Segregation was as entrenched in Ft. Worth as anywhere else in the South, but by the early 1960s it was in the process of dying a natural death. At least as far as overt practices were concerned. But it wasn’t always that way.
This was way before my time, but a little research on the internet will quickly reveal that the Klan was extremely active in the early 1920s, going so far as to have control (thru legal elections) of the Ft. Worth city government as well as several other major cities in Texas. I’ve also heard that the Klan had a hanging tree that was located on North Main near the Ellis Pecan Building.
When I came back here in 1961, there were still three extremely visible signs of segregation. Granted, there were many more, but these were so obvious that you had to be deaf, dumb and blind to miss them. Inside Monnig’s Department Store, on the block bounded by Fourth, Fifth, Houston and Throckmorton, on the south side of the elevators, was a pair of black enamel drinking fountains. If you wondered why two fountains, all you had to do was look above them. The signs identified one for ‘White’ and the other for ‘Colored’. By that time, no one paid any attention, but it was stark evidence of the segregated past. Not too much later, the signs were removed, but the fountains remained until the store was demolished.
Following the same pattern were the restrooms in the basement of Leonard’s Department Store. Located just past the sporting goods area (where a whetstone was available for everyone to sharpen their pocket knives) were two men’s restrooms. As with the water fountains at Monnig’s, one was for ‘Whites’ and the other for ‘Colored’. Eventually, I believe either one restroom was eliminated or the two were combined.
What’s interesting is that no one seemed to make any kind of fuss over either the fountains or restrooms. They just kind of faded into the background over a period of time.
The third thing took a legislative change and that was the Poll Tax. It still existed as late as 1964 because the Presidential Election in November 1964 was the first one I was elgible to vote in. To do so, I had to pay a 50 cent Poll Tax. For those who don’t know, the Poll Tax was basically created to prevent poor people (primarily blacks and hispanics) from voting. Considering that the original price was $1.75 per person per year, it did it’s job admirably. Of course, it had become a shadow of it’s former self by 1964 when the price had dropped to 50 cents. It was finally abolished in Federal Elections by the passage of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution in 1964 and two years later ruled unconstitutional in state and local elections by the Supreme Court.
Ft. Worth has a lot to be proud of...but also a lot that it’d probably just as soon forget. But the danger with forgetting is that a very famous phrase will jump up and bite you in the hinder part. That phrase? “He who forgets the past is condemned to repeat it.” Incidentally, the correct phrase is “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” And the author is George Santayana.
Have we learned from our past? Sometime I wonder.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Remember Window Shopping?
Back in olden times (the late 1940s thru the 1950s and even into the 1960s), a major form of entertainment was window shopping. In other words, you strolled thru downtown (shopping centers were just getting started in the early 1960s) looking at goods displayed in the storefront windows. Not only did it matter if the stores were open, it was actually more fun when they weren’t. Sundays were popular because everyone was closed.
What? Closed on Sunday? That’s right. Not only were Blue Laws in force, the general belief was that Sunday was the day you went to church. Also, most stores, even the big department stores, closed at 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. every day.
Window shopping was both an art and entertainment. You strolled slowly past the windows of various stores, lingering in front of those that caught your eye. While standing there, you imagined owning a particular outfit or jacket, shoes, toys, bicycles, etc. that you’d love to have but were way too expensive for you to afford. The flip side of the coin would be to find reasonably priced items that you either needed or wanted, then return when the store was open to purchase them.
Many’s the time you did neither. Instead, you just looked with no purpose in mind other than an outing with your family. Eventually you hopped a bus or took a cab and headed home.
Until stores started migrating to the suburbs and those new-fangled shopping centers, (Enclosed malls didn’t come along until quite a bit later. Sometime in the 1970s, I believe.), just about everything you wanted was in downtown Ft. Worth. All the big department stores, of course. Leonard’s, Everybody’s (An early version of a discount department store and owned by Leonard’s.), Monnig’s, Stripling’s (I worked in the toy department there in 1963), Cox’s and The Fair. Then there was Meacham’s, F.W. Woolworth, Cromer’s Ace (Bicycles were in their window.), Western Union, The Camera Shop, several greeting card stores, newsstands, banks (no branches), drug stores, restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, churches, jewelry stores, western shops and even a couple of automobile dealerships (Pontiac and Chevrolet, I believe.).
