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A History of Nederland Education and
the Nederland Independent School District
By W. T. Block
Part 1: Nederland Schools
from 1898 Until 1950
The founding of Nederland,
Texas was a joint effort by the Kansas City Southern Railroad
and its land subsidiary, Port Arthur Land Company. The two
companies planned in 1897 to found a Dutch colony in
Mid-Jefferson County and to call it Nederland. In furtherance of
that end, they sent three Port Arthur Dutchmen, Albert Kuipers,
G. W. J. Kilsdonk, and B. J. Dijksma as their land agents in
Holland to promote land sales, and to accompany the first
contingents of immigrants to their new home in Nederland. In
1897 the land company built the 3-story, 33-room Orange Hotel to
accommodate the newly-arrived settlers until they could build
their own homes. And due to the influx of Dutch-speaking
children, a school was planned from the beginning to help the
newcomers overcome the language barrier.
1
By April, 1898, many Dutch
immigrants had already arrived, and some had already completed
their homes. In May, 1898, education did not lag far behind for
B. J. Dijksma reported in a Dutch newspaper that “plans are
afoot to establish a school and engage a teacher...”2
A one-room building was
constructed behind the hotel, and a sixteen-year-old Beaumont
girl, Lillie White, was engaged to teach the students, who
spoke only Dutch, and Klaas Koelemay was to act as interpreter.3 Anna
Koelemay Cooley wrote in her memoirs: “...In 1898 my father
Klaas Koelemay taught them English in association with a
Beaumont woman...”4 Although
the teaching of English was prerequisite to their learning
process, other disciplines such as reading, writing, and
arithmetic were not neglected. Some of the children attending
that first school included Joe and Dirk Elings, Johanna Ballast,
Martin and Lawrence Koelemay, and Elisabeth, Anna, Julius and
Willem Westerterp.5
The school building behind
the Orange Hotel was destroyed by the 1900 hurricane. In the
meantime, some early Anglo families, including the Cookes,
Butlers, Gibsons, Spencers, and Bursons, had also moved to
Nederland. In 1900 John Berthold Cooke, Sr. took the first
Nederland school census, and after the hurricane of Sept. 8,
1900, Cooke and Frank Butler went door to door, soliciting funds
to build a new school.6 After
the hurricane, school was conducted temporarily in the Dutch
Reformed Church building at 1003 Boston, but in 1902 a new,
2-room school on the southwest corner of the intersection of
Chicago and 10th streets was completed.7
The first trustees of the new
school of 1902 were Frank Butler, R. P. Forrister, and W. T.
Block (my father). There were only two teachers at first, Miss
Lizzie Waterston, who was principal, and a Miss Neild, who
taught Spanish. Later when a school room was added to the Dutch
Reformed Church building, Edith Cooke and Mrs. Paul Wagner were
added to either the substitute or permanent faculty. In 1903
there were only 32 students enrolled, of whom 28 were of Anglo
parentage.8
There are at least 3
surviving photos of that early 1902 school and its student body,
and in each of them the enrollment varied between 50 and 100
students, although the exact years of the photos are unknown.
Alice Thompson (Gentry) was a member of that 1903 enrollment,
and a part of her memoirs follow:
“...The school was at
present-day 10th and Chicago Streets. The student
body increased, and they soon needed more room; they soon
added a room onto the church. I have a diploma that I
completed the Nederland Common School. We also had a
dramatic society, which put on plays; one of the plays was
named “Pocahontas.” We also studied reading, writing, Latin
and Spanish. There were three open saloons (Freeman, Peek,
and Steiner) near the depot, and I remember how much I hated
to walk in front of them. Once there were two sisters who
taught in the school, and one of them was the one who taught
Spanish. Her name was Miss Neild, and she taught with Lizzie
Waterston, the principal...”9
Among some of the students
who attended that 10th Street school between 1902 and
1906 are as follows: Alice, Cora, and Susan Thompson; Aifke,
Anke, Anna, and Gerka Bruinsma; May and John Staffen; Marion,
Henry, and Lampien Kolb; Lloyd, Lamont, and Lerna Hubbard; Patty
and Oma Freeman; Fred and Rosa Nelson; Bertie Peek, Agnes and
Luisa Spurlock; Arthur, Ellen, and Horace Cooper; Harold and
Margaret Cooke; ?? Barfield, Louie and Clyde Spencer; Vernon
Butler (who was killed in World War I), Frank Collins, Clarence
Kenney, Myrtle Coffey, Lola Murrel, Julius Westerterp, Marion
Wagner, Lawrence Koelemay, Willie Jackson, Hazel Lloyd, and
Bennett Kutcher.
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Student body
in 1903. Pupils included Marion Kolb,
Louie Spencer, Lloyd W. Hubbard, Harold G. Cooke,
Vernon Butler, Frank Collins, John Staffen, Henry Kolb,
Clarence Keeney, Arthur Cooper, Ellen Cooper, Oma
Freeman, Rosa Nelson, Myrtle Coffey, Lola Murrel,
Alice Thompson, Julius Westerterp, Horace E. Cooper,
Lamont A. Hubbard, Martin Wagner, Lawrence Koelemay,
Willie Jackson, Clyde Spencer, Bennett Kutchner,
Fred Nelson, Margaret Cooke, Pattie Freeman, May
Staffen, Hazel Lloyd, Lerna Hubbard, Luisa Spurlock,
Lumpien Kolb and Gerrit Jansonius. Lizzie Waterston
was the teacher. F. A.
