Westbury High School At 11911 Chimney Rock Rd.

[redraider]

I've been told Madison went down in the 80s as opposed to the 70s...it was a great place for whites who could hoop though as Greg Kite and someone else I can't remember played under Paul Benton and eventually went to the NBA

Greg Kite went to Pershing Jr. High so he either would have been zoned to Belaire or Lamar but his parents moved so he could play at Madison for what ever reason.

[VicMan]

Greg Kite went to Pershing Jr. High so he either would have been zoned to Belaire or Lamar but his parents moved so he could play at Madison for what ever reason.

I know that today that the part of the Shearn Elementary School boundary east of Stella Link is zoned to Pershing for MS and Madison for HS.

[Native Son]

I know that today that the part of the Shearn Elementary School boundary east of Stella Link is zoned to Pershing for MS and Madison for HS.

during the mid to late 70's we lived in Willowbend, and we were all zoned to Madison, even tough Westbury was less than 3 miles away.

[redraider]

during the mid to late 70's we lived in Willowbend, and we were all zoned to Madison, even tough Westbury was less than 3 miles away.

I grew-up on O'meara just off W. Belfort and everybody on one side of W. Befort went to madison while the other side went to Bellaire. You drove almost by Westbury to get to Madison. Lucky for me I was able to go under the radar and go to Westbury.

[cdenker]

When I went to Westbury in the early '80s, I remember they had spitoons with running water in the hallways. For the 1st year I thought that these were men's urinals and I couldn't figure out why they were out where everyone could see them... Eventually I learned they were for spitting tobacco juice!

[Native Son]

I grew-up on O'meara just off W. Belfort and everybody on one side of W. Befort went to madison while the other side went to Bellaire. You drove almost by Westbury to get to Madison. Lucky for me I was able to go under the radar and go to Westbury.

Marlins RULE....class of '79,

er, if I hadn't dropped out to take that construction job

[Vertigo58]

I was in DE at Madison back in the late 70's. Does Distributive Educations still exist? I have mentioned to some of my friends kids and look at me like I am insane

I truly feel compelled to make note on "Distributive Education Careers of America", did I get that right? or D.E.C.A. as it was known. I was in it for 2 years circa 1978-1979 we would go to an annual competition or banquet and sometimes compete with other high schools so Westbury must have been one of them?

Here is some real trivia, does anyone recall ever going to a DECA meet at the then brand new Westwood Mall? around 1978-79? Oh my God, I have many pics of our group 11th & 12th graders in blue blazers and the girls had blue plaid skirts. My mom actually made some of the guys blazers for us.

I also have the very large and wide photo of that annual banquet where all the schools DE classes attended in the Astrodome banquet hall??? I cant even remember but its engraved on the bottom right and I had some pals sign the back. We were all seated at the large table up front by the speakers.

Wow I should have created a topic just about DE - Distributive Education. Still have my buttons and pins that have DECA. I worked at Gulfgate Mall while going to 12th grade. This was a real flash back!

[Fringe]

Vertigo. I was in Westbury DECA in my senior year (69). I loved only going to school half a day then going to work, which was downtown Foleys for me. Mrs. Rose was the teacher back then. Was she still there in 78? I think I heard she got married so she may have had a different last name. She was a great teacher, unfortunately I was a lousy student.

[Vertigo58]

Vertigo. I was in Westbury DECA in my senior year (69). I loved only going to school half a day then going to work, which was downtown Foleys for me. Mrs. Rose was the teacher back then. Was she still there in 78? I think I heard she got married so she may have had a different last name. She was a great teacher, unfortunately I was a lousy student.

Well, I was at Stephen F Austin (on other side of town) inlate 70's. However, its possible we would see her at the city gatherings I mentioned above. My teacher was Ms Blaha, late 20's & she was a Debby Harry look-a-like, mini skirt and all.

DECA had an array of crazy students, most seemed straight as an arrow but would light up at any given moment. Kind of like Catholic school students would do. The w i d e photo I have had about 1,000 students/faculty but you can see faces quite clear. Wow I really need to scan and cut it out right! I miss those fun, carefree days.

As a final nice comment I can say that Westbury was always regarded as one of the finest and best schools in Houston. I am quite serious on that, today its another story I'm afraid.

