Schools/Miscellany, Dallas County, Texas

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(Updated December 23, 2004)

1888
DALLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS.

________

Apportionment of Public School
Money.

     The following shows the apportionment of Dallas county school fund for the scholastic year, 1888-89, which has just been made out by County School Superintendent Stevens:

SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER ONE.
Pleasant Valley, school No. 1, 90 pupils, amount of appropriation, $360.
Elm Grove, 2, 51 pupils, $204.
Lone Star, 3, 77 pupils, $308.
Liberty, 4, 29 pupils, $116.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWO.
Shiloh, 1, 60 pupils, $240.
Naaman, 2, 55 pupils, $220.
Duck Creek, 3, 51 pupils, $204.

DISTRICT NUMBER THREE.
Richardson, 1, 95 pupils, $380.
Jackson s. h. [school house], 2, 48 pupils, $192.
Locust Grove, 3, 36 pupils, $144.
Mt. Sinia (colored), 4, 40 pupils, $160.

DISTRICT NUMBER FOUR.
Union church, 1, 41 pupils, $164.
Trinity Mills, 2, 38 pupils, $142.
Carrollton (colored), 3, 23 pupils, $92.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIVE.
Spring Chapel, 1, 58 pupils, $232.
Hackberry, 2, 22 pupils, $88.
Bethel C. H., 3, 23 pupils, $92.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIX.
Farmers' Branch, 1, 83 pupils, $352.
Marsh S. H., 2, 28 pupils, $112.
Stark, S. H., 3, 34 pupils, $136.
Whiterock (colored), 4, 43 pupils, $192.

DISTRICT NUMBER SEVEN.
Cochran Chapel, 1, 32 pupils, $128.
Letot, 2, 31 pupils, $124.
Mo. Pac. (colored), 3, 30 pupils, $120.

DISTRICT NUMBER EIGHT.
Oak Lawn, 75 pupils, $300.

DISTRICT NUMBER NINE.
Caruth s. h., 1, 31 pupils, $324.
Hughes s. h., 2, 47 pupils, $188.
------ (colored), 3, 43 pupils, $172.

DISTRICT NUMBER TEN.
Shady View Park, 1, 32 pupils, $128.

DISTRICT NUMBER ELEVEN.
Rodgers, 1, 54 pupils, $216.
Egypt, (colored), 2, 39 pupils, $156.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWELVE.
Garland, 1, 241 pupils, $964
Morris, 2, 57 pupils, $228.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTEEN.
Big A., 44 pupils, $176.

DISTRICT NUMBER FOURTEEN.
Rose Hill, 1, 75 pupils, $300.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTEEN.
Nash, s. h., 1, 51 pupils, $204.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTEEN.
Home school, 1, 84 pupils, $336.
Bales, 2, 45 pupils, $180.
Reinhardt, 3, 85 pupils, $340.
Mt. Calm, 4, 93 pupils, $372.
Reinhardt, (colored), 5, 20 pupils, $80.
T. & P., (colored), 6, 11 pupils, $44.

DISTRICT NUMBER SEVENTEEN.
Florence s. h., 1, 71 pupils, $284.

DISTRICT NUMBER EIGHTEEN.
Onward, 1, 83 pupils, $332.
-------, (colored), 2, 12 pupils, ($125 to be added), $48.

DISTRICT NUMBER NINETEEN.
Noble school house, 1, 53 pupils, $212.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY.
Long Creek, 1, 91 pupils, $364.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-ONE.
Mesquite, 1, 95 pupils, $380.
Bennett, 2, 65 pupils, $260.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-TWO.
Gone into the city, less 30 pupils.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-THREE.
Pleasant Mound, 1, 51 pupils, $204.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR.
Pleasant Grove, 1, 83 pupils, $332.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-FIVE.
Scyene, 1, 52 pupils, $208.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-SIX.
Balch Spring, 1, 47 pupils, $188.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN.
Edwards school house, 1, 33 pupils, $132.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT.
Farmer's school house, 1, 41 pupils, $164.
Futrell school house, 2, 51 pupils, $204.

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-NINE.
Rylie, 1, 84 pupils, $336.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY.
Kleburg, 1, 65 pupils, $260.
Simonds, 2, 73 pupils, $292.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-ONE.
Seagoville, 1, 99 pupils, $396.
Colond [colored?], 2, 20 pupils, $80.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-TWO.
Prairie Valley, 2, 57 pupils, $228.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-THREE.
X Roads, 1, 80 pupils, $320.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-FOUR.
Hutchins, 1, 93 pupils, $372.
-------- (colored), 2, 29 pupils, $116.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-FIVE.
Lancaster, 1, 175 pupils, $700.
------ (colored), 2, 50 pupils, $200.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-SIX.
Rock Spring, 1, 74 pupils, $296.
-------- (colored), 2, 13 pupils, $52.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-SEVEN.
Bear Creek, 1, 40 pupils, $160.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-EIGHT.
Wheatland, 1, 46 pupils, $184.

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTY-NINE.
Hamilton, 1, 47 pupils, $188.
Little Creek, 2, 66 pupils, $264.
Desoto 3, 90 pupils, $360.
Johnson's Branch, 4, 17 pupils, $68.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY.
Cedar Hill, 1, 182 pupils, $728.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-ONE.
Fish Creek, 1, 25 pupils, $100.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-TWO.
Duncanville, 1, 74 pupils, $296.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-THREE.
[Transferred.]

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-FOUR.
Grand Prairie, 1, 66 pupils, $264.
Grand Prairie (colored), 2, 43 pupils, $172.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-FIVE.
Five-Mile Church, 1, 36 pupils, $144.
Oquinn, 2, 29 pupils, $116.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-SIX.
The Grove, 1, 26 pupils, $114.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-SEVEN.
Jimtown, 1, 41, pupils, $164.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-EIGHT.
Mt. Airy, 1, 131 pupils, $524.

DISTRICT NUMBER FORTY-NINE.
Eagle Ford, 1, 57 pupils, $228.
------, (colored), 2, 21 pupils, $84.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY.
Lively s. h., 1, 55 pupils, $220.
Union Bar, 2, 45 pupils, $180

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-ONE.
Sower's s. h., 1, 40 pupils, $160.
Shady Grove, 2, 43 pupils, $172.
Bear Creek, 3, 22 pupils, $88.
--------, (colored), 4, 41 pupils, $164.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-TWO.
Estelle, 1, 42 pupils, $168.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-THREE.
Elm s. h., 1, 42 pupils, $168.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-FOUR.
Rawlins' s. h., 1, 50 pupils, $200.
Houston s. h., 2, 51 pupils, $204.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-FIVE.
Patrick s. h., 1, 54 pupils, $216.
-------, (colored), 1, 18 pupils, $72.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-SIX.
Lisbon, 1, 77 pupils, $308.
------, (colored), 2, 24 pupils, $96.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-SEVEN.
Elm Spring, 1, 47 pupils, $188.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-EIGHT.
Prairie Creek, 1, 58 pupils, $232.

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTY-NINE.
[No school; transferred to the city.]

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY.
Floyd s. h., 1, 61 pupils, $244
--------- (colored), 2, 17 pupils, $68.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY-ONE.
Dawdy s. h., 1, 96 pupils, $384.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY-TWO.
Lagow s. h., 1, 66 pupils, $264.
-------- (colored), 2, 42 pupils, $168.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY-THREE.
Pleasant View, 1, 42 pupils, $168.
Calhoun, 2, 50 pupils, $200.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY-FOUR.
Bramlett s. h., 1, 38 pupils, $152.
Whiterock (colored), 2, 15 pupils, $60.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY-FIVE.
Ten Mile, 1, 23 pupils, $92.

DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTY-SIX.
Oak Cliff, 1, 102 pupils, $408.
-------- (colored), 2, 18 pupils, $72.

- September 13, 1888, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 1, col. 3-4.
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1890
CONDITION OF THE SCHOOLS.

________

Crowded Beyond Measure -- Over-
taxed Teachers and Cramped
Children.

_________

Colored Schools the Worst Suf-
ferers. They Show the Best
Average Attendance.

     Yesterday, City Secretary McGrain paid off the teachers in the public schools. To save the teachers inconvenience and annoyance by having them calling all during the month, Mr. McGrain, some time ago, adopted the plan of visiting each teacher in person at the schools and leaving their checks with them. From 9 a. m., to 3 p. m., on a constant move with a buggy and a fast horse, is barely sufficient time to make the rounds over the school districts. In the afternoon yesterday, a TIMES-HERALD reporter accepted a seat in Mr. McGrain's buggy, which he kindly offered, and visited some of the schools which are crowded beyond their capacity.
     Colored School No. 1 came first in order. The building for this school is a two-story frame with four comfortable rooms, but the location is not desirable, being in the southern portion of the city on the edge of the inhabitable line, and adjoining the Santa Fe railway yards. Here, 88 little black urchins were crowded in one room affording accommodation for only 58, and the average attendance in this room is 70. They were crowded three on seats made for only one. In the second and third-grade rooms, 97 children were enrolled, seating capacity 60, average attendance 60. The teacher said the crowd in her room had just been relieved by a transfer made to another department. The other grades were not so crowded. This school district embraces all that section south of the Texas & Pacific railway and bounded on the east by Preston street.
     The next stop was made at the South Side white school, in the Seventh ward. This is a plain box building of four rooms, but the walls of the new eight-room brick building are going up just in front of it. The lot is large and the location good. In the room assigned the fourth and fifth grades, 88 pupils were enrolled, average attendance last month 58, though there were as many as 65 crowded into the room one day; seating capacity only 52. Chairs were arranged wherever they could be placed in the room, and some of the little ones occupied these. The third-grade room showed an enrollment of 67, seating capacity 44, average attendance, 47. Second grade--enrolled 35, seats 34, average attendance last month, 32. First grade--enrolled 68, average attendance 45, seats 44.
     No. 3, colored school in the Second ward. This is a neat two-story building, inclosed in front with a neat iron fence. The lot is large enough to admit of an addition. The yard should be sodded. There are only two rooms in this building. The grades are divided. The room on the first floor is not crowded, having an average attendance of 40 and furnishing seats for 72.
     The same condition exists up stairs and this school evidently has more surplus room than any in town.
     Colored school No. 2, in the Ninth ward, was next visited. This, too, is provided with a comfortable building, but it is not large enough, and a couple of annexes have been provided in other sections of the ward. In the main building, the room for grades 5 and 6 shows an enrollment of 69, seating capacity 72, average attendance, 67. Grades 4 and 5, enrollment, 63, seating capacity 36, average attendance, 44. Grades 2 and 1, enrolled 85, seating capacity, 32. The pressure here had been somewhat relieved by transferring 35 pupils, but still they were doubly packed in. Grade 1, enrolled 122, transferred 36, leaving 86 present enrollment, seat 65, average attendance last month, 86.
     Annex No. 1, Hall street -- Enrollment 77, average attendance, 40, seating capacity, 50.
     The visit was not extended to all of the white schools, but they are all crowded beyond their capacity. Forty pupils is a number sufficient for any teacher to have charge of, but in nearly every instance, they overreach this number. It is impossible under such conditions to satisfactorily administer the affairs of the schools.
     Three eight-room brick buildings are being erected and when completed, they will relieve the pressure in the white schools.

