Rockdale High School - Lair Yearbook (Rockdale, TX)

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3421423. 5' 14.5: r3375 w 5.. ll 3 3 W Other active ministers of the early days were the Rev. B. B. Baxter. who was a passenger on the first incoming train and who helped to organize the First Baptist Church: Rev. Beasley of the Methodist Church; and the Rev. Edwin XViggins of the Episcopal Church. Two outstanding ministers. the Rev. James H. Stribling and the Rev. George Baines, served as pastors of the Baptist Church. The first revival of any note was held by the great evangelist. Major Wm. E. Penn. who, together with his singer, Mr. Parker, captured the town. The historic Penn Camp Ground at San Gabriel was a favorite meeting place for those of all creeds. Some years after the old Presbyterian Church was built, St. Thomas Epis- copal Church was erected on property where the old Solon Joynes home stood. This home was destroyed by fire and Mr. Joynes gave the lot to the church. Then followed the Baptist, the Methodist, and last the Christian Churches. St. Joseph's Catholic Church was erected on a lot donated by Leopold A. Strelsky, Sr., who. with his family, had located in 1870 on a farm some three miles north of Rockdalet The Lutheran Church was established some years later. All have ample and handsome edifices, good choirs, Home and Mission Societies, and good Sunday Schools, and the pulpits are supplied by able, good, and intelligent ministers. We could not add finis to this bit of history of Rockdale without saying something about its social life. In the old days the Mundine Hotel became known far and near and was the social center for newer Rockdale. A social club was organized by the young men and brilliant affairs were given. The officers were H. C. Travers, president: Minor H. Brown, secretary, with the assisting committee being composed of J. E. Longmoor, Homer Eads, L. H. Porter, Frank Block, Isaac Crown, Leo Wolfson, Phil Dunnington and others. In June, 1882, Dr. and Mrs. Brooks of the Mundine celebrated their silver wedding anniversary and the reception was conceded to be the most brilliant in the history of Rockdale. The old Mason Hall, and later the Randle Opera House were other centers of social gatherings. No set forms were observed and entire families would attend these delightful entertainments. The town was full of young married people. The old Presbyterian Church which served all denominations was a gathering place- for the young folk on Sunday afternoons. Rockdale is today represented by lodges and women's circles, benevolent associa- tions and the patriotic organizations of Camp Sam Davis No. 1169, U. D. C. Chapter and American Legion Carlisle Post No. 358. And so we say farewell to the past and look with hopes to the future of a greater, bigger and more successful Rockdale. 9th? Rockdaie Public School In 1874, a few weeks after the I' 8 G N railroad reached Rockdale, the first school in the town was organized by a Miss Molly Roby. Miss Roby taught for six months, and though realizing the lack of educational advantages, she was finally forced to give up on account of poor patronage. Mrs. R. H. Hicks, El Paso. Texas. The former Miss Maggie Hall, first teacher in Rockdale schools. It was not until the following fall that an attempt was made to reorganize the first school. Miss Maggie Hall, a slight, girlish, young lady. who had attended Baylor University down in old Independence, and who had taught several years in the Bryan Public School, felt the great need of education for the young. So in September she opened a private school in one small upper room of a house owned by Mrs. Cole, located where the Matson home now stands. Miss Hall taught her little school for the nine months term of 1874-75. The town had been incorporated, and the citizens decided it was time they should' have the benefits of the public schools that had been secured for Texas under the administration of Governor O. M. Roberts: so the council appointcd a board of trustees consisting of Dr. W. A. Brooks, R H, Hicks. Rev. J. H. Stribling, A. E. Fullenwider, Dr. A. C Walker, Rev. XV. E. Copeland. with E. M. Scarbrough. fMayor. Ex-Officioi chairmanb-a strong sturdy group of pioneers. An old abandoned storehouse at the corner of Cameron and Green Streets was appropriated, and the public school of Rockdale was launched. 