DAPHNE, Ala.— Parents, students, Baldwin County Board of Education members, friends and Carroll family members joined city officials at W.J. Carroll Intermediate School’s ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.

They honored the late Walker James Carroll, a former principal of 32 years, and the school’s namesake.

“We have our past, our present and our future here,” Principal Dana Horst said.

“When I think about what my father and mother would have thought when they saw that sign, tears well up,” Thelma Carroll Ivory, W.J. Carroll’s daughter, said.

Thelma Carroll held back tears while addressing the crowd and sharing how her father cared for students he administered and the community he served.

“He was so proud of the students who graduated here,” she said. “He was not just the principal, he was the surrogate father.

“He would be so happy to see this school named in his honor.”

“If Dad were here today, he would be so deeply honored and humbled,” daughter Sylvia Carroll Baker said.

“I’d like to send a special thanks to the Carroll family,” Mayor Fred Small said. “And to the school board. The school board has really given us some great opportunities in Daphne.”

The school—formerly Daphne  Elementary South—opened its new facility’s doors at the beginning of the school year but waited until all construction had been completed to host an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“Our students have been enjoying the facility since August,” Horst said.

The white wooden building behind the current school will be turned into a museum in July, according to Terry Wilhite, Baldwin County Board of Education director The building, built in 1937, housed the home economics and agriculture training classrooms for the Baldwin County Training School. It is the only remaining building from the original school.

The new building began its initial planning phase nearly three years ago, according to Horst.

W.J. Carroll Intermediate’s Citizenship Club officers led the Pledge of Allegiance and sang “O, Say Can You See.”

Dr. George E. Smith Sr., of the Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Camden, Ark., led the invocation and dedication.

Carroll graduated from Dunbar High School in Mobile and attended Alabama State University. He taught in Mobile for several years before starting at Baldwin County Training School in 1938.

In 1970, he became the supervisor of instruction and attendance.

The school board’s decision to dedicate the former Daphne South is fitting. 

After all, Ivory said, “Daddy would have loved this.

“He loved education.” of communications.