Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7th and 8th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Early Schools In Wichita Falls


Here is a collage of the early Wichita Falls city schools. One of them is the San Jacinto elementary school. I went there from the 2nd through 6th grades: twice in the 2nd thanks to Margaret Hollingsworth, a second cousin. Margaret bent over backwards to prove she wasn’t partial to a relative and failed me (sigh). But I loved her anyway. I also loved San Jacinto. After all, I spent from 1947 to 1953 there. I spent the 7th grade at Carrigan 53/54, then Reagan Jr. High in the 8th and 9th grades 54/56. That’s at the time my dad tired of cooking and went back to ranch work as a cowboy. We moved to a ranch at Kadane Corners for my tenth grade in Valley View High School. From there we moved back to Seymour for the rest of my high school. Then the Army came calling. The above picture is a collage of the early Wichita Falls schools. San Jacinto is one of them. By left clicking on the picture you will see a larger version. As long as I was there, I cannot identify it. Perhaps one of you will remember which one it is. I believe Carrigan may be included. If anyone can point the individual schools out, please contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com, or leave a comment on the Blog.

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