Firebird65

There once was someone on here who wrote she was the mascot for the Aldine High School twirling troupe. I don't remember the person's name, but I do remember she said there was a photo of her as the mascot in the 1940 yearbook and she was wondering if anyone had a copy. Well, I came across a copy and here is that photo. Unfortunately, I do not know how to reach her. So... I hope she someday finds this post and if so, I am sorry I can't remember the name: Here's a smaller version:

Here is a list of the principals of Marrs/Aldine High School. Don't have the dates of their tenure, but I do believe this list is complete. Marrs High G.C. Cox J.E. Barden Harmon Watts C.O. Dusek Aldine High Arnold Orsak (moved from football coach to principal as Aldine High I opened) Ernest Harvell W.L. Alvara G.L. Chandler Thomas Miksch Floyd Tiggeman Jimmy Hailey Jim Smith M.B. Donaldson Vernon Lewis Ralph Norman Ron Galindo Cecil Hutson Janice DeBlance

It's a real shame the staff doesn't know the history, but it's even a bigger shame the students don't know. Can't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but did you know they no longer have yearbooks or a student newspaper at Aldine? Talk about a real travesty! I have the very first year book ever published at Aldine (from 1940) in front of me right now and it just oozes history of the school. I also have a copy of the sixth ever school newspaper (from 1934) that talks about the first graduating class. I may be one of the few people around who knows who the first valedictorian was (Elvada Middleton) or that the very first classes of Aldine High School were held at Memorial Baptist Church. Everyone else thinks the school was founded in 1936 when in fact that was the second high school (of four). The school was already four years old at the time. I've really enjoyed doing the history and I am only too happy to share it. The only problem thus far has been finding people to talk about what went on when they were in school. I am hoping the school has kept its old newspapers and that they'll let me take a look through them. I've got a good handle on the beginning, but it's after 1950 I'm missing a lot. If you can tell me of some of the big events that happened during your years, both at school at what life for a high schooler was like during that time (where you hung out, what you did for fun), I'd sure appreciate it. It would make a nice contrast to the stories I have from the earlier days.

I went into Aldine High two years ago and it was still like that... at least in the boys room. I have no idea if it was like that in the girls room two years ago or if it has always been that way.

You know, you are right. The bathrooms didn't have stalls with doors on them, in none of the schools. That's an excellent question as to why. I don't know the answer. Sure seems odd, doesn't it? When did you go to Aldine? I really could use some information from the 1960s. I'm a little patchy on those years.

Hmmmm... come to think of it, you seem to have a point about the restrooms. There had to another one in the old front end of the school. At least one would hope. LOL! Here are pictures of the front and sides of the school from the 1960-61 Aldine High Roundup yearbook. Front Gym Vocational buildings Field House and Stadium

Here are the four high schools in chronological order: The Marrs School (1933-36) Marrs High (1936-47) and (1954-56) Aldine High I (1947-54) Aldine High II (1956-present)

In that 1944 aerial, the building in the lower right hand corner was the gym. It burned down in November 1948, which is why you don't see it in the 1953 photo. The school district was scrapped for money in the mid 1930s and they thought they got a good deal when the Humble Oil Company sold them discarded lumber for nothing more than a song. Problem was that wood had been used on oil tanks and was probably soaked with oil. So it went up in flames rather easily. Just because they worked at a school didn't make them smart, I guess. LOL! To the left of the gym was the Marrs School. Those two small buildings above the gym were the cafeteria and the band hall. The cafeteria is probably the lower one as that extension on the back of is most likely a kitchen. The "L" shaped building is Marrs High. The part that makes the L and the two small buildings to the upper left of it were added in 1939. One of the buildings is a home economics cottage. The other is a vocational agriculture building. In the 1953 photo, going from top to bottom... the backwards "3" building is the first Aldine High School. It was built in 1947. I can't tell what those two squares are to the right of the high school. I can't tell if they are buildings are parking lots. I also notice two additional buildings have appeared next to the ag building and the home ec cottage. No idea what those are either. But I do know where to go to find out. Next time i see my contact, I'll ask him, as he attended Aldine High during this time. Here is a mid 1940s aerial view from a bit lower and to the side. I've labeled some things on there. Note that the 1912 schoolhouse is in front of the gym. When the gym burned down, the fire also consumed it. Too bad, as that would be a great place for an AISD museum.