[e streeter]

i lived in post oak manor, less than a mile from westbury to the east and zoned to madison. which to me was not even in houston it was so far. growing up i considered anything on the other side of main, i-10, i-45 and gessner outside of houston proper. fortunately for me, i went to saint agnes and didn't have to go to madison.

it is sad that children were made to switch schools because of some arbritary line. that first year of zoning was a mess because people who had made sports teams, cheerleaders, student goverment leaders, etc. were forced to go to a different school than the school they attended the year before.

[carol802]

I went to Westbury 68-69 & 69-70 then got zoned to Madison my senior year 70-71. I thought it was the end of my world. Westbury was one of the greatest schools in HISD in every way and I had gone to Johnston Jr H with all the same kids. It was very tough on us "Transfers" but the Madison kids couldn't have been nicer to us & tried to include us in everything. It turned out to be a great life experience & the zoning did what it was designed to do. I went to school with black kids (Madison was about 1/2 black 1/2 white) for the first time. It was a heartbreaking start to an awsome year.

[Native Son]

I truly feel compelled to make note on "Distributive Education Careers of America", did I get that right? or D.E.C.A. as it was known. I was in it for 2 years circa 1978-1979 we would go to an annual competition or banquet and sometimes compete with other high schools so Westbury must have been one of them?

Here is some real trivia, does anyone recall ever going to a DECA meet at the then brand new Westwood Mall? around 1978-79? Oh my God, I have many pics of our group 11th & 12th graders in blue blazers and the girls had blue plaid skirts. My mom actually made some of the guys blazers for us.

I also have the very large and wide photo of that annual banquet where all the schools DE classes attended in the Astrodome banquet hall??? I cant even remember but its engraved on the bottom right and I had some pals sign the back. We were all seated at the large table up front by the speakers.

Wow I should have created a topic just about DE - Distributive Education. Still have my buttons and pins that have DECA. I worked at Gulfgate Mall while going to 12th grade. This was a real flash back!

I was in DE at Madison in the late 70's too...it's a small world after all

I was that idiot who got kicked out of DE for quitting too many jobs....they were really nice folks as I recall...I probably should have taken them more seriously

Edited December 1, 2008 by Native Son

[ghost]

This image is like a window on a whole 'nother world.. you guys remember assistant principal Fred Pepper?

For those that remember Fred Pepper, I would like to hear what you have to say about him. Good and bad. He was my Grandfather. This July will be 20 years since he passed. I wish I had the chance to learn more from him and get to know him better.

[Vertigo58]

Thank you for this, from a Westbury 1978 grad! Man, the rivalry back then between Westbury & Bellaire, legendary!

Quite accurate! We even used to hear about that rivalry all the way to our side (Stephen F Austin)

I also wish I could thank my DECA teacher Ms Blaha for her encouragement and professionalism while a student in DE. She was also quite a knock out, too bad I was just a teen. Rats!

[artistpro]

This 9' x 24' mural was made for the 40th Reunion of Westbury Rebels

[Alpha]

This is the picture from the inside cover of the 1965 Citadel

[KristinDaugherty]

I'll be damned. I thought Wastebury was always a hood-rat school, what with the gangstas and the chained doors and such.

[Fringe]

I'll be damned. I thought Wastebury was always a hood-rat school, what with the gangstas and the chained doors and such.

LOL. This was long before they built all the "gangstas" apartments in the area.

[BenH]

LOL. This was long before they built all the "gangstas" apartments in the area.

[marmer]

There ya go. Inter-bruta-national style. I kinda figured that the big HISD projects from the sixties would be that way but couldn't remember what they looked like. Sharpstown, anyone?

[glzuma]

For those that remember Fred Pepper, I would like to hear what you have to say about him. Good and bad. He was my Grandfather. This July will be 20 years since he passed. I wish I had the chance to learn more from him and get to know him better.

I met your grandfather in the late 60s when I was a young baseball player and he was a coach. He used to hold summer baseball clinics at Westbury HS. He was well respected as a coach that really knew his baseball. The kids would listen and do whatever he said. Through the eyes of a 13-14 year old, he came across as a little stern, but that was a coach's professional persona in those days. Even so, he seemed to be a nice man that cared about kids.

