While attending Reagan Junior High in the 1954 – ’56
time frame, my dream was to become an entomologist. I loved biology, especially
zoology, and in particular entomology – the study of insects. It was at this
time I placed my first purchase on layaway; a three-book set titled THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM. Big, thick, brown covers, within which was information I desperately
wanted to read. However, it took me several weeks to saved my lunch money and
pay them off a little at a time. The store was The Lovelace Bookstore in
downtown Wichita Falls. Sixty years later those three books still hold a
special place on my bookshelf, even though the information is now available for
free online.
Oddly, I had a teacher at Reagan named Mr. Lovelace, and
often wondered if he was related to the gentleman I bought the books from, but
I never asked. John William Lovelace passed away in Wichita Falls this week. He
was the son of Bryan Wood and Zora Willis Lovelace, the owners of The Lovelace
Bookstore, and I’m sure I bought the books from John’s father, Bryan. Yes, John
Lovelace did teach at Reagan, so maybe he was my teacher. I didn’t become an
entomologist, but I never lost my interest in the subject, and to this day I’m
fascinated with insects and paleo-biology.
John Williams, author of Stoner (1965) and Augustus, the winner of the 1972 National Book Award, worked at the Lovelace Bookstore before the war.
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting. John William Lovelace's obituary didn't mention any books published by him. Is the author John Williams the same man as John William Lovelace? Or is it just similar names, and the STONER author worked at the Lovelace Bookstore. John William Lovelace was a Marine in the Korean War, I believe before he started his teaching career.
ReplyDeleteJohn William Lovelace was my father. He did teach at Reagan and my grandparents, Bryan and Zora Lovelace, owned Lovelace Book Store in Wichita Falls. I have great memories of the store as a young child as well. As far as I know, Dad never published any books. He loved Geography (what he taught at Reagan ? ) and enjoyed studying a big atlas we had at home. He was a veteran of the Korean War but worked with signaling and communications for the Army so he was not a Marine. He also studied Animal Husbandry as he became a cattle rancher. He worked at Texas Employment Commission after he left the teaching profession but his love was ranching. The book store was later sold to Mr. Boyd and became Boyd's Lovelace Bookstore. Bryan and Zora opened a small rock shop on Armory Road afterwards. They owned a cabin in Eldora, Colorado and would find rocks to polish on their trips to the mountains. Memaw (Zora) died of cancer in her 60's and (Pawpaw) Bryan remarried Irma. Zora Willis Lovelace was a descendant of the Hawkins/Hardin families who were early settlers in Cashion (Burkburnett) and Wichita Falls. Think of Hardin College (MSU), Mary Hardin Baylor, Hardin-Simmons, etc.
ReplyDelete