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Lovett Elementary Dedication

Lovett Elementary School Dedication

Sunday, April 12, 1964 – 3:00 PM

Clinton, Mississippi

Shirley Miller's Mother - Group Shot


Rebecca Oatis

Mrs. Rebecca Oatis served as the first Principal for the then new Lovett Elementary School. She served in that position from 1963 to 1965.  In January 2022, Mr. Michael Pope, the current Principal of Lovett,  informed The Clinton Courier’s publisher that nine years ago, he’d found a hand painted portrait of Mrs. Oatis in storage at the school.  They had it framed and hung it in the school’s foyer, where it remains hanging to this day. 

Photographs and program booklet, courtesy of Shirley Miller of Clinton Mississippi.


Program Cover

Download PDF: Program booklet for Lovett Elementary School Dedication 1964

Program booklet 1964 Dedication ceremony Lovett Elementary

Program Booklet for the Dedication in 1964 of Lovett Elementary School


Lovett ElementaryLovett Elementary upgrades pay homage to school’s history

Closing in on six decades after it first opened, with scores of history and memories, countless students and multiple generations of educators having graced its campus, Lovett Elementary School still stands proudly on a hill on Northside Drive, now boasting a facelift that was specifically designed to be in keeping with its original façade.

On April 12, 1964, members of the Lovett community in east Clinton kept on their Sunday best after church. After all, the dedication of Lovett Elementary School was at three o’clock that afternoon, and the opening of the elementary school signaled a new beginning for area youth.

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