Of course you had City Hall where you could pay your water bill, Lone Star Gas Co., Texas Electric and a healthy collection of office buildings. And let’s not forget the Worth, Hollywood and Palace Theaters, along with the late, lamented Ft. Worth Public Library building that sat on that pie shaped piece of land at the intersection of Ninth and Throckmorton and was eventually demolished despite the protestations of a substantial number of residents when the new library was built. Just up the street on the corner of Eighth and Throckmorton was Barber’s Bookstore. For those who couldn’t afford the price of a new book or didn’t want to part with that much cash, there was Thompson’s Bookstore. Located on Throckmorton only a block or so south of Leonard’s, it was hole-in-the-wall offering used books and magazines. I spent a lot of time in there...and a fair amount of money.
As I said, there was just about any kind of business you could want and quite a few you didn’t, such as high interest small loan companies (Yep, they’ve been around since the beginning of time.). From Ninth Street south to Lancaster, the area was known as Lower Main. It was, with the exception of the Telephone Company (AT&T) and the Catholic Church, basically a collection of more or less disreputable flop houses, walk up hotels, bar & grilles and liquor stores, with the occasional antique shop thrown in for good measure. The Cellar (where Secret Service agents went the night before JFK was assassinated) was below ground level at Tenth and Commerce, I think. Union Gospel Mission was located on Throckmorton, about two blocks north of Lancaster, until everything was razed for the current Convention Center and the Mission wound up out on E. Lancaster.
How do I know about that particular part of Ft. Worth, since you darn sure didn’t do any window shopping in the area? Mainly by riding buses home. Their route took them straight down Houston to Lancaster or over to Calhoun and then south to Lancaster before heading east. Believe me, you saw some very interesting things while looking out the bus windows. Beyond that, one of my uncles died in 1957 while sitting on a barstool in Richelieu Grill waiting for his breakfast. Massive coronary. He was 65 and had received his first Social Security check only a week or two before.
I went with a couple of cousins to obtain his belongings from his hotel room (A walk-up flophouse with screen doors on the rooms.). By the time we got there, someone had popped the screen and taken everything he had.
Yep, downtown Ft. Worth in that time period was a very interesting mix of the good, the bad and the ugly, but they were good times overall. I still miss it.
What? Closed on Sunday? That’s right. Not only were Blue Laws in force, the general belief was that Sunday was the day you went to church. Also, most stores, even the big department stores, closed at 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. every day.
Window shopping was both an art and entertainment. You strolled slowly past the windows of various stores, lingering in front of those that caught your eye. While standing there, you imagined owning a particular outfit or jacket, shoes, toys, bicycles, etc. that you’d love to have but were way too expensive for you to afford. The flip side of the coin would be to find reasonably priced items that you either needed or wanted, then return when the store was open to purchase them.
Many’s the time you did neither. Instead, you just looked with no purpose in mind other than an outing with your family. Eventually you hopped a bus or took a cab and headed home.
Until stores started migrating to the suburbs and those new-fangled shopping centers, (Enclosed malls didn’t come along until quite a bit later. Sometime in the 1970s, I believe.), just about everything you wanted was in downtown Ft. Worth. All the big department stores, of course. Leonard’s, Everybody’s (An early version of a discount department store and owned by Leonard’s.), Monnig’s, Stripling’s (I worked in the toy department there in 1963), Cox’s and The Fair. Then there was Meacham’s, F.W. Woolworth, Cromer’s Ace (Bicycles were in their window.), Western Union, The Camera Shop, several greeting card stores, newsstands, banks (no branches), drug stores, restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, churches, jewelry stores, western shops and even a couple of automobile dealerships (Pontiac and Chevrolet, I believe.).
Of course you had City Hall where you could pay your water bill, Lone Star Gas Co., Texas Electric and a healthy collection of office buildings. And let’s not forget the Worth, Hollywood and Palace Theaters, along with the late, lamented Ft. Worth Public Library building that sat on that pie shaped piece of land at the intersection of Ninth and Throckmorton and was eventually demolished despite the protestations of a substantial number of residents when the new library was built. Just up the street on the corner of Eighth and Throckmorton was Barber’s Bookstore. For those who couldn’t afford the price of a new book or didn’t want to part with that much cash, there was Thompson’s Bookstore. Located on Throckmorton only a block or so south of Leonard’s, it was hole-in-the-wall offering used books and magazines. I spent a lot of time in there...and a fair amount of money.
