Kinkaid High School - Kinkaidian Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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o provide space for the additional grades it was necessary to enlarge school facilities. Therefore lVlrs. Kinkeaid borrowed 352500, had the five room cottage raised and five rooms built underneath it. The staff was enlarged to seven, Mrs. Kinkaid gave up teaching to run the school. For two more years the Kinkaid family continued to occupy the house, but at the end of that time the growing school pushed the family out. There was, however, an apartment of four rooms in the house on San Jacinto that was rented out. Even this arrangement lasted only two years longer, because by that time the school needed the entire building. A sixth grade, added in l9l7, became the first class to graduate from Kinkaid to junior high school at South End, which was located in the building that is now San Jacinto High School. With the six grades, the school was considered complete. Daily routine at Kinkaid was well regulated. Students usually arrived early, around 8:15. The boys played games in the side yard until 8:30 while the girls chatted on the hack steps or under the huge magnolia tree, well carved with names. At the clap of Mrs. Kinkaid fshe never used a school bell, but assembled the group and brought order by use of her handsj the children gathered in line to march into the building. The lower grades would proceed to their respective rooms on the first floor. The higher grades would march up the steps that were on the outside of the building. The day began with a reading from the Bible, for lVlrs. Kinkaid was a devoutly religious woman who believed she was doing Cod's work in carry- ing on her school. Instruction and recitation followed. Subjects and teaching methods were very similar to those used for corresponding grades today. A firm grounding in the three R's was the basis of the elementary classes. Spanish or French, English, history, and mathematics were emphasized in the intermediate grades. For all classes Mrs. Kinkaid put great stress on citizenship and character building. A fifteen minute recess would break the morning. To the strains of the triumphal march from HAida,,' the children moved in orderly lines from the building. Once outside, it was time for uphysical culturew that is, calisthenics. Lunch furnished the next break from the class schedule. The back steps, the side yard, and magnolia tree became popular spots as lunches from home were brought out.

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ime permitting, the boys might indulge in an amusing diversion- running in and out of a deep, seven foot ditch that ran along the Elgin Street side of the school. Afternoon classes resumed, and when school was dis- missed, it was not an unfamiliar sight to see the boys staying on to play base- ball, soccer, or a version of football. The first attempt to organize a football team was in 1916 when Mrs. Kinkaid promoted a boys club. Since the school boasted eleven boys big enough to play, a team was formed. Originally choosing khaki trousers and blue jerseys, the club decided upon these colors to represent the school. Later, however, the colors were chaugd to orange and blue in deference to a father who had attended the University of Virginia. ln the early 1920's the now familiar purple and gold were adopted. An important extracurricular activity in the early days was debating. Boys and girls clubs took sides on such issues as Nliesolved that power boats are of more use than power locomotives. lVlore often the boys group would form the two teams. Political topics were especially popular. In 1916, the pros and cons of Vlfoodrow Wilsoii vs. Charles Evans Hughes for president were thoroughly aired. The question of which man, W'oodrow Wvilson or Abraham Lincoln, was the greater provided the subject of a 1918 debate. More interest than usual was aroused by this topic, for it was still considered strange, in a Southern community, to stand up publically and champion Lincoln. This particular argument took place during the First Wlorld Wa1', or as it was considered then, the War to End All Wars. Although the children at Kinkaid would sing patriotic songs, make faces at pictures of the Kaiser, and buy 250 thrift stamps that could be accumulated to purchase a Liberty Bond, the Wai' little affected the life of the school. X For five years after the War, Kinkaid continued to operate on San Jacinto Street. As the enrollment neared the 100 mark, facilities seemed inadequate. By 1923, it was evident that new quarters would have to be found. A frame building with a wood stove constituted a fire hazard for the pupils, the schoolis location on a busy corner, where children ran into the street, was not safeg the building was outdated and its grounds were insufficient.