Jim Ned High School - Warrior Yearbook (Tuscola, TX)

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church had several different denominational preachers. ln about 1880 , the church and school split and the school was called Guion. It was the only school between Buffalo Gap and Winters. In 1906 the school was moved to Guion, south of Lemons Gap. A couple of years later the church also moved to Guion but it was still called the Lemons Gap church. References: The Buffalo Trail 1922 Early Day Cedar Gap School Rattlesnakes at Cedar Gap - Rattlesnakes, barking prairie dogs in vil- lages, and yelping coyotes seemed to be numerous in early day West Texas commu- nities according to the stories told by the early settlers . Other early stories reported oil seeping out of the cedar-covered chain of mountains known as Cedar Gap. Although we have not been able to confirm this report, we do know the first school was erected in 1881 , a one-room log house scantily equipped. There were no desks: split logs were used for seats. The first writ- ten record obtainable on this school was the school year 1896-1897. The school term lasted 5 months, and the teacher was Miss Fannie McNees who received forty dollars a month. She taught thirty-nine students. This log school no longer remains but was located on land now belonging to Tom Gra- ham. The log school was replaced in 1900 by a IWO-SIOIY frame building which was erected across the road for the last school building that is still standing. The school was sup- plied with double desks. In 1917 another school building was erected at a cost of fif- teen hundred dollars. Constructed by Mr. R E Standard , the school was made of con crete blocks the blocks were made on the S116 The two room structure had a vestibule and cloak rooms on each side In 1922 play ground equrpment Front Row Left to Right Micheal Williams J T Lambert Mar Prnkson Laruee Williams Jean Kidd Third Row Lola O Con ion Graham Dillard Dodson Bill Graham J A Junior Wil ne 1 Arlene Lambert Rosa Lee Snodgrass hams Eugene Prnkston J G Williams Ray Graham Julius Rat Clara Bell Snodgrass Lonna Stanaland Wilford Kmght hen Sammy Stanaland Harvey Kmght Second Row Mildred Derwood Lambert Aldridge Powell Fourth Row Walter Pink TLu'ner Maxine Snodgrass Ima Jean Lambert Luella Prnkston ston Clarence Turner Tom Graham Earl Prnkston Teachers Vemia Dodson Eva Mae Holt Edna Reddell Lavene Miss Hester Smith Mrs Kate Causseaux ',V- . . . .- . . .. . .. . - . . . - . . . . . 5 , H . . . . . . . - ' . ' . . . ' '- 1.1. ' . . . 1 1 ' ' . . v 1 . ' v ' n 1 . . 1 1 , - - ' , ' , - l - f . . ' . - v . ' . : l l I l . 1 1

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Jim Ned School Jim Ned School was started by Sam Friend who came to Taylor County , and what is now the Rogers community in 1877 . He was interested in seeing a school develop and started a movement for a sub- scription school to be built. In 1878, a small one- room structure was erected near the old camp meeting grounds, where the Jim Ned community first held Methodist services in 1877 . The school was a round stnicture, built of pickets with a thatched roof, and no floor. School lasted onlya few months during the year. After enough students were found who wanted to go to school, CI believe about 121, Mr. Friend asked John Rumph, who was then 28 years old, to teach the first school. John Rumph was the second oldest son of David and Mary Rumph. who came from Georgia during days of reconstruction. At the time the school was taught, both David and Mary had died , and John taught school to help earn money to send his brothers back to Georgia for a medical education. After the first winter a log school was built. The very first school was called Ned after the Indian scout. In the early day it was also called Catclaw. When the school was consolidated, it became Rog- ers and was moved on the road near the present Rogers Methodist church and cemetery . Juanita Zachry Catclaw: A Two-Story Building Catclaw was a small two-story building located about seven miles east of Lawn. It began around 1910 and lasted to about 1918. The bottom floor was the school room and the top floor was the Woodman of the World Lodge . Catclaw was a nick- name for the school. It got this name from the many catclaw bushes in the area . The pupils did not have desks to sit in but used benches instead. About 45 to 50 pupils attended the school and one teacher taught grades one to eight. The school hours were 9 to 4. School only lasted 4 or 5 months out of the year. Most of the teachers stayed only a short period of time, two years at the most. The teachers were usually young and single women. Baseball was a popular sport with both boys and girls. The ball they used to play with was home- made. It was made of old socks and string. At recess t.he boys would play on one side of the build- ing and the girls on the other side. They would see- saw, jump rope , and play games such as Wolf over the river. On occasional Friday nights, spelling bees would be held which were always great fun. Rogers School, One of the First Consolidated Schools Rogers School was built in 1918 about six miles east of Ovalo on land donated by John Rogers. This school included Jim Ned and Catclaw . It was a three-room school with three teachers. The teach- ers divided up the classes equally. The subjects taught were reading, spelling, arithmetic, geogra- phy and grammar. The pupils liked school and were sad when the school term was over. The most fun thing to do was getting together six to ten couples, to go on a pic- nic. Most of the courting was done in groups. Picnics, dancing , and singing were about all the activities at that time . Bertha Rutland and Calvin Rogers interviewed by Becky Rutland i Catclaw School Ruth Adams, Bertha Morse, May Williams, Bernice Johnson, Lillie Wright, Sudie Hancock. Second Row: Wilson Morse , Clarence Edwards. I-lillin Hancock. Jack Wright, Neal Williams. Third Row: Carl Johnson, Sammy Johnson, Zanie Edwards, Talpa Walker, Marshall Wright, fsittingp Ernest White, Clyde Johnson, Claude Johnson. .. rv AH: 1 Rogers School Lemons Gap named after first settler In the southwestern part of Jim Ned Valley is a pass tltrough the mountains called Lemons Gap. This Gap was named after Mr. Henry Lemons, the first settler. Mr. Lemons saw that there was plenty of wood in the nearby hills, a big spring and free grass that would supply him. his family and his animals. Many people came by Mr. Lemon's home on the way to Buffalo Gap, so he thought it would be a good idea to stock a few groceries and start a store. This was the stan of the town. With families settling thicker all the time , it became evident that a school was needed. Henry Lemons gave the land for a schoolhouse on a high, dry, graveled cemetery hill where the cemetery is today . The schoolhouse served a dual purpose, church and school building. It was a one-teacher school. This was the earliest church in these parts. ' ' The church was a Union Church with all denominations represented meeting together. The