Butler, R. P. Forrester
and W. T. Block, Sr. were
the school trustees. |
In 1907-1908 Verna Gibson
founded and ran the first kindergarten in the dining room of the
old abandoned Orange Hotel. Mrs. Alice Thompson (Gentry) taught
there as a substitute teacher whenever Miss Gibson was not
present. Her family, the W. S. Gibsons, arrived in Nederland
before 1900, and they belonged to the Methodist Church in Port
Neches before there was a church in Nederland.11 In
1908 there was an increase of 50 students in the Nederland
public school enrollment.12
There are other references to
the early Nederland schools. In Apr. 1905, the county school
superintendent, M. L. Moody, visited the Nederland schools, and
a few days later the students were entertained by a
ventriloquist.13 A
month later, Miss Waterston, the principal, and Mrs. Wagner took
the school students on a picnic at the rice field pumping plant,
where the former Unocal refinery docks are located on the Neches
River.14
In May, 1907, there were
commencement exercises for the students. The Misses Verna Gibson
and Jo Lou Kaye graduated, and their diplomas were awarded by
Rev. B. C. Anderson, the Methodist pastor. Following graduation,
both of the Nederland teachers, the Misses Lula and Mary Neal,
left for Fort Worth. It should be pointed out that these were
only common school diplomas, equal perhaps to junior high
school. The first high school diplomas were not awarded until
1917, one time only, and not again until 1923. The 1917 and even
the 1923 graduates were lacking accreditation for college entry
unless they passed remedial courses or examinations. During many
of those years, many Nederland students, among them Christina
Doornbos (Stappers) and Woodard “Tex” Ritter, the cowboy movie
star, had to ride to school in either South Park or Port Arthur,
traveling aboard the interurban trolley, in order to graduate
from high school.15
Another photo of 1910 (page
61, Nederland Centennial History) was taken with teacher
Gala Howard on the porch of the Dutch Reformed Church. Student
photographs included Matilda Langham, Myrtle Burnfin, Ray
Butler, Cora Thompson, Beulah Roy, Anka Bruinsma, Birdie Peek,
Myra Cooke, May Burnfin, Elbert Ingwersen, Agnes Spurlock, Mary
Kelly, Ellie Carmichael, and Eola Langham.
With 140 students recorded in
the Jan. 1912 school census, the earlier school facilities on
Tenth Street were overcrowded and vastly outdated, and Nederland
patrons decided to build a brick school building on land donated
by Mr. Bluitt Langham. The location was a square block in the
500 block between 12th and 13th Streets,
which is currently the playground for Langham school students.
Mr. Langham owned a sugar mill across the street from that
location. The new, 2-story school was to contain 8 classrooms
and an auditorium.16
Apparently only sketchy
information survives for the years between 1911 and 1918. Carrie
Goodwin wrote in her memoirs that she was a substitute teacher
in 1915, and one of her students was Gardette Burnfin.17 Mrs.
Anna Marie Peterson McLain noted that her family moved to
Nederland in 1917. “...I remember E. W. Jackson, the 1923
superintendent. My teacher was Alberta Poage; later also her
sister Margaret Poage, who married W. O. Haizlip. Another
teacher was Lois McIlheny, who married lawyer (later Judge) W.
T. McNeill...”18
In Sept., 1911, the county
school board graded Nederland, Dist. 7 as a “high school, 2nd
class, grades 1-9 inclusive.”19 A
newspaper reported in May, 1912, that: “...School will close
May 24 (1912). Commencement exercise will be held at the school
house on Thursday, May 23rd. A very nice program is
being prepared by the teachers and students; the program will
begin at 800 PM...”20
Some of the earliest and most
significant information about Nederland schools appeared in “The
School Review of Jefferson County, Texas for 1921.” As of that
year the Nederland schools enrolled 256 students, all of
Caucasian descent. In 1920 the school was reorganized to become
the Nederland Independent School District. At that time the
school district contained 17 square miles of land, with a
population of 1,500; and it had a taxable value of $3,250,000.
An election petition was presented to the county judge; the
election was held on Jan. 17, 1920, and it passed by a vote of
44 to 2.21
During the first school board
election following the founding of the school district, Dr. J.
H. Haizlip was elected president; M. W. Oakley, vice president;
and John M. Scott, secretary and school superintendent. Other
elected board members included M. G. Block, C. T. Ingwersen, W.
F. Goodwin, and H. E. Wagner.22
Earlier in 1917, Nederland
High School graduated its first class of three students, but
obviously the Nederland school lacked the accreditation needed
for college entrance. In fact, the Port Neches school senior
class of 1923 still lacked accreditation, and those who entered
college had to undergo remedial schooling for sufficient credits
to enter. The three graduates of 1917 included Gerka Bruinsma,
Leeman Victor, and Margie Gibson. In that year their high school
diplomas were signed by D. J. Rienstra, school board president;
M. G. Block, board member, and E. T. Dimger (?-illegible),
principal.23
The Langham School faculty in
1921 included John M. Scott, superintendent; and 8 teachers,
namely, Adelia Richardson, Lucille Ritter (sister of movie star
Tex Ritter), Virginia McCowan, Viva Bell, Louise Linn, Mable
Jones, Maude Dickenson, and Emma Masterson.24
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Old Langham
in 1920's |
The salaries of the Nederland
teachers varied, perhaps according to their teaching experience.
