What’s in a name?
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of articles marking the 50th Anniversary of Hartselle City Schools.
AMarch, 1979 article pub lished in the Hartselle Enquirer indicates that when the Hartselle City School system was formed in 1975, “a commitment was made by the Board of Education that the name of the high school would remain Morgan County High School until such time as it was necessary to change the name or until the community desired the name to be changed.” By 1979, the name Morgan County High School had become an issue. Pettey Gym was being renovated, and the architect responsible for that renovation and some other improvements to the thenhigh school campus was attending a bond money meeting in Montgomery when he learned that $175,000.00 in funds allocated for the renovation had been assigned to Morgan County Schools and not to Hartselle City Schools. The name of the high school was misleading, and it was affecting state funding. The Alabama State Department of Education changed the school name to Hartselle High School in its records in an effort to avoid any further funding mix-ups.
In the Enquirer article, then-Superintendent Dr. Carlton Smith additionally disclosed that several citizens had approached him about the name indicating that they found it to be confusing, and two parents of younger students enrolled in the system sent him letters to that effect. Some in the community were already informally referring to the school as Hartselle High, and during football games in the fall of 1978, local Jaycees distributed seat cushions to Tiger Fans that had Hartselle High School emblazoned across the front. The Band Boosters purchased new uniforms that year, and they omitted the words Morgan County High School from the uniforms assuming it was a matter of time before the name was changed.
And so Smith met with the Board, and with the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee, and with the high school faculty and its Student Council, and with some other members of the community. After explaining his reasoning, he indicated that he would recommend that the high school change its name to Hartselle High School effective August 1, 1980. The current senior class would graduate from Morgan County High School. The current class of juniors who had already purchased their class rings would have Morgan County High School on their diplomas. But after that, graduates would claim Hartselle High School as their alma mater.
But not so fast .
The name change was not widely accepted by students at the high school. I was a freshman at the time, and I can remember how upsetting the news was to many.
Many teenaged citizens signed a petition asking the Superintendent and Board to reconsider. A student spokesperson was quoted in the March article: “Since 1911, every graduating class that has come out of the school has gradu-ated from Morgan County High School.” The young spokesperson went on to say students in the choral program had recently purchased stoles with “MCHS” on them, and some sophomores had already purchased their class rings with “MCHS” engraved on the side. I can remember students wearing stickers that read, “Support Our Cause and Keep the Name MCHS.” But like most positions that are rooted in emotion and nostalgia, this one could not be sustained. Heritage and tradition and student morale were acknowledged, but the recommendation to change the school’s name to Hartselle High School passed unanimously.
And so athletic uniforms and choral stoles and class rings and school materials and more began to change. Even cheers had to change. For years I had enthusiastically joined with others in chanting, “Who’s the Best? We’re the Best! M-C-H-S!” It felt awkward to instead yell, “Who’s the Best? We’re the Best! H-H-S!” But I did. Because we were. And we still are!
