How this Website got started

Hello, I'm David Allan Pettigrew. I grew up in Sumter, South Carolina, where I received my public education, grades 1-6 at Alice Drive Elementary, 7-9 at Alice Drive Junior High and 10-12 at Edmunds, graduating in 1971.

Now, I'm just an everyday, run of the mill, retired computer programmer guy, living on High Rock Lake in North Carolina.

In 2010 I received a "Blast from the Past" phone call from an Edmunds classmate that I hadn't heard from since graduation. It was Nancy Howle calling to tell me about our upcoming 40th class reunion. It was during that phone call that Nancy sparked the idea of this website. I volunteered to build something simple for our class with information about our reunion and classmates who had passed away. I also scanned and added our sophomore, junior and senior yearbooks. Others in our class started mailing me their elementary school class pictures and junior high yearbooks which I scanned and included. By the time of our reunion, our website included our entire Sumter public school experience from 1st through 12th grades.

Soon as word got out and other classes became aware of the website, they too wanted to be added. The scope of the website grew from just our graduating class of 1971 to all classes of Edmunds High.

Over the years this website has grown to include 86 graduating classes from the very first Sumter High Class of 1891 to the Sumter High Class of 1976, totaling over 15,000 cataloged alumni . . . YOWZA !

There are 56 complete yearbooks from 1920 to 1976 that you can flip through, page by page.

I hope you enjoy this website as much as I enjoy working on it . . . GO EDMUNDS HIGH !

P.S. See alumni information by clicking on any face pictures on this website. Try it on my picture above.

Things you will find

• Help explaining how to navigate and use this website.
• History of Sumter High School the historical timeline of our school.
• Bulletin Board where you'll find announcements, statistics, update log, latest obits and other interesting stuff.
• 56 Senior Yearbooks complete, cover to cover, from 1920 to 1976.
• Library where you'll find all yearbooks, publications, newspapers, etc.
• Alumni search through 15,000+ alumni names and pictures from 1891 through 1976.
• Image Index links to all yearbooks, Elementary and Junior High class photos, etc.
• Military Veterans highlighting our veterans who served this country, Thank you.
• Hero Streets Sumter streets named after our alumni.
• Notable Alumni highlighting noteworthy alumni.
• Hall of Famers Alumni inducted into the Hall of Fame
• Beauty Queens Alumni who were crowned "Miss Sumter"
• Tragedies Alumni Tragedies
• Alumni who married other alumni and wedding newspaper clippings.
• Class Twins highlighting the twins in each class.
• The Form use it to add or modify your life story on your Class Page.
• Centenarians highlighting alumni who lived 100 years or more.
• Our Teachers remembering our teachers.
• Our Alma Mater O' Edmunds High, Dear Edmunds High, We never shall forget...
• 1971 Class Ring Controversy What was the last Edmunds High graduating class?
• The Song "Class of 71" Warren Moise did it all, the lyrics, melody, vocals and instruments.
• The Book "Class of 71" Warren Moise best selling book is a tale of desegregation.
• Laugh Along with Nancy Howle Hold on to your funny bone, this is seriously funny stuff.
• 16mm Film Watch 1965 and 1966 films of Pep Competitions, Homecoming and Graduations.
• The Wall links to our classmates' personal and business websites.
• Sound Board A selection of memorable sounds, jingles and songs. Just for fun.

Things that are needed

Do you have any of the following items? If so, please share them. Your unselfish act of sharing something you have will mean so much to so many.

• The 1922 Sumter High School Yearbook. This is the only one I haven't scanned yet. If anyone has or knows who has this yearbook please contact me. See my Email address below.
• Junior High School Yearbooks
• Elementary School class pictures

If you want to mail me something then send me an email, tell me what you have and I'll email you my home address.

My Email address is:

Where the information comes from

The information on this website comes from the following sources.

• emails, letters and packages from past alumni, their friends and their family members
• Newspaper articles
• Internet
• Facebook

Things to be aware of

Emails are welcomed and preferred. My Email address is:
If you want to email a list of names, please send the entire list in one email. Please DO NOT send them as separate emails.

Some alumnus personal information, such as Mailing Address, Phone Number, and Email Address, will NEVER be shown on the website unless it is specifically requested by that almunus. Any other information that an alumnus does not want to be shown will be removed on request by that alumnus.
PLEASE NOTE: If most or all information is requested to be removed then a "Requested Privacy" notation will be displayed and the picture will be slightly faded.

Any negitive email or letter to me about this website shall be displayed along with the sender's name, email or mailing address. My reply will also be displayed. I like to keep things open and in the light for our visitors.

When you contact me, please include your birth name and graduating class. (Not needed if I already know you.)

Information is particularly hard to find on female alumni because their names change after marriage. Newspaper will typically use the husband's name when publishing anything about a married woman, ex: Mrs. Sam A. Smith, which requires finding an a wedding article to determine the birth name. This works some of the time, however, when a second marriage is involved, which is almost never published, it becomes impossible to determine the woman's birth name, where she went and what happened to her. That is why it is so important to get a list of classmates with their latest married name.

Understand that you will see alumni that have no information about them. That is because that alumnus may not be aware of the website and has not responded, or someone has not responded for them, or they may have died and I don't know about it yet, or I just can't find any information on them, or I just haven't gotten to them yet, remember that there are over fifteen thousand alumni on the website and I may never get to them all.
If you have information on anybody and you want them updated right away then email it to me and I will update them as soon as I receive the email.