The school superintendent earned an annual stipend of $2,400.
Four teachers were paid between $100 and $125 monthly and 3
teachers were each paid $90 monthly.25 During
the most recent school board meeting in 1921, the faculty was
increased to 9 teachers, and the minimum salary for teachers was
increased to $110 monthly.26
During the Interscholastic
League meeting held at South Park on April 1-2, 1921, Juanita
Goodwin of Nederland placed second in declamation for high
school junior girls, and Theresa Kaper won second place for the
high school senior girls. Earnest Dohmann won third place for
high school senior boys, whereas John Kaper won second place for
high school junior boys. Lottie Louise Cromwell placed in junior
girls spelling. Woodward Ritter (later to become the movie star)
placed first from South Park High in senior boy’s declamation,
but he lived in Nederland.27 In
1920 Paul McNeill placed in declamation, and he and Francis
Wagner won the 50-yard dash.28
The Nederland boys and girls
basketball teams participated in 6 games each against Port
Neches, Port Arthur, and South Park.29 Although
Langham School had basketball, track and volley ball, football
was not introduced until 1925. By 1921 all county schools were
subject to periodic checkups by the Jefferson County school
nurse, and such checkups often included eyes, ears, teeth,
fingernails, tonsils, etc. Immunization for each student was
usually limited only to small pox vaccinations.30
Between 1912 and 1920 the 10th
and 11th grades were added to the curriculum, but the
exact dates are not readily available. About 1922 the core
courses for freshmen were English, Ancient History, Algebra, and
either Physiology or Geography. Sophomore studies were English,
Modern History, Algebra, and Latin. Junior year studies included
English, American History, Plain Geometry, and Latin. Senior
class studies included English, Civics, with electives in
Economics, Plain Trigonometry, Commercial Arithmetic, French,
Spanish, and Basketball.31
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Old Nederland High in 1920's |
Lowell C. Morgan recalled in
his memoirs that he had played on Nederland’s first football
team in 1925.32 Adam
Winters recalled in his memoirs that he started to school in
Nederland in 1920. “...In 1924 they built the new high school. A
Miss Kennedy taught me History; Mrs. Cora B. Linson taught me
English. Mr. Greer was the superintendent, and Mr. Adams was
principal in ca. 1925-1926. C. O. Wilson came from Port Neches
in 1925, and he taught me math and coached sports. Mr. Pietzsch
became superintendent in Ca. 1927-1928. My classmates were Stan
Hardy, Katherine Goodwin, Elizabeth Ingwersen, Hardy Johnson,
Dena DeVries, William Doornbos, John May, Glenn Spencer, and
Ruby Snellgrave...”33
As of 1923, Langham School
already had two temporary classrooms in back of the school,
because the presence of 256 students was overwhelming in the
least. At that time the school board held an election to build a
3-story brick school with about 40 classrooms, auditorium, gym,
study hall, library, woodshop, rest rooms, offices, etc. The
first bond election was for only $100,000. Before construction
could begin, it was determined that the first amount was
insufficient, and a second bond election to raise $30,000 more
also passed. The school was opened on Sept., 8, 1924, and it was
estimated that between 500 and 600 students would be enrolled in
both schools, because the opening of the Pure Oil refinery in
1923 had almost doubled Nederland’s population. Two elementary
grades, 2 junior high grades, and 4 senior high school grades
were moved into the new building, and R. V. Greer was hired to
be the new building’s first principal.
On March 17, 1928, the
Nederland school district issued another $75,000 in bonds “for
the purpose of adding to the high school building. The additions
to the high school consisted of two wings to the old building
with a gymnasium to the rear of the auditorium....The two wings
added a floor space for twelve new class rooms...” Also $7,000
were left over from the building, which were used to purchase
lockers, typewriters, lab equipment, etc.
34
In her memoirs Mrs. Annie
Marie McLain described her employment with the Nederland school
district tax office, as follows: “...I worked 15 years in the
school tax office with Mrs. Norene Barras and Johnny Bourque,
the latter being the tax assessor...” The first tax office was
in a wooden building about 40 feet square, and was located in
the 500 block of 12th Street on the original Langham
School property. Bourque was badly crippled in both legs, walked
on crutches, and he was unable to take the large tax volumes out
of the vault. When the present tax office was located in the
present administration building during the 1950s, the old tax
building was moved onto school property near the windmill, and
was used thereafter as a storage building (although it has since
been demolished).35
Also some of the earliest
Nederland school superintendents and their approximate years of
service included John M. Scott, 1919-1921; E. W. Jackson,
1922-1924; R. V. Greer, 1925-1926; L. R. Pietzsch, 1926-1935; C.
O. Wilson, 1936-1946; and C. A. Matthews, 1946-1958.36
During an interview with
Albert H. Rienstra, age 92, on Dec. 8, 2004, Mr. Rienstra wanted
to point out the legacy of his parents with Nederland education.
During an age around 1920-1925, when even high school educations
were an exception, and college degrees were rare in Nederland,
six of seven of his parents’ children earned college degrees.
