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

Page 8 text:

T he new Westlake School of 1891 was sufficiently large to take care of the educational needs of the community, for that first year, but by the time school began in the fall of 1892 a partition had been constructed to divide the building into two rooms. In 1902 a new room had been added to take care of the enrollment increase. It was necessary for the students to pitch in and help with the chores associated with the running of a school. The boys assumed the task of gathering wood and keeping the old heaters going and the girls swept the building and dusted the furniture. Some of the teachers who were associated with this early phase of public education in Westlake were Mrs. W.P. Mamie Weber, Miss Letha Richards, Miss Mattie Sherrard, Miss Kate Harrop, Miss Lela Gray, Miss Annie Burgess, Mr. Robert Howell, Miss Lela Dickson, John Murry, Lorena Kearce, Maurice Stewart, Miss Lily Thurman and Prof. Waldon. In those days the students and teachers brought their lunches to school in syrup buckets and the meal usually consisted of cold biscuits, a piece of fried, home-cured bacon (sliced thick), and perhaps a baked sweet potato. On rare occasions there was a piece of homemade cake or a cookie. I n the year of 1882 a large ferry boat was built by Captain Fred Whert who named it Hazel for his only daughter. He operated it to convey passengers and freight between Westlake and Lake Charles. The old private schools and the new public school terminated a child's education at the end of the seventh grade and those who wished to pursue further education rode the Hazel (at a cost of $5.00 a month) to the ferry landing at the foot of Pujo Street in Lake Charles. This landing is pictured at the top of the facing page. Then the students walked over to Lake Charles High to continue until graduation. LCHS, as it appeared then is shown at the bottom of the facing page. Before the Hazel was put into operation there was a small boat called the Dinky.

Page 10 text:

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