50th Anniversary: Wooten with college as it grew and changed:

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Dr. Mavis Wooten joined the faculty of Wallace State in 1976 as the 10-year-old institution transitioned from a technical school to a community college. She came to the school as one of its first doctorate level professors, teaching accounting and then English and speech, after serving for almost 20 years as a professor at Sacred Heart College.
One thing that still stands out for Wooten is how the college then utilized its limited space for so many different offices, classrooms and more. What is now the Harlan G. Adams Math building was the college’s first administration building. That is where students came in to register for classes, apply for financial aid and pay their tuition. The college president’s office was located in that building, along with other administrative offices and even a classroom or two, Wooten recalls.
“Quite a lot of things went on in that building,” she said. She can remember during registration when instructors would line the hall and register students as they came in. “Who ever came by, what ever they needed is what you registered for,” she recalls. Things became more organized a few years later, she said, but still it was nothing like it is today. “We never heard of registering online,” she said. “In fact I don’t’ think we would have known the term if it had been mentioned at the time.”
By the time she arrived at Wallace State, the campus had grown a little from those first four buildings, but not by much. But during her more than 15 years there, the campus grew by leaps and bounds. She saw the construction of the library, Wilson Hall (the old nursing building that’s now home to English classes), the Bevill Building, the Business Education building and the dorms.
“It was interesting to watch the college grow and see what went into each new building through the years,” she said.
During her time on campus, Wooten said she spent most of her time teaching in what is now the Computer Science building. At that time, Wooten said courses for nursing, English, computer science, business and economics were held in that building, which also housed the library. Once the Business Education Building was completed, Wooten said she taught some classes in there, as well.
Wooten also reminisced about some of the people she worked with and taught over the years, recalling names like Ruby Johnson, Jerry Galin, Edna Barnett, Jean Willcut, Royal Laney and Dean McMinn. She remembers Evelyn Timmons, one of her former students, who is employed at Wallace State. “Evelyn, I have said many times, was one of the smartest girls I ever taught,” she said.
She has fond memories of the late Dr. James Bailey, who was the college president when she was hired.
“Dr. Bailey and I got along well,” she said. “I did my homework before I went to ask him for anything, therefore, we didn’t have any conflict in what I was going to ask him for.
“He was a very frugal man,” she recalled. “Not only with money but with material. We could have one red pencil at a time, no going and buying a half dozen and losing them. We had to be careful with that chalk, too. You don’t waste anything.
“But he always had money when we needed it,” she added.
One of her favorite stories involving Dr. Bailey is when he unexpectedly stopped by during one of Speech 101 classes. The students were giving demonstration speeches at the time. “They could do anything except bring whiskey or guns,” she said.
The student on this day worked at a local funeral home at the time and brought a casket for his demonstration, with a fellow student volunteering to be placed in the casket.
“They fixed her hair, very nicely, you know,” she said. “Then three of the guys lifted her – she’s stiff as a board – over into the casket and he demonstrated how you could turn a little nob and if that person was not facing like she ought to be, you could adjust her with the mattress that was under her.
“Well they got her all in the casket,” Wooten continued. “Mr. Bailey had never come to my classroom in all the years that I’d been there and they asked him if he’d like to come by and see what a good job they had done. Just as we all got up, lined up to view the body, who walked in? Mr. Bailey. He said, ‘What’s going on here?’ And, of course, the guy who had demonstrated, quick to think, he said, ‘Mr. Bailey, have a seat. You’re next.’
“He walked out and never said another word,” Wooten said with a laugh. “He never did ask me what was going on.”
Wooten said she enjoyed her time at Wallace State and being able to see how the college and the community grew over the years.
When the college began as a technical school, Wooten said it was wonderful to be able to provide the community with a place where, in 18 months to two years, they could receive training and be out in the workforce.
“And it really did open up opportunities for Cullman,” she said. “If you could compare Cullman now and 50 years ago, you would see what has developed in the area of manufacturing and what have you. It has opened up doors for many plants to come to Cullman, because not only did we have manpower, but we had trained manpower.”
Adding the academic division only enhanced and added more opportunities. “You can now go in any field, most any field you want, and you can get your first basics at Wallace,” Wooten said.
After retiring from Wallace State, Wooten continued teaching others, working in a program that trained people with disabilities for jobs in local businesses and industries. A while back, she even helped teach a group of students in Bulgaria about the Great Depression via Skype.