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Membership:
501
List of 2009 Seniors added to membership
page.
2009 Distinguished Alumni nomination forms now available.
CHSAA
announces that the Distinguished Alumni committee is now accepting
nominations for the 2009 Distinguished Alumni.
Click here to download. (Word Format)
Criteria
can be viewed here.
Congratulations
to CHS 2009 graduates!
On
Friday May 22, 2009 approximately 78 seniors commenced graduation
from Corinth High School. 2009 is the frist year under Principal
Russ Elam. This years seniors were also the first class for Principal
Elam to teach when he first began with the Corinth School District.
Each graduating senior received a 'graduation pack' from CHSAA
consisting of a certificate of membership, tee-shirt, bumper sticker,
membership card, and congratulatory letter from the President
and founder, Callie A. Emmons. Packets were handed out during
rehearsal Friday morning. Best wishes to all seniors from all
the officers and members of the Alumni Association.
A special thanks to the 2009 sponsors of the graduation packs:
Corinth Laser Center
State Farm - Tom Rogers & State Farm
Dr. Frank Dalton
Dr. Richard Strachan
Dr. M.E. "Bubba" McQueen
Waldron Street Market - Chirsty & Bobby Burns
CHSAA 2009 Scholarship Recipients
The CHSAA
Scholarship Committee met recently and have chosen the following
applicants to receive scholarship money: Congratulations! $1,000's
- Ira Hampton, Jaslynn McGee, and Jay Curlee $500 - Heather Hall,
Amanda McClain, Hayden Worsham, and Christina McAnallay
CHSAA
ANNOUNCES
Mrs. Martha "Tootsie" Dalton is recipient of
Distinguished Faculty/Staff Award
Mrs.
Dalton Taugh English for 40 years, most of those years at Corinth
High School, and is credited with starting the CHS Follies. More
details of her accomplishments to be listed.
A reception will be held to honor her, Honorary Members (anyone
who graduated in 1949 or before), and all Lifetime Members on
Monday, April 27th from 5:30p to 7:00pm at Downtown Books.
___________________________
Article from the Daily Corinthian
Mother of ‘Follies’ gets
alumni’s first faculty award
Published Saturday, April 25
By L.A. Story
Staff Writer
The
teacher who is known for having started the Corinth High School
Follies -- an enduring spring tradition for the school -- will
be formally recognized as the Corinth High School Alumni Association
presents its first Distinguished Faculty Award to Martha Virginia
Graham “Tootsie” Dalton Monday evening.
The CHS Alumni Association will present a plaque to Tootsie Dalton
during a public reception at Downtown Books from 5:30 until 7
p.m. Honorary and Lifetime members of the CHS Alumni Association
will also be honored during the evening and are invited to attend.
“All CHS graduates who graduated in 1949 or before are honorary
members of the Alumni Association. These special graduates are
automatic members at no charge,” said Callie Emmons, Founder/President
of the CHS Alumni Association. “However, several have made
donations to the association. We encourage anyone who graduated
in 1949, or before, to attend and let us know who they are so
we can list them as members. There may be people in this category
that we don’t know about, or have not heard from. We are
also excited to honor these individuals who set the groundwork
and raised the bar high for those of us who came after them in
their studies, athletics and with what they have accomplished
in their lives.”
Emmons said that interested individuals may sign up as members
at Monday night’s event, or by calling the CHS Alumni Association
at (662) 603-2378. Monday evening’s main honoree, Tootsie
Dalton, is celebrating her 93rd birthday today. She currently
lives near her daughter in Pensacola, Fla., and her daughter,
Marie “Cricket” Austin, will be bringing her to Corinth
for the reception.
Dalton is a Corinth native who attended Corinth schools. She is
the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Troy C. Graham. She attended
Ole Miss for two years and graduated from Cumberland University
in Lebanon, Tenn., with a degree in education. During World War
II, she received a citation for her work on the Manhattan Project.
The lifelong educator began her teaching career in Batesville.
After the war, she moved to the Kossuth schools, where she taught
regular students during the day and American veterans at night.
After four years, she moved into the Corinth High School system
in 1945, where she taught English Literature, English Composition
and Journalism for more than 30 years.
Dalton married her high school sweetheart, Robert W. Dalton, in
1939.
The couple adopted their first child in 1956 -- Marie (better
known as “Cricket”), who was 11 years old at that time.
Four years later, they adopted another 11-year-old daughter, Robin.
Bob Dalton passed away in 1978.
