billyf

OK so it must have all been done around the same time. At least we know the cafeteria was done around the same time which makes sense now that I think about it. Now we just need to find out when the front addition opened and why it says 1972 when even 1973 seems too soon. By the mini gym there was another weight room which I guess was added the same time the mini gym was. I think there were another set of locker rooms added too, though I have never been in them. There was a basement by the outside door of the old locker rooms which I think was for the boiler for the old heating system and the pool pumps. I student fell though the door when I went there and broke his back. They put a fence around it after that. I always wondered what it looked like down there. What's this about a Juke box? I guess it didn't last very long. lol

The expanded section of the cafeteria is also on the 1973, but not the 1964. There are windowless classrooms on the back part of the 100 hall next to the main gym. When I went there the heath classes were held in those rooms. I'm thinking those were added the same time the cafeteria was expanded as they are right next to it. The question is was the mini gym, the expanded section of the cafeteria and those classrooms (and a restoom) done as part of the 1970 additions? I had only been in that restroom back there once as it was usually locked. The style was different than the ones on the 400 hall or the front which could indicate a different designer.

The 1973 aerial shows the front still under construction, so 1972 had to be the start date of the project. Of course the aerial date could be wrong too. I heard a long time ago that it opened in fall of 1973. I wonder why they needed to start another add on project just two years later? It amazes me how much newer the front of the school looks versus the 1970 addition. Maybe they were trying to make it look more like the rest of the school and wanted the front to have a more modern look. Any info when air conditioning was added to the school? Something tells me it was 1970.

That is crazy! I wonder if they make the students get a staff member to unlock the doors during class. A student posted a youtube video from back in 2008 in the restroom off the 400 hall and there were no stall doors. I wonder if they went to Stovall This is part of the new addition from the late 90s and there are no doors. 1960s addition, still no doors So ghetto!

I know, but it was zoned to some bad neighborhoods. We had a lot of fights at Grantham, but the school wasn't ghetto. I never went to Stovall, but I know the kids that lived off Goodson near the school did. Most of trouble I had was with black kids that came from Stovall. The adverage classroom at Grantham had 2 black kids and they never caused any problems. In fact I don't recall seeing a single fight from a black kid there. When I got to Aldine it was a little bit of a shock how bad and racist those kids were. Of course most of them were gone by the 11th grade.

For those of you that don't know a new high school and 9th grade center is being built in AISD off 12525 Ella Blvd. It will be called Oliver Davis High School or just Davis High School. It will open in 2012 and the 9th grade center will open in 2013. http://www.gammaconst.com/portfolio.asp?category=current http://www.aldine.k12.tx.us/sections/news/specific_article.cfm?articleID=5520 This will be the first major high school built since Nimitz in the 1970s.

Are you kidding me? There is no more yearbooks? Maybe not enough of the students needed signed up for the class. I hate to say it, but after Mr Norman got fired/resigned that school has not been the same. My experience there wasn't all that great (at least my first year), but there were still aspects that set it aside from the other schools that I liked. After he left I heard that they got crazy with the discipline. At one point I heard they were giving students SAC (in school suspension) and detention in the same day (talk about sadistic). I also heard there was a lot of disorganization. The former principal of Grantham took over for a few years and I think even one of the former assistant principal from Grantham took over for a year or two. They have been through several since I left. I know Mr. Norman had been there for over 20 years, but left after the rude behavior from the senior class at graduation (class of 1998 or 1999 I think). I write more later, but here is a few think I remember. There was a fire in the teacher lounge during the 1991-1992 schools year. It happened during the school day and students were not allowed back in till the next day. The school switched to block scheduling during the 1995-1996 school year. It was 4 nine week terms and 4 classes per day. It was a pilot program and they did away with it a couple of years later. My yearbook and yearbook video talks about it. I actually liked the block scheduling since you only had for worry about 4 classes. I had co-op too, so I only had to worry about 3 classes one being co-op. There was one lunch block and it was an hour long They had stands all throughout the school where you could buy food. They did away with the hour lunch when Mr Norman left. We also had a nutrition break during the second block and they allowed us to eat and drink in class. My senior year was actually pretty fun and the changes were for the better.