- December 12, 1890, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 4, col. 3.
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1891
School Board Meeting.

     The school board held a meeting last evening. The resignation of Mrs. E. A. DeWitt, in charge of the girls' hall in the high school, was accepted, and the following resolution adopted.
     Resolved, that in the resignation of Mrs. E. A. DeWitt, the schools of this city have lost one of their most efficient teachers, and with our sense of appreciation of her valuable services, we accept her resignation with deepest regret.
     Mrs. M. B. Henderson was elected to succeed Mrs. DeWitt and Miss Annie C. Moore to succeed Mrs. Henderson. Mr. Aldehoff will move to reconsider at next meeting.
     The superintendent nominated Mrs. J. S. Garrison for teacher, subject to assignment, and Mrs. O. D. Ford, as supernumerary.
     The board then adjourned.

- January 30, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 2, col. 1.
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Teachers and Secretary Elected.

     The school board have elected the following teachers:
     W. H. Kimbrough, principal of the Oak Grove school; J. S. Brown, principal of the Cumberland Hill school; J. D. Matlock, principal of the San Jacinto school; J. W. Ray, principal of colored school No. 1; W. Manzilla, principal of colored No. 5[?]. Subject to assignment: A. P. Vaughan, J. B. Nabors, A. T. Howell, L. [?] L. Candlier, Mrs. H. C. Mister, Mrs. L. Stobaugh, Misses Rosa Brinkley, Bessie Jones, L. Tapscott, H. B. Mosley and Jennie Senter; W. F. Mister, teacher of English in high school; supernumeraries--Mrs. B. T. Sellman, Mrs. Annie Roberts, Miss Ella Harrell, Miss Mary Bryant, Miss Nannie Bradford, Miss Eula Barlow and Miss Bessie Wilson.
     The board decided to abolish all special branches.
     School Director, T. G. Terry, was elected secretary of the board at a salary of $75 per month.

- June 19, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 4.
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Mr. Lewis Elected School
Director.

     Mr. E. T. Lewis was yesterday unanimously elected school director from the Tenth ward. He had no opposition. He is a valuable addition to the board, a public-spirited citizen in every way identified with the interests of the city, and his co-laborers will find progressive and thorough.
     Mr. Lewis is a native of Franklin county, Ala. He came to Texas in 1856. Four or five years while he lived in Cleburne, he was a school director there. He has lived in Dallas, where his business interests are, the past five or six years.

- June 27, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 4.
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Notice.

     Sealed proposals will be received at the office of the city secretary until 6 o'clock p. m. Saturday, August 8th, 1891, for repairs on public school buildings as follows:
     At East Dallas School Building: Three storm doors and repairing down spouts.
     At Oak Grove School Building: Painting 4 porch floors and repairing down spouts.
     At Cumberland Hill School Building: Painting four porch floors, making two cellar doors, and jointing same.
     At White School No. 1: Repairing water closets, blackboards and blinds.
     At White School No. 3: Repairing fence, locks and door.
     At Colored School No. 1: Repairing black board, flues and blinds and painting outside two coats.
     At Colored School No. 2: Repairing blackboards, blinds and steps.
     At Colored School No. 4: Ceiling and painting inside and removing partition, two new doors, coal house and painting outside.
     At Colored School No. 5: Ceiling inside, painting inside and out, and two new doors. A certified check for ten per cent of the amount of bid to accompany each bid. The city reserves the right to reject any or all bids.
                                             W. M. McG
RAIN, City Secretary.

- July 29, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 3.
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Local Notes.

     There is much complaint at the San Jacinto street school building about the character of water furnished the children to drink. The water is placed in wooden pails arranged on a high shelf out in the open yard for sun and shade to strike it alternately. There is no ice in it and it soon becomes like so much warm slop. It is a matter that the school board should look after.

- October 2, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 1, col. 2.
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Teachers' Examination.

     The following is the result of the examination for teachers' certificates, which was held during the past week in the county superintendent's office:
     Second grade certificates were issued to B. F. Holmes, E. W. Moore, J. J. Heizer, Miss Mary Smith, Dayton Sanford, Mrs. L. B. Carpenter, J. W. Edmunds, Miss L. B. Shawver, S. K. Lewis, Miss Minnie Nix, Lillie Alexander (colored) and B. W. Warren (colored).
     Third grade certificates were issued to W. T. Palmer, J. P. Johnson (colored); W. F. Swan (colored) and J. H. Coit (colored).
     There were three applicants for fist grade certificates, but they received second grades only.

- November 13, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 2, col. 3.
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CITY SCHOOL BOARD.
_______

Director Lewis Resigns--Yes-
terday's Proceedings.

     The city school board held a meeting yesterday afternoon. The superintendent of the schools reported the total enrollment to be 4245 against 3,986 last year. He submitted recommendations for relief of the overcrowded schools, all of which, were adopted later on. It appears from his report that the boys of the Cedar Lawn school are the worst in the city. Thirteen cases of corporal punishment were reported from there.
     The school board committee on supplies was authorized to contract for artesian water to be supplied the schools at a monthly expense of not exceeding $50.
     The November pay roll of teachers' and janitors' salaries aggregating $7294, was approved.
     The superintendent was instructed to employ a supernumerary for the negro schools.
     Mr. E. T. Lewis, director from the Tenth ward, tendered his resignation, which was accepted with regret.
     A resolution was adopted requesting the council to embrace cisterns in future contracts for the improvement of school property.
     A complaint involving corporal punishment was filed by a patron of the East Dallas school and referred to the superintendent, who was instructed to report at the next meeting.
     Mr. Born, who lives in East Dallas, complained that his children had been denied admission to the public schools owing to a question arising as to whether or not he resided in the corporate limits. It was shown that Mr. Born lived in the corporate limits and the principal of the school was instructed to admit his children.
     The board adjourned.

- November 18, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 3.
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Local Notes.

     N. W. Harilee, colored, has taught school for 22 years in the south and is quite proud of his record.

- November 27, 1891, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 1, col. 4.
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1894
MORE SCHOOL MONEY ASKED FOR.

______

South Park People to hold an Election on
the Matter.

     Much interest is being taken among the taxpayers and other residents of the school district known as South Park, including the Lago school house, just outside the southern limits of the city, over an election to be held on Saturday, March 10, to vote upon the proposition of levying a tax of 15 cents on the $100 valuation of property to provide money with which to run the two schools nine months in the year, and also to improve the school buildings. The present rate of school taxation provides only sufficient money to have the schools open about six months in the year.
     The Lago school house was recently destroyed by fire and temporary and insufficient quarters are being occupied.
     In addition to the extended term of school, which the 15-cent tax rate will provide, the trustees say a higher grade of teachers can also be employed, which the advanced condition of the school demands.
     The two schools have a scholastic population approximating 600, a large per centage of which, is located in the South Park and Exposition Park suburbs of Dallas, but not within the city limits. Their school interests are second only to those of Oak Cliff as compared to the city schools proper.
     Directors Boyd and Irvine of the school board in that district are manifesting keen interest in the coming election and endeavoring to arouse the voters to the importance of carrying the proposition for the tax.

- February 24, 1894, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 3.
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1895
Added April 12, 2004:
ASKING FOR A
KINDERGARTEN.

______

Friends of the Public Schools to Petition
the School Board.

     The growing appreciation of the importance of incorporating the kindergarten in the public school course has taken the form of the following petition that will, no doubt, bear the signatures of a large number of residents of this city, who are honestly interested in the moral and mental qualifications of the future citizens of this State:
     To the Board of School Directors of the Public Schools of the City of Dallas, Texas: "The undersigned citizens, taxpayers and residents of the City of Dallas, being impressed with the importance of the kindergarten training, do now respectfully petition your honorable body to establish a Kindergarten Department, in and for, the public schools of the city of Dallas; the said department to be under the control of the Board of School Directors, and the teachers thereof to be selected and paid as other teachers of the public schools are now paid, to the end that a Kindergarten Department shall be, and become, a component part of the public school system of our city.
                                                  Respectfully submitted.

[signers of the above petition were not included with the article]

- March 14, 1895, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 6.
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Added April 12, 2004:
PETITIONERS FOR
THE KINDERGARTEN.

______

A Long List of the Names of Endors-
ers to the School Board.

     The following is a list of names that have been signed to the petition to be presented before the School Board at its next meeting, asking to have the kindergarten system incorporated in the public school course:
     J. M. Harry, Oliver Thomas, Wendel Spence, W. G. Scarff, A. J. Todd, C. R. Jones, T. Beddo, E. H. Crowdus, W. C. Padgitt, J. D. Padgitt, J. R. Tenison, A., P. Tenison, L. M. Knepfly, J. B. Adoue, J. D. Estes, A. V. Lane, E. M. Kahn, Philip Sanger, Alex Sanger, C. H. Halloway, E. Aronson, Sam F. Stewart, John A. Pope, F. A. C. Graham, R. C. Scripture, J. S. Thatcher, W. M. C. Hill, John D. Harvey, K. E. Newton, J. A. Kelley, L. P. Lively, R. L. Earp, W. G. Achenbach, P. M. Laneton, James W. Foster, Fred T. Moseley, D. W. Saunder, Ed C. Smith, H. E. Hamilton, Ed. O. Tenison, e. M. Reardon, J. Coleman, W. F. Shook, Will A. Watkin, Chas. D. Bolanz, John N. Simpson, Royal A. Ferris, J. M. House, E. J. Gannon, R. J. Glover, A. D. Aldridge, James Moroney, H. W. Harry, Paul Furst, Harry Wheat, J. T. Trezevant, E. Welchsel, C. Welchsel, Charles Sorg, W. B. Robinson, C. E. Momand, F. Doremus, C. H. Sherman, J. M. Pace, M. D.; A. Willey, W. S. Anderson, Sam G. Smith, J. E. Anderson, D. A. Cobb, J. J. Wray, M. D.; J. D. Boyce, M. D.; Alb. de Lorenzi, Thomas H. Watson, Rev. Hudson Stuck, G. D. Smith, V. Q. Goffe, W. S. Adair, J. C. McNealus and Right Rev. A. C. Garrett.

