Alvin High School - Yellow Jacket Yearbook (Alvin, TX)

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HISTORY OF ALVIN HIGH SCHOOL Fifty years ago in the fall of 1894, when the tenth grade was added to the cur- riculum of the little Alvin School, Alvin High School was born. The high school department thus consisted of three grades, the eighth, ninth, and tenth. Mr. Tom Wilbern was principal of the school at that time. The class which entered high school in 1894-1895 became the first graduating class from Alvin High School, finishing in 1897. Accurate lists of the early classes are difficult to obtain, but the Class of 1897 is said to have included Douglas Remley, Linda McSinty, Claude Renick, Ora Carter, and Jack Richardson. Mr. J. W. Saxon was the principal when this first class was graduated. Mr. Saxon also guided the Class of 1898. Miss Zadie Sedgwick (Mrs. C. J. Matthews of Houston) was a member of this class and listed the follow- j ing as her classmates: Aaron Wilkerson, Claude Rennick, Lawrence Fuller, Dr. F. J. I Slataper, Hugh Williams, Pearl Wilkerson, j Susie Griffith, Lottie Wingzell, and one girl with the given name of Daisie, whose sur- I name she does not recall. Mrs. Matthews j stated that hers was the second class to ’ graduate after the high school was affil- iated with the University of Texas. The graduates of 1899 included Kate Sammons, Whit Wilson, Zula Wilson, Nannie Smith, Julia Shirley, Edna Hunter, Clara Chadwick, Weed Stockwell, Elmer Stockwell, Julia Bethel, and Lena Hunter. Mr. C. Z. Spahr was principal, succeeding Mr. Saxon who had resigned to become county superintendent. W. C. Steele, father of Ernest Steele, president of the Alvin State Bank, was principal for a while in 1899, and was followed the same year by Professor R. C. Shirley, who was principal until 1906. The 1900 hurricane played havoc with the struggling little school. The damage was extensive and the citizens of the town donated money to repair the damage because there were no funds upon which to draw. During Mr. Shirley's term, the fourth year was added to the high school and the Class of 1906 was the first j to graduate after a four-year term. Mr. Shirley is now living in Houston and kindly contributed information and photographs for this book. Mr. Shirley was followed by Mr. A. S. J. Steele, 1907-1909, and Mr. R. R. Sebring, 1909-1912. In 1910, j the familiar old red brick school building was completed at the cost of $25,000. Mr. Hibbitts followed Mr. ' Sebring, 1912-1914; and Mr. A. H. Russell served from 1914 to 1917. During Mr. Russell's term, high school affiliation was finally secured. Mr. Russell was succeeded by Mr. J. O. Webb, who served from 1917-1924. These were progressive years for the school. The consolidation of the Fairview school with Alvin in 1923 began the program which has grown until 20 per cent of the students of Alvin schools now come from districts which have been consolidated with j Alvin. Such a procedure has been valuable to the students of smaller districts, offering them increased and improved educational facilities. This program has likewise aided Alvin schools financially and brought many fine students to the schools here. During Mr. Webb's term, the first county Interscholastic League meet was held, and the athletic activities of the school received great impetus. A Parent-Teacher Association was first organized in 1920, and the first carnival was held the following year. 4

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 883 FOREWORD May we present to you ALVIN AND ALVINA! They typify the spirit of Alvin High School today. Perhaps you can see—in their vibrant interest in everything, their friendly nature, and their youthful earnestness—a similarity to other Alvins and Alvinas who have preceded them in A. H. S. in other years. Let Alvin and Alvina lead you around their cam- pus and introduce to you their school activities and their friends through the pages of the 1945 year- book, commemorating the Golden Anniversary of Alvin High School. Who knows? Perhaps you may chance to meet old familiar faces and revive half- forgotten memories of good times in old A. H. S. from 1895 to 1945. But let's be on our way!

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When Mr. Webb left to become affiliated with the Houston schools in 1924, he was succeeded by Mr. J. M. Smith, 1924-1925. Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mr. C. P. Strickland, who held the post of superintendent from 1925 till 1936. While Mr. Strickland was superintendent, the present Senior High School building was completed. The Class of 1929 was the first to graduate from this building. Further consolidation with rural schools was carried out; vocational agriculture was added to the curriculum; and the school made good progress. About this time, the development of oil in the Alvin territory opened up an exceedingly bright future, financially and otherwise, for the school district. Mr. L. R. Pietzsch took over the administrative reins in 1936, and Mr. A. G. Welch became principal of the high school in the year 1937-1938. The huge building program, which has made Alvin schools some of the best equipped in the state, was launched in 1936. Consequently the number of teachers was increased as new build- ings and new subjects were added. Industrial arts and home economics were added to the curriculum in 1936, and instrumental music in 1937. In 1938, upon completion of the junior high school building, Alvin Junior High School came into its own. Mr. O. V. Robinson has been the devoted and conscientious principal of the school since its organization. Mr. A. G. Welch, the present superintendent, succeeded Mr. Pietzsch in 1939. The teaching personnel and the curriculum have continued to grow under his leadership. The school became a member of the Southern Asso- ciation of Secondary Schools in 1939. Within the past few years, vocal music, journalism, and commercial work have been added; health, guidance, and supervised study programs have been initiated; and plans are being formulated for detailed curriculum study and improvement. Under the present administration, with the assistance of the efficient principals, Mr. W. H. Meyers of Senior High School, Mr. O. V. Robinson of Junior High, Mr. T. A. Smith of Elementary School, and Miss Louise Kropf of the North Side School for Latin-Americans, the future looks bright for Alvin schools. Plans for post-war im- provement in the school plant include additions to Elementary School, to the Industrial Arts Building, and to the Home Economics Cottage; either a new or an enlarged Senior High School building; and a new school building for North Side. The Alvin Independent School District now is sixty-two square miles in area, and has a property valuation of $21,057,440 compared to $3,523,360 in 1935. It has teaching staff of fifty-seven members for its scholastic en- rollment of approximately one thousand. The campus covers twenty-two acres and includes eleven buildings. Certainly the school has come a long way since the first little wooden structure opened its doors on Gordon Street to the students of Alvin in the 1880's. The class which entered Alvin Senior High School in 1944-45 is more than ten times as large as that first class which entered in 1894-1895. This white frame build- ing, familiar to many of the residents of Alvin, housed the high school until affer the red brick building was completed in 1910.