Well, now oddly enough, I actually have an answer about whether kids wore overalls and went barefooted to school. I received an e-mail today from a former student who went to Marrs High during WWII and almost as if he had read your question, he mentioned to me that they wore overalls to school. How's that for timing! Nothing about being barefooted. But he did say that they would ride horses to go visit people.

Billy, I do have an update with all kinds of new stuff added. Don't rembember when I sent you a copy, but I have added lots and lots of things over the years. Right now I'm just checking it over for typos. Dang things keep popping like rabbits. I'm nearly done... sometime later this week I should be finished. I'd be happy to send you and anyone else who wants one a copy. As for the Gulf Bank/Hill Road areas, yes, they were mostly farmland - small produce farms (aka truck farms because the produce was trucked to market in Houston). That area was owned by a man named W.F. Hill who started selling off the land in the 1920s. Hill Rd is obviously named for him. I've been told the original name for Gulf Bank was Pool Rd, but that it was changed because there already was a Pool Rd in Houston. No one knows where the name Gulf Bank came from. Everyone who lived along Gulf Bank east of Stuebner Airline would have gone to Aldine schools. That area has always been Aldine, although it is just north of AISD's southern boundary. West of Stuebner Airline was not always in Aldine or its predecessor, District 29. It was part of the White Oak school district (District 26)originally. White Oak became part of AISD in 1937, two years after AISD was formed. I don't know the exact boundary, but pretty much everything south of Gulf Bank and west of Stuebner Airline was White Oak. Pretty much everything north of Gulf Bank and west of Stuebner Airline was part of the North Houston district (District 49) which Aldine absorbed a section of in 1935 shortly after its creation. I've seen photos dating back to 1912 of Aldine schools and in none of the photos are the students barefooted. Can't remember if they were wearing overalls. But they are dressed as nicely as anyone else at the time, I presume. The earliest yearbook dates to the 1939-40 school year and other than the hairstyles are a little funny, they don't look that different.

Great to see a reply! I had a nice response for you, but then my computer crashed. Shoot! I'm nopt going to retype it now. Let's just say that I've gotten lots of great information on the beginnings of Aldine High School. Some of the speculations we made here were right, others were wrong. One on which were were wrong is that the Marrs High School burned down in 1954. That was what I got from the district. They ought to know, right? Nope. That is wrong. It was another school that burned in 1954, and it was called... Aldine High School. If you have Google Earth, you can see this school. Go to the 1953 view and you will see it. It will be the northernmost set of buildings. The proper chronology for Aldine High is this: 1932 or 1933 to 1936 - the Marrs School (aka the Lane School) 1936 to 1947 - Marrs High School 1947 to 1954 - Aldine High School I 1954 to 1956 - classes held at Marrs High (then a junior high) 1956 to present - Aldine High School II Can't believe the district had it wrong. Oh well, maybe I was just speaking to the wrong person. When in doubt, talk to someone who was actually there, which I did, and they set me straight, including me showing yearbook photos of the school. Anyway, I'm now working on a history of Aldine High. I've got some great information, which I'll be happy to share here if there's some interest. I don't yet have the exact date of when the first high school classes were held (which would be the true starting date of Aldine High), but I'm close. I also have the roster of the first graduating class, the first principal and the first teachers.

Wow... hate to be SIX MONTHS late in replying, LOL!, but I just now saw your post. Hope it's not too late! I got my info from the two local papers. I went back to the July and August 1976 Houston Post and Chronicle editions on the UH Library microfilms. They had special editions on the opening of the mall, complete with a map and roster of all the stores on opening day. I printed them out and posted the results here. Unfortunately, I no longer have the printouts, but they are very easily recovered. I just have to go back to the UH library.

Oak Forest was still part of AISD in 1958. Sometime in 1958 (and I don't have an exact date), apparently about 2,000 residents in Oak Forest complained to the Harris County School Board that Aldine wasn't doing enough for their area and they wanted out. Among their complaints were that Aldine junior and senior highs were 26 miles (that can't be right, but that's what the reports say) away, while Houston ISD schools were but a mile and a half away. On September 17, 1958, the county school board ruled for the residents and said AISD had to cede 3 square miles of Oak Forest and Langwood to HISD. AISD appealed to the state. On April 11, 1959, the state rejected AISD's appeal and ordered they hand over Oak Forest to HISD. One of the reasons AISD fought the measure was because Oak Forest was the richest part of the district and at the time, AISD was in serious financial trouble. A few days after the decision, the district's schools closed for two days April 16 and 17, 1959, when AISD couldn't make payroll. Oak Forest made up approximately 2 percent of the land area of AISD, but contained 17 percent of the district's revenue. So you can see why they didn't want to let it go. The news stories say Aldine could appeal to a district court. However, seeing how the district had no money and had bigger, more pressing matters immediately at hand, I doubt they did so. All of the stories for the rest of April dealt with the school closing crisis. No mention is made of an appeal. If one happened, it must have been later. So it would appear, unless I find information to the contrary, that AISD turned over control of Oak Forest for the 1959-1960 school year. Kathryn Smith Elementary and its faculty were part of the transfer.

