Mrs. King touched so many of God’s children
Some students called it “the basement.” Others called it “the dungeon.” As best I can remember, it was the only classroom below ground level in the original Manning High School built in 1907. Perhaps its planned purpose was as a storage room. But to a group of us in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the space was affectionately known as “The J Room.”
It was tucked away from the other classrooms, down a poorly lit staircase that announced every student’s entrance with creak after creak. We entered the J Room for one purpose … journalism. Our job was to write, edit and produce the school newspaper, The Monarch. Thanks to the “ruler” of the J Room, we left with a higher purpose … to be good citizens.
That “ruler” was Marianne Reaves King, journalism and Spanish teacher. I think she liked that the J Room was off the beaten path. She considered her journalism students to be special, so we should have a privileged space. We thought we ruled the school because we had the power of the pencil. I’m sure the other students thought we were the biggest geeks.
Mrs. King died last week. Clarendon County lost a great leader. I lost the teacher who had the greatest impact on my career.
You see it was Mrs. King who taught me that there was great value in being a good writer. After college when I went to work in Hollywood at Aaron Spelling Productions, my first boss told me I needed to write more of her letters to studio executives because I was “pretty good at it.” “Pretty good” landed me a job working for Aaron Spelling himself.
It was Mrs. King who announced to the class that I would emcee the Miss Manning High School Pageant, sponsored by The Monarch. Was she kidding? I was just in the 10th grade. That job was reserved for an adult, or at least a 12th grader.
The first pageant as a “sophomoric” host went fairly well. My junior year I got the assignment again. I was on a roll until it came time to announce the Junior Class Beauties. “The first Junior Class Beauty is … Sandy Moody!” The second Junior Class Beauty is … Sandy Moody!” Uh-oh. I called the same winner twice. The audience erupted in laughter. I was ready to crawl under the podium. I was sure that would be my final year. Once again Mrs. King would announce that I would emcee the pageant my senior year. She believed in second chances.
I would get to emcee more than a beauty pageant that year. At her nice, but firm insistence, I would run, and win, the presidency of the 15-state Southern Interscholastic Press Association. The opportunity would put me on a stage several more times, helping prepare me for what I do today.
What I remember most about Mrs. King is that she expected a quality newspaper, but she gave us great freedom in which to do it.
Back in the olden days of journalism, we had to go to Quality Printers after hours to do the typesetting and layout. They were located in what is now the new Manning City Hall. Mr. John Corbett, the owner and a fine man who trusted us probably more than he should have, gave us a key to the building. We sometimes really did burn the midnight oil producing a newspaper that would win awards as one of the best in the state.
Mrs. King rarely came to Quality Printers … unless we needed her. If we were having problems with the layout, she would make a brief appearance to help resolve the issue. I sometimes thought she should have been there more often. I later realized she was teaching us independence.
She did come on the day when we were struggling with the loss of a fellow classmate, Tanya Kennedy, who had been tragically killed in a car accident the night before. Our hearts were broken that afternoon, and we were trying to concentrate on changing the layout to acknowledge our loss. I remember Mrs. King walking into the back room of Quality Printers, giving us the direction (and love) we needed to get through that terrible day.
Knowing that Mrs. King was in declining health, I went to visit her earlier this year. I told her how much her journalism class had helped me in my career. She simply smiled. No words needed to be said, but the words I put before you needed to be written.
Mrs. King always taught us that after writing someone’s name in a story, you needed to identify the person by a formal title or relevant description. Her obituary read: “Marriane Reaves King, child of God…” What a relevant description since she touched so many of God’s children.
