To celebrate Stanly Community College’s 50th anniversary, an exhibit featuring college memorabilia over decades is being held at the Stanly County History Center and available to the public until March.

The exhibit, “CSC Through the Decades,” features photographs, newspaper articles and colorful artifacts detailing the history of the college and highlighting the many people who played key roles in its creation and longevity at the college. over the decades.

The college’s 50th anniversary committee came up with the idea for the exhibit last year when they started planning the 50th anniversary festivities.

“We love to partner with the community so we thought, ‘Well it would be nice if we could put together all the things that Dan Hazlett (part-time instructor who has worked with the college since its founding) has saved. over the past 50 years and that the community can come and see it, ”said Jeania Martin, Executive Director of the SCC Foundation and member of the Anniversary Committee.

Martin and Hazlett, along with two other committee members, Jessica Smith and Mark Sample, began collecting photos, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia from college and community members until they were over. sufficient content. It took them about a week to put together most of the exhibit, which occupies three of the glass showcases.

The first showcase is dedicated to the 1970s and 1980s, the second to the 1990s and the third to the 2000s and 2010s.

“It was amazing for us just to see everything and the impact the college has had on this county,” said Martin, noting that she had learned a lot of new things about the college during the establishment of the ‘exposure. “We have learned so much about college and how so many people in the community relate to college. “

The exhibit contains tons of images, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia from the early years of college in the 1970s and 1980s.

Although the exhibit highlights current and former instructors and the five college presidents, the focus has been on the students. Committee members are still putting together 50 “success stories” featuring prominent alumni, such as Albemarle Pro-Tem Mayor Martha Sue Hall and Chairman of the County Historical Society of Stanly, Kent Harkey, who continued to play key roles in the community.

“We really wanted to focus on the students and not the employees,” Hazlett said. “These are our graduates and that’s what we’ve been doing over the years.”

Here are some of the interesting highlights of the exhibition:

• The first color photograph published in the Stanly New & Press showed the Patterson Building. The edition was released on June 10, 1977.
• A copy of the original charter signed by the Secretary of State.
• A photo of the original college located in what is now the EE Waddell Community Center.
• A 1970s polyester leisure jumpsuit worn by Hazlett during her early years as an instructor with her original notebook.
• Country music record sung by former student Willie Rose Williams.
• A photo of the Stanly Technical Institute’s first two-year class in 1974.
• A diploma from Kay Russell Hatley, who was part of the class of the year.
• Information, including photographs, about Annie Ruth Kelley, who was STI’s first board chair and also the first woman to chair a community college in the state.

The college is planning an evening for CSC alumni at 6:30 p.m. on January 22, 2022, a luncheon for CSC retirees at 12 p.m. on May 25, 2022, and a community grand finale on July 25, 2022.

The exhibition is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.