When I arrived at Westbury as a student (69-72), he was the assistant principal. His style of handling discipline was always direct and to the point without getting angry. Everybody appreciated the fact that he didn't need to yell or berate them to be an effective administrator. I remember he came on the speaker one day to address the whole school about dress code. Girls were starting to wear semi-revealing clothing such as peasant tops, mini-skirts, etc. He announced that the girls needed to "cover it up" because "Even a monkey likes to peel his own banana". We thought that was great.

I was a member of the Rebel Guard---10 guys who guarded our mascot, Johnny Reb. One night before our football game with Bellaire (our arch rival) we stole the Bellaire Cardinal mascot from one of their "Birdkeepers" homes. Probably not a good idea to break and enter, but a fantastic capture for the ages, nonetheless. Their principal was furious (but probably even more embarrassed), calling Coach Pepper and threatening to press charges. Coach called all of us into his office and asked where the Bird was. No one said anything. He said "Well, I guess I'll have to suspend all of you then" as he grabbed his pen and discipline referrals. What a great bluff! He couldn't really suspend any of us without evidence and he had nothing. But we knew Coach as a man that could do just about anything he said he would do. We caved in and confessed. He said if we gave the Bird back, he would keep us out of trouble. I think he really admired the fact that we were able to steal their prize possession, but he wasn't going to tell us. You could just see it in his eyes. It was the perfect way to handle the situation.

Edited February 12, 2009 by glzuma

[MaxConcrete]

Westbury, Sharpstown, Lee, and Bellaire were generally peers in terms of student body makeup and overall socio-economic status as of the early 1980s, with virtually no gangster element at any school. Sure, Bellaire was academically better and had more money, and Lee did have some money, but the gaps between these schools were not large.

It was around 1983-1984 when Sharpstown started a steep decline as the apartments zoned to the school became low income. Sharpstown's district took in some of the Fondren Southwest area, and those apartments introduced many bad elements to the school.

Of course, we all know what happened to Sharpstown, Westbury, and Lee. Only Bellaire remains desirable.

-Sharpstown High School class of '85

Edited February 11, 2009 by MaxConcrete

[OkieEric]

This 9' x 24' mural was made for the 40th Reunion of Westbury Rebels

For whatever reason, I obsess with looking at old photos and then checking with live.com or google for present day views. Was the large part of that building (past the entry) demo'd in the past for a parking lot?

[artistpro]

For whatever reason, I obsess with looking at old photos and then checking with live.com or google for present day views. Was the large part of that building (past the entry) demo'd in the past for a parking lot?

The three story section to the left was demolished leaving only the administrative offices near the flagpole. Not sure how things look today; I believe the main entrance now faces Chimney Rock instead of Gassmer. Oh, and notice what happened to the mascot Johnnie Reb. They chopped him down and gave back a little short emasculated cartoon of a man...some Yosimite Sam type.

Is that not a perfect picture of what has happened across our land in a broader sense?

[NenaE]

For whatever reason, I obsess with looking at old photos and then checking with live.com or google for present day views. Was the large part of that building (past the entry) demo'd in the past for a parking lot?

Me too, and I also like historicaeriels.com, as well. It could possibly answer you're question about what was there, during the 1960's - 80's, unless it was altered recently. It also has a 1950's category map, but that was before this school was built. The comparison feature is great. Googleearth has those streetviews, not too clear pics, but good to have, none-the-less.

[Nickeezy]

This is the picture from the inside cover of the 1965 Citadel

Westbury looked great back in the day. I am a current student, and the school really isn't the horrid, ghetto place people stereotype it to be. This school year has actually been somewhat calm, nothing terrible has made the news, and the football team won district and made it to the playoffs for the first time in a while

[Victor B]

the football team won district and made it to the playoffs for the first time in a while

Charles Sims is going to UH next year and he looks like a real special player.

[Highrise Tower]

Awesome 1965 photo! Thanks.

- Westbury Grad. 2003? ha

(New construction wasn't started before I left.)

[artistpro]

That really makes me sad. Westbury was only two years old when I started in 1963.

1963? Remember a band back then at Westbury named the Backbeats?

[Fringe]

A friend sent me this link. It's the Westbury High School class of 62-65 web page. When you go to the "Tana's Reminisce" page you will find a ton of great historic Houston pictures and trivia, not just Westbury. Worth taking a look at.

Warning: turn down your speakers before you click the link. It's one of those pages that automatically starts blasting music.

Westbury High Web Page