'Very ' meager indeed were the furnishings of this first school. Miss Hall, who had been elected' assistant teacher, had a small desk at the front of the room, while Mr. W. Wyatt. who was principal, had a small platform at the rear of the room. Mr. Wyattfs only recommendations were that he was a Confederate soldier and he could lfwallop the boys. His platform was equipped with a desk, a box of sand used as a cuspidor, and a bundle of switches. The princi- pal's general attitude and the sight of the switches aroused the resentment and tears of the pupils. However, under these primitive conditions the first public school of Rockdale dragged through its first session. One term for Mr. Wyatt was enough for the school board; so Mr. Brick- house was elected to be the principal for the new term. Miss Hall again accepted the position of assistant. Mr. Brickhouse conducted the school in such a way as to gain the respect and confidence of both the pupils and parents, despite the fact that the same poor old building and equipment were used. He was a clean, quiet gentleman of middle age, a widower with five children. At the beginning of the next term Miss Hall resigned her position and built a small schoolhouse on the site of Conn R. Isaac's present home. There she taught a private school for girls. Mr. Brickhouse taught this session alone in the old building, which now almost amounted to a boys' school, as most of the girls attended Miss Hall's school. At the close of this term the council offered to rent the new building of Miss Hall's for the use of the public school and elect her as principals She gladly accepted this offer. and for the next two years school was conducted under these circumstances. Following the close of school in the spring of '79. Miss Hall resigned and was married to Mr. R. H. Hicks. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks continued to be identified with the social. religious, educational and business interests of the town. serving in many capacities throughout the years. School attendance was growing rapidly. The trustees. realizing the need for a larger building. rented the old Brooks Hotel on the corner lot where now stands the J. L. Lockett home. Mr. G. iV. Rainwater. as principal. and Miss Ella Meekin tthe late Mrs. A, H. XVilkinsi. as assistant. were in charge of the classes and proved competent teachers. The school grew and prospered under their leadership for the next two terms, after which the hotel was bought by Mr. Lockett. XVe might add here that there were a number of private teachers in those earlv days. Mr. O. F. Rogers, a maternal grandfather of Mrs. H. T. Coulter. a Presbyterian minister of the old schoolr organized and taught a private school in a church building which served the needs of all denominations. This building was where the Presbyterian church now stands, Here also a Mr. Waddel. an Episcopal minister. conducted a private school. The section around

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incorporated and owned .1 park 01 lhlrU' acres. covered by hundreds of immense oaks Large and attractive CXlelllUn bunldings, grandstands. barns. and stalls dotted the grounds in attractive arrangement. In 1911 H. C. Meyer was President. John Hicks. Yitc-Prcsidcnt: A, 11 Perry. Jri. Secretary: R. L. Hale. 'lircasurcr: with George Banzaph, 1.. lsaacs. O. K. Phillips. 3. G. Hodge, .1 F: Comeld. Jr. and XV. 15. Gaithcr .is board of directors. In later years lack of interest. financial less and hard times caused the Fair to lose out. The park is now used by the American Legion for Fourth of July celebrations and other entertainments. Home of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Ryan. The City Hall was built in 1895 during the time that B. A. Coflield was mayor, with J. G. Brown. 0. A. Bowen, Lee Wallace, and E. L. Rasberry as councilmen. E. A. XVallace was city attorney: 1,. Isaacs, secretary-treasurer: At that time it was large enough to accommodate the crowds who assembled in the auditorium J. B. Hamilton. marshal: and J. H. Burnett, tax assessor. for social gatherings. school commencements, and political meetings; but of late years the building has lost its former splendor. and is now used only for athletic purposes and a few high school dances. These affairs will soon be held in the new auditorium being constructed on the high school campus, and The tax collector's office and the fire department are housed on the lower floor. the City Hall will have served its purpose. Ever since Rockdale has been incorporated, it has had some strong, able men as mayors. the first of these being Alfred A. Burck, who in turn was fol- lowed by Hugh L. Witcher, W. E. Copeland, E. M. Scarbrough, Dr. W. R. Kennard, J. 8. Perry. B. A. Coflield, J. E. Longmoor, H. F. Snively, C. H. Coffield, H. C. Meyer. W. E. Gaither. and