Not sure if anyone still reads this thread or not, but just in case... I've now started a history of Aldine High School. I've found out that a lot of the speculation in this thread and the other "History of the Area of Aldine" while close, was off. I'll address this one first. Yes, Oak Forest was still part of AISD in 1958. Sometime in 1958 (and I don't have an exact date), apparently about 2,000 residents in Oak Forest complained to the Harris County School Board that Aldine wasn't doing enough for their area and they wanted out. Among their complaints were that Aldine junior and senior highs were 26 miles (that can't be right, but that's what the reports say) away, while Houston ISD schools were but a mile and a half away. On September 17, 1958, the county school board ruled for the residents and said AISD had to cede 3 square miles of Oak Forest and Langwood to HISD. AISD appealed to the state. On April 11, 1959, the state rejected AISD's appeal and ordered they hand over Oak Forest to HISD. One of the reasons AISD fought the measure was because Oak Forest was the richest part of the district and at the time, AISD was in serious financial trouble. A few days after the decision, the district's schools closed for two days April 16 and 17, 1959, when AISD couldn't make payroll. Oak Forest made up approximately 2 percent of the land area of AISD, but contained 17 percent of the district's revenue. So you can see why they didn't want to let it go. The news stories say Aldine could appeal to a district court. However, seeing how the district had no money and had bigger, more pressing matters immediately at hand, I doubt they did so. All of the stories for the rest of April dealt with the school closing crisis. No mention is made of an appeal. If one happened, it must have been later. So it would appear, unless I find information to the contrary, that AISD turned over control of Oak Forest for the 1959-1960 school year. Kathryn Smith Elementary and its faculty were part of the transfer.

There's been a topic on this before - but that's OK, it's an interesting topic. Veterans Memorial used to be Stuebener Airline, meaning Stuebner Airline ran from the North Freeway all the way to near the county line. Now it's just from FM 1960 north. Airline used to be East Montgomery Road. It also used to be U.S. Highway 75 eons ago, until that designation was switched to North Shepherd. Aldine-Bender west of the Hardy Toll Road used to once be called just Aldine Road, as it was the road that went to Aldine from U.S. 75. Aldine-Bender was the road that went from Aldine to U.S. 59. West Mount Houston west of I-45 used to be called Airline Link Road. Sweetwater Drive in North Houston used to be called Hacker Road. Not a complete name change, but I remember when I was a kid the exit signs for Little York on the North Freeway said Little York School Road. Anyone know what that was about? Out west, near where I live now, Harwin used to be called Alief-Houston Road (some machine shop still has a sign out front with that street name). Part of Briar Forest from Dairy Ashford to Highway 6 was called Goar Road (there's still a tiny sliver of Goar left just north of a curve on Briar Forest). Not as much a name change as a complete replacement, the West Belt was Roark Road before the West Belt was built. Not sure if this is still the case, or if anything official ever happened changing or ending this, but parts of FM 1960 and Highway 6 used to have differing names, depending on what part you were on. Maybe the names are still used, I don't know. East of the Hardy Toll Road, FM 1960 was Humble-Westfield Road. Then it became Humble-Atascosita Road east of U.S. 59. The part where FM 1960 crosses I-45 was once called Bammel-Westfield; another part was Jackrabbit Road to U.S. 290. Highway 6 south to I-10 was once called Addicks-Satsuma Road.

Well, unfortunately, looks like this thread has wound down now that the anti-Wal-Marters have realized the store is going to be built and there's nothing they can do about it. I sure enjoyed following some of their twisted logic. I eagerly look forward to shopping there when it opens (although not on the grand opening day - it'll be packed, probably with some of the same folks who used so many words to oppose it). It would be nice if people would post updates on this site of the progress the store is making in construction and when the planned opening will be.

