School Year 1937 – 1938

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This was the best budget year to date for Con. 8, a total of $13, 986.94 of which $4175.30 came from local taxes, the rest being State Aid funds.

A new teacher position was gained this year and was filled by Miss Small who taught grades 5&6. This allowed the large third grade to be divided, half with the second and half with the fourth. Grades 7&8 have their own room formerly used by the high school. The high school students have three full time teachers but must make use of the auditorium for class space. There are now five grade and 3 high school teachers.

This was the year that the Journalism Club was established and began publication of the Student Review printed with a new mimeograph machine just purchased by the school. More details will appear on the page “The Student Review – a history”.

September: Both Con. 8 businesses change managers. Mr. H. B. (Slim) Gilmore resumed operation of the “North Store” taking over from DeLorne Duke (Con. 8 1935), who is moving to the Star Valley Community (Northwest of Mountain Park) where his wife the former Mattie Thelma Smith (Con. 8. 1933) was teaching school. G. W. Brock has bought the “South Store”, formerly operated by Lois Hazelwood (older brother of Eudora) and his wife the former Willie Mae Snow. The Hazelwoods moved to California where Lois has taken employment.

At the beginning of basketball season, the sports teams resumed the use of the old nickname “Pirates” dating back to at least 1923, but not used for the previous several years. In subsequent issues of the Student Review versions of the “Pirate” logo appeared on mast heads and with sports stories.

Boys’ basketball rules changed! Now there will be center jumps only at the start of the game, start of the second half, and after double fouls. There will be jumps at the nearest circle after “tie” balls as before. After a score, the team scored upon will put the ball in play from under the goal they defend instead of play being resumed with a center jump.

Kerosene stoves replaced the coal stoves in the school rooms and a large kerosene storage tank was installed on concrete supports on the east side of the schoolhouse. There was much appreciation expressed for the improved heating. The two large coal stoves in the Gym and the one heating the Auditorium continued to be used.

Sanitary fountains were provided by funds from the Helping-Hand Club. These used gravity feed from an elevated glass container so that the water “fountained up” in the center of a bowl. The wastewater was collected in tanks below, and probably used to water the new trees. These were indoors in the hallways and replaced the old wooden kegs with pushbutton faucets kept on a wooden platform outside the school. A Student Review writer remarked that now the students could keep their shoes clean while soothing their thirst and could use their notebook paper for themes rather than making paper cups.

October 6:  Jackson county workers complete repairs to the Warren Bridge. Two weeks later it was announced that the west end of the bridge was being extended so it would not wash out again. For several years the old bridge had been washed out. The WPA did some of this work. It is the bridge which remained until Highway 19 was developed in the early 1960’s.

November: An Electric Score Board was added to the Gymnasium financed by Ads on the wall around the scoreboard paid for by area businesses. Con. 8 Community firms with Ad’s were the Con. 8 Gin, Gillmore’s store, Culvahouse’s store, the Elk Creek store, and the Centerville Store. I suppose that the board like the lights used the 32-volt DC power that was brought to the Gym from the battery stack in the Bell house. This was remarkable “high tech”. I think I remember games in 1947, in which the score was still kept on a chalkboard at some gyms that we visited.

December: Mr. Gilmore closes the north store. Mr. Clovis Haynie reopened the store the following April.

February 3: Superintendent DeWees and the School board begin investigating obtaining electric power in the community through the Rural Electrification Authority (REA). In the following weeks there are many reports of progress and change in plans. These reports continue into the next year and will be all summarized on another page “The Arrival of the REA”.

March 27: Mr. DeWees and school board discuss the need for an additional classroom and the possibility of WPA assistance. Two weeks later the school board approves an extra 5 mill levy in addition to the standard 10 mills to provide the materials for the new room, as the WPA only supplies labor cost.

April 28: Blueprints for the building addition are being prepared in Oklahoma City to be sent to Washington with a request for a WPA project.

May: The Student Review wins second in the mimeographed division at Southwest Interscholastic Meet (SWIM). Even more impressive was third place for that division in the state-wide contest at Norman. In the latter competition all papers for the first 30 weeks were reviewed and first place went to Antlers Oklahoma (enrollment 1119) and second to Jenks Oklahoma (enrollment 1334). Con. 8’s enrollment was optimistically given as 220 this year with just 10 boys and 32 girls in high school! Quite an accomplishment.

Class of 1938: Aron Jackson, Martin Duke, Ivolee Smith, Jessie Fowler, Lucille Lane, Eskil Holt.

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President or Director: George Brown

Clerk: R. V. Shockley

Member: Ben Hutchinson

Superintendent: Clarence L. DeWees – Math (Room 5?)

• 1^st Grade: Mrs. DeWees Room 1
• 2^nd & 1/2 of 3^rd Grades: Mrs. Ethridge Room 2
• 1/2 of 3^rd & 4^th Grades: Mrs. Woods in Room 3
• 5^th & 6^th Grades: Miss Arlene Small in room 4
• 7^th & 8^th Grades: Mr. Ethridge in Room 7
• 9^th through 12^th Grades and Auditorium: Virgil E. Woods (Girls Coach?) & Room 7 (?), Henry Ayres – Principal, Boys Coach & English Rm. 6 (?). Since grades 7&8 used one of these rooms, some high school classes were in the auditorium.

#1 H. A. Gilmore

#2 Howard Wallis (also the bus mechanic)

#3 W. L. Bock

#4 Ned Dempsey

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Marvin “Shorty” Sparks