I attended Aldine High School from 1992-1996. Most of the staff was pretty clueless about the school’s history. Most of what I have learned has been from my own research and talking to old timers in the Aldine area over the years. To my knowledge none of the schools in Aldine ISD have stall doors on the toilets to this day. I think it's wrong because some people have a hard time going when others are watching. I attended Grantham Middle School in the 8th grade when it was still zoned to Northline Ter. It was built in 1986 and the restrooms were just like the other schools except there were no doors going into the restrooms. They were like the ones at sports stadiums so you couldn't see inside from the hall. I really liked the architecture of Grantham. Heck I liked just about everything about that school particularly the fact that few ghetto students attended there (they all went to Stovall). They also had some really good teachers too that helped me a lot. Anyway it was simple and almost every classroom had windows. It seems many newer schools have windowless classrooms to save on lot space. The whole school including the gym's had central A/C. It had a stage in the cafeteria like Carroll did. From looking at the satellite views nothing has been added on. I wonder how well they kept it up inside. The individual that was in charge of the designing of Aldine schools passed away some time back (or maybe retired). I don't know much about them, but the news article said they had been doing it for several years. I wonder if they had anything to do with Aldine.

Cool thanks! The school looked much better in it's original form. The add ons in the late 60s gave the school a very dated look. Sort of like a NYC subway station. The 1973 addition looks modern inside even to today stadards, but the outside is very plain. Unless they removed them for the addition, the restrooms in the front were not part of the original school. Maybe kids in those days just had really big bladders lol Speaking of restrooms. What's up with Aldine schools not having stall doors? People that went to other disticts don't believe me when I tell them that. It is this way in even the oldest schools. I'm sure it was to discourage smoking and drug use, but why do it even in elementary schools?

I'm pretty sure that isn't a parking lot on the 1953 aerial at the very top, but rather the gym for the old Aldine High School. If you look carefully it has the same outline as the building on the 1953 aerial and the same walkway. Also the rooftop doesn't have those white specs like the rest of the new wings. If that is the case not only does Aldine Middle School today have parts of Marrs High School, it also has parts of the old Aldine High School. It looks like they built on to Marrs High school to make Aldine Junior High and used the gym that was untouched from the fire of Aldine. If you notice the additions to the old Marr High School building look just like the aerials from new Aldine on Airline during that time. I bet they looked very similar inside too (probably same builder). I have never been inside Aldine Middle School so I do not know. I'm curious what the L shaped part looks like today. I know the inside of Aldine on Airline doesn't look all that different today from videos I saw on youtube than when I went there. Do you have any pictures of the front of Aldine High School on Airline before the front 1973 addition was added on? The front entrance used to be where the auditorium is and there were a second set of doors where the yellow 200 hall is. One thing I found odd was Aldine seemed to originally only had one set of restrooms in the whole school which is on the 300 hall (excluding ones that were probably in the locker rooms). They added two more on in with the 1960s addition which in part was the green 400 hall, which looks a lot like the inside of MacArthur BTW. They were both built around that time. They added two more restrooms on when they added the front addition in 1973. Must have been some long lines during class changes before they were added.

Thanks for the info on the clothing! So if I understand correctly Aldine High School was the far building behind the Lane School just south of Aldine Meadows RD? The site where the old Aldine High School stood is now part of Aldine Middle School? On the 1944 aerial there is building as a backwards 7 behind the lane school. NE there are two small buildings possibly locker rooms. They are all still there and are part of Aldine Middle School. It appears they added on from that section expanding the school over to where the old Aldine High school once stood. The backwards 7 building could be seen on aerials up to a few years ago as an older wing. The last renovation makes it look like it is all one newer building. The building behind the old Aldine High school behind the Aldine Admin building is still there today and is part of Aldine Middle school I believe. Anyone know what that building is used for today? Is it one of the gym’s and possibly the old gym for Aldine High school I? It appears on the 1953 aerial that it would have been Marrs School (elementary?) (now Lane), Aldine Junior High and next to it was Aldine High school going right to left. Now on the 1947 aerial there is building to the right of what is now the Lane school. If you look on the 1957 aerial that building is gone and you can still see where the building stood. What building was that? 1944 aerial 1953 aerial 1957 aerial