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was installed . The building well accommodated the usual sixty students and two teachers, one teacher for primary grades and one teacher for grades 5-7 who also served as principal. The last year for students to attend school at Cedar Gap was 1939 . Children came by contract for a few years until Cedar Gap consolidated with Tuscola. The second oldest Baptist church in Taylor County was Cedar Gap Baptist Church. After preaching by Bro. Stanton from Abilene on June 14, 1884, C.G. Scott was appointed moderator and the following persons went into the organiza- tion of the church: Mr. and Mrs. T.W. Stephen- son, Mr. and Mrs. L.B. Pruit, and Mr. and Mrs. B.F. Graham. B.F. Graham was elected as church clerk. Bro. C .G . Scott was the first pastor of the church. It was decided that the services be held in the school house untzl the members were able to build a church building. A complete record of the church has been kept including minutes indicating early church mem- bers were churched for dancing, gossiping, lying and fighting. Those older minutes were written in long hand in the Spencerian scroll by the late B.F. Graham, Joe Perry, Will White. Carl Stephenson and R. A . Reddell. The church is known for its traditions which included the regular summer revival which always started on Friday night before the first Sunday in August. The date originally was set to conven- ience farmers who had usually laid by their crops by that date . A brush arbor was usually erected for outdoor services. The church building., which still stands, was built in 1897 on a plot of ground donated by Mr. and Mrs. T.W. Kidd, parents of Mr. E.B. Kidd of Cedar Gap. At its peak, the church had a mem- bership of over a hundred . Services were held reg- ularly until June 1, 1969. Present trustees for the church are E.B. Kidd, Leonard Moore, and Mrs. Tom Graham. Mrs. Graham also serves as clerk and treasurer. Mrs. Jeff Davis, Mrs. J.P. Townsend, Mrs. Tom Graham , Della Landers interviewed by Lenez Graham. L '-L' ..... aa ' ' These ladies are early members of the Cedar Gap Baptist Church Martha A. Kidd, Elvia Stephenson, Mrs. J.H. Robin- son. The picture was made in 1937. Bluff Creek Settled in 1877 This is in the Southwestern part of Taylor County in the Bluff Creed valley. The first white settlers came here in 1877 , having little. But their first aim was education for the young. The first school was built in 1881 . The material was not the best: of course, it was shipped from Fort Worth by ox-cart. In 1904, a one-room school was built then added to in 1917 , being fairly equipped with lighting and heating. Schools were usually three months long in session in the summer time. On one instance when all of the surrounding schools had their Literary contests, Bluff Creek was outdone only by Abilene and Merkel. In 1921-22, it won the Silver cup in a spelling con- test with Bradshaw, Guion, Drasco, and Moro: Katy Harrington, now a citizen of Tuscola and the secretary to the mayor, Mrs. Holland, was the representative who won the silver cup . C The Buffalo Trail, 1922b 3. ,4 ra rf, Av , ! Bell from the Content School Content Had a Lime Kiln The M. C. Brights came to Content in 1882. They moved from Tennessee to Western Oregon and then to Texas because of the youngest son's health. He needed a dry climate . Mr. Bright was a farmer, store owner, and county commissioner. His store was built out of the lumber taken from a two-storied hotel. Lumber was used and reused because it had to be brought in from Fort Worth when purchased new. Later the Primitive Baptist Church bought the store building and took it to Lawn to use in their meeting house . Over the years the lumber had accumulated layers of news- papers to cover up t.he boards and to help keep the cold out: there were still pieces of paper pasted on the boards when the Lawn people did their con- struction. In the ceiling over the pulpit, there was a plank with a piece of paper on it: appropriately, it read In God We Trust. South of the Bright home was a lime kiln. A kiln was dug like a well: it had an opening which faced the creek. This opening made a draft to keep the fire going. A layer of wood was placed at the bottom, a layer of limestone rock was placed next, and then a layer of wood. Men kept the kiln hot for several days and nights . When the rocks were taken out of the kiln, they would crumble: and they could be used as mortar to put between logs in buildings.