The Alto Herald has always been a strong supporter of the Alto school, following the sports teams, printing news about fund-raisers and programs and publishing stories about outstanding students and teachers. In 1937 the Herald went a step farther. It began a weekly section of Alto School News.
Because of the depression, the newspaper that year often comprised only 4 pages, but each week about a quarter of a page was given over to the school activities. The staff consisted of Editor-in-Chief Rose Mary Allen; Senior Reporter Buzzy Duff; Junior Reporter Carlos Murphy and Freshman Reporter Mary Ann Stribling.
Alto ISD enrollment in 1937 was 520 pupils. When you consider that there were only 11 grades at the time and that several of the rural schools had not yet consolidated, that number seems to compare closely to today’s enrollment of about 650. Also there was no public kindergarten then.
It is said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. One of the articles in October 1937 had to do with the state-imposed “diagnostic tests”. These were for seniors only, and the Alto students did well. Alto also dominated the Interscholastic League contests in the spring.
The 1937 football season was an exciting time as win after win was reported. Frequently mentioned names were Bynum, Brittain, Cosper and Capps along with the greatly admired coach Ted Moore. The climax was a near-perfect season, a district championship and a big celebration barbecue for the football team and the pep squad, sponsored by the Lions Club. District Championships were not an every-year affair for AHS in the 30’s.
Speaking of celebrations, there were a lot of parties going on in this school year – class parties, club parties, and private parties – usually in the Lions Club building but often in the homes of the students. So far as I can tell there was no prom, but there was a junior-senior end of the year reception held in the home of Buzzy Duff. There was even a mention of a slumber party for the seniors at “a vacant house in the country”, but that one was printed on April Fool’s Day so it may be doubtful.
Another newsworthy event during the year was the introduction of the first typing class ever in Alto High School. The progress of the class was followed faithfully in the School News, and the requirements seem pretty rigorous. Every student was to complete 160 typing lessons and type the United States Constitution
During the spring of 1938, the column began publishing short biographies of all the 1938 Seniors. If you have a parent or grandparent who was in that class you might like to take a look.
If you want to look up your grandparents in 1938 or any other year, just click the link below to access the Herald archives. There is an option on the left to pick the year.