- March 19, 1895, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 1.
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Added May 30, 2004:
DRAWING IN THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

_____

Result of the First Year's Work in
This Department.

     C. C. Gillespie, professor of drawing and penmanship in the public schools, will have specimens of the work done during the year on exhibition at all the schools and at the high school to-morrow, and he extends an invitation to everybody and patrons of the schools, in particular, to visit the schools and inspect the work.
     This is the first year that drawing has been taught in the public schools, and it has already taken an important place among the studies of the pupils. Marked progress has been made by all the pupils, as there are very few persons that can not be taught something in this line, and many of the specimens on exhibition show considerable talent.
     The display of work at the high school is, of course, the best, as being the work of older pupils. The walls of the art department are plastered over with a great variety of work on the cube and cylinder.

- May 30, 1895, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 2.
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1897
TEACHERS INSTITUTE.

______

Proceedings of the Session Yes-
terday Afternoon.

     At the afternoon session of the Dallas County Institute yesterday, algebra was the first subject illustrated and discussed, Miss Mattie Gill leading the investigation in a manner to interest and entertain the one hundred and fifty teachers present.
     Composition was the second subject on the programme.
     Prof. W. W. Sanders opened the discussion. Emphasis was laid on the importance of beginning early with the pupil and giving him thorough instruction in the elements of composition and constant drill in their employment until a good style is made second nature.
     Prof. E. W. Dallas showed that not one of the senses can be depended upon to give thorough knowledge of an object.
     Primary work and methods of management were also discussed in order, the session winding up with a business meeting.

- October 30, 1897, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 1, col. 1.
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1900
OLD SCHOOL HOUSE.

_________

Last Wooden Building for
Whites to be Removed.

     The school board this morning let the contract for the removal of the old school building at the corner of Bryan and Hawkins street to the corner of Flora and Burford street, where it will be added to the colored school there.
     This edifice is one of the oldest school buildings in Dallas. For years, it has sheltered the young hopefuls while they were being instructed by their patient tutors. With its removal, the last wooden public school building for white pupils has been relegated to the past. For some time, it has stood as a solitary representative of the buildings which were provided when Dallas was struggling upward to become what she is to-day, the metropolis of Texas.

- August 21, 1900, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 2.
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1903
Preparations are Being Made for
Opening of Schools on
September Twenty-
First.

     The following assignments of teachers in the city public schools has been made by Superintendent J. L. Long:

LIST OF WHITE TEACHERS.

     High School.--Location, Bryan street, between Pearl and Hawkins: Joseph Morgan, principal; Miss Ruth de Capree (assembly room A), department of English; J. O. Mahoney (assembly room B), department of mathematics; Miss Sophia Pappenhagen (assembly room C), department of history; vacancy (assembly room D), department of languages; R. A. Baker, physics and chemistry; C. F. Maxwell, biology; George C. Edwards, high school assistant; Miss Edna Rowe, high school assistant; O. A. Hanszen, director of manual training; Miss Sallie Kinnard, high eighth grade; Miss Phoebe Hensley, high eighth grade; Miss Dora Schnell, low eighth grade; Miss Octavia Nichols, low eighth grade; Miss Matilda Trimble, low eighth grade; Miss Clara Deason, high and low seventh grades; vacancy, principal's assistant.
     Stephen F. Austin School.--Location, corner of Gaston and College avenues: J. W. Kirk, principal; Mrs. Laura Alexander, principal's assistant, low eighth grade; Miss Etta Fulkerson; high seventh grade; Miss Nezzie Keisler, low seventh grade; Miss Lura Davenport, high sixth grade; Miss Minnie Lee Dunn, low sixth grade; Miss Emma Cathey, low sixth and high fifth grades; Miss Lettie Brown, low fifth grade; Miss Mamie Tate, high fourth grade; Mrs. Minnie L. Sickles, low fourth grade; Miss Lizzie Kelper, high third grade; Miss Julia Hensley, low third grade; Miss Hattie Rankin, high second grade; Miss Lula Jones, low second grade; Miss Retta Brown, low second grade; Miss Kate A. Clark, high and low first grades; Miss Lillie Martin, low first grade.
     Cumberland Hill School.--Location, between Cochran and Caruth streets, on west side of School street: J. A. Brooks, principal; Miss Mary Winn, principal's assistant, high and low seventh grades; Mrs. M. S. Sinex, low seventh and high sixth grades; Miss Stella Williams, low sixth grade; Mrs. Eugenia Hamilton, high fifth grade; Miss Josie Wilson, low fifth grade; Miss De Emma Shackelford, high fourth grade; Miss Helen Elmore, high fourth grade; Miss Willie B. Robinson, low fourth grade; Mrs. Mary Vaughan, high third grade; Miss Kate Wilson, high and low third grade; Miss Grace Clouse, low third grade; Miss Maggie S. Mosby, high second grade; Miss Mary C. Spears, high and low second grades; Miss L. G. Miller, low second and high first grades; Miss Eleanor Winn, low first grade; Miss Mary Carnes, low first grade.
     Wm. B. Travis School.--Location, between McKinney and Cole avenues: C. M. Moore, principal. (Vacancy) principal's assistant, high and low seventh grades; Miss Pearl Lewelling, low seventh and high sixth grades; Miss F. J. Hemphill, low sixth grade; Miss Mary Johnson, high fifth grade; Miss Marie Mackay, low fifth grade; Miss Bessie Campbell, high fourth grade; Miss Bertie Lemmon, low fourth grade; Miss Annie Beattie, high third grade; Mrs. Lena Meredith, low third grade; Miss Pearl Brown, high second grade; Miss Affie Johnson, low second grade; Miss Clifford Goodwyn, high first grade; Miss Addie Justice, low first grade; Miss Emma Seabaugh, low first grade.
     Cedar Lawn School.--Location, South Ervay street: J. T. Usry, principal. Miss Eddie Gray, principal's assistant, low eighth and high seventh grades; Miss Margaret Culbertson, low seventh and high sixth grades; Miss Sadie Cammack, low sixth grade; Miss Flora Wilkin, high and low fifth grades; Miss Linie Whitworth, low fifth and high fourth grades; Miss Anna Cammack, low fourth grade; Miss Therese Maynard, high third grade; Miss Nellie McElreath, low third grade; Miss Vibelle Coleman, high second grade; Miss Anna Goslin, low second grade; Miss Della Fulkerson, high and low first grades; Miss Willie Foster, low first grade.
     Oak Grove School.--Location, corner of Harwood and Jackson streets: Miss Emma Halley, principal, high and low sixth grades; Miss Emma Braswell, high and low fifth grades; Miss Lillie B. Tenison, high and low fourth grades; Miss Rose Conibear, high and low third grades; Mrs. M. T. Cooke, low third and high second grades; Miss L. A. Armentrout, low second and high first grades; Miss Cora Hull, high first grade; Miss Alice Osmond, low first grade; Miss Carrie Prator, supernumerary.
     San Jacinto School.--Location, San Jacinto street and Washington avenue: Mrs. M. B. Henderson, principal; Miss Lee Cromwell, principal's assistant, low seventh grade; Miss Mabel Hare, high and low sixth grades; Miss Ora Crawford, high fifth grade; Miss Catherine Moore, low fifth grade; Miss Maggie Johnson, high fourth grade; Miss Vida Heelan, low fourth grade; Miss Mattie Harris, high third grade; Miss Mary Lou Dickson, high and low third grades; Miss Mary Webster, low third grade; Miss Dodie Hooe, high second grade; Miss Sudie Williams, low second and high first grades; Mrs. Bertha Raub, high first grade; Mrs. W. H. Keller, low first grade; Miss Theresa R. Winn, low first grade.
     Columbian School.--Location, on Akard and Park streets: Miss Lelia P. Cowart, principal; vacancy, principal's assistant, low eighth grade; Miss Sarah Hyman, high and low seventh grades ; Miss Susie Guyton, high sixth grade; Miss Nannie Pachall, low sixth and high fifth grades; Miss Josie Henderson, low fifth and high fourth grades; Miss Lula Spivey, low fourth and high third grades; Miss Bessie Cassell, high and low third grades; Miss Ella H. Davis, high and low second grades; Miss Nora Wormser, high first grade; Miss Lillian Bailey, low first grade.
     Alamo School.--Location, corner of Ophelia and Nettie streets: J. W. Kinsey, principal, high and low seventh grades; Miss Alice Muldrow, high and low sixth grades; Miss Eleanor Crampton, high and low fifth grades; Miss Vera Bailey, high fourth grade; Miss Belle Walne, low fourth grade; Miss Mary Bartlett, high third grade; Miss Loy Savage, low third grade; Miss Ida Lancaster, high and low second grades; Miss Beulah Tatman, low second and high first grades; Miss Kate Garrett, low first grade; Miss Josie Robinson, supernumerary.
     Davy Crockett School.--Location, Alcalde street between Worth and Victor streets: S. D. Stennis, principal, high and low fourth grades; Mrs. Virginia C. Lipscomb, high and low third grades; Miss Annie Ridgeway, high and low second grades; Mrs. Jennis Bartlett, high and low first grades.
     Colonial Hill School.--Location, corner Wendelken and Pennsylvania avenues: Ben F. Williams, principal, high and low fourth grades; Miss Carrie P. Smith, high and low third grades; Miss Daisey Pittman, high and low second grades; Miss Laura E. Walker, high and low first grades.

LIST OF COLORED TEACHERS.

     Colored High School.--Location, corner of Hall and Cochran streets: N. W. Harlee, principal; Miss Julia Caldwell, high school assistant; B. F. Darrell, high and low eighth grades; J. H. Polk, sixth and seventh grades; J. W. Ray, high and low fifth grades; Mrs. A. V. West, high and low fourth grades; Mrs. W. D. Lindley, high and low third grades; Mrs. A. B. Rutherford, high and low second grades; Miss L. E. Badger, high and low first grades; Miss Minnie McIntyre, supernumerary.
     Wright Cuney School.--Location, corner Cockrell and Canton streets; Charles Rice, principal, fourth and fifth grades; C. R. Boswell, high second and third grades; Miss M. E. Griffin, low second and first grades.
     Booker T. Washington school. Location, corner of Flora and Burford streets: S. H. Thompson, principal, high and low sixth grades; Mrs. D. J. Hamilton, high and low fifth grades; Miss Sina C.?/G.? Ray, high and low fourth grades; Mrs. B. F. Ashford, high and low third grades; Miss M. W. Tyler, high second grade; Mrs. M. T. Groves, low second and high first grades; Mrs. F. L. Harris, low first grade; Miss Annie Mae Gates, supernumerary.
     Fred Douglass school. Location, South Preston street: J. P. Starks, principal, high sixth and seventh grades; W. A. Boswell, low sixth and high fifth grades; A. G. Weems, low fifth and high fourth grades; A. G. Weems, low fifth and high fourth grades; Mrs. B?/P? A. Rochon, low fourth and high third grades; Mrs. W. A. Boswell, low third and high second grades; Miss C. H. Pittman, low second grade; Miss Ella M. Booker, high first grade; Miss F. B. Harris, low first grade; Miss Mattie Mansfield, supernumerary.