Yes please do! The houses on Gulf Bank, Hill Rd and Airway by the old Fairway Foods seem to be some of the oldest in the area. I used to know a guy that lived on Busch St off Airline which is just before West Road. He told me when they first moved there in the early 50s they didn't even have a bathroom in their house. They used the one at the gas station until he could build one which was detached from the main trailer. He still had the original bathroom in the 1990s though they had a newer trailer with a bathroom inside. Despite being a fairly poor area (by some people's standards), Aldine was quite conservative till the 90s. Most the kids in our old neighborhood growing up wore shoes even in the summer from what I remember. I went barefoot quite a bit till I was 11 or 12 and remember getting comments from adults and older kids about it. I knew some people that wouldn't even wear shorts. There were lots of old school people still around and I knew quite a few adults that attended Aldine schools as kids. I knew about the Gulf Coast airport and Airline being US 75 from a young age as well as the fires. I think we had a pretty good taste of what the culture might have been like even in the 70s and 80s. I used to get my hair cut at Buck and Carroll's off 525 (I think) and also Jim and Glen's off Airline. I know they were in the area a long time and never found out what happened to them. Man I miss the old vibe the northside had.

Thanks for sharing all the info you have provided Firebird65! I still have the Aldine football History PDF you sent me awhile back. If you have a newer one or just more info in general please email it to billybassman21@yahoo.com. I was comparing aerials on Google Earth from the 1944, 1953, 1978 and today as well as the ones on Historical Aerials. I was surprised how many locations from the 40s and 50s that once had buildings are now vacant with grass. I also noticed that many locations that had buildings are now the ugly salvage yards/used car lots that have taken over much of the Aldine area. It would be interesting to see what might have been left behind in the soil near where those buildings once stood. It appears mobile homes were very common in the early days and many of them didn’t last very long. I wonder how many of them were farmer family’s. It appears much of Gulf Bank and Hill road was farm land. Their children would have gone to the Aldine schools I presume. I would like to see some photos and yearbooks pre 1960s. Any photos taken inside or outside the schools would be interesting to see such as photos of students working at their desk. I wonder if Aldine ISD allowed students to come to school barefooted or in their overalls as many rural schools did. Something tells me bare feet at the very least wouldn’t have been allowed at any AISD schools. They didn't even allow shorts until the early 90s.

I know I'm a little (ok a lot) late replying to this. Our second grade class was shared with another class (so two teachers) and was on the first hall when you walked in the front of the school. I never knew it was a "newer" addition until I viewed these aerials, but it makes sense now. These were the only classrooms that had indoor hallways in the school. These classrooms had natural gas heaters whereas the older wings had radiators (later removed). Neither was used when I was there as they used the same system for heat as they used for cooling. Each classroom in the school had these big, noisy belt driven Mcquay air handlers on the ceiling. These were common in many Aldine ISD schools built before the 1970s. There were no thermostats so when the cooling system was on you froze and when the heat was on you sweat. We use to have to open the windows at times it got so bad. I remember the stage in the cafeteria well and yes with no windows it could get very dark in there. I still remember that smell of bread and chocolate milk when you walked in. Oh and those orange 1960s walls. They removed the tray washing machine when I was in the second or third grade for some reason. I remember they use to tell us to keep the food on the tray when we put them in there and I thought that was odd. I still remember that sanitizer smell and the steam. After they removed the tray washer they started putting the food in a separate trash can from the milk cartons. I think they sold the left overs to pig farms. I joked once to the lunch lady that they reused it for us. lol The hall and grade setup was the same when I was there. I never knew any fifth graders there. I think there might have been a class or two, but in my neighborhood the 5th graders went to Bethune near Acres Home. I was at Sweetwater Christian in the 5th grade so I never went there. My bus driver was Mrs. Pride and she drove route 114 from the 70s till the late 90s.

Thanks for the info! I would love to read your research on the area as most of the old timers have left the area, plus I don't live there anymore. I remember Hidden Valley, if I'm not mistaken in the 80s it was the only school in the district that offered bilingual education. I know for a fact Carroll didn't offer it, but they did offer deaf ED. As far as I know all of the kids with hearing issues (real ones) went Carroll. We had lots of issues with the teachers when I went there that I will not get into now. I don't know if it was common just at Carroll (going to Aldine High makes me think it was), but the teacher were very strict back then. Many of the teachers had been teaching there for years. Corporal punishment was commonly used and I don't remember a single student getting suspended (unlike today). Yes I was one of those kids that were in the office at least once a month for something minor that was a big deal to them and yes my parent consented to CP. They pretty much kept a tight leash on the students and they didn't put up with any back talking. The school was mostly middle to lower middle class White just like most of the Aldine area. In fact if it wasn't for the Acres Homes bussing the school at the time would have been almost exclusively White with a hand full of Americanized Hispanics. The change they have today happened over several years, but happened rapidly in the late 90s after many of the veteran residents kids graduated and they sold their houses. Most got close to 3 times the original purchase price. A little more history about Inez Carroll. Sometime in the 1970s one of the wings caught fire during the night and they had to be renovated. I remember the classrooms on that wing had more of a late 60s/70s look to them. The teachers told us several times about the fire. I'm sure there would have been a news story on it. This is getting long so I

No this school was located between W MT Houston and West RD and between Airline and Sweetwater at 222 Raymac. At far as I know this this area is not in the 100 year flood plain (very close though). It became W T Hall High School after they moved the elementary school on Gulf Bank. Not sure when W T Hall moved as I no longer live on the northside.

