Anna Lula Dobson was born on this day in 1888, in Surry County, to John Hamlin and Alice Cornelius Dobson.
She attended Siloam Academy and graduated from Winston High School. She also graduated from Eastman College in New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Commercial Science.
She began her teaching career as a substitute teacher at Reidsville High School, then came to Winston-Salem High School to work as a substitute teacher.
She taught in Winston-Salem for 44 years, retiring in 1954. At the time of her retirement, she was head of the Commercial Department and Dean of Girls at R. J. Reynolds High School. She then opened a private commercial school in her home, which she ran for about 12 years.
She organized the North Carolina Association of Commercial Teachers as part of the State Association of Teachers, and the North Carolina Association of Commercial Students to promote typing contests for students.
She was a charter member of the Winston-Salem Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma teaching sorority. She was a member of Centenary Methodist Church.
Anna Lula passed away in 1972.
The photo above was published in the 1941 R. J. Reynolds High School yearbook.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