Superintendent Long said last night:
     "The schools will open Monday, September 21st. The principals will be at their respective buildings Thursday and Friday, September 17th and 18th, for the purpose of enrolling and classifying new pupils, and for the purpose, also, of examining and grading such old pupils as have not promotion cards indicating the grades to which they belong, and such old pupils as desire to be examined for the purpose of regaining lost standing in their classes.
     "Patrons are earnestly requested to send to the schools on these days, September 17th and 18th, all children who, for any reason, are to be examined for classification. This is important inasmuch as the principals will be so occupied with organization when the schools open Monday, September the 21st, as to make it impossible for them to properly classify irregular pupils. By complying with this request, patrons will avoid inconvenience and annoyance and will secure more prompt and satisfactory admission of their children into the schools.
     "Any child who will call at the school building to which he properly belongs either Thursday or Friday, September 17th or 18th, can secure a list of the books needed in his class, and thereby be able to provide himself with necessary books and stationery before Monday, and thus escape the rush at the book stores the afternoon of the first day of school.
     "A meeting of the principals of the white schools will be held at the superintendent's office at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 16th, and a meeting of the principals of the colored school will be held at 4:30 p. m. at the same place, and on the same date.
     "There will be a meeting of all the teachers of the white schools at the high building at 9:30 a. m., Saturday Sept. 19th and of all the teachers of the colored schools at 4 p. m., at the same place and on the same date.
     "An examination of teachers for certificates to teach in the city schools will be held at the high school building, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 10th, 11th and 12th."

- September 6, 1903, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 4-5.
- o o o -

1904
VACANCIES FILLED
BY SCHOOL BOARD

_______

Two Public School Teachers Have
Resigned Their Positions.

     The board of education met in special session yesterday afternoon in the office of Victor H. Hexter, with the following members present: George W. Jalonick, S. H. Hay, W. M. Crow and Victor H. Hexter and Secretary T. G. Terry. The meeting was for the purpose of appointing teachers to the positions made vacant by resignations.
     The following resignations were accepted: Miss C. B. Deason and Miss L. G. Miller. Miss Deason formerly taught in the High School, but resigned so that she might accept a position as principal in one of the Fort Worth schools. Miss Miller will take a year's rest.
     Prof. Munroe, supervisor of manual training in the colored schools, had his salary fixed at $45 per month. A proposition to furnish certain cabinets and fixtures for the High School was referred to the superintendent and chairman of the finance committee.
     The following teachers were appointed to fill the vacancies existing: Miss Jessie Hall, Corsicana; Miss M. McComb, Austin; Miss Susie Badger, Dallas; Miss Sue Squires, Weatherford. Ella Rice was elected a supernumerary in the colored school and A. N. Cates was re-elected to her regular position.

- August 30, 1904, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 3, col. 2.
- o o o -



1910
TEACHERS NAMED
FOR NEXT TERM

_______

LIST OF APPOINTEES BY BOARD
OF EDUCATION FOR
1910-11.

_______

HIGH SCHOOL IS VACANT
______

No One Named for That Place as Yet.
Number of Re-Appointments
are Noted in the
Roster.

     Following is a list of the teachers and principals of the Dallas public schools, named on Thursday by the board of education. No principal for the high school was named. The full list is as follows:

Main High School.

     J. O. Mahoney, head of the department of Mathematics.
     Ruth de Capree, head of the department of English.
     T. B. Kendrick, head of the department of Latin.
     Sophia Peppenhagen, head of the department of history.
     L. Kyle Humphries, head of the department of civics and economics.
     C. S. T. Folsom, head of the department of modern languages.
     J. F. Kelly, head of the department of chemistry.
     H. C. Heath, head of the department of biology.
     R. C. Pantermuehl, head of the department of physics.
     T. L. Eyerly, head of the department of physiography.
     Edna Rowe, associate teacher of English.
     H. T. Matthews, associate teacher of Latin.
     R. M. Caldwell, associate teacher of history.
     G. C. Sloan, assistant teacher of mathematics.
     Yale O. Millington, assistant teacher of English.
     Eloise Durham, assistant teacher of English.
     Ruby Terrill, assistant teacher of Latin.
     Margaret E. Marshall, assistant teacher of biology.
     O. C. Chariton, assistant teacher of biology.
     Olatia Crane, assistant teacher of modern languages.
     Annie Kayser, assistant teacher of English.
     Emma Braswell, assistant teacher of mathematics.
     Phoebe Hensley, assistant teacher of history.
     Burney Flaniken, assistant teacher of Latin.
     Erna Beilharz, general assistant.
     O. A. Hanszen, director of the department of manual training.
     Margaret Culbertson, associate teacher in charge of drawing and design.
     Cora Reynolds, assistant teacher of manual training.
     Sidney Hetherington, assistant teacher in charge of shop work.
     Mattie Lew Lacy, assistant teacher in charge of sewing.
     Eula P. Turner, assistant teacher in charge of cooking.

Oak Cliff High School.

     W. N. Masters, head of the departments of Latin and science.
     Elizabeth Baker, head of the departments of English and history.
     Bettie Lee Fahm, assistant teacher.
     Hattie Belle Moseley, assistant teacher.

Supervisors.

     Lide Hooe, supervisor of drawing and writing.
     Birdie Alexander, supervisor of music.

Principals.

     J. W. Kirk, principal of Stephen F. Austin school.
     J. A. Brooks, principal of Cumberland Hill school.
     J. F. Peeler, principal of William B. Travis school.
     George W. Coley, principal of Cedar Lawn school.
     Emma Halley, principal of Oak Grove school.
     Margaret B. Henderson, principal San Jacinto school.
     Lelia P. Cowart, principal of Columbian school.
     J. L. Russell, principal of Alamo school.
     John D. Cochran, principal of Davy Crockett school.
     Julius Dorsey, principal of Colonial Hill school.
     T. C. Hassell, principal of Fair Park school.
     R. S. Ransdall, principal of Fannin school.
     Mary Spears, principal of Sam Houston school.
     Mrs. Fannie Baskett, principal [of] Fairland school.
     Jonathan A. Cox, elected as principal to be assigned under the schedule.
     W. H. A. Tomson, Oak Cliff high school.
     D. W. Johnson, principal of John H. Reagan school.
     C. A. Whatley, principal of James Bowie school.

Grade Teachers.

     J. B. Zimmerman.
     Eva Green.
     Mary Margaret Lovell.
     Lura Daverport [Davenport?].
     Pearl Tunnelle.
     Flora Morgan.
     Mary N. Hull.
     Louise Barlow.
     Carrie Moseley.
     Ruby Stevenson.
     Minnie Swindells.
     Charra Barlow.
     Evelyn Wynn.
     Lottie Brown.
     Mamie Tate.
     Cassie Brock.
     Jeannette McDuffie.
     Minnie Lee Dunn.
     Erna Kesselus.
     Elizabeth Keiper.
     Mrs. M. S. Sinex.
     Julie M. Hensley.
     Lillie Humphries.
     Lena Scott.
     Josie Wilson.
     Stella Williams.
     Mary Johnson.
     Kate Bransford.
     Anna Mai Kanouse.
     Annie B. Emery.
     Ruby Clark.
     Minnie Brown.
     Margaret S. Mosby.
     Mrs. Eugenia Hamilton.
     Grace Clouse.
     Mary Carnes.
     Minnie Strickland.
     Florry Hemphill.
     Edith Thorndike.
     Luella Bolding.
     Ada M. Cullom.
     Retta West.
     Mary Winn.
     Pearl Clark.
     Annie Beattie.
     Gay Rushing.
     Laura Fariss.
     Alpha Rogers.
     Lela Williams.
     May Carothers.
     Addie Justice.
     Emma Seabaugh.
     Affie E. Johnson.
     Eleanor M. McKeand.
     Minola T. Johnson.
     Susie M. Badger.
     Harriet Louise Evans.
     Grace Simpson.
     Anna L. Hutchenson.
     Therese Maynard.
     Rosa P. Lewis.
     Florence J. Landrine.
     Lila Bradwell.
     Mattie Sherard.
     Lillian Thomason.
     Mary Bellinger.
     Mary K. Griffin.
     Stella Austin.
     Lillie Belle Tenison.
     Florence Kone.
     Mrs. M. T. Cooke.
     Dorothy Bowdry.
     Eddie C. Gray.
     Alice Osmond.
     Virline Babcock.
     Maggie Barton.
     Miona Prator.
     Anna M. Hord.
     Vida M. Heelan.
     Mattie Harris.
     Sadie Goggans.
     Katharine Hudson.
     Mary Cochran.
     Mrs. C. M. Simpson.
     Mary E. Webster.
     Dodie Hooe.
     Theresa Winn.
     Mrs. Fannie R. Keller.
     Anita Shannon.
     Sara Hyman.
     Sue Guyton.
     Lannes Hicks.
     Nannie Paschal.
     Josie Henderson.
     Mary Arnold.
     Ida O'Dell.
     Nora Wormser.
     Mynnie Williams.
     Minnie Lockett.
     Mrs. Alice Cowan.
     Imogan Bush.
     Helen S. Thomas.
     Mrs. Laura Alexander.
     Maude D. Littleford.
     Wilma Beckwith.
     Mrs. Retta Reese.
     Eula Piner.
     Gussie Chandler.
     Beulah B. Tatman.
     Sue Sam Squyres.
     Annie Forest.
     Belle Francis.
     Bobbie L. Suttle.
     Mary Ella Edmonston.
     Clara Rowe.
     Janie Worthington.
     Cora McFarland.
     Ethel Hines.
     Eva G. Pinckston.
     Mrs. Minnie L. Sickles.
     Maggie M. Fife.
     Vi Belle Coleman.
     Charlotte Riggs.
     Mrs. Virginia Lipscomb.
     Berta Curlin.
     Mrs. Jennie Bartlett.
     Gladys McEvoy.
     Myra Brown.
     Flora Wilkin.
     Ruth Curtis.
     Margaret Gavin.
     Eleanor Crampton.
     Edith Cornett.
     Sadie Francis Lovell.
     Annie E. Maupin.
     Bessie Edwards.
     Bertha Goslin.
     Elsie B. Cassell.
     Willie M. Foster.
     Mamie Etheredge.
     Earle Henry.
     Lavinia Rawlins.
     Bernice McHenry.
     Lillian Parry.
     Pearl Birmingham.
     Rowena Sutton.
     Clay Haggard.
     Stella Mewshaw.
     Ethel Weatherford.
     Hallie Bell.
     Margaret Johnson.
     Ada May McWhirk.
     Nannie Moseley.
     Willie Buster.
     Mrs. Bertha Raub.
     Birdie Blow.
     Mary Kate Brown.
     Alice Thomas.
     Kate Clark.
     Etta Baldwin.
     Mrs. Minnie Kelly.
     Clara Pierce.
     Pearl Park.
     Marguerite Swindells.
     Kate Carter.
     Josie Feagans.
     Mrs. A. B. Stemmons.
     Blanche Gault.
     Henrietta Eisenlohr.
     Eleanor H. Benners.
     Stella Henderson.
     Mollie Brown.
     Bertha Tolliver.
     Carrie Lou Moore.
     Alice Muldrow.
     Lyda McKinstry.
     Mary Lou Wythe.
     Blanche Murrell.
     Mary Spann.
     Myrtle Byrom.
     Frances Cushman.
     Freddie Moseley.
     Tura E. Dial.
     Jennie Wright.
     Lula Watson.
     Gussie Williams.
     Winnie Davis.
     Mary Preston.
     Clara Thomas.
     Anna M. Carey.
     Roe Rogers.
     Sudie Williams.
     Sarah Burton.
     Marjorie Higdon.
     Annie Lee Clark.
     Willie Davis.
     Mrs. Daisy Webb.
     Zelma Scott.
     Stella Buckmaster.
     Rena Crossman.
     Ruth Roach.
     Belle Walpe [?].
     Eula P. Carroll.
     Lillian Heninger.
     Minnie Golbeck.
     Iva Lake.
     Marguerite Logan.
     Agnes Nichols.
     Loy Savage.
     Blanche Blewett.
     Myrtle Meers.
     Lolita Rosenbaum.
     Sarah Meriwether.
     Lorena Wilkinson.
     Minnie McKaughan.
     Mary Brent Wilson.
     Atta Wylie.
     Leona Halbert.
     Mrs. Jessie Baldwin.
     Lula May Mock.

