Here is the Mansfield High School Band in 1955. Your correspondent is second from the right in the back row.
If you look closely you will notice that both bands are standing in front of the same building, the town school. In those days, everyone went there, from first grade through high school.
Here are the deathless words of Mansfield High School’s alma mater:
We’re putting you first, Mansfield High
We’re showing you off, Mansfield High
We know you’re the best
In most every test
That’s why we love you so, Mansfield High (rah) (rah)
It isn’t all work or all play
It isn’t the same any day
We love you with all our might
We’ll stick to you day and night
Yes, sir, it’s dear old Mansfield High!
Well, things have changed and Mansfield has grown a little. Okay, a lot. Now there are:
* Eight high schools (Frontier, Lake Ridge, Legacy, Mansfield, Summit, Timberview, Alternative Education Center, and Ben Barber Career Tech Academy);
* Six middle schools (James Coble, T.A. Howard, Linda Jobe, Danny Jones, Brooks Wester, and Rogene Worley);
* Six intermediate schools (Della Icenhower, Mary Lillard, Asa Low, Mary Orr, Donna Shepard, and Cross Timbers); and
* Twenty-two (22) elementary schools (Charlotte Anderson, J. L. Boren, Janet Brockett, Willie Brown, Louise Cabaniss, Anna May Daulton, Kenneth Davis, Imogene Gideon, Glenn Harmon, Carol Holt, Thelma Jones, D.P. Morris, Erma Nash, Nancy Neal, Annette Perry, Alice Ponder, Martha Reid, Mary Jo Sheppard, Elizabeth Smith, Cora Spencer, Tarver-Rendon, and Roberta Tipps) with a 23rd elementary school (Judy Miller) under construction.
The names in bold type are teachers I knew personally and in whose classes I sat and who helped form me into the sterling individual I am today.
In 1930, Mansfield’s population stood at 635. By 1950, it had grown to 964. When I lived there, the town had a grand total of two, count ’em, two traffic signals. Since then, however, a population explosion took place. According to the 2010 census the population of Mansfield was 56,368 and is projected to reach 70,019 by 2017. Hence, class, the eight high schools, six middle schools, six intermediate schools, and 23 elementary schools.
Maybe there’s something in the water.
As I read each name (as you know I am wont to do) I wondered why I wasn't seeing any names like Washington, Lincoln or Kennedy. (Or Roosevelt or Longfellow, which were two schools I attended.) But what a wonderful tribute to the hard-working educators in Mansfield! I'm glad they've been honored!
ReplyDeleteLightexpectations, here in Cherokee County, Georgia (where I live), the high schools are named Cherokee, Sequoyah, Etowah, Woodstock, Creekview, and River Ridge. Not a Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, Roosevelt, or Longfellow among them. But there is a Dean Rusk Middle School (secretary of state under both Kennedy and Johnson), named for a native son who made good.
ReplyDeleteHere's a an interesting historical footnote (interesting to me, at least). My first passport was issued on January 20, 1969, which happened to be the date of the change of presidencies from Lyndon B. Johnson to Richard M. Nixon. Since the oath of office and the replacement of cabinet officers takes place at noon, my passport was signed by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, but over it was stamped, in block letters, the name of the new secretary of state, William P. Rogers. (Twelve days later, on February 1st -- Yorkshire Pudding, please take note -- I boarded that plane for Sweden.)
I attended Lew Wallace (author of Ben Hur) Elementary School, Los Griegos (The Greeks) Elementary School, Harwood School for Girls (thankfully now defunct), La Luz (The Light)Middle School, Washington Jr. High, and Central High School -- all in Albuquerque, NM. At the time, the population was around 25-35 thousand (mid 1940's). I don't know how many children were enrolled in the various schools at the time but, according to Wikipedia, the Albuquerque public school system had over 87,000 children enrolled as of the date of the article. Goodness knows how many elementary, junior high and high schools they now have.
ReplyDeletePat, the Arkansas stamper, everything you write is fascinating! But are you sure it was Los Griegos and not Los Gringos?
ReplyDelete"Cherokee, Sequoyah, Etowah, Woodstock, Creekview, and River Ridge." - What lovely words. As names go, I like them alot. And I like the photographs also, it's always interesting to see people at different stages in their lives. Music has been with you for many moons it seems, which is nice.
ReplyDeleteRWP:
ReplyDeleteFYI:
Los Griegos is the Spanish for The Greeks
All Consuming (Michelle), I'm so glad you like them! Are you familiar with Stephen Vincent Benet's 1927 poem "American Names"? You can read it here, along with some thought-provoking comments that follow.
ReplyDeleteReamus,
ReplyDeleteR:
FYI:
I already knew that, actually. I was trying to make a little funny. I guess it fell flat.
So the schools are named after these people? Interesting. It is quite an honour isn't it, to have a school named after you. Not something that is done in Oz . More likely to be a road or sometimes a building in the university but then you would have to be just about world famous !!!
ReplyDeleteHelsie, yes, indeed, the schools were named for these people! Roads are named after people here also. Dallas has the LBJ Freeway, Atlanta has Jimmy Carter Boulevard, and Memphis has Elvis Presley Boulevard. All over the U.S., in towns big and small, one can find Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Atlanta's airport is named Hartsfield-Jackson International after two former mayors, William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson. I could go on and on but you would grow weary.
ReplyDeleteYou told us where you were in the nineteen fifties band picture but failed to tell us which one was you in the photo taken on April 5th, 1925. I guess this was an oversight.
ReplyDeleteAnd when are you going back to Mansfield? I did all that research for you and you still haven't gone. They named a fire hydrant after you. The Bob Brague Memorial Fire Hydrant. Unfortunately, it is prone to leakage!
Yorkshire Pudding, once one becomes familiar with what passes for humour in the north of England, one can find, on occasion, that one is amused. Unfortunately, this was not one of those occasions.
ReplyDeleteLike Helen, I am amazed they name whole schools after teachers. At my school, we name garden beds after past teachers. Hmm?
ReplyDeleteP.S. Good come back at YP ~ laughing aloud here :)
ReplyDeleteI have never read that poem, it's an interesting one though for sure, as is the thread underneath, so thank you for that link, most kind of you *smiles
ReplyDeleteOne point of clarification: Frontier HS is actually a junior-senior school within a school model located at Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy. Those students stay at the BBCTA/FHS campus to focus on their chosen programs of study for career readiness. The other high schools send students to/from BBCTA throughout the day for classes. Career and technology education has come a long way from the old "votech" classes many people remember for school. Thanks for sharing these old photos.
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