That's hilarious!

Bravo, sir. Take a bow. You most certainly deserve it.

Great story, James. Thanks for sharing it. Thought this thread had died out long ago. Nice to see some new material.

LOL!

Sounds as if someone is a little touchy. I merely called it as I saw it, from an outsider's perspective. Maybe it hit a little too close to home for you? I've said the Heights anti-Wal-Marters have every right to protest the Wal-Mart being built in their neighborhood (although technically, it doesn't appear to be in their neighborhood, from the information in one writer's earlier post). I'm not asking them to sit back and take it (and am in no position to do so anyway). But what I am saying is, that from the viewpoint of someone who knows next to nothing about this debate and only saw it for the first time today, it sure appears the anti-Wal-Marters have some other agenda besides those you mentioned. Those seem more like a smokescreen. Sorry... I'm not trying to be insulting to you or anyone else. Maybe I'm wrong, but I read 75% of the posts on here (it was that slow a day here at work) and that's the impression I got. And I get the feeling you're not even going to try to change my impression. That's your choice, of course.

I believe this has been mentioned in a similar thread about an HEB in Montrose, but it bears repeating here: Wal-Mart doesn't owe you or anyone else a explanation of what they are doing on the site. Not trying to be a smart###, but that's a simple fact. Now, whether they ought to include the community in an effort to show themselves as a good neighbor, well, that's a different discussion. But the simple fact is they don't owe you anything. They paid their money, it's their property, they can do what they want with it as long as they follow the law. From here, it looks like they have. I'm just an outsider who wandered into this thread on an otherwise boring day. Thisd looked like an interesting and topical discussion and it hasn't disappointed. I've got no dog in this hunt, but from an outsider's perspective, the people who are anti-Wal-Mart on this thread come across as people tap dancing and people trying to hide another agenda. If I'm wrong, well... I can only go with and draw my conclusions based on the information and arguments presented here. And from this outsider's perspective, the pro-Wal-Marters have presented a much more compelling and honest argument than the anti-Wal-Marters. Again, this is my opinion only and it's worth what you paid for it. I thought someone might enjoy an outsider's opinion on this discussion from someone who has nothing to gain or lose from it. If you didn't, that's OK.

Indeed. I am totally bored today at work, so I've spent the day going through about 75% of this thread. What a laugh riot. Wal-Mart has the absolute right to build this store there. Even the Mayor says so. Of course, he anti-Wal-Marters have every right to protest it. This is America. I don't blame them for doing so. But having read their comments, they sure seem to dance around the real issue of why they don't want a Wal-Mart in their neighborhood. It isn't about traffic... it isn't about drainage... it isn't about light pollution. If it was, they'd have protested that Target that went up. I sure don't remember any ruckus about that store being built. And it's not about people working at Wal-Mart only getting 30 hours a week so they don't get health insurance. I once worked for a Target and trust me, Target does the same exact thing. All retailers do. Nope... these people are clearly just a bunch of snooty, elitist NIMBY's who don't don't like the kind of people Wal-Mart would attract. Not trying to be insulting, but c'mon. The more "issues" they bring up to deflect that notion, the more obvious it becomes. Actually, if they'd just flat out admit that they don't want Wal-Mart's clientele in their neighborhood rather than dancing around trying to be PC, they'd probably catch a lot less flack, and might actually garner more support from people who would appreciate someone being honest for a change. Just my humble opinions... worth exactly what you paid for 'em. Thank you for allowing me to post them.

Got a new piece of information from former Aldine High English teacher Mr. Wesbrook the other day. Mr. Wesbrook gave me a story from a May 1935 Houston Post. According to the story, the original Marrs School (now the Lane Center) opened in 1933 and housed grades 1-11 (there was no 12th grade at the time). That means the Marrs School was the first high school and elementary school simultaneously. The first graduating class of Marrs High was in May 1935. This means the start date for Marrs (Aldine) High School is now 1933, not 1936. As far as I and Mr. Wesbrook know, Marrs High opened its own building in 1936, as the Marrs School was getting very overcrowded after only 3 years.

Really? Me too! Funny story: I came across your post earlier this afternoon but couldn't reply. I was wondering who you were, figuring you must have lived on the other end of Terrydale from me (I lived by Beaver Bend). FIVE MINUTES LATER I'm on Facebook, and the first thing I see is one of my friends who also grew up on Terrydale adding you as a friend. LOL! What are the odds?