I grew up in the Aldine area in the Northline Terrace subdivision near Gulf Bank Rd and Sweetwater. I attended Inez Carroll elementary on Raymac Street as well as Aldine High School. Inez Carroll at one time was known as one of the best elementary schools in Texas. I just discovered last week that the old Inez Carroll building was torn down. It appears to have happened about 4 years a go now. It's pretty sad that everything I remember about that school is gone. It got me wondering when the different schools were built and what additions have been added to the schools over the years. Here is what I remember about the school when I first started attending it in 1981. I remember they expanded the library around 1982 (I remember the contruction). I remember in 1st grade they removed the old radiator from the classrooms as they were not used anymore. Looking at different aerials of the school it looks like they added the chiller and cooling tower sometime between 1964 and 1973. I wonder what it was like not having A/C before then. They also added a wing on the back of the school between 1957 and 1964 and added new front and side section to the school between 1964 and 1973 which included expanding the cafeteria. It looks like the gym was added between 1973 and 1981. I remember the walls in the main hallways were redone in the early 80s. They moved the school to Gulf bank between Sweetwater and Airline in the late 90s. Areal of the school in 1957 Areal from 2002 before it was demolished. The front of the school scanned from my class picture. Here is what it looks like now. What I was wondering is when was this school built? I have been told it was built sometime in the early 1950s. If anyone knows the history of any of the schools in the Aldine Independent School District lets discuss it here. I have read the thread about Aldine High School being built on the site of the Gulf Coast Airport after Marrs High School Burnt down on Thanksgiving.

Sorry so long getting back. Yea there's clips on youtube of snow in Houston from 1981 and 1989, but no Alica. There use to be a news service in Houston where you could buy things like that, but I don't think their in business anymore. There has to be someone out there with a tape of it! Anyway Alica uprooted a large cottonwood tree in our front yard. We also lost power for two days.

Anyone remember this? I was 7 years old living on the north side in Aldine. It was the early moring around 3:00 am. The date was May, 20 1983. My dad had just gotten home from work and was heading to bed (he always worked nights). I woke up to my parents talking and when to the bathroom to pee. Just as I finished still in the bathroom I heard this loud crack of thunder. A few seconds later my dad came in the bedroom yelling to my mom that there was a tornado. I gues he went to the kichen to get something to drink. There was a noise that sounded a cross between a train and a jet plain. I ran out with my mom to the livingroom. We carfully looked out that back sliding window and saw the pine trees which were as tall as a two story house bent over touching the ground. The power was out and the winds were at least 80 mph. The lightning was almost continous. I guess someone forgot to lock the front door because it suddenly blew open. My dad got mad because the door was not locked! For a second I thought my brother was outside and was comming in to get out of the rain (don't ask me why) The wind died down, but the heavy rain and lightning continued. We turned on my battery powered radio and listened to the weather reports saying there was a tornado on the ground in north Houston. After about 45 minutes my dad told me to go back to bed because I had school in a few hours. I went back to bed and the storm had moved away, but the lightning was still very frequent. I woke up to go to school and the power was still out. The back yard had limbs and debry all over it. The leaves on the tree's were bowed from the high wind. I went to school at Inez Carroll located between W MT Houston and West RD. The tree's all had the same bowed leaves. At school we did a tornado drill because there was a treat for more stoms, but nothing else ever happened. This Tornado injured 7 people and killed one. In all that storm system spawned 48 tornados, there were 6 fatalities over three days. BTW our neighbor across the street had her back padio roof blown off from this tornado. I have loved storms ever since and could not believe there was a site that kept a recond of these things. Here is the link and yes I posted the same story on the website. http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/map.p...=19830520.48.61 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North...rnado_outbreaks http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/torna...amp;p=1&s=1 (zoom in to se texas)