Probationary Teachers.

     Jennie Hesselson.
     Iva Lee Strong.
     Ouida Ward.
     Lucile Bowen.
     May Ballard Brooks.
     Laura Alexander.
     Madge Malone.
     Edna Holder.
     Mary Elizabeth Ford.
     General Supernumerary.
     Mrs. T. C. Hassell.

COLORED SCHOOLS.

Principals.

     N. W. Harilee, principal colored High school, and also inspector of colored schools.
     B. F. Darrell, principal Wright Cuney school.
     Chas. Rice, principal Booker T. Washington school.
     J. P. Starks, principal Fred Douglass school.
     A. Jackson, Jr., principal Pacific Avenue school.
     J. F. Williams, principal Ninth Ward colored school.

High School Teachers.

     Julia C. Frazier.
     V. T. Tubbs.
     J. H. Polk.
     J. W. Towns, manual training.
     Miss C. E. Stradford, domestic science.

Elementary School Teachers.

     Edna Ezell.
     P. E. Rodgers.
     A. V. West.
     E. O. Lindley.
     M. M. Thomas.
     J. W. Ray.
     W. W. Frazier.
     E. R. Everett.
     Beulah E. Mitchell.
     A. B. Rutherford.
     L. C. Haynes.
     S. C. White.
     M. M. Polk.
     S. A. Young.
     Ella M. Rice.
     Mrs. G. I. Jackson.
     M. W. Tyler.
     M. T. Groves.
     C. G. Wilson.
     S. A. Hurdle.
     P. A. Rochon.
     C. L. Taylor.
     Fannie B. Weems.
     E. C. Hartley.
     Eva M. Weems.
     Lillian Tucker.
     Tina O. Boswell.
     M. E. Hallum.
     P. L. Tyler.
     L. A. Shaw.
     Callie A. Hicks.
     F. L. Harris.
     A. G. Weems.
     Mattie S. Mansfield.
     Mae A. Hall.
     Corinne Hawkins.
     F. B. Harris.
     J. E. Battle.
     A. B. Day.
     Lula Mason.
     D. M. Brashear.
     Eunice Diemer, probationary teacher.
     W. A. Boswell, supervisor music, writing and drawing.

In Charge of Schools.

     Custodian main High school, Wm. S. Claywell.
     Manual training janitor and house carpenter, Will James.
     Engineer, E. L. Nesbitt.

White Janitors.

     Wm. Adams, Travis school.
     A. D. Morrow, Cedar Lawn school.
     J. W. Beaurle, Oak Grove school.
     Ben Cason, San Jacinto school.
     A. F. Schultz, Columbian school.
     Joe Paulson, Alamo school.
     J. M. Husbands, Davy Crockett schools.
     J. L. Mills, Colonial Hill school.
     W. F. Haugh, Fair Park school.
     J. T. Richardson, Fannin school.
     Chas. Cunningham, Oak Cliff Central school.
     R. M. Peebles, Reagan school.
     W. H. Penry, Bowie school.
     W. C. Snider, Sam Houston school.
     John Means, Roberts school.
     John Baskett, Fairland school.

Negro Janitors.

     Tom Rough.
     Priscilla Spencer.
     Dan Colson.
     Caroline Baker.
     Ed Boswell.
     John Williamson.

- June 5, 1910, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 1-4.
- o o o -


1918
Added December 17, 2004:
CUMBERLAND HILL IS
DALLAS MELTING POT

_______

WHERE CHILDREN BEGIN IN FIRST
GRADE BY LEARNING THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

______

WOMEN AID THE SCHOOL
_______

They Have Charge of Lunchroom and
See That It Is Operated as Eco-
nomically as Possible.

By Chester T. Crowell

(Editor's Note -- This is the eleventh of a series of articles dealing with the work of the Dallas public schools, their present problems and conditions. This series was suggested in part by the fact that Dallas voters will elect a new Board of Education and vote on a special tax in April.)

     Cumberland Hill School, in what some persons call "Frogtown," is Dallas' official melting pot. At one time, in 1917, the principal, William S. Bellamy, made a tabulation of his records of the children and discovered that more than 100, out of a total enrollment of about 700, were born out of the United States. Many of those born in the United States were the sons and daughters of foreign-born parents. The hundred pupils mentioned represented about sixteen European nations.
     At Cumberland Hill School, an important branch of the primary work is teaching the little children to speak English. There are about 100 Mexican children in the school at present, and more than two-thirds of them come with no English vocabulary at all. So, the first work is to show them pictures or figures cut out of colored paper and teach them the names of what they see.
     The Mexicans gravitate toward Dallas because they get fair treatment here. In some of the smaller communities of North Texas, where Mexicans are curiosities, there is a disposition to place them in the negro schools, and they resent this. So, they drift toward Dallas. However poor the Mexican may be, he appreciates an opportunity to educate his children, and he absorbs rapidly what the country has to offer in the way of information about living conditions. The children are also accounted among the brightest in the Dallas public schools.

Many Come From Russia.
     To Cumberland Hill School come scores of children of Jewish immigrants from Russia. Before the war, there was a steady influx of these families, and there will be, again, as soon as means of transportation are available. These little children are also very bright and eager to learn -- and very pretty. The community of Jewish immigrants is under the friendly care of Jewish organizations of Dallas. They say very little about their work, but the hand of fellowship reaches down into every little home to find a possible worker and connect him with a job. Meanwhile, the Jewish Ladies' Council has taken over the operation of the lunchroom at Cumberland Hill School. These women make the purchases of supplies, employ a woman to prepare the lunch, and handle the cleaning. A committee of women calls each day to do the actual work of selling the lunch to the children. By this sort of management, the only cost of service to be added to the cost of the raw materials is the wage of the one employe. Lunch is very cheap at Cumberland Hill School, and it is wholesome. This organization has had charge of the lunchroom there for four years. There are about 250 children of Russian-Jewish descent in the school.
     Cumberland Hill School is more than a school, it is a sort of settlement house and social center. The children are welcome to gather at 7:30 o'clock in the morning, if they wish to -- and they do. They gather in a large room that has been specially set apart for them and they play the Victrola and dance. There are books available for those who wish to read, and blackboard and chalk for those who wish to work on their lessons.

"First Aid to Injured."
     Miss Mary Carnes is the personality about whom the surrounding community centers, for she is "first aid to the injured." Hundreds of the children who attend that school go barefoot the larger part of the year. And, they get their feet hurt. They scratch themselves on rusty nails and they cut their fingers; they suffer all the accidents that childhood is heir to. These little wounds are often not given the attention they require and, overlooked, develop into festering sores, many of which would eventually lead to blood poison. Miss Carnes is the sort of woman who really loves little children and finds a joy in caring for them. So, she began with clean rags and clean water and a bottle of germicide. Now, she has quite an imposing little medicine closet. When there is something the matter with a boy or girl, she looks them over. Usually, all that is required is a clean bandage or dressing properly applied. She attends to that. If it requires the care of a physician, arrangements are made to obtain one -- usually without charge -- because Miss Carnes' patients are poor people.
     Several years of service has so established her work in the hearts of the people whose children go to that school, that there is no use discussing whether this is part of the proper work of a public school. If the School Board were to interfere with it, and Cumberland Hill neighborhood could find out just which board members did it, there would be "something stirring" very shortly. Mothers send their boys and girls to Miss Carnes, with a note asking her to "fix them up." And, the children go to her with all their troubles. Their faith is beyond all description. And, her cure is also probably the most scientific known to materia medica or surgery: cleanliness. Since last September, she has treated well upward of 200 children. How many cases of blood poisoning she has stopped just in time, no one could know. Certain it is, that in several instances, physicians to whom she sent ailing children said that her timely action saved them either life or limbs, according to the individual cases.
     Miss Carnes, like the other teachers, gets a rest period of half an hour each morning, and half an hour each afternoon. That is when she operates her clinic, though, often, she comes early and attends to some children before school hours.

Many Exemplify Thrift.
     Many of the little boys who go to Cumberland Hill School also work or earn money in some manner. They are the sort of material upon which the thrift movement thrives. They have their thrift clubs and they are making some fine records. The nature of thrift stamps has been explained to them, and it appeals to them. William S. Bellamy, principal, takes the position that the American child needs instruction in thrift, as much as in arithmetic or geography, and he sees that they get it. He is a speaker of strong personality and he gives them a considerable amount of this subject, personally.
     One fact about Cumberland Hill's juvenile crop that impresses the visitor, is the self-reliance of the children. They are not shy and bashful little creatures. They go about their business with all the assurance and poise of grown persons.
     There is a sense of implied equality and fraternity in their greeting for Principal Bellamy or one of the teachers on the playgrounds that is impressive -- and rather pleasing. They like Mr. Bellamy and their teachers and their school.
     "These little fellows have a sense of justice that is worth studying," said Principal Bellamy recently. "If I convince one of these boys that he ought to get a whipping, I believe the little fellow feels there should be no farther delay about it. They are manly little fellows. And, they stand up for what they think is right. If they disagree with my point of view as to what is just, they are not bashful about telling me what they think is just. And, I encourage them to say what they think."
     Mr. Bellamy teaches the boys to have the proper attitude toward the girls. In brief, he makes every boy in school the big brother of all the girls. And, they live up to the obligation.

