KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — As the town celebrates Kernersville Elementary School’s 100th birthday, town leaders recognized 90-year-old Ida Cathey for her trailblazing accomplishments.
Cathey flipped through her yearbook from her time at Winston-Salem State University, where she majored in elementary education.
“I … took everything that I learned from Winston-Salem State and what I knew in my heart, and I taught from the heart. I made the children comfortable. I taught them with love. I pat them on the back and tell them, ‘You’re doing a good job.’ I was their mama,” Cathey said.
‘Welcomed Me With Open Arms’
Cathey says after graduating from college, she worked in Danville for a period of time, but in 1966, she applied to work at KES.
“I was trying to get back home to Winston-Salem. And when I signed up, they were integrating the school, and the person interviewing me said, ‘Can you go to an all-white school and feel comfortable?’ Nothing is wrong with that,” Cathey said…