ABSTRACT
Ford attended the Lake View Grade School and earned his high school diploma from Allen University Normal School in Columbia, South Carolina. He then enrolled at South Carolina State Agricultural & Mechanical College in Orangeburg where he graduated in 1921 with a normal degree in mechanical drawing at the age of thirty-five.1 Being older and more mature helped Ford to become academically superior to his younger classmates. Because of this, he earned nine “vacations,” which enabled him to return home from his classes and work on the family plantation. His outstanding academic achievements earned him top honors in his graduating class.