- March 6, 1918, The Dallas Morning News, p. 1;
continued on p. 3.
- o o o -

1918
Added December 23, 2004:
BRYAN HIGH SCHOOL
BOYS AID RED CROSS

______

MAKE BOXES IN WHICH PRODUCTS
OF THE LOCAL WORKERS ARE
SHIPPED TO FRANCE.

______

MANUAL TRAINING WORK
______

Oldest High School Has Several
Teachers of Outstanding Ability.
Punishment System.

______

THE PUBLIC GENERALLY AND ALL
PERSONS CONNECTED WITH THE
SCHOOLS ARE INVITED TO CONTRIB-
UTE THEIR VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL
PROBLEMS OF DALLAS IN LETTERS
OF NOT EXCEEDING 200 WORDS IN
LENGTH FOR PUBLICATION IN THE
NEWS.

By Chester T. Crowell.

     Bryan High School is an institution, about which cling the tender memories of thousands of the residents of this city. It was, for a long time, the "Dallas High School." It was the only high school in the city. And, as one of the largest, it is still among the most interesting schools in the city. Incidentally, it numbers some of the strongest teachers in Texas in its corps. There is an excellent school spirit there and an intense pride in the organization. One tangible expression of that pride is the beautiful curtain which the school children bought for the stage of the large school auditorium. And, there are not a few gifts from former students which add to the attractiveness of the building.
     Just at present, the manual training classes of Bryan High School are distinguishing themselves by a form of patriotic service which is very practical. The boys are making the large packing boxes in which the products of the Dallas Red Cross workers are being shipped. These heavy boxes are not difficult to make, but it is a laborious process. The boys are producing boxes which are attractively workmanlike in appearance. They not only produce these boxes in large numbers, but stencil them and deliver them ready for service. They have but to be filled and the tops nailed on. Only the materials are purchased by the Red Cross, so that one dollar is saved on every box these boys turn out.

Manual Training Equipment.
     Manual training is a specialty at Bryan High School. The equipment is far above the average in completeness. In the iron-working department, the products of different classes which adorn the walls, gives an indication of the practical nature of the work. There are, among other things, one-horse power steam engines, which are produced by the students.
     Miss Pappenhagen, who teaches history at Bryan High School, is maintaining a large number of history students, in spite of the general tendency of recent years, away from the study of history. She gives it so much of interest, that the Bryan High School pupils elect history to get in her class. She is the type of teacher who loves her subject. She also loves children, as every good teacher does, but in some cases, the observer will come away with the impression that he has met a person who has rare intuitive knowledge of the child heart and mind. In the case of Miss Pappenhagen, one leaves her classroom impressed with the thought that she regards history as about the most interesting study there is. Naturally, she makes it as interesting to the students as she thinks it is. Hers is a mind of rare capacity and activity. She is among the brave school teachers in the South who have dared to present all points of view, with reference to the Civil War. There is nothing petty nor cringing, nor sectional in her instruction. Her astonished pupils discover in this energetic woman, a mind which is too big and strong to stand awestruck before those pages of history which deal with that gigantic conflict of ideas and forces. She picks up that period of history as a botanist would pick up some rare plant, and turns the magnifying glass upon it.

The Punishment System.
     Incidentally, while enjoying her classroom, I tried to learn from her, something about the punishment system in the high school. The teachers have a way of keeping tardy pupils and those who break the rules of discipline, in after school and requiring them to do certain tiresome work, such as tedious problems in long division or the writing of theses on uninteresting topics. Miss Pappenhagen didn't know enough about Room 109, as Bryan High's Siberia is designated, to answer even the most elementary questions. The reason was that she doesn't find that sort of institution of much use. I asked other teachers who are distinguished for the nature of their classroom work, and I have yet to find one who sets a high value on the punishment room to maintain discipline. And there, perhaps, lies the answer to all questions, as to the value of the punishment room.
     There are several objections of a fundamental nature to be made against the punishment room, and again, there are several reasons why it appears to be the only available means of enforcing the discipline in those cases where some sort of enforcement is needed.

Children Extremely Sensitive.
     The psychology of requiring students to do certain work as a punishment for their offenses is all wrong. Work should not be used as a punishment. But, the argument of the defenders of this system is not devoid of thought. They point out that high school pupils can not be whipped, and ought not to be sent out of school for their misdeeds. It is very important, that whatever means of enforcing discipline is used, be of such a nature as not to inflict humiliation. The boys and girls of high school age are extremely sensitive, and wounds that are terribly painful can be inflicted, unless the teachers are thoughtful. So, the method of keeping the pupil in after school and requiring certain tedious work has seemed the best solution. It inflicts no corporal punishment, it is not humiliating. Yet, it robs the pupils of something they dearly love and requires them to do something they do not wish to do. Room 109 is a force to reckon with. There, in brief, is the argument in its favor.

The Negative Argument.
     And here, in brief, is the argument against the institution as it stands at present: There are too many pupils in that room every school day. They are a reflection upon the teaching staff. They indicate, that among the teachers are too many who are burning up their energy trying to enforce some petty rule of discipline who might take a short cut to success by making their classrooms so interesting, the children would not have time to think of breaches of discipline. This thought will commend itself to all of the teachers of all of the schools. Every moment of time taken in reproving some pupil is a distraction to every other pupil in the room. The surest way to get discipline is not to bother about it, but to concentrate on the subject in hand, and school pride.
     Miss De Capree is another of the interesting teachers at Bryan High School. Her ready smile and evident love of good literature make her a living example to her pupils of the delightful effect of the good company of good books. She has a way of mentioning the names of authors and their works as though to say: "There is pure bliss. Compared to the pleasure to be derived from that book, the other joys of life are of minor importance."

Bringing the Lesson Home.
     Rush Caldwell has charge of courses in civil government, economics and commercial law, which are of increasing importance at this time, merging as they do with the excellent history instruction given by Miss Pappenhagen. These courses are very short, but well balanced, and Mr. Caldwell uses the time at his disposal to make the pupil think. That is his supreme effort. In order to bring the study of economics right home to the pupil, he frequently makes all of his comparisons with Dallas and Dallas County, suggests why there should be a city here, why certain lines of business are prominent, and indicates to the pupil that a city is an economic unit with a job to perform for the rest of the world, a job that it can neglect or develop, that it can become distinguished in or lose.
     No mention of Dallas high schools is complete without some reference to the wholesome effect of military drill and the wearing of uniforms. There are many arguments to be advanced in favor of the wearing of uniforms in high schools and universities. These boys always appear well dressed, the uniforms are not expensive and the military instruction is excellent for scores of reasons beside those the militarist might think of. As one of the men teachers expressed it: "If they had let me wear a uniform and shoulder a real high-power rifle when I was a boy in school, they would have had to chase me off the school grounds at night. And then, I'd probably have slept in that uniform."

- March 13, 1918, The Dallas Morning News, p. 3.
- o o o -

1918
Added December 20, 2004:
AUSTIN SCHOOL HAS
VERY POOR BUILDING

______

NOT ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR
SCHOOL AND ARCHITECTURAL
LINES SHOW IT.

_______

FLOORS ARE WORN OUT
______

Not Enough Space for Playgrounds;
No Running Water in Building;
Serious Fire Hazard.

______

THE PUBLIC GENERALLY AND ALL
PERSONS CONNECTED WITH THE
SCHOOLS ARE INVITED TO CONTRIB-
UTE THEIR VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL
PROBLEMS OF DALLAS IN LETTERS
OF NOT EXCEEDING 200 WORDS IN
LENGTH FOR PUBLICATION IN THE
NEWS.

By Chester T. Crowell.

     Austin School, which is on Gaston avenue in East Dallas, is an interesting example of what happens when one Board of Education after another adopts a policy of "strict economy." This building was constructed in 1886, and was not, at that time, intended for a school. It is a firetrap, three stories high. About the only facts to recommend it are wide stairways -- all of wood -- and a fire station within a stone's throw. When it was selected as the site for a school, no consideration of future requirements was taken, because the grounds are far from adequate. The very lowest estimates on the subject of the amount of school playground space required, per capita, is close to 100 square feet. Measurements of the playground space at Austin School show 80 feet per capita. Some experts hold that 100 square feet is inadequate. At any rate, the situation at Austin school is such that the little children have their recesses at one time, and the larger children, at another time, in order to make the school grounds suffice. This has the disadvantage that children are marching through the corridors while others are studying.
     Backed up against the rear of Austin School is the Baptist Sanitarium, and next to it, equally close to Austin School, is the Baylor Medical College. The disadvantage of such a situation must be mutual.

No Water in the Building.
     There is no drinking water in the Austin School building except a few coolers of waters for the teachers only. Three-story school buildings should have running water on every floor. The toilet facilities of this school are as archaic as the rest of its arrangements. There is some sort of an unusual arrangement by which the toilets are flushed twice a day. They are of roughly hewn wood over a water trough, so that all are flushed at the same time. In spite of the fact that the floors and walls of the toilets are fairly glistening clean, and reflect great credit on the janitor service, as well as the children who attend that school, these little wooden shacks are not devoid of odor.

Primitive Heating Apparatus.
     Six hundred children attend this school. The rooms are heated with old-fashioned stoves, which have no jackets. The teachers there report, that on the coldest days, it is possible to keep the rooms warm, but that this means part of the room is too warm. Students of the problem of proper heating for a room will readily understand, that to have part of the pupils in a schoolroom too warm in order to keep the others from freezing, is a very unsatisfactory condition, conducive to colds and other disorders. Even if this school can not have steam heat or any other modern heating arrangement, there are better methods of heating a schoolroom -- and not more expensive, either -- than the old-fashioned iron stove with no jacket.
     It is also interesting to observe that Austin School has neither domestic economy, nor manual training, although 80 per cent of the parents of the pupils who attend that school do work, which is chiefly manual. According to figures compiled by the principal, L. Power, there are 101 families represented by children in Austin School, in which both the mother and the father work. This means that in these families, the girls have a large share in the housekeeping. It is just this sort of situation which makes domestic economy worthwhile in the public schools. Only part of the Dallas public schools have domestic economy.