His father Douwe (Dan) J. Rienstra served as president of the
Nederland school board around 1917-1918. He also served about 15
years on the Jefferson County School Board. Albert’s oldest
sister Anna graduated in the first class of 1923. After
graduation from college, she began teaching first grade at
Langham School in 1927, and she retired with about 48 years of
service Ca. 1975.
Mr. Rienstra began first
grade in Nederland in 1919 and he graduated in 1930. He also
attended South Park Junior College and graduated from Texas
University with a BBA degree in 1935. He recalled that some of
his favorite Nederland teachers included Ms. Ingwersen, Frances
Earle, C. A. Matthews, Mrs. Cora B. Linson, and C. O. Wilson. He
recalled several of his classmates, including Christine Haizlip
and Brooks Oakley.
Rienstra recalled as well
that since he was red-headed when he entered first grade, he
became the butt of many jokes and name-calling, and as a result
a fist fight or two as well. He also recalled an instance around
1930 when Congressman Martin Dies Sr. gave a graduation address.
Some younger boys that Rienstra labeled “the dirty dozen”
started a fire in a rest room, burning paper in metal trash
cans, etc., which resulted in no more damage than smoke in the
hallways. The perpetrators were rounded up and dealt with
harshly by school authorities, but were not arrested.37
During a similar interview
with Alice Ruth Nagle Bodemuller on Dec. 8, 2004, she recalled
that she had started to school in 1921 and graduated in 1931.
Both she and Mr. Rienstra still have their high school annuals
(1930, 1931) as well as excellent graduation photographs in
their possession. All but two years of Mrs. Bodemuller’s school
years were in Nederland.
She recalled some of her
favorite teachers as Ms. McVicker, her first basketball coach;
Ms. Newberry, who taught her in 6th grade; and
Marjorie Newsom, her home economics teacher. She played
basketball for many years, and on one occasion she played
against Babe Didrickson, who advanced to the Olympics and as a
professional athlete in golf and other fields. Mrs. Bodemuller’s
other basketball coaches included J. A. Floyd, who was also
junior high principal; and Ms. Floy Pinkerton, girls’ athletic
coach.
Mrs. Bodemuller also recalled
several schoolmates, including May Doornbos, Helena Doornbos,
Rosemary Barnett, Lawrence Ratcliff, Anna Belle Price and
Wellington Gibson. She recalled school picnics at Village Creek,
when Mrs. L. R. Pietzsch was the chaperone. She recalled when
students built a bonfire and roasted wieners outside in a ditch.
Suddenly a hot dog bun hit her on the head, thrown at her by her
high school sweetheart and future husband, Boots Bodemuller.
She recalled too a high
school play under Ms. Cynthia Press when Edna Dohmann was to
ride across stage as Lady Godiva. She had to read a poem during
the play about the English (Anglo-Saxon?) invasion of England.
Mrs. Bodemuller acted as secretary, trainer, prompter, etc.,
helping the student thespians to memorize, rehearse, and recite
their parts. She received special congratulations and
recognition from her English teacher, Mrs. Linson, for her role
in the play.38
Among other students of the
early 1920s, coach and Superintendent E. W. Jackson trained one
of the early Nederland basketball teams in 1923. His players
included Marvin Wagner, Pete Doornbos, Harold Morgan, Earl
Kitchen, Paul McNeill, Gardette Burnfin, and Allison Creswell.
Photographs of this team appear in two different publications.39
Another early school
photograph depicts the 1922 Langham school faculty on a lunch
break. The teachers shown in photo include Christina Doornbos
(Stappers), Lucille Ritter, Alberta Poage, Isabelle Meyers, Lois
McIlheny, Lois Bishop, Octavia Boozer, and Marian Windle.40
Another surviving photograph
is of the 1923 graduation class. They appeared as-front row-
Octavia Boozer, teacher; Ruth DeLong, Anna Rienstra, Maryon
Oakley Margaret Block, and Gertrude Conn, teacher. Back row
included Alberta Poage, teacher; Pete Doornbos, Supt. E. W.
Jackson, Paul McNeill, and Miriam Windle, principal. The 1923
Port Neches class lacked accreditation for college entrance, but
the status of the 1923 Nederland graduation class has not been
located.41
During the tenure of
Superintendent R. V. Greer, C. O. Wilson left his position as
principal at Port Neches, and came to Nederland in 1925 as coach
and math teacher; within a year he was promoted to principal,
soon after L. R. Pietzsch became superintendent. Following the
resignation of L. R. Pietzsch in 1936, Wilson was promoted to
superintendent by a unanimous vote of the school board.
Many firsts or changes took
effect during C. O. Wilson’s tenure at Nederland schools. First
he organized the first Nederland football squad in 1925. He
obtained cyclone fencing, lighting, and bleachers for the
stadium at 220 So. 12th. Following the New London
school explosion, he brought C. R. Sory to Nederland as band
director. He also obtained a new band house, new instruments and
uniforms, and the band increased from 24 to 43 students.
Under Wilson, Nederland
acquired 32 ˝ “affiliated units” and was soon accredited by the
Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Wilson
also brought fulltime home economics and woodshop programs to
Nederland, He also instituted new commercial and science
disciplines; he also brought the first fulltime librarian to
Nederland, and organized the alumni association. When I. B.
