Former Perry High School teacher receives honor

“I want to thank the Lord for every good and perfect thing and from whom all blessings flow.”

The Lord was the first among an exhaustive list of those that Dr. Argene Claxton thanked as he addressed the crowd during Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially marked the renaming of what had been previously known as the Perry Canning Plant.

“I never dreamed, when I was a kid working in the canned plant at home, that one day, it would become this,” Claxton later added.

Houston County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Scott, in an interview with Houston Home Journal, shared that it was an honor that was well deserved by the retired educator.

“Argene Claxton was the FFA advisor at Perry High School for 37 years,” the superintendent shared. “He’s really the person who oversaw the canning plant that was located previously at the Perry High School campus.”

Scott noted that the old plant—which was a small building behind the football field at Perry High School—had several needs for improvement. The place where the Arlene Claxton Canning Plant now stands was once a bus facility. When the new one was opened near Houston County High School, Scott said they grabbed the opportunity to take on the vacated space and turn it into the new canning plant.

“This space was remodeled to house the canning plant, and it gives us the opportunity to have students learn about the canning process, how to preserve fruits and vegetables and to be able to continue to enjoy them throughout the year and not just the growing season,” explained Scott. “This facility is open during the summer. Early mornings during the summer, you’ll see a lot of people here at the canning plant. We’ve got storage here; we’ve also got a cooler area. They can use areas as part of the instructional process, and then in the canning plant itself, they can go all the way from washing and cleaning the vegetables themselves to putting them in jars or cans and sealing the lids. Students learn about that, but then in the summertime, we allow the public to come in and use it as well.”

Scott further stated, “We have more modernized this plant, and so with the changes and moving it over here, we thought it fitting to name it after Argene Claxton. Argene’s father was an Ag teacher, and he as well, an Ag teacher. Just a long tradition of family of agriculture. Argene is just a great person.”

Claxton struggled with his emotions as he referenced his deceased father who was the first to teach him about agriculture.

“I’ve got to thank my dad,” he said, pausing as he took deep breaths and visibly fought off tears. “Wow,” Claxton added. “I knew this was going to be tough.” After regaining his composure, he added, “He taught me a lot of things growing up working in the canning plant. I developed an appreciation for public relations and community service, adult education and teaching people how to preserve food safely so you know what you’re eating. People are wanting to grow their own food now. Daddy always had that vision. He was incredible. We’d get up at the crack of dawn, pick okra, go to the canning plant and work and then go home and work in the garden until dark.”

While Claxton was clearly honored at the renaming of the building, he mentioned that everything he’d done over the years was carried out with the help of others. “It takes all of us to accomplish what we have done. Not just me. If it were up to me, I’d put everybody’s name on that sign.”

The Argene Claxton Canning Plant is located at 1701 Houston Lake Road in Perry.

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