HAL SKELTON drove over the railroad tracks for the first time in 1966 and scanned the thin row of buildings. As a recent college graduate, he’d accepted the position sight unseen. Could this be where he would teach seventh and eighth grade math and was supposed to coach a basketball team? He rolled his window down.
“Excuse me, sir,” he called to the gentleman nearby, “Can you tell me where thetown of Wartrace is?”
The stranger grinned, “Why, Mister, you’re in it.”
Skelton offered a nod of “thanks” and rolled up his window.
He looked over at his ever-supportive wife, Janie, and with a laugh, said, “We’ll be here one year, and [then] we’ll be gone. One year, and nothing more.”
That “one year” rapidly slipped into two, then three. Now, 60 years later, Principal Skelton — as he would later become known — was the master craftsman who built the reputation of excellence that still follows the Cascade School System today.
“We had lived in Murfreesboro while I attended Middle Tennessee State University, and I grew up in Columbia, so this area was much smaller than Janie and I were used to. But the people here in Bell Buckle and Wartrace made us feel so welcome. They gave us such wonderful opportunities here,” recalled Skelton. “Janie and I had such a wonderful relationship. When she passed away in 2017, we’d been married for 52 years. She always knew when to push me. So when the job opened for a principal of Wartrace three years after we moved here, I didn’t want to take it, but with her encouragement, I did.”
When Skelton accepted the position in 1968, he was 24 years old and was the youngest high school principal in the entire state of Tennessee. Two years prior, he’d been awarded the Distinguished Service Award, and in 1970, the annual “Panther” award was dedicated to him.
An article written in his honor stated, “The academic enjoyment at Wartrace High School is a serious pursuit to those with the insight to look into the future and beyond the protective walls of this old building with an eye to business for more adequate facilities and greater advantages for every student.”
Those advantages came as the Cascade School System emerged after the destruction of Bell Buckle High School in a fire on April 18, 1972. With the Wartrace School a short distance away, students from Bell Buckle used the facilities in the afternoon, and students from Wartrace attended classes each morning.
“During the time both groups of students shared the Wartrace School, we knew we were going to have to build a new facility. But what would the school colors be, and where would the building be located? What would the mascot be? What would we name it? We enlisted the help of the student body to come up with those answers. We wanted to tie Normandy, Wartrace, and Bell Buckle together. They have several things in common: the railroad, Tennessee walking horses [TWH], and the water system. We all got water from Cascade Springs. So, that’s how we chose the name. As far as the colors, Bell Buckle was red, white, and blue, and Wartrace was black and yellow. We kept one color from each school, so Cascade is now white, black, and bright orange. The hardest decision was the mascot, but we narrowed it down to ‘Champions’ and agreed on the TWH.”
In 1976, they moved into the building on Bell Buckle Wartrace Road. Skelton said another challenge was bringing two communities together, but through every change, he remained steadfast. For the next 20 years as principal, he focused on the larger picture. He worked diligently to hire staff with the highest standards and degrees, such as Mr. Terry Looper, who, according to Skelton, was the first Black principal in Bedford County after integration.
Skelton dedicated 41 years to the Bedford County Board of Education. After serving as principal until 1994, he became the supervisor of student services until his retirement in June 2007. Recently, the original gymnasium belonging to the Wartrace School has undergone extensive remodeling and restoration. On June 22, which is Skelton’s 80th birthday, he was honored to receive the “Pride of a Panther” and the “Heart of a Champion” awards in recognition of his faithful dedication and service to the community. Funds raised at the event were donated to the upkeep of the historic gymnasium.
Skelton said, “My many and sincere thanks to the community and my former students for this recognition and honor.” GN