Griffith arrived as coach, Nederland defeated Port Neches in
1936 for the first time. After serving throughout the World War
II years, Mr. Wilson contracted multiple sclerosis in 1945,
which forced his retirement and replacement by Mr. C. A.
Matthews.42
The 1928 Nederland High
School annual, The Pilot, was certainly one of the first
published by the school in glossy hardback for graduating
seniors. The faculty of that year included C. O. Wilson
(principal, coach, mathematics); R. E. Hilliard (science); Mary
M. Kennedy (history); Ruby Patricia Kerr (Latin, Spanish); Hugh
D. Keeling (commercial); Willie McVicker (Wildcat girls’
basketball coach, home economics); Cora B. Linson (English); and
Nettye Mae McNeill (music).
In 1928 the number of
graduates increased from 6 in 1923 to 14 in 1928. They included
Hardy Johnson, Ronald Keeney, John May, Marie Rienstra (d/o
George Rienstra), Ruby Beatrice Snellgroes, Elizabeth Wilson,
Adam Davis Winters, Mary Francis Coffman, Marguerite Cromwell,
Ellen DeLong, Dena DeVries, William Doornbos, Kathryn Goodwin,
and Sterling Hardy.
By 1928, there were already a
variety of extracurricular activities, campus clubs, etc., in
which students participated. These included the Literary
Society, Girls Glee Club, Business Club, Science Club, Spanish
Club, Music and Art Club, Curtain Club, as well as sports. Other
activities included the Halloween Spooks Convention, during
which the short play, “Which Witch?” was presented; also the
operetta, “College Days,” presented by the senior class; as well
as Interscholastic League. Although there was no mention of a
senior prom, there seemed to be other delightful activities for
the senior class, i.e.: picnics, parties in party dresses,
Kathryn Goodwin’s dinner party, a “delightful, old-fashioned
dinner” in the Ingwerson home, hosted by Marguerite Cromwell and
Elizabeth Wilson, and topped off by a matinee party at the new
Jefferson Theater in Beaumont. The highlight of the seniors’
social season was a dinner-dance aboard the pleasure boat S. M.
Bidwell, with Captain Carlyle Plummer at the wheel.
The 1928 football team
included Francis Wagner, Horace LeMeur, Brooks Oakley, J. B.
Samfod, S. Hardy, John Bodemuller, Bill Doornbos, Guy Van Cleve,
L. Hardy, U. B. Morgan, Mayo Premeaux, Elmore Creswell, Hardy
Johnson, Robert Hanchett, and John May. The lady Wildcat
basketball team under Coach McVicker included M. Rienstra, May
Doornbos, Ellen Lee, Louise Massey, Eliz. Wilson, Carrie L.
Townsend, M. Cromwell, Dena DeVries, Nellie Rauwerda, Lena
Wooten, Ruby Snellgroes, Esther Dohmann, and Hazel Block.42a
Several new faculty members
came on board in 1929. They included Francis Campbell (coach,
science); Frances Earle (history); J. A. Floyd (economics);
Virginia Imig (music); Clark A. Mathews (woodshop, mechanical
drawing); Marjorie Newsom (home economics); Cynthia Press
(Spanish, stenography; and Estelle Wood (English, history).
Also in 1929, the graduating
class mushroomed from 14 to 30 members. They included Ruby
Baker, W. A. Barnes, Hazel Block, John Bodemuller, Johnny
Bourque, Bradley Brandin, James Campbell, Elmore Creswell,
Margaret Davis, Lloyd Derouen, Esther Dohmann, Lory Fontenot,
Helen Gibson, Frank Griffin, John Clark Griffin, Robert
Hanchett, Gladys Hayes, Ras Johnson, Ellen Lee, Horace LeMeur,
Corinne Meredith, Edith Lee Meredith, U. B. Morgan, Harry
Newton, Westley Paulus, Juanita Pessarra, Pattie Peveto, Louis
Pietzsch, Nellie Rauwerda, Ceyril Reynolds, J. B. Samford, Frank
Shannon, Carrie Lou Townsend, Francis Wagner, and Lena Wooten.
In 1929, Nederland scored
twice as many points as its nearest rival in interscholastic
competition, winning 5 silver cups, with first places going to
Bradley Brandin, Sidney Pietzsch, Wilda Lisle, Pattie Peveto,
Adelaide Cooper, Nellie Belle Johnson, James Koelemay, Marie
Rienstra, Mary Louise Perryman, James Morgan and Eleanor
Hackworth. Also presented was the senior class play, “High
Flyers.” The seniors also enjoyed a Senior Day off, various
parties, and a Junior-Senior Banquet.
On Oct. 19, 1928, Nederland
savored its first victory over the Port Neches football team.
Nederland players of that year included C. Gibson, R.
Bodemuller, T. Smith, J. Hardy, Bill Doornbos, Davis, Baker, R.
Hanchett, C. Reynolds, H. Lemeur, U. B. Morgan, C. Morgan, L.
Hardy, G. Spencer, L. Derouen, E. Creswell, R. Johnson, J.
Samford, and W. Weigmann.42b
The Nederland School Board of
1928-1930 included R. L. Vernor, president; C. D. Wagner, L. C.
Sherman, Lawrence Koelemay, J. C. Griffin, W. K. McCauley, and
P. DeLong. Vernor was superintendent of Pure Oil refinery; C. D.
Wagner was a well-known realtor and early rice planter; and L.
