Helen Baker, Martha Baker Jackson, and Carol Haynes Godwin, who led the Eagle Spirit at Alabama Christian in the 1960s, returned to campus for the annual ACC Summer Reunion in June 2024.
Helen Baker, who was a student at Alabama Christian’s Ann Street Campus from second grade through junior college, lived on campus with her family while her parents, R.A. and Dollie Baker, worked at the school. During her college years from 1961 to 1963, Helen was voted Most Athletic alongside J.T. McCollough. She recalls playing games like volleyball, kickball, and softball on a dirt court. Baker also served as President of the P.E. Club and was a member of the Pep Club.
After graduating from ACC, Baker continued her education at David Lipscomb College, graduating in December 1964. She returned to Alabama Christian in January 1965 as the school’s first female Physical Education teacher, covering junior high, high school, and junior college classes, including bowling at Bama Lanes.
Baker also coached cheerleaders starting on the Ann Street Campus and continued at the Atlanta Highway Campus for both high school and college cheerleaders. Helen Baker cherishes the memories of the students she taught and the cheerleaders she coached. She still has mementos from them, including an eagle, a trophy, and an engraved platter. Reflecting on her time at ACC, Helen said, “I was a kid teaching kids.” She added, “We were not well off but collectively we had a lot.”
Martha Baker Jackson was an Eagle cheerleader in both high school and college at Alabama Christian’s Ann Street Campus. She attended Alabama Christian from first grade through junior college. Growing up on the Ann Street Campus with her older sister Helen Baker and younger sister Phoebe Baker Dunn, the entire family was involved in campus events. Jackson recalled that their mother, Dollie Baker, often drove the cheerleaders to games, and during her high school cheerleading days, Phoebe served as their mascot.
Reflecting on a 1964-1965 college cheerleader photo, she remembered that their cheerleading skirts were made of heavy corduroy and reached below their knees. She also shared that the cheerleaders practiced on the lawn in front of the girls’ dorm on the old Ann Street Campus, and in bad weather, they practiced on the stage in the school auditorium.
Carol Haynes Godwin was a cheerleader at Alabama Christian College’s new Atlanta Highway Campus during the 1966-1967 school year. She recalled, “I attended Alabama Christian High School from 7th to 12th grade and was a cheerleader from 10th through 12th grades. I started at Alabama Christian College in the fall of 1966 and became a cheerleader there as well. At that time, our sports programs only included basketball and baseball.”
Godwin added, “My how things have changed! I have fond memories of cheering with some great gals and Helen Baker, our awesome cheerleading coach. Those were good times.”
Alabama Christian College alumni and their families gathered for an annual Summer Reunion on campus in June, where these three Lady Eagles reunited.
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