As I said, there was just about any kind of business you could want and quite a few you didn’t, such as high interest small loan companies (Yep, they’ve been around since the beginning of time.). From Ninth Street south to Lancaster, the area was known as Lower Main. It was, with the exception of the Telephone Company (AT&T) and the Catholic Church, basically a collection of more or less disreputable flop houses, walk up hotels, bar & grilles and liquor stores, with the occasional antique shop thrown in for good measure. The Cellar (where Secret Service agents went the night before JFK was assassinated) was below ground level at Tenth and Commerce, I think. Union Gospel Mission was located on Throckmorton, about two blocks north of Lancaster, until everything was razed for the current Convention Center and the Mission wound up out on E. Lancaster.
How do I know about that particular part of Ft. Worth, since you darn sure didn’t do any window shopping in the area? Mainly by riding buses home. Their route took them straight down Houston to Lancaster or over to Calhoun and then south to Lancaster before heading east. Believe me, you saw some very interesting things while looking out the bus windows. Beyond that, one of my uncles died in 1957 while sitting on a barstool in Richelieu Grill waiting for his breakfast. Massive coronary. He was 65 and had received his first Social Security check only a week or two before.
I went with a couple of cousins to obtain his belongings from his hotel room (A walk-up flophouse with screen doors on the rooms.). By the time we got there, someone had popped the screen and taken everything he had.
Yep, downtown Ft. Worth in that time period was a very interesting mix of the good, the bad and the ugly, but they were good times overall. I still miss it.
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Starlite Club & The Telephone Pioneers
While the Rocket Club was arguably the best known nightclub on the Jacksboro Highway, there were plenty of others. One was the Starlite Club. Located on the west side of the highway and several blocks south of the Rocket Club, my knowledge of it is due to exactly one thing. Stashed in some of the photos and documents that my parents saved is a photo folder that is virtually identical to the ones used by the Rocket Club. It only differed in color, cover design and the club name on the front. The folder serves to perpetuate the memory (good or bad) of the Starlite Club, but it’s what I found inside that’s interesting.
My mother, Ruby Claudine Wacaster Marmo, started working for the telephone company in 1922 when she was sixteen years old, having just moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Remember, this was when the phone company was AT&T with no competition.
At any rate, my mother spent 31 years with the phone company before retiring and spending another 33 years on various PBX boards with hospitals, newspapers and department stores. When she retired from AT&T, she was a Life Member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. But, as I’m sure you know, to become a Life Member of anything, first you have to be just a member. I never knew when that occurred...until I found the Starlite Club folder.
Inside was a certificate printed on heavyweight stock Certifying that Ruby C. Marmo was a Member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. The date is December 25, 1949. This much is fact. From this point on, it’s an educated guess, but I think I’m correct. If anyone has information to the contrary, I’d appreciate hearing from them.
Since my parents appeared in a photo taken at the Rocket Club sometime in 1949, and the Telephone Pioneers certificate was found in a Starlite Club folder where it’s been since 1949, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to reach a particular conclusion.
What I believe is that the presentation of the certificate was held at a party in the Starlite Club, sometime in late December, 1949. Could it have been a few months later, making it early 1950? Sure could, since I can’t nail the date down to the specific day,
This is just a microcosm of the kinds of things that went on during the late 1940s here in Ft. Worth. No earthshattering event was connected with this presentation nor did it make the newspaper. It was just another moment in the day-to-day life in Cowtown.
My mother, Ruby Claudine Wacaster Marmo, started working for the telephone company in 1922 when she was sixteen years old, having just moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Remember, this was when the phone company was AT&T with no competition.
At any rate, my mother spent 31 years with the phone company before retiring and spending another 33 years on various PBX boards with hospitals, newspapers and department stores. When she retired from AT&T, she was a Life Member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. But, as I’m sure you know, to become a Life Member of anything, first you have to be just a member. I never knew when that occurred...until I found the Starlite Club folder.
Inside was a certificate printed on heavyweight stock Certifying that Ruby C. Marmo was a Member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. The date is December 25, 1949. This much is fact. From this point on, it’s an educated guess, but I think I’m correct. If anyone has information to the contrary, I’d appreciate hearing from them.
Since my parents appeared in a photo taken at the Rocket Club sometime in 1949, and the Telephone Pioneers certificate was found in a Starlite Club folder where it’s been since 1949, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to reach a particular conclusion.
