Lula Demby Dailey

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm honored to pass it along. There's a particular kind of person that a community quietly builds itself around, and Lula Demby Dailey was that kind of person in the Wheeler Springs community of Houston County. Born on June 16, 1878, she came into the world right there in Wheeler Springs, and if you had to bet on where she'd end up, well, you wouldn't have to look far.

She attended Prairie View College, and between 1903 and 1910 she earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees. Two degrees. Then she turned right around and came home.

Now, a lot of people talk about giving back to the place that raised them. Lula Demby actually did it. She married Mose Dailey and took on the principal's role at the Wheeler Springs School.

Two rooms. Eight grades. You let that settle in for a moment.

Eight grades of children, two rooms to put them in, and one woman determined to make it work. She worked tirelessly, the marker says, to expand educational opportunities for her students, and you get the sense that tirelessly is not an exaggeration. But Lula wasn't the kind of leader who stopped at the schoolhouse door.

She helped the community establish a canning kitchen, a community garden, and a school cafeteria. She was feeding people, literally and otherwise. Lula Demby Dailey died on December 19, 1976.

She was 98 years old. And she is buried right here, in the family cemetery, in the community where she was born, in the community she spent her life building up. Some stories end far from where they started.

This one came full circle.

What the marker says

(June 16, 1878 - December 19, 1976) Born in the Wheeler Springs community, Lula Demby attained bachelor's and master's degrees from Prairie View College (1903-1910) and returned home to begin her career as an educator. She married Mose Dailey and became principal of the two-room, eight-grade Wheeler Springs School, working tirelessly to expand educational opportunities for her students. A leader beyond the classroom, Lula helped the community establish a canning kitchen, community garden and school cafeteria. She died at age 98 and is buried here in the family cemetery. Recorded - 2001