Junction High School - Golden Eagle Yearbook (Junction, TX)

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Before the first white settlements were established in Texas, Spanish missionaries were converting Indians to Christianity and teaching them Western traditions and ideals. Education didn’t become an issue in Texas government until Stephen F. Austin’s first colony was settled. Each colony in 1836 was required to have a school to teach not just the three R’s,” but a variety of subjects including history, rhetoric, composition, philosophy and foreign languages. eligious organizations became instrumental in the education of Texas' youth, and in the early 19th century, a variety of religious colleges were opened The first, Rutersville Gdlege, opened its doors on Feb. 1, 1840 The founder was a Methodist named Martin Ruter. The Baptists established Baylor University in 1845. Baylor, located in Waco, is the oldest continuously operated institution of higher learning in the state When Texas entered the Union in 1845, its constitution pledged to make changes in the field of education. Later, the state adopted a schedule of funding schools through property taxes. The Morill Act in 1862 prompted the founding of the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University to promote agricultural education. The next major educational development occurred in 1915 when the Compulsory Attendance Law was passed. This law required children between the ages of 8 and 14 to attend school for 60 days-a- year, unless the child had a proper excuse. The law was amended in 1918 to require 80 days of attendance and amended again in 1919 to require 100 days of attendance. In 1949, State Senator A M. Aiken supported a series of bills through the legislature aimed at improving education. The new system immediately showed positive results, and the quality of education in Texas grew to become respected nationwide. The United States involvement in World War II led to a drop in college enrollment, but enrollment soared in 1944 with the introduction of the GI Bill of Rights and the flood of returning veterans wanting to enroll in college. The growth in college enrollment continued through the 1960s and into the 1970s. However, the role of education and its influence on our lifestyles may change in the future if enrollment figures at the high school and university level continue to drop — a recent trend attributed to a decline in the birth rate after 1967. In addition, university budget reductions and a tightening of student loan requirements have forced both schools and students to economize their educational opportunities. A schoolhouse established in 1890 was still standing in 1965. R

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Central, the Gulf, the Colorado and Santa Fe, the Fort Worth, the Denver City, the Texas and Pacific, the Southern Pacific and the International and Great Northern. The railroad industry suffered during the Great Depression and World War II. Railways fought a losing battle against automobiles, airplanes and the change to new transportation systems. Texas, however, remains number one in terms of railroad mileage and is served by seven class-one rail carriers. The primary rail tonnage originating in the state includes non-metallic mineral, chemical, farm, petroleum, wood and lumber products. The Texas highway system ranks among the nation’s best. Federal interstates, state highways and rural roads link the regions of West and East Texas to the Panhandle, and all of South Texas to the Rio Grande River. The vastness of Texas demands a reliable network of roads. With a trip from El Paso to Orange being 860 miles, a New Englander could see several states traveling the same distance on the East Coast. As early as 1883, a project was begun to deepen the channel of Galveston's port. But in the annals of artificial ports, no story is more impressive than that of Houston’s. In 1908, Houston citizens inaugurated a movement to secure a deep water channel By 1925, with $10.6 million of federal and local funding, the channel was extended 55 miles from the Houston harbor to the outer harbor and deepened to 35 feet. Houston is now the leading port in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. Dominating developments in transportation during the postwar years were automobiles and airplanes. Motor vehicle registration rose from 2,192,654 in 1946 to 11,297,938 in 1978. Only California has more automobiles on the highway than Texas. Commercial air passenger service in Texas began in 1928. Growth was modest during World War II, but rapidly increased in the postwar years. Between 1965 and 1978, the number of people traveling by air in Texas tripled. first to operate in Texas in 18)2. It was called the General Sherman.”

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Early Spanish missions add a sense of history to modern Texas. Gm m'fhoX' RELIGION The 1837 Ecclesiastical Committee of Vigilance for Texas was more likely to find a group of rough, rowdy Texans preferring to raise hell than seek salvation. Nevertheless, the committee’s efforts were undaunted, and the missionary zeal that brought Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian ministers to Texas lives in many counties today. w t hen the state entered the Union in 1845 — 12.5 percent of the population belonged to a church Camp revivals soon became a way to relieve the monotony of the frontier. Baptists were among the first to pioneer changes in the wicked West and the religious press. Texas Baptist George Washington Baines (Lyndon Baines Johnson's grandfather) published the Texas Baptist from 1855 to 1861. The Cumberland Presbyterians followed with the Texas Presbyterian. Evangelism was spread by publicity gained through the efforts of individuals and groups like William Y. Allen and his Texas Temperance Society. Many religious leaders did more than fight hard liquor. Organized religion opened the first colleges in the state. Many fought illiteracy. Thomas J. Pilgrim, a Baptist, started the Texas Sunday School Movement. The founding of Baylor University in 1845 prompted many religious organizations to seek education as a means of sending their message. Some religious groups appealed to the diverse immigrant population. German, Czechoslovakian, Polish and Hispanic people were Catholic. By 1860 over 30 percent of the Texas population wa« black and many joined the Baptist church. Famous religious leaders became advocates of social justice. Joseph Martin Dawson, a Baptist, fought child labor, exploitation of immigrants, advocated women's rights and rebuked the Ku Klux Klan. In 1950, the Baptist General Convention created the Christian Life Commission, an activist agency dedicated to applied Christianity. They opposed universal military training in the early 1950s, defended the supreme court's desegregation and school prayer decisions of the early 1960s, sanctioned abortion under certain circumstances, promoted sex education, urged a settlement in Viet Nam, and fought against air and water pollution. Texas Catholics like Archbishop Robert E. Lucey placed the church in support of the underprivileged. He championed rights to decent wages, racial integration, housing, equality and health services. Today 56 percent of the Texas population belong to organized congregations.