The hour-long drive from Alexandria, VA to the suburbs of Baltimore would take Deborah Williams Harrison back in time nearly six decades to a childhood spent walking, exploring, and living at what is now Great Kids Farm.
It was in 1954 that her father, Edward Williams, was appointed principal of the Bragg School, an alternative public school for African American boys with what were deemed ‘behavioral problems.’ It was modeled on a school called Highland "where white boys who were considered disruptive in the Baltimore City Schools were placed in a farm setting where they were able to work out their aggressions," said Deborah.
The Bragg School’s rural setting offered students the chance to spend time in nature, while pursuing an academic curriculum delivered by caring staff. “The boys were exposed to things like fresh air, outdoor sports, and gardening, that they wouldn’t have known otherwise,” said Deborah. Their day school experience also offered exposure to chickens, horses, and other farm animals.
Deborah’s first visit back to the place she once called home brought with it many cherished memories. “That’s where the baseball diamond was,” she said, pointing to a field now partially covered by greenhouses. “And there’s the pond where I used to ice skate ” she added, peering through the trees to a leaf-covered pool of water surrounded by tall oaks and maples. At the end of her farm tour, Deborah walked through the stone house where she, her mother, Elizabeth "Liz” Williams, and father once lived. Much remained the same.
“It was a peaceful, wholesome place to grow up,” reflected Deborah, now a grandmother, of the years she spent living on the sprawling campus. “I was fearless,” she recalled, of the nights she’d walk the property with nothing but moonlight to guide the way. “Growing up the way I did, I didn’t have the concept of prejudice.”
Living on the land would shape her identity and goals. “My interests always kept taking me back to education and young people,” said Deborah, whose career has spanned roles as a communications professional and educator. “Connecting students to nature has been a consistent theme.” When she was 16, Deborah’s parents purchased land and a home adjacent to the school property. Not long afterward, she would pursue an undergraduate degree at Clark Atlanta University, going on to complete a Masters at Ohio University.
“How blessed was I to have this experience?” reflected Deborah after her first visit to Great Kids Farm. “Oasis is the word that describes this place.”
We at Friends of Great Kids Farm couldn’t be happier to know Deborah, who now serves as an Honorary Board Member, and benefit from her historical knowledge and enduring affection for the farm and its educational legacy.