E. A. Camp, the present, very efficient head of the town. Mr. H. C. Meyer. now with the State Board of Control, heads the list with more years of service, having served faithfully and well for over twenty years. Mr. Meyer was justly called the father of good roads in this section of the country. and had much to do with improvement of high- ways and byways in this trade territory. Leonard Isaacs was city secretary for thirty years, and was succeeded by J. Frank McCalla, who served next in length of time as city tax collector and treasurer. E. T. Kemp. city secretary and treasurer, was succeeded by J. Branch Lewis, the present incumbent. Judge Fred Hill served as first justice of the peace, and was followed by W. D. Wells, R. W. H. Kennon, Ed Gunn, Roy Hillyer, and the present incumbent, Leo Harris. Ofiicers of the law included .1. E. Holtzclaw, C. C. Bethea, John R, Arthur. Howard, Eb Aldridge, N. J. Alford, and John H. Bonds, who held that place for many years. At present W. C. Colvin and Night Watchman C. H. Landis look after the welfare and safety of the town. Uncle Sam has appointed some valuable men to look after the postal depart- ment in Rockdale, one of the earliest postmasters being Donneke; then came H C. Travers. hV, B. XVoody, Hugh L. bVitcher. E. J. M. Hopkins. B. 1:0wen- stein. Sr.. J. A. Shappard', H. P. Talley, E. l'. Wade. and the present incum- bent. H. H. Turner. In the early days of Rockdale private cisterns or tank cisterns furnished water for the town, and there were a few wells for home use. but these were mostly spoiled on account of minerals. Lamps were the order of the day. Mr. R. H. Ames owned the nrst electric light plant and later sold to Lenard Isaacs. who owned the light and water works for a number of years. The city later purchased the water works and improved it until today Rockdale has two of the deepest, finest wells with underground and tower reservoirs of 110.000 gallons capacity. The Texas Power and Light Company furnishes power and electric light from three high voltage lines, which insures uninter- rupted service to its customers. The Southwestern Bell Telephone system dots the land, and the Western Union Telegraph Company maintains an uptown office besides tower service. The latest convenience that was acquired in the town was natural gas, piped in by the Community Gas Company of Dallas. Construction began May 1, 1928. and the piping of the city being completed, gas was pumped into the mains on September 5, 1928. The paving program was completed in September, 1929, and Rockdale now has more than six miles of concrete paved streets with uniform curbs to match, covering the entire business district and a major portion of the residential districts. The Rockdale of today presents a beautiful picture with streets lined with magnificent trees, lovely and substantial homes with green lawns and well-kept shrubs and flowers greet the eyes on every side. In the last few years a number of fine brick homes have been constructed. Home of Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Noack. Churches have not been mentioned so far, but Rockdale has some lovely church edifices, of which the citizens are justly proud. After the people became permanently settled in homes and businesses and felt established, they then turned to the building of comfortable homes of worship, but the work in each field preceded the building. All evangelical denominations were represented in the early days of Rockdale, and the first church service was held over W. P. Branch's dry goods store. It was a bare room, the rafters covered with dust and spiderwebs. Boards across empty beer kegs served as seats; singing was led by Mr. Jack Stewart, with his tuning fork and choir of singing school pupils. Mr. Vandivere, a Baptist preacher, conducted services. Most of the services were conducted in the old Presbyterian. church, known as the Union Church Building. Rev. W. E. Copeland, living in Washington County at that time, made monthly trips to Rockdale to minister to his little flock. Rev. Copeland was born in Scotland, came to Texas in 1858, and as early as 1874 came to Rockdale. In 1880 he moved with his family here and supplied the pulpit from year to year until his resignation a few years before his death. He lived to become pastor of the handsome new building that stands on the grounds of the First Union Church, which was erected under his guidance and dedicated with elaborate ceremonies on April 19, 1914, with the united clergy and throngs of people assembled to witness the dedication.