What I believe is that the presentation of the certificate was held at a party in the Starlite Club, sometime in late December, 1949. Could it have been a few months later, making it early 1950? Sure could, since I can’t nail the date down to the specific day,
This is just a microcosm of the kinds of things that went on during the late 1940s here in Ft. Worth. No earthshattering event was connected with this presentation nor did it make the newspaper. It was just another moment in the day-to-day life in Cowtown.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Rocket Club
Drive north on Henderson until you cross the intersection where University Drive North and Northside Drive change names and you will find yourself on the Jacksboro Highway. Actually, you’re not going due north but northwest. Still, on the west side of the highway is Rockwood Park for a good distance. On the east is a retaining wall and a very steep hill that forms the back yard for houses that front on Grand Street. By the time you’re halfway between University/Northside Drive and N.E. 28th, the area is a hodge podge of car lots, cafes and abandoned buildings. But it didn’t use to be that way. In the late 1940s, you wouldn’t have been wrong to have called it nightclub row. There were quite a number there. The Starlight Club at 1301 Jacksboro Highway and the well known Rocket Club at 2202 Jacksboro Highway to name only two. As of the last time I’ve passed thru that area (and it’s been several years), the Rocket Club building was still there and I think the sign was still mounted on it. Might be wrong because I’ve slept since then.
Since anyone who knows me knows that I don’t drink (can’t stand the taste), nor do I care anything about going clubbing, you’ve got to be wondering why I’m talking about the Rocket Club. Well, there’s a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the Rocket Club is part of Ft. Worth history. As for the second, I have a folder from the Rocket Club containing a photograph of my parents sitting at a table inside the club. The date had to be around 1949.
In that time period, many clubs had roving photographers who took photos of the customers, much like sidewalk photographers in downtown Ft. Worth. If they wanted to buy the photo, it would be presented to them in a photo folder that appears to be made from heavyweight construction paper. Not only did it bring in extra money for the club, the folder did an excellent job of publicizing the club. To give you an idea of exactly what the folder looked like, I’ve added three photos to this post. The first, seen below, shows the front cover.
This was actually quite a creative cover. Note there are two planets Saturn, along with a rocketship passing by. As it nears Ft. Worth, it’s spotlight illuminates a crooner (think Bing Crosby) standing on a cloud holding a microphone with musical notes wafting into the ether. By the way, the folder is a horizontal format with the fold on the left side.
Inside the folder were four slits designed to hold a 5”x7” print. Black & White in those days, of course. As I told you, the couple in the photo are my parents, Caesar Sarafino “Jack” Marmo and Ruby Claudine Wacaster Marmo. This picture was most likely taken in 1949, making my father 41 and my mother 44. I would’ve been a few months shy of 7. Note that all tables had white tablecloths and a centerpiece that appears to be comprised of a number of glasses and at least one bottle.
The back of the folder provides the club name and address, as well as the number of the folder. If the number is sequential and started from #1, then we can assume that over 5,000 patrons had purchased photos at the Rocket Club. If anyone has similar folders from the Rocket Club or any of the other clubs on the Jacksboro Highway, I’d like to hear from you.
Next post I’ll deal with the Starlight Club & The Telephone Pioneers Of America.
Since anyone who knows me knows that I don’t drink (can’t stand the taste), nor do I care anything about going clubbing, you’ve got to be wondering why I’m talking about the Rocket Club. Well, there’s a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the Rocket Club is part of Ft. Worth history. As for the second, I have a folder from the Rocket Club containing a photograph of my parents sitting at a table inside the club. The date had to be around 1949.
In that time period, many clubs had roving photographers who took photos of the customers, much like sidewalk photographers in downtown Ft. Worth. If they wanted to buy the photo, it would be presented to them in a photo folder that appears to be made from heavyweight construction paper. Not only did it bring in extra money for the club, the folder did an excellent job of publicizing the club. To give you an idea of exactly what the folder looked like, I’ve added three photos to this post. The first, seen below, shows the front cover.
This was actually quite a creative cover. Note there are two planets Saturn, along with a rocketship passing by. As it nears Ft. Worth, it’s spotlight illuminates a crooner (think Bing Crosby) standing on a cloud holding a microphone with musical notes wafting into the ether. By the way, the folder is a horizontal format with the fold on the left side.
