Image 51 of 71
001_OS_Sonny_Patterson_0A8A020O.JPG
Generations of students have grown up with Highlander Academy’s beloved caretaker, who tends more than just buildings and gardens.
To the students, he’s known as Mr. Sonny. He takes care of everything at Highlander Academy, from the stately Vardell Hall to the terraced gardens filled with bright flowers and Carolina pines. For Sonny Patterson, a lifetime of service to this Red Springs prep school hasn’t been a glamorous job, and he wouldn’t want it that way. Sonny began working at Highlander as a custodian in 1966 at just 20 years old, and has been there ever since. These days, he’s not toting students to and from ball games and field trips like he used to, but in many ways, he’s still taking care of the kids. Generations of students have grown up with Sonny, whose best advice for students after all these years is to listen to your teachers and do your best: “At least you’ll have some understanding of what to expect when you do walk out there into this world.”
Caption: After 50 years of service, Sonny Patterson was recognized last August with one of the state’s highest honors, the Order of the Longleaf Pine.
Photographed, Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Greensboro, N.C. JERRY WOLFORD and SCOTT MUTHERSBAUGH / Perfecta Visuals
To the students, he’s known as Mr. Sonny. He takes care of everything at Highlander Academy, from the stately Vardell Hall to the terraced gardens filled with bright flowers and Carolina pines. For Sonny Patterson, a lifetime of service to this Red Springs prep school hasn’t been a glamorous job, and he wouldn’t want it that way. Sonny began working at Highlander as a custodian in 1966 at just 20 years old, and has been there ever since. These days, he’s not toting students to and from ball games and field trips like he used to, but in many ways, he’s still taking care of the kids. Generations of students have grown up with Sonny, whose best advice for students after all these years is to listen to your teachers and do your best: “At least you’ll have some understanding of what to expect when you do walk out there into this world.”
Caption: After 50 years of service, Sonny Patterson was recognized last August with one of the state’s highest honors, the Order of the Longleaf Pine.
Photographed, Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Greensboro, N.C. JERRY WOLFORD and SCOTT MUTHERSBAUGH / Perfecta Visuals