Organized Play is Valuable.
     In spite of all these disadvantages, this school is doing a valuable work. The principal is a young man who realizes the great value of organized play, and he is actually making it bring the children to school -- children who would, otherwise, weary of school and quit to go to work, long before they had even the basis of an education. Just for his own information, and to discover by an actual test, what the value of organized play really is, he sent a questionnaire to the students in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades recently, asking them to tell "Why I like to come to school." Here are the answers, tabulated according to the nature of the replies and the grades from which they came:

 L5 H5 L6 H6 L7 H7 Total

1. To get an education ... 14 20 20  13 23 12  102
2. Like the teachers ....... 12 18 16  22 20 14  102
3. To play.......................  17 21 22 23 20 16  119
4. To keep from being idle. 1  0  10   3   6   7    27
5. Companionship ...........  9 10 11  12    6  10   58
6. Prepare for the future ... 2   0   0   4 18 15   39
7. To get a good job .....  12  13   8 10 18   0   61
No. children who wrote ... 20 33   23 25 24 17 142

How Play Is Organized.
     While it is plain from the figures that the children come to school to play, the grades they made show that they remain to work. Some details about organized play were explained by Mr. Power. He said:
     "The boys are organized into nine teams. At any one time, a visitor would find six of these teams playing baseball, two playing volley ball and one team of ten men (enough for two basket ball teams) playing basket ball. The teams each play on a schedule. The schedule is changed each week. The two recesses, and a part of the noon period, count as a game, the score of the first recess being carried over to the next recess. Each captain reports to the principal at the end of each day, the score of the team and whether it won, lost or tied. These reports are entered on cards and kept on record. A written report of the standing of the teams is published each month.
     "The girls are organized into teams. At any one time, a visitor would find six of these teams playing baseball, two teams playing basket ball and four playing volley ball. As with the boys, the girls play on a schedule. Their schedule is also changed each week. Each girl captain reports to the principal at the end of the day, telling whether she won, lost or tied. The reports are recorded, kept and published monthly.
     "Among the valuable features of organized play, a few may be mentioned. First, as an aid to discipline, they are valuable. The captain is responsible for the order of the team. Any disorder is reported by the captain to the principal. This makes for good order and relieves the teachers of the necessity of being on the ground during playtime. The second point in relative value is the knowledge by the teachers of where each child is. On the back of each captains' card is recorded the names of the players. Each player is expected to play at all times, unless excused for illness, and it is known at a glance whether a child is out of place or not. Another valuable feature of this form of play is the changing of the schedule, so that each team plays a different team each week. The children do not tire of playing with the same group for the entire year. In the rotation, the games played are alternated, so they do not tire of playing the same game continuously.
     "That the plan is working, can not be doubted by one who sees the happy children at their play. There has not been a single case of bad conduct on the grounds, among the children organized, reported to any teacher, or to the principal, In some cases, the captains are pupils who, if not made leaders in the right way, would, perhaps, be leading in the wrong way. The choice of all captains is by election, and two teams have used the recall already this year."

Making School Popular.
     Perhaps you remember the old-fashioned method in vogue when you were a child -- the note from the teacher to your parents, telling how poorly you were doing in school. Mr. Power goes at this the other way around. Here is the form of the notes that he sends each week to nearly two score of delighted mothers and fathers:
     On Friday of each week, each teacher sends to me the boy and the girl who have made the greatest improvement in school during the week. I am pleased to tell you that Miss (name of teacher) has sent (name of pupil) to me this week.
     "I have told (name of pupil) how pleased I am with (his or her) work. Now, I hope we may all unite our efforts to keep the quality of work up to a high standard.
     "I send you this notice with pleasure, and I hope it may encourage your child to continue doing well. Sincerely yours,
                                                         "L. P
OWER."

Floors in Bad Condition.
     There is one other unpleasant report that needs to be made about the condition of Austin School, after which, an effort will be made to conclude this article with something cheerful. It has already been stated that Austin school was constructed in 1886. It has been used as a school most of the time since then. The result is that the floors are very badly worn. They are of ordinary pine boards, not put down "edge-grain," as school floors should be. In consequence, they offer an interesting accordment of slivers and splinters. Children skuff their shoes, the danger for them is greater than others. Bryan High is another building with dangerous floor conditions. On a recent visit there, I saw a sliver about six inches long, strategically placed to tear the bottom of some child's foot to pieces. Nor, was it by any means, the only one. I am informed that one child lost her life as a result of just such an accident at Bryan High School. In this connection, it must be kept in mind that foot wounds are dangerous, far more dangerous than a laceration of equal size and depth on the hand, where the blood circulation is much better. No more such floors should be laid. And, in the interim, there are machines which will smooth the existing floors.

Some Valuable Instruction.
     In the grade schools, nowadays, physiology is taught with much more intelligence than formerly. Persons 30 years of age, or thereabouts, will recall the tedious hours they have spent in school, learning the names of all their bones and vital organs, without learning anything about what those organs would react to, for good or evil, except some rather terrifying statements about the fearful damage that would result from even the smallest quantities of alcohol and nicotine. At Austin school, I attended the recitation of a class studying physiology. They were studying cleanliness in all its phases, personal, municipal and otherwise. They were learning how much carbolic acid to put in a quart of water to make a sanitary solution and such practical information as that. It was astounding. The textbook they use is a mine of information for any grown person who has not read it. And, to make the recitation period complete with interest, some fourth grade pupils visited the sixth grade rooms where this recitation was in progress and gave a complete summary of all the information thus far available on the care of the teeth. They covered the ground so thoroughly, spoke with such precision and knew so well when they had finished, that their names will be incorporated as part of the record of that very interesting hour in a classroom:
     "The Mouth," Evalyn Sutton.
     "The Unclean Mouth," Lucy Coelett.
     "Reasons for Mouth Hygiene," Bertha Barnett.
     "The Teeth," Raymond Stroud.
     "How to Clean the Teeth," Clifford Caswell.
     "Care of the Teeth," William Warner.

- March 17, 1918, The Dallas Morning News, Part 1, p. 3.
- o o o -

1918
Added December 20, 2004:
OAK GROVE SCHOOL
IS SORRY STRUCTURE

______

UNPAINTED PINE BOARDS MAKE
ROOMS DEPRESSING, PRIMITIVE
HEATING ARRANGEMENT.

_______

NO DRINKING FOUNTAINS
_______

School Grounds Inadequate and Very
Muddy in Wet Weather -- Class-
Room Equipment Insufficient.

_______

THE PUBLIC GENERALLY AND ALL
PERSONS CONNECTED WITH THE
SCHOOLS ARE INVITED TO CONTRIB-
UTE THEIR VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL
PROBLEMS OF DALLAS IN LETTERS
OF NOT EXCEEDING 200 WORDS IN
LENGTH FOR PUBLICATION IN THE
NEWS.

By Chester T. Crowell

     Oak Grove School, which is across the street from City Park, and not far enough from the postoffice to be considered rural, is not nearly so good as some of the school structures bounded on the east, west, north and south by cotton patches. It is a tribute to strict economy in the administration of school affairs over a long period of time. Oak Grove is a sort of monument to remind taxpayers about what will happen when school needs are not foreseen far enough in advance.
     As a general proposition, cities like Dallas, in this part of the United States, are growing, and may be expected to continue to grow. The first need for a school is merely a symptom of what is to follow. When school ground is provided, it ought to be so ample, that the passerby will have to look about over the broad expanse for the schoolhouse. School boards may be assured, that if they make any errors in this direction, that the real estate market will protect them from loss. They can get back what they put into the ground. But, if they have to buy more ground after the school has been established several years, they find the expense is enormous -- and, sometimes, they can not get the ground without great difficulty. But, the pressure upon a school board is always in the direction of economy, right now. It spends its money with people who can not, or do not, urge their claims to more. And, it often neglects those portions of the city where there are few of the sort of citizens broadly classed as "representative." It is true of every city that some neighborhoods are heard from very quickly before public bodies, while others never seem to know their way to the ear of those in authority.

Very Hot on Summer Days.
     But, to take up the Oak Grove School in a specific manner. It is a one-story frame structure, with a roof too close to the inner ceiling. Teachers do not complain about the difficulty of keeping it warm in winter, but they say it is an oven in summer. And, one look at the construction will bear out their statement. It is heated with plain old iron stoves, which means that one part of the room is baked before the other side is comfortable. This structure, it ought to be stated in fairness, was regarded as temporary when it was put to use as a school, but it has been in use four years. And, it may be in use longer. The ground around the building would be considered inadequate if the place were a residence, instead of a public school. Practically, there is no playgrounds. But, the children are permitted to cross the street and play in the park. The objection to this, is that over in the park, there is entirely too much room. And, it is always objectionable to have school children in large numbers crossing a public street.
     The afternoon I visited the school, some twenty of the larger boys were having a fine time running across the front yard of the residence next door and jumping the low fence, landing in the school yard. The teacher on the ground stopped this, but I gathered the impression that stopping this encroachment on the neighbor's property is a daily necessity.
     There is only one piece of apparatus for play on the grounds, that is a swing for the girls. The yard is of the heavy clay that assumes the consistency of cream of celery soup in wet weather. Formerly, water stood on part of the ground, but the depression has been filled by the use of cinders. The mother of a boy who goes to this school remarked, that when the weather is wet, he comes home "mud up to his eyes."

Insanitary Drinking Arrangement.
     Drinking water on the grounds is in large metal tanks, with the kind of automatic hydrant, which stops the flow when the pressure is released. These are not fountains, but plain hydrants. There are no drinking cups, and the children place their lips over the metal hydrant spout and then turn on the water. As a sanitary arrangement, if there is any improvement in this over the old common drinking cup, it escapes the writer. This being a temporary school, it is probable that the drinking fountains which are to be found at other schools, were not thought necessary. The trouble about this, is that while others may know that this school is a temporary structure, it is not easy to explain the matter to germs or arrange a truce with them. They can not be expected to "lay off" until the referee calls time. To them, temporary schools and permanent schools look alike.
     The toilets have modern plumbing and were notably clean and odorless -- which was about the only commendable feature of the entire physical plant.

Unpainted Pine Boards.
     The building, itself, is not even painted. On the outside, there is some sort of a stain, which was, doubtless, intended to protect the boards from the weather. But, the inside of the building is depressing. Such pictures as there are on the walls look strangely out of place. There was one particularly nice copy of "The Angelus," which, with its soft coloring and appropriate frame against that background of pine boards, looked actually funny. There are inadequate arrangements for the hanging of maps, and in consequence, such maps and charts as the school possesses are not on the walls, but rolled up and standing in a corner. Noting the absence of any such equipment, I asked about it, and the principal assured me it existed. After inquiry in four rooms, the maps were located -- all five of them rolled up and standing on end in a corner. One of the main purposes of maps in a schoolroom is to have them where the children will get so accustomed to seeing them, that they learn something from them unconsciously. The school did have a globe, just one, but the principal told me it was dropped and broken some time ago. And then, the school didn't have any globe.
     This building appears to be the sort that would last about twenty minutes, once it caught fire, but there are plenty of exits on all sides, and, as it is only a one-story structure, the importance of that feature diminishes. The enrollment is 400. Arrangement has been made for the construction of a better school building to take the place of the present, but, the bonds which have been voted and not sold will have to provide the money for the new structure. In the interim, Oak Grove School stands as a warning against saving pennies in the conduct of such an institution as the public school system of a growing city.

