This Information about Lillie Summey Barnette from James Barnette Jr:
Lillie Summey Barnette was born February 14, 1904, in Henderson County to Abner Summey and Naomi Surrette Summey.
She attended grammar school at a small school near the intersection of Finley Cove Road and Indian Cave Road.
During her high school years she would walk from her home on Finley Cove over muddy, unimproved dirt roads to get to school – a 7 mile round trip. In severe weather, her father would take her to school by horse and carriage. In bad weather, she could take shelter at a house on Willow Road near the Hebron Road intersection. She attended Hendersonville High School for four years graduating in 1922.
Ode to H.H.S.
Many the schools that the true-hearted honor,
Many the thousands that yet are to be;
Ah, but one only – God’s blessing upon her –
Must be forever the fairest to me;
Dear for her teachers, true, sympathizing,
Ready to go without a moment’s delay.
Listen you can hear their sweet voices calling,
“Come on! I’ll show you the way.”
Dear for her playgrounds, wide, far-reaching,
Where many a battle has been fought and won,
Where many a youth of true endurance
Has proven himself to be a son.
Dear for the group of friends which surround us,
The greetings and smiles which sweetly bless.
Surely my mind will ever be lingering
“Round the dear old place, H.H.S.
Lillie Summey
After graduation in 1922, she started teaching at a small frame school listed as Mount Olive. She and another woman boarded at a nearby house. The school had only an outside toilet and no heat except for a wood stove. She taught there from August 1, 1922 to April 15, 1924.
She also taught at the following Henderson County schools:
- Mud Creek School – August 1, 1924 to April 15, 1926
- Pleasant Hill School – August 1, 1926 to April 15, 1933
- East Flat Rock School – August 1, 1936 to July 1, 1941
- Valley Hill School – periodically as a substitute teacher
While teaching, Lillie took correspondence courses from the University of North Carolina, Western Carolina University, and Asheville Normal School Teachers College in Asheville, North Carolina.
She married James Harold Barnette, Sr. on December 27, 1928, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. James was born in Henderson County on March 31, 1909.
Their only child, James Harold Barnette, Jr., was born on January 30, 1934.
On July 14, 1939, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from the Asheville Normal School Teachers College.
After 42 years of teaching, Lillie retired in July of 1964 with a state pension of $111.00 per month.
Though she retired from public school teaching, she didn’t retire from teaching. She took on the important task of teaching her 5-year old grandaughter, Kimberly Lynn Barnette, to read. Using a column she had clipped from a newspaper, she used phonics to teach Kimberly to read before entering first grade. She followed through with her second grandchild, Kerry Lee Barnette, who became a teacher herself. Kasey Loren Barnette, her third grandchild, was a challenge. Although frequently on the move or standing on her head, Kasey was eventually taught to read.
Always a loving grandmother, Lillie was blessed to have another grandaughter, Krista Linda Barnette, and finally a grandson, James Harold Barnette, III.
Lillie attended Valley Hill Baptist Church and was a Sunday school teachers for a number of years.
She died Saturday, July 8, 2000, in the Brian Center of Hendersonville at the age of 96. She was buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Hendersonville, N.C. She may have been the oldest living graduate of HHS at the time of her death.
