School Year 1938 – 1939

Year By Year Navigation

September, Enrollment is 203, 150 in the grades, and in high school 40 girls and 13 boys!

November: New girls basketball rules: Two court divisions replaces the three court division. Team is made up of three forwards and three guards in appropriate divisions. One of the forwards puts the ball in playroom the center circle.

November 11, the WPA project for building a new class room approved after the School District obtained title to the land the previous week. Expected February 1939 completion date.

January: Mrs. DeWees retired, after seven and one half  years of teaching at Con. 8.  Her replacement, Mrs. Huffman, was announced a few weeks later.   The timing may have been related to the upcoming birth of her son, Don who was born  in August 1939.

February:  The brickwork on the new building was completed, but there were some delays experienced when the windows delivered on schedule were of the wrong size and had to be returned.

April 14: The 1916 Model Delco generator that supplied 32 volt DC for the school “died”, and could not be resuscitated. The Student Review writers speculated that the cause was “heartbreak” from the daily expectation of being replaced by the REA line already extending along the road to the west of the school. The school “Open House” had already been delayed till “real electricity” arrived because the Delco could not supply sufficient power to light all the rooms. Darkness will engulf the school and teacherages every night until the REA is able to supply service.

May 2:  The WPA finishes work on the new class room.

Tuesday, May 10: The REA line which had been completed for sometime was “powered up” at this time as the minimum of two subscribers (with house wiring complete) for each mile of line in the new addition had finally been achieved. Gaynelle Ellis remembers a special dispensation that may have allowed the electricity in her house to be turned on first. Her mother was hosting a wedding shower for Miss Small. Miss Small had already been rehired for the next term; but in fact she didn’t return. Probably the marriage had some influence in the change of plans.

May 18: The long delayed Open House was held, in the full glare of 120V AC lights.

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President or Director: A. Duke (Houston Duke’s father Alton)

Clerk: Russell Shockley

Member: Ben Hutchinson

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

• 1^st Grade: Mrs. DeWees (till January ’39), Mrs. Huffman (19 total) in Room 1
• 2^nd & 3^rd Grades: Mrs. Ethridge (44 total) in Room 2
• 4^th Grade: Mrs. Woods (34 total) in Room 3
• 5^th & 6^th Grades: Miss Arlene Small (34 total) in Room 4
• 7^th & 8^th Grades: Mr. Ethridge (28 total) in high school Room 7.
• 9^th through 12^th Grades and Auditorium: Virgil E. Woods (Girls Coach & Biology) 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