- March 18, 1918, The Dallas Morning News, p. 3.
- o o o -



1928
TECHNICAL SCHOOL, FIRST IN
STATE, AND NEW HIGH AMONG
YEAR'S INNOVATIONS IN CITY

By R. T. F
ITZGERALD.

     The new Woodrow Wilson High school is expected to have an enrollment of approximately 1,500 at the opening, September 17, while the new Dallas Technical High school, opening in the old Bryan street building, should register at least 600, in the opinion of E. B. Cauthorn, acting superintendent, in presenting a summary of pre-opening activities. The summer holidays end in sixteen days.
     "These are two of the three big new features of the school system, which will be in operation for the first time next session, the superintendent pro tem declared.
     The third is the annexation program, which will be complete if the Country Club Estates section is annexed by the city, as advocated by the subcommittee of the city plan commission, and the Cement City district is annexed for school purposes only by the county board. Already, seven new districts have been added, with ten new schools, one of which will be abandoned. Also, the school area of Dallas is more than double in size.

Tech Sets Precedent.
     Where, formally, only one new high school is to open this fall, actually, the board of education is opening two.
     "The Technical High school is, so far as I know, the only one of its kind in Texas," stated Mr. Cauthorn.
     The Woodrow Wilson High school is the largest and the finest in the city, from a construction point of view. Its first exercises will be held on the evening of September 14, with a dedicatory housewarming program not yet completely arranged.
     Eleven new portable buildings have been planned at crowded points, in addition to the new schools of the Beeman, Lisbon, Love Field, Cockrell Hill, Fair Grounds, Bonnie View and Eagle Ford districts most lately annexed. A $45,000 addition to the Sam Houston school, also, is being sketched by an architect.
     An additional 5,000 pupils may be expected if, as anticipated, the new county schools supply an increase of 2,500, Mr. Cauthorn estimated.
     Almost overnight, the school administration building, where the executive work of the schools is done, left off the lackluster look that had pervaded most of its offices during the summer and began to hum. Visitors began to swarm into the transient chairs.

Prepare for Schools.
     Dallas students have begun, sometime ago, to lay in their fall school and college wardrobes--in varying degrees of gaiety, depending on the personal tastes.
     A series of meetings have been called for the coming week, including two with the white and negro principals and teachers of the newly annexed county districts, with whom Mr. Cauthorn desires to confer.
     The first will be held for the white teachers and principals of the recently acquired schools, at 9 o'clock Wednesday morning, while the second will be at the same time on Thursday for the colored teachers and principals. Both meetings will be held at the administration building.
     All white principals will meet at 9 o'clock Tuesday morning, and all negro principals, on Wednesday. The fist teachers' meetings will be held with all teachers at their respective schools, at 9 o'clock on the morning of September 15.
     The supervising force has been returning, one by one, to headquarters.

Due From Vacations.
     Dr. Norman R. Crozier, superintendent, who has been studying at Cambridge this summer, will return about the middle of September. Leonard Power, who vacationed late, is due back Tuesday. Julius Dorsey, who is Mr. Power's co-supervisor of elementary schools, returned recently from a summer trip to Europe.
     L. V. Stockard, high school supervisor, is at his desk after a short vacation in the Arkansas mountains. Miss Sudie Williams, music supervisor, returned from a tour over the country; Miss Mary Sellers, writing supervisor, is back from Colorado, and Miss Dodie Hooe, primary supervisor, has returned from Columbia university. Miss Mary C. Sears, supervisor of teacher training, is in the city.
     A meeting was held Friday night at the Bryan Street High school, where Mr. Cauthorn, Denman Kelley, Tech-High principal, and Mr. Stockard explained the purpose of the new technical school.
     "A good number of fathers and mothers attended many of them, bringing boys and girls to hear of the school," Mr. Cauthorn commented, "a gratifying interest was shown.
     "The janitors have been on the grounds all summer, helping W. H. Freeze, our maintenance agent, to get the schools ready for the year. The plant is in, perhaps, the best condition ever, for opening," he added.

- September 2, 1928, Dallas Daily Times Herald,
Sec. II, p. 1, col. 4-5; continued at p. 4, col. 5-6.
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1937
Added July 2, 2004:
FOUNDERS RECALL HUMBLE
BEGINNING OF CITY'S VAST
SCHOOL LUNCHROOM SYSTEM

_____

Dallas Couple Returns to
Scene Where Meals First
Served Pupils in 1899.

By Graydon Heartsill

When Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Claywell, 3730 Holmes Street, started serving lunches to pupils and teachers of old Dallas High School (now known as Technical High) in 1899 under two sheds on the school grounds, they laid the foundation for the present cafeteria lunchrooms in which thousands of Dallas boys and girls are furnished nourishing meals during the school year. Mr. Claywell, who was custodian of the school, and Mrs. Claywell, above, were photographed at Technical last week when they visited the school and admired the attractively served food, the modern equipment and the spacious lunchroom operated under the direction of Mrs. Ruth Dillon Heckler. Miss Rosa Spearman, dietician, is in charge of the entire lunchroom system which now includes fifty-five schools. The school board supervision began in 1909.


     The scene is in any of Dallas' fifty-five schools. Boys and girls are the actors. Heated vessels of steaming vegetables, meats and soups, chilled containers of ice cream and frozen deserts, rows of cakes, pies and salads, stacks of sandwiches, gallons of milk, are the props.
     Behind the scenes, 260 employes serve the food and prepare it, aided by mechanical culinary equipment in modern kitchens.
     Now, flip back the pages of time -- back to 1899.
The scene is more explicit -- old Dallas High School. The actors still are boys and girls -- but, but the boys and girls of a generation, or so, ago.
     In 1899, however, young people were just as hungry as they are in 1937. And, a dish of hot soup on a chilly day tasted just as good.
     So, W. S. Claywell, custodian of the school, and his wife began a little business which has grown into one of the school system's most important departments.
     Out under sheds -- the boys on one side of the Claywell house on the school grounds, and the girls on the other -- there came into being, the first lunch room of the Dallas public schools.
     Mr. Claywell served as custodian of the high school now known as Technical, and from the years 1899, until 1912, seeing it called Dallas High, and then Bryan High. He went in 1912 to the Federal Building, and only this spring, was retired as assistant custodian. At his home on 3730 Holmes Street, he recalls the old Dallas High School days and the lunch room under the sheds with pleasure.

Humble Beginning.
     At first, only a few teachers and pupils were served during the single lunch period, from 12 to 12:30 o'clock. It wasn't long, however, before several hundred, half of the enrolled children, were coming to school without their lunch pails and boxes, knowing that good chili for a nickel, vegetables, meats, soup, pies and sandwiches would be fresh cooked and waiting for them when the midday bell rang.
     "And, we had the best chocolate creams and caramels that we could buy," Mr. Claywell said.
     Water in those days came from a cistern on the grounds. Mrs. Claywell has kept among her possessions during the intervening years, an old tin cup, one of the many from which the boys and girls drank. Mr. Claywell has kept memories, a store of them, which bring a twinkle to his eyes and a smile to his lips. They are jovial memories of lively youngsters ganging up at the cistern and staging water fights, and of mischievous boys putting ink in filled water buckets.
     The Claywell's lunch sheds were soon taxed past their facilities, and by 1908, when the new school was erected, they were an institution which passed on. In the new building, provision was made for a lunch room. Mrs. Claywell, although asked, was unable physically to assume the responsibility of operating it. The following years, 1909, it was taken over by the schools, along with several others which had been started in new schools, and it has been under the school's jurisdiction since that time.

Menus Widely Varied.
     From the modest sheds and the campus shade trees has grown up a system which daily feeds thousands of children efficiently. Under the supervision of Miss Rosa Spearman, dietician, all the buying is done in the central office, and all the menus are carefully planned with the minutest attention to variety, balance, healthfulness and attractiveness.
     There is an eye kept open, too, for the needs of the underprivileged children. For those whose home budgets won't allow the 10-cent plate lunches, there are vegetable and combination dishes prepared for 5 cents. Precautions have to be taken, Miss Spearman admitted, to keep the modern children -- who remain as fond of chocolates as were their parents and grandparents -- from passing by all the vitamin-imbued, healthful foods in favor of the sweets at the end of the cafeteria counter.
     Supplied with trays and silver, they have a wide choice which varies daily.
     A glance at the menus for the larger schools the final week of last term, May 24-28, give an idea of the balanced meals served. Each day, there was a different kind of soup -- cream of tomato, vegetable, Spanish bean, cream of pea and mock turtle. A nickel bought a bowl and accompanying saltines.
     Monday's plate lunch was braised liver, candied yams or glazed carrots, baked onions and two slices of bread. Tuesday's had baked corn pudding, raw spinach salad, fresh beets and a muffin, and Wednesday's had Italian spaghetti, fresh squash and green beans. On Thursday, there were escalloped veal, baked potato and tomato wedges, and the week ended with a flourish with creamed salmon and hard-cooked eggs, parsley, new potatoes and raw vegetable salad.

Big Nickel's Worth.
     For 5 cents, Dallas school children could buy hot meat bun sandwiches, or any number of other varieties -- salmon, cheese, minced liver and celery, goose liver and egg, apple butter, date and nut -- and the salads varied from combination vegetable and jellied fruit to beet and egg or stuffed peaches. Fruit and tomato juices found their place on the menus, and the desserts, in enticing array, included chocolate pudding, strawberry shortcake, cocoanut pie, jello, tapioca, strawberry Bavarian, berry cobbler, fruit cups and others.
     An idea of how much milk the boys and girls of Dallas drink is gained from a record kept of one month. Sweet milk, alone, was purchased in the following amounts: 121,578 half pints, 11,478 pints, 2,660 quarts and 215 gallons. Add to that the large quantities of buttermilk, special buttermilk, whipping cream, commercial cream, cream cheese, skimmed milk and chocolate milk, and multiply it by the nine school months.
     The total would overflow the old cistern, which stood by ready to quench the thirst of youngsters, back at the turn of the century.

- June 4, 1937, Dallas Daily Times Herald, Sec. III, p. 13, col. 2-4.
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