C. Sherman was an early contractor. Koelemay owned a feed store;
McCauley was a realtor and retail lumber dealer; and DeLong
owned an auto agency and repair business.43
Perhaps the Great Depression,
followed closely by World War II, was to fashion a Nederland
senior and junior high school faculty of visible permanence,
albeit with an occasional addition or loss. And although the
writer can not by any means speak for everyone, it was a faculty
that, if not entirely beloved, was at least highly respected.
They included C. O. Wilson (math, principal, superintendent
after 1936), Cynthia Press (Spanish), C. A. Mathews (manual
training, principal), Marjorie Newson (home economics), Mrs.
Cora B. Linson (English), Frances Earle (history), H. D. Keeling
(commercial), and Edson Mae Johnson (librarian) all arrived
during the latter 1920s, and nearly all of them remained until
the end of World War II. Other teachers who were employed as of
1930, but who may not have remained long included Estelle Wood
(biology, English), J. C. Traylor (science, coach), Edythe
Maricle (public speaking), and Virginia Imig (music). Even in
2004, many old-timers remember Frances Earle with a special
affinity.44
By the middle 1930s, other
faculty members were added, to include Johnny Konecny (coach,
science), Ida May Bernhard (mathematics), Elizabeth Quine
(English), Floy Pinkerton (girls’ physical education), and I. B.
Griffith (coach and boys’ physical education).45
During the 1920s, the
building of Pure Oil refinery, and especially Nederland’s growth
as a bedroom community, doubled the population and added
significantly to the enrollment of the Nederland schools, which
by 1930 numbered more than 600. Hence, the senior graduating
class increased from 6 graduates in 1923 to 30 in 1929 and 27
graduates in 1930. The 1930 graduates included Grace Hannah,
Lynn Hardy, Walter Howell, Louise Hughes, George Ingram, Wilda
Lisle, Louise Massey, Cecil Morgan, Daphna Morgan, Elna Morgan,
Brooks Oakley, Annie Marie Peterson, Albert Riensta, Opal Smith,
Jessie M. Trotti, Alvin Barr, Lerlyne Black, Mecom Carter,
Erlyne Cromwell, Inez Davis, Harry Doornbos, Thomas Fletcher,
Laverna Franke, Charles W. Gibson, Caroline Giebelstein, Harry
Giebelstein, and Christine Haizlip. Harry Doornbos was killed in
the navy during World War II, and as of 1904, Albert Rienstra
may be the only 1930 graduate still alive.46
It is indeed regrettable that
the author cannot examine each graduating class, which will
result in a lot of names being omitted, and for that he
apologizes. At least three Pilot annuals were not published
during World War II, and even if all were available, the length
of this treatise would become tedious and unmanageable.
Pardon me, but the Nederland
High School was exhibiting a tinge of gender discrimination in
1930, for when I look at the high school band photograph, I have
to ask: “Where are the girls?” The band members included Maloy
Mills, Doyle Dubose, Paul Stehle, Sidney Pietzsch, Joe Monso,
Rowland Dumesnel, Fred Chamberlain, Oscar Ware, Alvin Ware,
Thomas Langham, Leonard Manning, Leon Ware, Wilbur Griffin, J.
C. Kelly, Joe Hollis, Verlon McGee, Oliver Chamberlain, Fergus
Decuir, and Bandmaster Johnnie Franks. C. P. Wiedeman was the
band director.47
The 1930 Nederland football
squad included George Ingram, Joe Monso, Clement Jennis, Mayo
Premeaux, Harry Davis, Judson Hardy, Houston Leatherwood,
Goodwin Griffin, Floyd Todd, Ray Oakley, Willie Lester; Lynn
Hardy, captain; Robert Bodemuller, Brooks Oakley, Adam Bellard,
Harry Giebelstein, Thomas Fletcher, Harry Doornbos, Mecom
Carter, Theo Smith, Walter Howell, Cecil Morgan, Charles Gibson,
Carlton Lester, Sanford Kelly, William Weigmann, and Coach John
Traylor.48
The 1930 boys’ basketball
team included the following players: Harry Giebelstein, Walter
Howell, Theo Smith, George Ingram, Lawrence Foster, Charles
Gibson, Joe Monso, Lynn Hardy, Judson Hardy, Mecom Carter,
Robert Bodemuller, Cecil Morgan, A. P. Mills, Goodwin Griffin,
and Floyd Todd. The 1930 girls’ basketball team included Coach
J. A. Floyd, Jessie Mae Trotti, Barbara Smith, Anna Beth Price,
Dorothy Mae Hanshaw, Erlyne Cromwell, Ruby Marrison, May
Doornbo, Louis Massey; Alice Ruth Nagel, captain; Anita
Wiegmann, Eloise Johnson, and Edna Dohmann.49
One school activity not
previously noted was the 1930 Halloween Carnival and Spooks
Convention. Christine Haizlip was the Queen of the Carnival, and
she wore a somewhat gaudy, knee-length black dress and a very
long black train.50
The 1930 junior class became
the 1931 senior graduation class; hence, their names are listed
here as well, as follows: Robert Bodemuller, Harry Davis, Eloise
Johnson, Tommy Langham, Sidney Pietzsch, Anna Beth Price, Edna
Dohmann, Helena Doornbos, Houston Leatherwood, Willie Lester,
Dalton Sherer, Barbara Smith, May Doornbos, Orvil Edwards, Ethel
Manning, A. P. Mills, Theo Smith, Kirtis Streetman, Lawrence
Foster, Alice Franke, Joe Minaldi, Louise Mize, Joe Thorp,
Gladys Wagner, Audrey Hamilton, Dorothy Hanshaw, Pearlie
Morrison, Ruby Morrison, Oscar Ware, Louise Weber, Judson Hardy,
Lena Harrison, Alice Ruth Nagel, Ray Oakley, Anita Wiegmann, and
William Wiegmann.51
The 1934 faculty was
basically the same, with J. F. Konecny and Floy Pinkerton added
to the staff, and the Misses Maricle and Imig were missing. L.