Inside the folder were four slits designed to hold a 5”x7” print. Black & White in those days, of course. As I told you, the couple in the photo are my parents, Caesar Sarafino “Jack” Marmo and Ruby Claudine Wacaster Marmo. This picture was most likely taken in 1949, making my father 41 and my mother 44. I would’ve been a few months shy of 7. Note that all tables had white tablecloths and a centerpiece that appears to be comprised of a number of glasses and at least one bottle.
The back of the folder provides the club name and address, as well as the number of the folder. If the number is sequential and started from #1, then we can assume that over 5,000 patrons had purchased photos at the Rocket Club. If anyone has similar folders from the Rocket Club or any of the other clubs on the Jacksboro Highway, I’d like to hear from you.
Next post I’ll deal with the Starlight Club & The Telephone Pioneers Of America.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Headlines From The Meadowlark, May 4, 1951. Part 2.
This post picks up with page 3 of The Meadowlark. Most of this page is taken with ads and the continuation of Scrapbook Memories from page 1. However, there are two photographs identifying the winners in the lunchroom contest at Meadowbrook Elementary. One is for the First Grade, while the other is for the Second Grade. While I can’t identify First Grade teacher, Second Grade is another story. The teacher is Ruby Wenzel and the photograph is the same one I posted earlier of my Second Grade class.
If you’re wondering, as I did, just what the heck a Junior High School newspaper is doing running photos of First and Second grade contests, I can suggest a couple or three things. First, Meadowbrook Elementary and Meadowbrook Junior High were almost within sight of each other. Second, Charles Berry had been principal of Meadowbrook Elementary the previous year. And third, the student reporters were doing what all good reporters do. Finding news.
Moving on to page four, we find headlines that tell you about some of the activities going on at that time.
Senior Play Casts Selected lists the casts of the senior play “Just Ducky.” A point brought out by the report was the fact that both the fifth and sixth period classes were going to perform the play, making it twice as good as last year’s effort.
Then there’s The Class Will Of “51” which was essentially a vehicle to metaphorically pass the torch to those who will come after them.
Another report let you know that Meadowbrook Has First Garden Show. There is a complete list of awards.
Finally, an article (or actually announcement) headed Attention, High Nine! invites everyone to the senior banquet to be held in the school cafeteria on May 18, 1951 at 6:30 p.m. Decorations would have a circus theme and there would be special entertainment afterward.
Turning over to page five, there are photographs of the Third Grade Lunchroom Winners and Mrs. Graham’s Sixth Grade Lunchroom Winners. There’s also a Sixth Grade News Report given by Mrs. Dry, with the rest of the page containing ads and the continuation of The Class Will Of “51”.
Finally we work our way to page six, titled Sports On Parade. There are photos of the school’s Tennis Players, Boy’s Softball Team and Girl’s Volley Ball Team.
As for headlines, Tracksters Hit The Cinders At Track Meet April 24 details the performance of their track members, broken down by school grade.
T For Tennis describes the performance of the tennis team and Softball deals with the softball team. Another report describes the Volley Ball Team under the Volleyball heading.
Finally, the headline High Nine Tea To Be Given describes a tea to be given in honor of the high ninth grade and their mothers in the school cafeteria on May 17.
And that, folks, is the end of Meadowbrook Junior High School’s The Meadowlark student newspaper.
Before closing this post, I’ve said it before but it doesn’t hurt to say it again, don’t hesitate to post your own memories of Ft. Worth or send them to me by email. Photos are particularly welcome (even if all you have are negatives). Contact me for a snail mail address in order to send photos for use in Timeship. They will be handled carefully, scanned and the originals returned promptly.
If you’re wondering, as I did, just what the heck a Junior High School newspaper is doing running photos of First and Second grade contests, I can suggest a couple or three things. First, Meadowbrook Elementary and Meadowbrook Junior High were almost within sight of each other. Second, Charles Berry had been principal of Meadowbrook Elementary the previous year. And third, the student reporters were doing what all good reporters do. Finding news.
Moving on to page four, we find headlines that tell you about some of the activities going on at that time.
Senior Play Casts Selected lists the casts of the senior play “Just Ducky.” A point brought out by the report was the fact that both the fifth and sixth period classes were going to perform the play, making it twice as good as last year’s effort.
Then there’s The Class Will Of “51” which was essentially a vehicle to metaphorically pass the torch to those who will come after them.
Another report let you know that Meadowbrook Has First Garden Show. There is a complete list of awards.
