Stephens-Lee High School Living Legends and Educators
Alumni to celebrate 100th school reunion.
Educator and Activist Gloria Howard Free
Asheville native Gloria Howard Free was educated in the local schools, and then went on to obtain a BA in Education from Johnson C. Smith University in 1955, in English and Spanish. Upon earning her degree, she moved to New York City, where she worked for an after-school program educating youth in English and Spanish.
Upon her return to Asheville, Gloria began teaching at Stephens-Lee High School in 1959, where she continued to teach English and Spanish. Following the closing of the celebrated segregated high school, Mrs. Howard Free transferred to South French Broad High and then Asheville High School. Meanwhile she earned certification as a speech therapist from Western Carolina University—and while employed with Asheville City Schools, she became the first African American to integrate the field of speech therapy in Buncombe County.
In addition to her fame as a notable educator, Gloria Howard Free was one of the originators of Asheville’s acclaimed pan-African festival of Goombay!, as well as being a founder of “The Friends of the YMI Cultural Center” in 1982. The Goombay! Festival, still ongoing after 42 years, was and remains an enriching cultural experience, “one that I will never forget,” says Ms. Free.
Goombay! is a festival that celebrates the rich, diverse culture and history of the African continent and its diaspora throughout the western world, and Ms. Free remains, each year, excited and proud to see Asheville’s local Goombay! tradition continue, in partnership with the YMI Cultural Center, one of the oldest—and possibly the oldest—African American cultural centers in the United States.
The Goombay! Festival will be held in September of 2024. Check The Urban News throughout the summer for more information.
Wardell Cunningham, Jr.
Wardell Cunningham, Jr. was born June 2, 1929 in Lancaster, SC, to Wardell Cunningham, Sr. and Everlena Babridge Cunningham. He graduated from Lancaster Training High School and earned a BA in Art from NC A&T University. He then attended SC State University from which he received a BS in Business Administration, and afterward earned a Master’s in Fine Arts from Indiana University.
Mr. Cunningham moved to Asheville in 1964 and began his teaching career at Stephens-Lee High School. Then, when Stephens-Lee was closed and demolished, Mr. Cunningham moved to South French Broad High School in 1967 and then to the consolidated Asheville High School until his retirement in 1988.
Mr. Cunningham kept education in the forefront of his professional and personal life, as his wife, the late Sadie Davis Cunningham who died in 2014, was also an educator. The Cunninghams’ two daughters, Carmen Cunningham Chapman of Woodstock, GA, and Carol Cunningham Smith-Hill of Asheville, have brought him five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. And, his former students will be pleased to know that today, even at 95, Mr. Cunningham is fit and healthy, as full of learning and intellect as ever.
Eugene “Gene” Hammonds
A native of Asheville, Gene Hammonds graduated from Stephens-Lee High School in 1955 and Shaw University in 1959-60. He has served thousands of students during his 50-plus years as an educator, coach, and mentor. He began his teaching career at Stephens-Lee High School, South French Broad High School, and arrived at Asheville High School amid student integration in 1969.
As an educator, Gene Hammonds played a crucial role in helping to bring unity to the Asheville City School system.
Coach Hammonds currently serves as an assistant football coach for the Asheville High Cougars. During his high school football coaching career, he has never missed an Asheville High Cougar football game—even during the pandemic! Coach Hammonds is also the recipient of the 2019 Gene Ochsenreiter Lifetime Athletic Achievement Award. Coach Hammonds has also served as a professional baseball scout for the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates franchises.
The Asheville City Schools Board of Education has honored Coach Eugene Hammonds with the naming of the athletic football field as “The Eugene Hammonds Athletic Field” at Asheville High School.
100th School Reunion
Greetings to all former students and graduates of Stephens-Lee High School! If you attended our beloved Stephens-Lee High School, you are invited to join your fellow alumni for the 100th-year Alumni Celebration on the weekend of July 5-7, 2024.
All events except Sunday church services will be held at the Stephens-Lee Community Center at 30 George Washington Carver Avenue in Asheville’s East End. The deadline for sending your participation fee is fast approaching, so please get your registration in as soon as possible.
The registration fee is $175 per person. If you bring a guest for Saturday night’s event, the cost will be $25 per person.
Schedule of Events
Friday, July 5
- Registration at Stephens Lee Community Center Campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Alumni Memorial Service and Class Night, 7-11 p.m.
Saturday, July 6
- Annual Meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the Alumni room.
- Banquet and Dance from 7 p.m. to 12 midnight.
Sunday, July 7
- Attend the church of your choice.
- Afternoon Alumni Cookout from 1:30-4 p.m. in the Stephens-Lee Community Center Multi-Purpose Room.
See you on the dance floor or at the dinner table!
If you have questions, please contact your class president, or Alumni Association President Sarah Hart at (828) 279-7300.
