This year, 2023, is the 100-year anniversary of Lincoln Park Academy. To honor this anniversary, I interviewed one of the many alumni of the school, Mr. Veryl Moore, LPA’s Athletic Director.
While all of Mr. Moore's brothers and sisters went to LPA, too, he was the only one that went to the school when it was integrated. Mr. Moore attended LPA when he was in the 8th grade in the 1980s. At this time, LPA was the only school to have the 8th grade in the area. For high school, Mr. Moore went to Fort Pierce Westwood. Later, he went back to LPA to teach and has been here for the last 25 years. He says that seeing LPA “no longer segregated and also a more inclusive school” is exciting.
Last year, while Mr. Moore was doing research for the 100-year anniversary, he found someone who had the exact same name as his great uncle. He called family members, finding out he was related to a former student of the school. Mr. Moore was stunned. He said finding out “kind of blew my mind, I never knew this.” He found out that his great uncle, Rufus Proctor, went to high school at LPA, which was an exceptionally difficult education to achieve as an African American living in the 1930’s without much money. Mr. Proctor started 9th grade at LPA in 1933 and graduated in 1938. Throughout his high school career, he was in many clubs and sports, including basketball, football, theater, and even got this very newspaper off the grounds. Mr. Proctor was also elected “smartest boy” in the school senior notables. With his extremely high ranks at the school, Mr. Proctor graduated as the salutatorian of his class.
Knowing the connection he has to Lincoln Park Academy has helped Mr. Moore realize where he comes from. It is “very encouraging to know” that he continues contributing to the story of Lincoln Park Academy.