Be aware that I spend 8 hours per day, seven days a week, researching thousands of pages of newspaper articles and internet sites, trying to find information on past alumni to make available on this website. Be aware that there are over fifteen thousand alumni, spanning 87 graduating classes, that are represented on this website. Be aware that the research takes a lot of time. Be aware that you can save me a lot of time if you can email me clues or any knowledge you have on a classmate or alumnus. Be aware that a little help can go a long way.

The Virtual Class Reunion

Anyone who attended Elementary, Junior High or High school in Sumter, South Carolina who were classmates with the Sumter/Edmunds High School senior classes of 1891 through 1976 are bonafide members of this website.
You DON'T have to be a graduate.

The Alumni Page shows pictures of all your classmates together where you can read their story, in their own words, about their life after high school. Obituaries are included for those who have passed away.
It's a VIRTUAL CLASS REUNION!

If you haven't sent in your story yet ... PLEASE DO IT NOW!

Don't wait for a short obituary in the newspaper to give account of your wonderful and unique life.

Your family, friends and classmates will greatly appreciate the story of your life in your own words; now and after your time on earth is over. A wonderful gift left by you to your family and future generations.

Tell about your spouse, children, grandchildren, careers, travels, as much about your life as you can. Include pictures if you want too. You can modify and add to it anytime you wish.

Select how you want to send it in.
or THE FORM

NOTE TO MILITARY VETERANS

Make sure that I know that you are a veteran so I can update your status in the index so you will appear on the Military Veterans page. I need to know your branch of service and if you are a purple heart recipient as well as other medals you want displayed at the top of your story such as silver star, bronze star, DFC, LOM, etc. Also let me know which war service medals you want displayed.

I want to thank you for your service to our country and honor you by creating a virtual awards display box for you. Tell me about your service, rank, awards, etc. and I'll create and add it to your life story. There's no charge, it's totally free.

Here're some of the alumni that I've created virtual award boxes for so far. Click on them then find their award display box at the bottom of their obits or life stories.

• Marion David Nesbitt, Class of 1966 - US Army Corporal
• James W. F. Schellin, Class of 1966 - US Army Specialist 5
• Terry Lynn Anton, Class of 1965 - US Army Private First Class
• Leland Emanuel Hammond, Class of 1965 - US Marine Lance Corporal
• Kenneth John Brown, Class of 1963 - US Air Force Captain
• Thomas Edward Brown, Class of 1946 - US Army Tech Sergeant
• Robert Ephraim Boney, Class of 1942 - US Air Force Tech Sergeant
• Leslie Craft McCormic, Class of 1937 - US Army Tech Sergeant
• Manon Vance Dawkins Jr., Class of 1936 - US Navy Captain
• Charles Jack Girard, Class of 1933 - US Army Brigadier General
• Rufus Capers Wactor, Class of 1933 - US Army First Lieutenant
• William Hall Brown, Class of 1931 - US Air Force Chief Master Sergeant
• Ervin David Shaw, Class of 1911 - US Air Force First Lieutenant
• Emile Phillips Moses, Class of 1896 - US Marine Major General

Facts you should know

This website...

• IS TOTALY FREE to anyone who wants view it and participate in it.
• IS AD FREE so you will never have to put up with obnoxious advertisements.
• MAKES NO MONEY whatsoever. No ads, No subscription fees, Totally free to you.
• IS NOT LIKE FACEBOOK where the public can enter stuff themselves.
• CAN ONLY BE UPDATED BY ME which keeps it safe and clean from vandals.
• USES A COOKIE to remember your class selection for return visits.

About the Webmaster

Yep, that's me alright, Dave Pettigrew, Class of 1971, senior year at Edmunds. I'm happily retired now enjoying lake life. But, when I'm not on the water or partying or traveling or playing with Jenny, I enjoy working on this website, which contains so much history about the people from my hometown of Sumter where all of my public schooling occured. I feel blessed to have grown up in Sumter when I did.

Discover more about me by clicking on my picture.
Email me any time at:

Very Special Thanks

Nancy Howle Patterson, Class of 1971, for initiating the idea of this website and for her tireless efforts to search out lost classmates, staying in touch with everyone through phone calls, emails, letters and many Sumter trips to visit all Edmunds alumni regardless of class. She tickles our funnybones with her jokes, plans events, keeps us informed, sends congratulations, condolences and contributions. She's a special gift to all of us. Thank You, Nancy!

Discover more about Nancy by clicking on her picture.

Dr. Ervin Shaw, Class of 1962, for providing most of the yearbooks on this website. With his knowledge of geneology and keen ability to discover past alumni, he has furnished the names and death records of all alumni from the Classes of 1891 to 1920. His knowledge of Sumter's history influenced the School history page as well as the Notable and Did You Know pages. Ervin has been the greatest contributor to this website. Thank You, Ervin!

Discover more about Ervin by clicking on his picture.
Visit Dr. Shaw's website, www.TheEffectiveTruth.info.

John Britton Boney, Class of 1955, for researching and identifing the memorials of a vast number of Sumter and Edmunds High School alumni who have passed away. His research efforts have enabled many more alumni to be memorialized on the "Gone But Not Forgotten" pages for so many graduating classes. John has also created "Virtual Cemeteries" of many of the graduating classes on the Find-A-Grave website. Thank You, John!

Discover more about John by clicking on his picture.
Visit John's Virtual Cemeteries on Find a Grave.

The All Edmunds Luncheon

What a great opportunity to get out and enjoy some chat time with other Edmunds alumni. We always have a wonderful time sharing friendly conversation while enjoying a scrumptious sit down southern style lunch.

So come on out and join us at our monthly luncheon gathering. We sure would love to see you.

Click here for details