HAYS—North Wilkes High School has announced the inductees into its second Hall of Fame.
The inductees include Jerry Carter, Pauline Jones Carter, Roger Caudle, Dale Ellis, Christy Gambill, Clyde Holloway, David Johnson, Jeff Peal, and the 1998 North Wilkes wrestling team.
Jerry Carter was a mathematics teacher at North Wilkes for 33 years, starting teaching in 1957 and retiring in 1990. Carter was a member of the National Education Association and the North Carolina Association of Educators. He has continued to be involved in various community organizations, including the Mountain View Ruritan Club, the Friends of the Library since 1992, and the Ashe County Historical Society.
Pauline Jones Carter was a librarian and media coordinator at North Wilkes for 33 years, from 1957 to 1990. In the community, Mrs. Carter has been a member of the Friends of the Library since 1992, and has also been a member of the Ashe County Historical Society.
Roger Caudle taught and coached at North Wilkes for 30 years. Caudle was a mathematics teacher who also coached baseball for 30 seasons, football for 21 seasons, and basketball for ten seasons. Caudle was named a baseball Coach of the Year twice during his career, and a Tri-County Coach of the Year once. He has also been involved in the community as a member of the Mountain View Ruritan Club, as well as a member of the North Wilkes Booster Club for over 40 years and a coordinator for the Booster Club’s MerleFest activities for 10 years.
Dale Ellis was a student and athlete at North Wilkes from 1988 to 1992, and is currently the superintendent of Montgomery County Schools. Ellis was a three-year letterman in football, a two-year letterman in track and field, and a senior year letterman in wrestling. Ellis was the 1992 North Wilkes Male Athlete of the Year and earned the Golden Helmet award that season as the football team’s best lineman. Ellis also football played for one season at Emory and Henry before continuing his education at Appalachian State University. Ellis has established the Howard Ellis Memorial Scholarship at North Wilkes, given annually to one male and one female student, and continues to be active in the community through his membership in the Mount Gilead Civitans Club and the Troy Rotary Club.
Christy Gambill was a standout volleyball, softball, and basketball player for four years at North Wilkes. Gambill, who played from 1993 to ‘96, had her number 24 basketball jersey retired in 1996 and is the only North Wilkes basketball player so honored. Gambill was a three-time Northwest 1A/2A All-Conference player, and three times won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. The 1996 North Wilkes Female Athlete of the Year, Gambill was a three-time Winston-Salem Journal All-Northwest basketballtTeam member, and won the paper’s Mary Garber Award for the best basketball player in the area for the 1995-96 season. She also received all-conference honors in volleyball and softball while at North Wilkes, and was a conference MVP in softball. Gambill, who tallied 1,962 career points and 1,109 career rebounds at North Wilkes, played collegiately at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. As a Seahawk, she set a school record of 100 starts, finished fourth all-time for the program in rebounds, second in total free throws made, and 13th in scoring.
Clyde Holloway has been a fixture in the Vikings’ community for over 40 years. Holloway was an important member of the athletics’ department, driving the school’s activity bus for various teams and organizations for 38 years. Holloway also drove a school bus for North Wilkes for 13 years. Holloway also helped run the chains for the North Wilkes football program for over 20 years. He was a frequent substitute for the school’s custodial staff, and helped build the football concession stands and the baseball dugouts on campus. Holloway has been a member of the North Wilkes Boosters Club for over 40 years, and for his activities at the school earned the 1994 Principal’s Award and the 1996 Unsung Hero Award.
David Johnson was a student, athlete, teacher, and coach at North Wilkes and currently serves as the principal at North Wilkes Middle School. Johnson, a member of the 1990 graduating class, was the first individual state champion for wrestling in the school’s history, winning the 1990 NCHSAA state title at 130 pounds. After graduating from college, Johnson returned to North Wilkes as a teacher and wrestling coach, and led the Vikings to several conference championships. Johnson also coached several individual state champions during his tenure at North Wilkes. In the community, Johnson currently serves as a board member on several local non-profit organizations.
Jeff Peal was a teacher and coach at North Wilkes from 1986 to 1999. Peal was an ISS teacher for one year before joining the Social Studies department in 1987 and also served as department chair for several years. As a coach, Peal led the 1998 wrestling team to an NCHSAA state championship. Peal, who also coached football, track, tennis, and golf, was the 1999 Mat News State Coach of the Year, and was named the conference coach of the year several times. He led his wrestling teams to seven conference championships and three conference runner-up finishes, and his teams won the conference tournament championship eight times. As a coach, Peal’s squads qualified for the state wrestling dual team championships every year, and were undefeated in the regular season in 1996 and 1997. He finished his wrestling coaching career with over 240 wins, and helped lead four different individual wrestlers to state championships. Peal is currently the associate superintendent of Alexander County Schools.
The 1998 men’s wrestling team at North Wilkes was the second team in school history to win a state title, winning the NCHSAA state dual-team title for 1-A and 2-A schools over East Davidson. The Vikings were coached in 1998 by Jeff Peal, assisted by Brian Brown and Nathan Sidden. The roster of the 1998 team featured Tony “T.J.” Anderson, Matthew Blackburn, Stacy Bowlin, Anthony Elledge, Anthony “Strawberry” Elledge, Dallas Hicks, Steven Kennedy, Reuben Loyola, Kris Minton, Avery Moretz, Josh Roberts, Justin Shell, Mitch Weot, and Justin Yale. Shannon Dillard Walker, Litta Adams Belk, and Karen Ball served as statisticians for the squad, and Tim Sexton served as cameraman.
Congratulations to all the inductees of the North Wilkes Hall of Fame class of 2013-14 and our thanks to North Wilkes for providing this information.
