Seeing the attractive new sign in front of the Booker T Washington Community Center there near the location of the old school, and hearing about the fun reunion held there last month made me wonder just what the Alto Herald had to say about Booker T Washington School.
Quite a bit, it turns out. The Booker T Washington High School News appears February 22, 1953. The school term opened with over 260 students, 11 full-time teachers and a part-time band instructor. More than $650 had been raised to finance construction of a lunchroom . Activities on the agenda included a basketball tournament, a Miss Booker T Washington contest, participation in UIL, and a Music Extravaganza.
One of the things that stands out in the newspaper coverage of the school is its constant support of all kinds of charitable causes in the community. Whenever Alto had a fund drive, whether it be for the Red Cross, the March of Dimes, the Polio Fund or the new clinic, Booker T Washington School was listed as one of the donors. In 1957 the school was given special recognition by the Cherokee County Chairman, and awarded a trophy for raising money for the Cancer Drive.
The BTW sports teams in the 50’s and 60’s were remarkably successful. The boys were called the Washington Wildcats and the girls were the Wildkittens or just the Kittens, and later the Tigerettes. Students participated in basketball, track and tennis. The 1962 basketball team got to the semi-finals in the state contest at Prairie View. The 1965 Tigerettes went to regional.
By far the most impressive stories concerned the NFA and the NHA which were the equivalent of the FFA and FHA organizations. Every year delegates were sent to district, area and/or state conventions. Delois York, Loretta Findley. Grace Tidwell, Lorraine Sibley and Rubie Doris Monroe were all elected District NHA Officers in various years. In 1956 NFA members won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the Texas Forestry Association essay contest. In 1966 John David White made a perfect score in the NFA State Farm Engineering contest. The leaders of these groups, Mrs. Mae Belle Martin and Mr. Valentine Waddleton continued their outstanding work for many years after integration.
The BTW band even though they shared a director with the Rusk Bradford school, took part in UIL contests and marched in the Alto parades.
In 1959 the 285 students moved to the new school complex which later became the Alto Elementary School. 800 people attended the dedication held in the new gymnasium on a Sunday afternoon.
The school was definitely the heart of the community. There were reports of donkey basketball games, Halloween carnivals, PTA meetings, and field trips. In 1954, the closing exercises of the school included five evening programs, including two plays, spread over two weeks and ending with Graduation Ceremony on Sunday morning.
To see some pictures from 1947,1948, 1949 and 1953 including one of the old school, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/alto_library/sets/ and click on Booker T Washington School.
Originally published in the August 7, 2013 issue of the Cherokeean
There are dozens of pictures from Booker T Washington yearbooks in the flickr library linked just above. I have added a few here but encourage you to follow the link and see the whole collection.
This is the girls basketball team from some time in the 1950s. If you are near my age or a little older, you probably recognize the handsome gentleman in the back row. If not, here’s a hint – 20 years later he taught me how to weld.