Finally, an article (or actually announcement) headed Attention, High Nine! invites everyone to the senior banquet to be held in the school cafeteria on May 18, 1951 at 6:30 p.m. Decorations would have a circus theme and there would be special entertainment afterward.
Turning over to page five, there are photographs of the Third Grade Lunchroom Winners and Mrs. Graham’s Sixth Grade Lunchroom Winners. There’s also a Sixth Grade News Report given by Mrs. Dry, with the rest of the page containing ads and the continuation of The Class Will Of “51”.
Finally we work our way to page six, titled Sports On Parade. There are photos of the school’s Tennis Players, Boy’s Softball Team and Girl’s Volley Ball Team.
As for headlines, Tracksters Hit The Cinders At Track Meet April 24 details the performance of their track members, broken down by school grade.
T For Tennis describes the performance of the tennis team and Softball deals with the softball team. Another report describes the Volley Ball Team under the Volleyball heading.
Finally, the headline High Nine Tea To Be Given describes a tea to be given in honor of the high ninth grade and their mothers in the school cafeteria on May 17.
And that, folks, is the end of Meadowbrook Junior High School’s The Meadowlark student newspaper.
Before closing this post, I’ve said it before but it doesn’t hurt to say it again, don’t hesitate to post your own memories of Ft. Worth or send them to me by email. Photos are particularly welcome (even if all you have are negatives). Contact me for a snail mail address in order to send photos for use in Timeship. They will be handled carefully, scanned and the originals returned promptly.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Headlines From The Meadowlark, May 4, 1951
There was a lot more in The Meadowlark besides ads and a photo of the graduating class. It was a newspaper and the students took their job seriously. First, let’s see who’s listed on The Meadowlark Staff. After that, we’ll work our way thru the paper headline by headline. In line with that, the newspaper staff is as follows:
Editor: Cynthia Seacrest
Assistant Editor: Jackie Tackett
Make-Up Editors: Mary Lou Oliver, Charlene McBrayer, Richard Hollingsworth, Montie Mauldin
Circulation Managers: Jerre Jean Power, John Irby
Business Manager: Kay Spurlock
Advertising Manager: Bob Franks
Exchange Editor: Bill Oglesby
Advertising Staff And Special Reporters: Cecil Davis, Monell Holden, Madelon Mathieu, Jackie Simpson, Barbara Wellman, Alma Netherton, Cathryne Barnett, Charlene McBrayer, Xanthia Macy, Mabell Rainey, Carolyn Rice, Betty Tripp, Mary White, Nancy Fawver, Annelle Northcut, Eleanor Armstrong, Marian Bickle, Jean Hiett, Lanny Ham, Carmen Baltasar, Ella Jane Faris.
Sports Editors: Ted Stuart, Sandie Gordon
Principal: Mr. Charles M. Berry
Dean And Sponsor: Miss Flossie Green
In case the name of Charles Berry sounds familiar, it’s because he was the principal of Meadowbrook Elementary during the 1949 – 1950 school year. Apparently he was appointed principal of Meadowbrook Junior High for the 1950 – 1951 term. They were fortunate to have him. He was a good man.
Now to the headlines. The front page carried only one, once you got past the half page photo of the graduating class. That headline read:
Scrapbook Memories (Class Prophecy) and was written by Xanthia Macy, Mary Oliver & Nancy Fawver. Taking up the lower half of the front page and a third of page three, it was a fictionalized report of a chance meeting by Mary Oliver & Xanthia Macy in New York and their decision to take their vacation together by returning home to Ft. Worth. Along the way they run into all their old classmates with descriptions of what they are doing now.
On page two, the next headline reads Apologies In Order and is essentially a thank you to the teachers they’ve had in their time at Meadowbrook Junior High. DAR And American Legion Winners is self-explanatory, particularly when the box just below announces the Meadowbrook Junior High School Awards Day Program. Considering the atmosphere that exists in school today, along with all the rules, regulations and political correctness, just reading the program order is educational. To that end, here it is:
Processional........................Aida; Grand March
*”America”.........................Boston Pops Orchestra
* Invocation.........................Rev. W. Fred Swank
Pastor, Sagamore Hill Baptist Church
Platform Guest.....................Mrs. George M. Connor
President, Board Of Education
Vocal Solo – “Jerusalem”................Henry Parker
Roberta Murphy
Mrs. Strickland, Accompanist
Remarks........................................Mr. Joe P. Moore
Superintendent of Schools
Special Octet – “My Hero”...................Oscar Staus
Eight Ninth Grade Girls: Soprano, Jackie Simpson,
Ella Jane Faris, Mary Jo Einstein, Gene Fricke;
Alto, Montie Mauldin, Marilyn Swayze, Marian
Bickle, Jerre Jean Power.
