Westlake High School - Ram Ler Yearbook (Westlake, LA)

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0 f all the names appearing in the list of principals mere is one which shines just a little brighter than the others. It is that of Mr. S. P. Arnett, who served from 1909 - 1922. He was instrumental in getting the wood-frame building replaced with a more modern brick structure. Also, he is credited with having founded the first high school in Westlake. The building pictured at the bottom of the facing page served the educational needs of the community until a new three story brick building was completed in 1914, the first of the permanent buildings still in use. It was constructed just south of the wooden building and is usually referred to as the yellow brick building, although it is actually made of red bricks which have since been painted. Upon completion of this fine new building the old wooden one was torn down and was used to build the Negro school called the Westlake Colored Elementary School on Harrison Street across from the Ram Stadium. The lumber must have been excellent, because the building is not only still standing, but is in use. Principal Arnett was most anxious to have the new building open as a high school rather than end with the seventh grade, because this would end the ferry rides across the river and the long walk to Lake Charles High, both of which were hardships, especially in cold rainy weather. It seems, however, that there was a regulation that there must be a minimum of 40 students enrolled in order for an institution of learning to be recognized as a high school. Consequently, Mr. Arnett spent many hours rounding up those who planned to continue in Lake Charles and those who had quit at the end of the seventh grade and got them to agree to attend the new school if enough students could be obtained. When every conceivable possibility had been exhausted the total numbered only 38. A study was made of the records of the seventh grade students and the two smartest ones were promoted to raise the number to 40. Thus we became a high school in 1914. T ransportation was needed to get the students to and from school, so a team of horses was hitched to a covered wagon, as shown at the top of the facing page, and it made the rounds transporting a full load from Bagdad through Myrtle Springs over to Emile Guillory's house and on over to Westlake High. One such wagonette, as it was called was operated by Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Spearing. SAMUEL PAUL ARNETT In 1922 Mr. Clarence Sutherland bought a Ford, Model T , bus and drove it for two years to Gillis. In 1924 he got the contract to drive for Westlake High and, so the old horse drawn wagonette was retired. Mr, Sutherland drove for four years, covering the same area as the wagonette and, at the same time, Mr. Tom Newell drove a similar bus from Lockport and Bayou D’Inde to Westlake High. In 1928 Mr. George Smith got the contract with a larger bus more on the order of today’s models and replaced Mr. Sutherland. MR. CLARENCE SUTHERLAND AND THE MODEL T BUS

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The ferry boat was the only way to get across the river without getting wet until the Southern Pacific Railroad came through the town in 1886 and the Kansas City Southern in 1898. Although it had nothing to do with educational progress in Westlake a familiar sight to residents of the area was the boat called the Borealis Rex. It carried freight between Lake Charles and Leesburg and on Sunday afternoons there were excursions, usually down to Big Lake and back. THE WAGONETTE OF 1914 Left to right above are Mrs. J.F. Spearing, Lillie Jackson, Era Jackson and Alma Deshotel. The horses that pulled the vehicle were Prince, Maggie and Cricket. BOREALIS REX THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY AND FACULTY WITH THE PRINCIPAL, MR. S. P. ARNETT ABOUT 1909

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Mr. Lee Wing obtained a new bus and replaced Mr. Newell on the Lockport - Bayou D'Inde route. Mr. Smith and Mr. Wing continued to drive until 1942, when Mr. Smith retired and WHS got its first lady bus driver--Mrs. Mabel Carver. Mrs. Carver continued to drive until her retirement in 1959. During the war a third bus was obtained from the government and it was driven by one of the teachers who was paid by the parish to drive it. Today our bus fleet numbers 10 in the Westlake area. Those who drive for the high school are Mrs. Bernice Shipp, Mrs. Jane Gaines, Miss Sis Hawkins, Mr. R.D. Franklin, Brother C.D. Miles, Mr. Hardy Ellis, Mr. Doylin Kyle, Mrs. Bob Bowman, Mr. Bill Morgan, and Mr. Kilpatrick. G teat progress was made in 1936 when a new building was added to the WHS campus which boasted an auditor! um with a stage and a narrow balcony around three sides of the auditorium so that it could double as a gymnasium. The spectators at the basketball games stood around this balcony and cheered the Rams to victory. This building is known today as the Red Brick Building. The back and the front views of this structure are shown at the right and at the bottom of this page. In January of 1949 we moved into the present high school building. In 1952 the latest building to be added to our school plant was completed. It was called the Elementary Wing, but a part of it has been taken over by the high school, because of our rapid expansion. This building is shown above. A new elementary building was erected on Sampson Street in 1955 and Mr. W.J. Whiteard, a teacher at WHS, became its first principal. The school is called West-