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the church building was still timberland. and the story is told that here. red- headed Mr. 1Vaddel was often seen with a switch chasing the bad boys of the school out among the trees. trying to catch and punish them. Other teachers in the early and later stages of the private schools were Miss Nannie Breeding and her sister. Mrs. Crabbe. and Miss Ellen Ghent. The Jews for a number of years conducted the German-English Academy. with Professors Hammon and Berlinger in charge. It occupied the site of the R. L. Hale home and was sometimes used as a synagogue. But back to the public school, After the sale of the Brooks Hotel. the school was moved to the Methodist church. where Mr. James Kcnnard. a nephew of Dr. XV. R. Kcnnard. a much-loved physician in those days, and Mrs. R H. Hicks conducted classes for another term, at the close of which they resigned. Miss Meekin and Miss Sallie Kennard were appointed for the next term. Conditions were improving. but the citizens realized more and more the need of a school building large enough to accommodate the ever-increasing number of children. It was about February 5. 1883, that the first official board of trustees was elected by the people. This board was composed of A. E. Fullenwider. R. H. Hicks, C H. Cofiield. James H. Hill, Sr., Ben Lowenstein. Sin. Rev. J. H. Stribling and Rev. W. E. Copeland. First high school building. The new board immediately got busy; bonds to the amount of $10,000.00 were issued and plans laid for a modern new brick building to be built on the beautiful hill west of town, later to be known as College Hill. These were great days for Rockdale. The building was completed about the time Grover Cleveland was elected for his first term as President of the United States. A great double celebration was planned. and when the day arrived and the new school building was pronounced ready for inspection, a huge gathering was held up on the hill, and there were speeches. handshakings, and general rejoicing by young and old. Mr. J. W. Clark, a native of Virginia, who attended Virginia Military Institute and Emory and Henry College of Virginia, and who had taught at Austin, Bastrop, Bryan, and Navasota, was elected superintendent of the new school with a principal and a fme staff of teachers. Mr. Clark served as superintendent for eight years with intelligence and devotion, and helped to establish an educational institution fully graded and affiliated with the State University. Since this earliest period it has been recognized as one of the best small schools in the state. Mr. Clark resigned as superintendent and moved away in 1890, when Mr. F. L. Norton was elected to fill his place. Mr. Norton successfully piloted the affairs of the school for the next nine years. During that time his wife died, leaving him with seven children. He moved to Denison, where he remarried and still resides. About this time Mr. C. E. Brennan, a forceful young man with very modern ideas. became head of the schools. The modern ideas did not appeal to many, and after election of superintendents, Mr. Clark was recalled and accepted. This time Mr. Clark taught until 1910, when he moved to Georgetown, where he passed away a few years later. Mr. C. G. Green, a quiet. refined gentleman, very diplomatic and under- standing, reigned modestly and well from 1910 to 1919, when he moved away. Mr. G. L. Marshall successfully carried on the affairs of the school for three years, 1919-1922. It was during his time that the need for a larger school building was again realized, and in 1922 the new, very modern $75,000.00 brick, fireproof building was constructed. At the same time the old building was turned into a modern, one-story primary building. And once again the people of Rockdale felt that ample provision had been made for the education of their future citizens. The trustees at this time were Fred H. Graves, John E. Cooke, W. A. Coflield, T. D. Rountree, Ben Lowenstein, Jr., C. R. Isaacs and E. 13. Phillips. The city council was composed of Mayor H, C. Meyer. and Aldermen P. H. Perry, Sr., A. P. Perry, Jr.. L. W. Sledge and E