R. Pietzsch and C. O. Wilson were still respectively
superintendent and high school principal. About 1935 J. A. Floyd
was appointed junior high principal. The senior graduating
classes of the middle 1930s barely increased, for in 1936 Pure
Oil Company laid off 350 employees in a single day, resulting in
a local loss of population.
The 1934 senior graduating
class of 41 members included as follows: Winnie Belle Reed,
Clarence Peterson (killed in World War II), Mary Louise
Perryman, Mayo Premeaux, Russell Vernor, George Shannon, Iyone
Russell, Marie Rienstra, Bobbie Williamson, Janice Williams,
George Vanderweg, Leon Ware, Velma Rae Yentzen, Jackson Wolf,
Lillian Wolf, Juanita Gregory, Burrell Frazier, Robert Haizlip,
Clarice Clotiaux, Frances Goodwin, Arabelle Adams, Goodwin
Griffin, Ashton Daigle, John Goodwin, Rudolph Bodemuller, Wilbur
Griffin, Laverna Eaves, Ouida Eldridge, Horace Goodwin, Ruby
Harvill, Jewell Hayslette, Joe Hollis, Sanford Kelly, Hester
Leatherwood, Mary Francis Konecny, Lawrence Koelemay, Bessie
Ruth Keltner, Inez Miia, Verlon McGee, L. T. McBurnette, Evelyn
Luke, Rene Mouton, Joe Monzo, and Emily Mae Mize. In the list of
class wells, Mary Francis Konecny left to her junior classmate
“the ability to catch the next single coach in matrimony.”52
The 1934 junior class and
1935 senior graduates included Marie Boudreaux, Ruth Boyer, Edma
Mae Brown, Mabel Collier, Juliet Davis, Louree Dold, Bernice
Duhon, Bernis Ener, C. W. Field, Shirley Gibson, Dick Haizlip,
A. V. Hamilton, George Jones, J. C. Kelly, John Bunyan Koelemay,
Ruth Langham, Leonard Manning, Dorothy Meadows, Iverson
Meredith, Olga Miia, Wallace Mize, Thomas Moore, Melba Morgan,
Eileen Muckleroy, Leo McBride, Glyndora McCauley, Earl McMahan,
Fred Parish, Dennis Peveto, M. J. Pichoff, Edward Sanderson,
Judith Sehon, , Loretta Sherer, Jack Streetman, Lesley Sweeney,
Garrett Terwey, Wilma Terwey, Evelyn Wagner, and Gordon Wilson.53
In the summer of 1936, Port
Neches Coach I. B. Griffith was fired because he asked for a
raise; the Nederland School Board immediately hired him, and
Coach Konecny returned to the science department. Although the
Bulldogs scored 206 points to 72 for the opposition, Nederland
lost a “heartbreaker” to Port Neches by a score of 20 to 19.
However, the Bulldogs harvested “sweet revenge” in 1937. The
1936 Bulldogs included Zannet Matte, James Willey, Paul Dubose,
J. D. Stark, Percy Baker, Jimmy Massey, J. P. Clark, Clifford
Broussard, J. W. Roberts, Bill Fuller, Herbert Foster, Walter
Perryman, Thomas Harbour, Julian Broussard, R. B. Gregory, Olan
Whitmire, Lester Clotiaux, Winfred Gallier, Pat Morrison,
Clayton Harvill, Clarence Bourque, Noah Morvant, Ralph Massey,
J. W. Hise, George Trotter, Alvin Ware, Paul Billingsley, Fred
Arnold, O. S. Johnson, Fred Roach, Laris Broussard, Johnnie
Arnold; P. R. Sikes, line coach; and I. B. Griffith, head coach.54
For some reason, the 1937
annual was named The Announcer instead of the usual
Pilot, and the writer has often teased that the annual staff
must have been on welfare or relief since the entire booklet was
completed on an old-fashioned mimeograph machine, with resultant
poor quality photos. (Actually there was no such “critter” as
“welfare or relief” in 1936, since it was at the height of the
Great Depression.) The faculty had hardly changed an iota except
that Mr. Pietzsch left as superintendent, and I. B. Griffith
became boys physical education and coach.55
The 1937 senior class of 48
graduates included Ethel Adams, Joe Almendro, Johnnie Arnold,
Paul Billingsley, W. T. Block, Sylvia Brookner, Lester Clotiaux
(killed in World War II), Adele Creighton, Luther Defee, Emma
Doornbos, Hazel England, Winfred Gallier, R. B. Gregory (KIA,
navy in World War II), Mary Ida Griffin, Maxine Handley,
Lorraine Hastings, Rose Mary Hayslette, J. W. Hise, Thomas
Housenfluck, Edward Hughes (KIA, World War II), O. S. Johnson,
Hollis Jones, Ollie Mae Keltner, Arthur Lee, Roland Lee, Alton
Lockler, Anna Mae Manning, Betty Lou Manning, Stanley Marlow,
Charles Melling, Milton Mills, Seawillow Morgan, Sam Pace,
Oneida Quinn, Melba Rasberry, Mildred Ritchie, Fred Roach, L. D.