Cricket Dalton married Dr. Robert Austin. She earned a degree
in nursing from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and a master’s
from USC. She and her husband lived in Long Beach, Calif., for
more than 25 years before moving to Pensacola, Fla. Robin Dalton
Stokes has a degree in education from Ole Miss and currently teaches
in the Tupelo school system. The Dalton family enjoys four grandchildren
and three great-grandchildren.
It was Tootsie Dalton’s abilities as a teacher that stood
out among her students, who remember her fondly, even today. It
has been said that she utilized all her talents when working with
her students -- using her knowledge, wit and energy.
“When I think of Tootsie Dalton, the first thing that comes
to mind is that she was such an outstanding teacher,” said
Holley Lee, former student, Class of 1963. “She made learning
fun. She has an extremely keen sense of humor and she kept us
all quite interested. You didn’t dread going to her class.
It was a barrel of fun, but you were expected to do what you were
asked. She was very helpful ... she was determined to help young
people make the best of themselves.”
Former student Martha Reid Hammond, Class of 1948, used a quote
from Shakespeare to describe Dalton: “Age cannot wither her
nor customs stale her infinite variety.” “No matter
what age she is ... she’s just Tootsie and she’s wonderful,”
said Hammond. The former student added, with a hearty laugh, “She
was a terrific teacher and you couldn’t put anything over
on her! She made you learn whether you wanted to or not.”
Former student, Gerald McClemore, Class of 1967, (now the president
of Southbank), said Dalton was the kind of teacher who went the
extra distance to prepare her students for the lives ahead of
them. This included “30 days to a more powerful vocabulary”
to teaching the proper way to write “thank you” notes.
McClemore said Dalton’s influence was far-reaching and she
was successful in her endeavor to prepare her students for college.
He said that he, and other former students of Dalton’s, were
well prepared and far ahead of their cohorts when they got into
college. He gave Dalton credit for this achievement.
“When you had Tootsie Dalton as a teacher, she put her stamp
on you and you carry that stamp all your life,” said McClemore.
“She is a special person and gave of herself. She has touched
so many people’s lives. I owe a lot to her and so does anyone
else who was her student.”
In school activities during her teaching career at CHS, Dalton
was the sponsor for The Warrior (the school newspaper) and part
of the Daily Corinthian for 25 years. The experience gave her
students an opportunity to put into practice what she taught them
in English Composition and Journalism.
As many have noted, one of the things that possibly earned Dalton
the most renown, was during the last 15 years of her career, when
she produced “The Follies,” which began in 1961 and
continued through the end of her career in 1975.
As the story goes, the senior class of 1961 was struggling to
raise money for their senior trip without much success. Dalton
suggested to them that she could write a skit for them, but they
would have to really work or she would not attempt it. The class
agreed and that was the beginning of the “The Follies,”
a tradition still performed each spring at CHS.
“She and Jo Anderson first started The Follies,” said
Hammond. “They had a series of them each year and there has
never been anything quite like them since. It was like those high
school musicals in the movies.”
After retiring in 1975, Dalton returned several years later --
at the request of students and parents -- to do more “Follies.”
She continued another six years, even though she had lost most
of her eye sight.
Dalton was also selected as the Corinth Junior Auxiliary in 1983
for her contributions for the city, church and school.
 Take
a stroll
down memory lane! Watch this slideshow of the old high school,
you may see some
familiar spaces. Click
Here. (opens in new window)
We
need your help. Help us find out who this is; a CHS alumni
with the initials "JRR" and owned a class ring from
CHS. He or she likely graduated in 1943/44. Why are we looking
for this person? We know someone who has something for them.
Welcome
to the official website of the Corinth High School Alumni Association.
The CHSAA is a non-profit corporation for the support of Corinth
High School Alumni, family, friends, future graduates.
If you are looking for the official website of Corinth High School,
click here.
If
you are an alumni, we welcome you to join us in this cause. We
will be announcing many events, such as reunions and local events
during 2008, and posting reports on these events, so please
check back often.
Below
are the two choices Window/Bumper Stickers for the Alumni Association
when you join. Designed by one of our own Alumni. (copyright notice
removed on actual sticker and the stickers are much larger).
 
BUSINESS
SPONSORS
L
& L Trophies
Coca Cola of Corinth
Rebecca
Coleman Phipps
- Attorney at Law
State Farm Insurance - Tom & Marianne Rogers
Tull Brothers Glass
Bancorp South
Magnolia Orthopedics
Business
Sponsorships are flexible arrangements where businesses can make
product or financial donations to CHSAA. All donations are tax
deductible. Email us at calumni@yahoo.com.
"Warriors"
by Chig Biggers -(1941 - 1990) - Class of 1959
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