H. Cofficld. with City Attorney E. A. Camp. and City Secretary. E. T. Kemp. Mr. Marshall served through 1922. when he moved to Grandview where he died in 1925. In 1922-23 Mr. J. M. Hodges was Rockdale's superintendent. After leaving Rockdalc Mr. Hodges moved to Tyler, where he is still connected with the Tyler schools and Junior College. Mr. C. C. Green returned to Rockdale in 1923 to conduct the affairs of the school He is now in Hamlin, Texas. heading the schools there. Mr. A. W. Franklin served as superintendent during 1924-25, when he resigned and became superintendent of the Junior High School at Wichita Falls. In 1925-26 and 1926-27 J. C. Wilkerson became superintendent. Mr. Wilkerson is now editor of the Chief at Comanche. Mr. S. P. Conn who is now with the schools at Floresville served as head of the schools in 1927-1928. In 1928 Mr. S. C. Miles, the present, much beloved superintendent, came to Rockdale, and by his steady devotion and kindly interests in the affairs of the schools and the pupils, has built up the school within the last eight years to an envied position. During this time one teacher has been added to the faculty of the Primary School. During 1929-30 the Home Economics Depart- ment was enlarged by adding a fully equipped dining room. Some of the courses have been revised and the Library improved. In 1933-34 the campus was terraced and beautified. The Vocational Agriculture Department was added to the school system in 1933, and during the summer of 1934 a plot of ground was purchased. and a beautifully lighted football field and athletic park was provided for athletic purposes. The term of 1934-35 saw the addi- tion of a commercial department to the high school curriculum; 3 full time librarian was added to the faculty: and' the stage was equipped with a beautiful rose velour curtain. Five school busses have been secured, bringing children in from the rural districts. The year 1936 sees the schools of Rockdale provided with a beautiful new auditorium building which will be used as a gymnasium and perhaps for additional class rooms. I 1 1.11 111.1 1 111111111111 15 Group of students at The Little Music House on school campus. We could hardly fail to mention the part music played in the education of the youngsters. There were a number of private music teachers in those pioneer days as well as the later and present times. One of the first of the private teach- ers was a Mrs. Kreutter, who taught German in the public school and music in a private home. Mrs. Kreutter was a graduate of the Conservatory of Music of Boston, and came here from New York. There was also Miss Fannie Rugeley, Mr. Milton Ragsdale. Miss Mary Hill, a Mrs. Morscheimer, Miss Lalu King, Mrs. Crable. Mrs W. T. Wright, and later Mrs. C. M. Perry. Mrs. W. C. Marts, Mrs. M. R. Reddell and Mrs. L. W. Sledge. The trustees some 'time during 1900-05 built a one room house on the southwestern part of the campus to be used for the teaching of music, which for many years was a hanging out place of the students at recess and noon, and many pleasant gatherings were held in and around this little music house. Miss Sammie Osborne was the first music teacher to be elected; she was followed by Miss Nell DuBois fMts. Stevens, Tucson, Arizj. Miss Grace Longmoor ers. W. A. Coffield of Waco1, Miss Norris Walls ers. B. C Tharpe, Austinl and Miss Margie Lockett tMrsa L. W. SledgeI. The little music house did not last so many years: it was torn down and thereafter music teachers taught in private homes. Some of the trustees who no longer serve on the board and have not been mentioned, but who have been interested in the affairs of education. and who have given, and some still do, of their time in service to the Rockdale schools are Messrs. J. E. Longmoor, A. P. Perry, Jr., Emmett Kemp, Ira Perry, G. M. Ryan, J. T. Beasley, W. L. Baird, E. A. Wallace. I. P. Sessions, J. W. Garner. C. K. Stribling, Ed Gunn, Ed G. Simms, W B. Smith. and C. M. Sessions. The personnel of the school board has changed every two or three years: to the present board, as well as to those of other days, we would say, Well done, my good and faithful servants. es en ,, a a ,A.ss