Roberta stated that the Lydia Society, “was there to help people, and to be there for people when they needed something.”Ī keen interest in the subject of history–and a talent for preserving it–led to Sandy and her sister Roberta being nominated as 2013’s High Country Women of the Year by All About Women Magazine for their efforts in preservation. Sandy’s involvement at the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church included singing in the choir as an accomplished soloist, and also forming the Lydia Society with Roberta Jackson, an all-women missionary group that focused on community outreach. The Hill is what the Junaluska Community is sometimes referred to, due to its location on steep terrain above Boone. In addition to opening her home up to friends and family that she welcomed in and cooked for, she also ensured that no one in the neighborhood wanted for anything, providing “Meals on the Hill” (a name that plays off the nationwide “Meals on Wheels” program). Sandy’s caring nature went beyond the medical field and was also exemplified in her active role in the Junaluska community. Roberta Jackson also shared that Sandy’s medical knowledge came in handy to her family members and friends in Junaluska. Her important role as one of a few public health nurses of color in the area provided much needed representation of the Black community in healthcare. It is thought that Sandy was likely one of, if not the first Black public health nurse in the Appalachian District Health Department. Sandy went on to work at the Watauga County Health Department, where she stayed until her retirement in 2010. I don't know how anybody could live without a computer.” The paperwork-it would be crazy if you had to do it all by hand the way we used to do. Phoebe remembers Sandy fondly from her days of instructing her, and describes Sandy as an all-A student, who was “kind, intelligent, and dedicated” with a “good sense of humor, and open to new ideas.” This embracing of new ideas is illustrated in Sandy’s oral history statement in which she describes the changing technological landscape, and her acceptance of the ubiquity of computers in today’s work: “I don't know how anybody could make it these days without a computer, and the access your work, there's just so much less paperwork. She attained her RN to BSN degree through Winston Salem State University’s satellite program in Boone, which was operated by Phoebe Pollitt. From there she was employed by the nursing home at Glenbridge (then known as Glenstone), and then at Appalachian State University, where she worked in Student Health. Sandy’s life in nursing started upon enrolling in Caldwell Community College’s nursing program, where she earned her associate’s degree. However, she and her sister Roberta Jackson have both stated that there were issues for Sandy once she attended the newly integrated Watauga County High School, as the abrupt change was a shock to students who had no prior experience with integrated classrooms. While enjoying a sense of community in the all-Black Watauga Consolidated School, Sandy described herself as a serious student and said that most of her classmates were also serious and competitive when it came to school performance. She, her twin, two other sisters, and two brothers grew up in the Junaluska community, where she described an atmosphere of warmth in her oral history conducted by Appalachian State University in 2010. This innate sense of kinship and interest in history served Sandy well as she took up the charge to preserve the culture and history of the Junaluska community through the Junaluska Heritage Association, which she co-founded.Īlong with her twin sister, Andrea Louise Goins, Sandy was born on May 21, 1948, in Bristol, Tennessee. For the month of September 2022, the WCHS is delighted to announce that Sandra Marie Hagler (1948-2021) has been named as the next inductee of this inaugural class of the WCHS Hall of Fame.Įmbodying the image of nurturer, Sandra (Sandy) Marie Hagler made her mark on the Junaluska community and greater Watauga County through her many years of nursing and the strength of her community ties. Throughout 2022, WCHS will name twelve individuals or groups-one each month-as members of the inaugural class of the WCHS Hall of Fame. As part of ongoing activities associated with the Boone 150 celebrations in 2022, marking the 150th anniversary of Boone’s official incorporation as a town on January 23, 1872, the Watauga County Historical Society (WCHS) has established the Watauga County Historical Society Hall of Fame.
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