Queenie Lawton recalled standing on the side of the road in rural Sardis, Ga., selling homemade sweet potato pies just to raise enough money to buy coal to heat her classroom.

"I knew how to survive," she said Tuesday at her second retirement party.

She first retired 17 years ago after working 38 years. Tuesday's celebration marked 55 years of work in education, most recently as the media specialist at Bungalow Road Alternative School.

As she puts it, she has worked from cotton fields to computers.

When Mrs. Lawton, 73, began teaching at Cousins Elementary in Burke County, classes were noticeably empty in the fall because students were in the fields picking cotton. They were the children of sharecroppers, and landowners were unforgiving when it came time to work the fields.

The county was so poor that Mrs. Lawton would save the paper bags from her dry cleaning so she could decorate the bulletin boards in her classroom. But she had grown up poor, and she refused to let poverty be an excuse, especially an excuse for not getting a college education.

"I went to school on faith, hope and a prayer," Mrs. Lawton said. "I had to get an education."

That same passion and dedication were seen throughout her career as she fought for her children.

When she arrived at the alternative school, the media center consisted of a large classroom with about 85 paperback books, none of which had anything to do with the curriculum.

Mrs. Lawton said she was told she wouldn't be able to run it the way she had other media centers. The alternative school was different, she was told.

"I said, 'Oh, yes, I can. Yes, I will,' " she said.

Even on Tuesday, as preparations were being made for her party, she continued to work in her media center, which now has more than 2,000 books, 12 computers and 200 pieces of software.

Although her work in education is considerable, it's only one aspect of Mrs. Lawton's life. She established the first Girl Scout troop in Burke County and a local alumnae chapter of Zeta Phi Beta. She is also active in Historic Tabernacle Baptist Church and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Her friends and family said there is only one thing she has never done in her life.

"We need to teach Queenie how to say 'no,' " her former Principal William Bryant said.

Mr. Bryant was among colleagues and friends who paid tribute to Mrs. Lawton on Tuesday. The group also included Burke County Assistant Superintendent Wilbert Roberts, who was her third-grade pupil, and her granddaughter Amber Murrell.

"Mama, you are my one and only hero," said Amber, a high school student.

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.