D.A.R. Awards......................................Mrs. M.H. Crabb
American Legion Awards...............Mr. Buster Kirkpatrick
* School Song.......................................”Alma Mater”
Recessional..................................”War March of the Priests”
* Audience Will Please Stand May 4, 1951
The next headline on that page says Good Luck, Champs! and, as you’ve probably guessed, it deals with the annual Press Spelling Bee. Finally we have Student Council At Work which is simply a listing of the members of the student council and an accompanying photo of the group.
That’s it for this post. Next time around we’ll start with page three.
Editor: Cynthia Seacrest
Assistant Editor: Jackie Tackett
Make-Up Editors: Mary Lou Oliver, Charlene McBrayer, Richard Hollingsworth, Montie Mauldin
Circulation Managers: Jerre Jean Power, John Irby
Business Manager: Kay Spurlock
Advertising Manager: Bob Franks
Exchange Editor: Bill Oglesby
Advertising Staff And Special Reporters: Cecil Davis, Monell Holden, Madelon Mathieu, Jackie Simpson, Barbara Wellman, Alma Netherton, Cathryne Barnett, Charlene McBrayer, Xanthia Macy, Mabell Rainey, Carolyn Rice, Betty Tripp, Mary White, Nancy Fawver, Annelle Northcut, Eleanor Armstrong, Marian Bickle, Jean Hiett, Lanny Ham, Carmen Baltasar, Ella Jane Faris.
Sports Editors: Ted Stuart, Sandie Gordon
Principal: Mr. Charles M. Berry
Dean And Sponsor: Miss Flossie Green
In case the name of Charles Berry sounds familiar, it’s because he was the principal of Meadowbrook Elementary during the 1949 – 1950 school year. Apparently he was appointed principal of Meadowbrook Junior High for the 1950 – 1951 term. They were fortunate to have him. He was a good man.
Now to the headlines. The front page carried only one, once you got past the half page photo of the graduating class. That headline read:
Scrapbook Memories (Class Prophecy) and was written by Xanthia Macy, Mary Oliver & Nancy Fawver. Taking up the lower half of the front page and a third of page three, it was a fictionalized report of a chance meeting by Mary Oliver & Xanthia Macy in New York and their decision to take their vacation together by returning home to Ft. Worth. Along the way they run into all their old classmates with descriptions of what they are doing now.
On page two, the next headline reads Apologies In Order and is essentially a thank you to the teachers they’ve had in their time at Meadowbrook Junior High. DAR And American Legion Winners is self-explanatory, particularly when the box just below announces the Meadowbrook Junior High School Awards Day Program. Considering the atmosphere that exists in school today, along with all the rules, regulations and political correctness, just reading the program order is educational. To that end, here it is:
Processional........................Aida; Grand March
*”America”.........................Boston Pops Orchestra
* Invocation.........................Rev. W. Fred Swank
Pastor, Sagamore Hill Baptist Church
Platform Guest.....................Mrs. George M. Connor
President, Board Of Education
Vocal Solo – “Jerusalem”................Henry Parker
Roberta Murphy
Mrs. Strickland, Accompanist
Remarks........................................Mr. Joe P. Moore
Superintendent of Schools
Special Octet – “My Hero”...................Oscar Staus
Eight Ninth Grade Girls: Soprano, Jackie Simpson,
Ella Jane Faris, Mary Jo Einstein, Gene Fricke;
Alto, Montie Mauldin, Marilyn Swayze, Marian
Bickle, Jerre Jean Power.
D.A.R. Awards......................................Mrs. M.H. Crabb
American Legion Awards...............Mr. Buster Kirkpatrick
* School Song.......................................”Alma Mater”
Recessional..................................”War March of the Priests”
* Audience Will Please Stand May 4, 1951
The next headline on that page says Good Luck, Champs! and, as you’ve probably guessed, it deals with the annual Press Spelling Bee. Finally we have Student Council At Work which is simply a listing of the members of the student council and an accompanying photo of the group.
That’s it for this post. Next time around we’ll start with page three.
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