W. W. WILLIAMS
Submitted by Billy Hathorn, Class of 1966
Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr. (September 10, 1917 - September 16,
2000), usually known as W.W. Williams, was a north Louisiana
educator who served as the superintendent of Webster Parish
public schools from 1973-1978 and the principal of Minden High
School (MHS) from 1953-1961. Under his leadership as principal, a
then new high school campus was launched in 1954 on College
Street in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish. During his tenure,
MHS ranked in the top 1 percent in nationwide achievement
examinations in English, the top 2 percent in science, the top 3
percent in mathematics, and the top 5 percent in social studies,
a record not yet again matched. In August 2007, new Minden High
School facilities opened once again at the same location to
supplant the 53-year-old structure. By that time, the
superintendent was Wayne Williams, Jr. (born 1947), the older son
of W.W. Williams.
Contents
1 Early years, education, military
2 Williams as principal
3 Superintendent Williams
4 Williams' legacy
5 References
Early years, education, military
Williams, Sr., was born in Leesville, the seat of Vernon Parish
in western Louisiana, to Samuel Smart Williams, M.D. (1896-1985),
and the former Louise Emma "Ludie" Wynn. The family
moved to the community of Ida in northern Caddo Parish near the
Arkansas boundary, where in 1934 Williams graduated from high
school. Dr. Williams later took a position as the first physician
at the Louisiana State Penitentiary near Angola in East Feliciana
Parish north of Baton Rouge. He was killed thereafter in an
automobile accident in Angola.
In 1938, Williams procured his bachelor of arts degree from
Northwestern State University (then Louisiana Normal College) in
Natchitoches. He subsequently completed his master of arts at
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. After Northwestern,
Williams became a teacher of history and English and a coach of
basketball and baseball at Shongaloo High School in rural
Shongaloo, also in Webster Parish.
During World War II, Williams vacated his teaching duties to
serve in the United States Air Force (then the U.S. Army Air
Corps). He procured a field commission as a captain in the Tenth
Air Force and served principally in the Burma-China theater as
well as in India, where he became ill with trench mouth. While at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (then known as Wright Field) in
Dayton, Ohio, Williams met the former Irene Botkins (born June
18, 1921), a native of Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky
(principal city: Murray). She was a civilian secretary at the
time at the base. The couple married on July 21, 1945.
Williams as principal
Williams returned with his wife to the Webster Parish school
system, where he remained for his entire educational career. A
hands-on administrator, he served as the principal of (1)
Shongaloo High School (1946-1949), (2) E.S. Richardson Elementary
School in Minden (1950-1952), and (3) Minden High School
(1953-1961). Mrs. Williams was the Minden High School secretary
from 1953 until her retirement in 1987.
During Williams' administration, a new MHS building opened, as
did a new football stadium. In addition, a track, a covered
walkway from the main building to the gymnasium, and parking lots
were constructed. At the time, the gym contained one of the few
indoor heated swimming pools in the state. Minden swim teams were
state champions every single year of Williams' tenure. (The pool
was abandoned in 1981 because of maintenance problems.) The
Minden High School "Crimson Tide" was the state
football champion from 1955-1957, the basketball champion from
1955-1959 and the runner-up in 1954, the baseball champion in
1957 and the runner-up in 1954-1955, and the Gulf Open golf
champion in 1956. Shreveport sports writers at the time began to
refer to Minden teams as the "Home of the Champions."
In 1956, Jackie Moreland became Minden's first ever "All
American" in basketball. Even when the teams did not win
statewide, they were invariably district champions in the
respective sports. In 1960, the football team secured the
district title but lost to Neville High School in Monroe. The
team won statewide again in 1963, when Williams, Jr., was a
junior player, and most recently in 2006.
Superintendent Williams
Williams was thereafter named secondary education supervisor and
assistant superintendent of federal programs (1961-1967). After
having been housed in cramped quarters on the second floor of the
Webster Parish Courthouse, the school board office moved to a new
facility on Sheppard Street in 1968, when Williams was elevated
to assistant superintendent. He served thereafter as parish
superintendent for five years starting in 1973. His experience
was so extensive that he had held nearly every position in the
school system prior to becoming superintendent. The Webster
schools underwent further court-ordered desegregation at the time
beyond what had already occurred with the first departure from
segregation during the latter 1960s.
Williams was named Minden's "Man of the Year" in 1961
and "Educator of the Year" in 1965. He was a former
president of the Lions Club and was active in the American Legion
and the Chamber of Commerce. On retirement from the educational
system, Williams worked for a time in the trophy section of
Minden Athletic Supply, operated by his younger son, Jimmy
Williams (born 1955) of Minden.
Williams' legacy
When he moved to Minden in 1950, Williams joined the First
Baptist Church of Minden, where he was also a deacon and a Sunday
school teacher for some four decades.
Williams died of cardiovascular disease. He also had diabetes,
which had required the amputation of a leg several years prior to
his death. He is interred in Gardens of Memory Cemetery in
Minden.
Williams, Jr., summed up his father's educational philosophy:
"He felt that a child receiving an education was the most
important gift that one could give him. He believed that just
receiving a diploma was not enough. He wanted every graduate to
get the very best education that he could receive. He believed
that the only way to insure this was to hire the very best
teachers available. . . . He also felt that school was more than
what a student learned from textbooks. He felt that
extracurricular activities such as athletics and school
organizations played an important part in a child’s
education. This led to Minden High School being known as 'The
Home of Champions'."
References
"W.W. Williams obituary", Shreveport Times, September
17, 2000
"WWW at MHS: 1953-1961", Release from Webster Parish
Superintendent's office, 2007
Preceded by
R.H. Manning Superintendent of Webster Parish Schools (Minden,
Louisiana) Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr.
1973–1978
Succeeded by
Harry M. Campbell
Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.W._Williams"
Categories: American educators | People from Minden, Louisiana |
People from Louisiana | School principals and headteachers |
Northwestern State University alumni | Louisiana State University
alumni | American military personnel of World War II | 1917
births | 2000 deaths | United States Air Force officers |
Baptists | Webster Parish, Louisiana | Deaths from cardiovascular
disease