud days” off from school when the roads became too slippery to navigate. Students had no computers, no internet, no Google, and no cell phones. Girls were required to wear dresses or skirts to school.
The SHS Class of 1965 was blessed with excellent and dedicated teachers. This class has many military veterans who sacrificed much to ensure our freedom. The SHS Class of 1965 provided the world with excellent professionals and highly skilled workers in the fields of education, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, nursing, business, banking, public service, farming, and building and construction, and many became highly successful entrepreneurs.
The very first SHS Class of 1965 Scholarship recipient was chosen by and awarded by Georgia Southern University to Jack Blackmon, who personifies the qualities that the Statesboro High School Class of 1965 values most: academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to serve one’s fellow man. Jack plans to major in Construction Engineering.
Jack comes from a long line of SHS graduates. Jack’s mother (Betsy Smith Klein) graduated from SHS in 1996, his grandmother (Sue Cason Smith) graduated from SHS in 1965, and his great-grandfather and great-grandmother (Dorris and Grace Hodges Cason) were graduates of SHS in 1926 and 1931.
Below is the program for the 1965 Statesboro High Graduation.