Sanford, Jack Singleton, Zillah B. Short, Ethel Spencer, Marie
Strother, Emma Terwey, Agnes Thorp, George Trotter, Lillian
Ware, Olan Whitmire, and Maryon Ruth Yentzen.56
When school began in Sept.,
1936, high school enrollment totaled 240 students, an increase
of 40 students over the previous year. The building still
contained senior and junior high school, plus the fourth and
fifth elementary grades. The first three grades were still in
the old Langham building, which would be its last year, since
the present Langham School was built in 1937. Between 1935 and
1940, some of the Langham elementary faculty included Molly
Williams, Helena Doornbos, Gladys Sims, Anna Rienstra, Celeste
Kitchen, Louree Dold Hollis, Rosannah DeYoung, Ruth Hansbro,
Jewel Smithwick, Margaret Walker Cromwell, and Emma Risinger.
And for the first time in 7 years, the Nederland Bulldogs BEAT
the Port Neches Indians in 1937!57
The Great Depression, which
had gripped Nederland so tenaciously between 1929 and 1940 did
not end of itself; it simply merged with World War II until 16
million people were in military uniform; and Nederlanders soon
found employment either in shipyards, refineries; or at the new
Port Neches rubber plant, which began building in 1942 and
employed 10,000 workers. Also, the Pilot annuals after 1937
continued to be soft-cover, and much less expensive products
than those turned out around 1930, or after 1946.
The 72 graduates in 1941
included Virginia Arnold, Ethel Bartels, Charles Bishop, Dorothy
Bonsall, Wallace Boudreaux, Laura Bourque, Alex Broussard,
Gloria Mae Caldwell, Edward Campbell, Mary Louise Champagne,
Evelyn Chester, Muriel Chester, Harold Collins, John Creswell,
Dorris Crisman, Harry Farris, Lillie Mae Findley, Catherine
Giebelstein, Gloria Gish, June Rose Gish, Elvina Green, Ray
Green, Fred Griffin, Dewey Guilbeaux, Ray Hudson, William
Ingram, Johnnie Mae Jefferson, Billie Jean Jordan, Jane Lumpkin,
Kenneth MacCammond, Bob McKinley, Hazel Mize, Elizabeth Monks,
Alburtha Morrison, Emma Lee Netterville, Evelyn Netterville.
Also, Yvonne Parish, Gerald
Perryman, Billie Poss, Imo Jean Puntes, Mary Quebedeaux, Joyce
Ratcliffe, Victor Roberts, Peggy Jean Rowland, Gene Rowley,
Richard Roy (KIA World War II), Leon Sanford, J. D. Savoy (KIA
World War II), Irma Schell, Frank Short, Roland Singleton,
Marjorie Stehle, Milton Sticker, Willie Ann Stonecipher, Dorothy
Streetman, Kathleen Tansil, Pearl Terry, Clyde Thacker, Lorraine
Theriot, Marie Thorp, Alvin Van Marion, Hazel Vaughan, Anna Ruth
Vogelvang, Lawrence Walp, Ilma Ware, Ruthie Mae Weeks, Barbara
Wendling, Mary Lou Westberry, Juanita Willis, Tom Wills, Maude
Evelyn Winn and Emmett Woodward.
Several teachers had been
added to the faculty, but the older teachers of the early 1930s
remained, for teaching positions were scarce during the
depression. The new faculty included Maxine Drury (commercial),
Robert Shepard (asst. coach), Robbie Connor (Spanish), C. R.
Miller (shop, mechanical drawing), Velma Stoeltje (home
economics), and C. R. Sory (band director).
The 1941 boys’ basketball
team included P. J. Granger, Arleigh Duff, Robert Goss, Joe
Williamson, Alfred Foster, Billy Fields, Edwin Roberts, Billy
Clements, Kenneth MacCammond, Victor Roberts and J. E. Barnett.
And the high school band had grown to nearly 70 members.58
Beginning Dec. 7, 1941, the
United States suffered the Pearl Harbor debacle and was quickly
at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy. Nevertheless, Nederland’s
educational program continued to progress as best it could, even
amid invasion jitters, coastal ships torpedoed, and even
blackouts. And a few new teachers were added, including Wanda
Doggett (commercial), Ruth Reed (girls’ physical training),
Elmer Brown (assistant coach), Alberta Meetz (dietician),
Marjorie Hoffman (Spanish, drama), Jane Marshall (history), and
Thurman E. Smith (typing, bookkeeping).
Once more, 72 seniors
graduated, as follows: Harold Bailey, J. E. Barnett, Reynell
Bernard, Anna Broussard, Harris Broussard, Ben Brown, Betty
Brown, Stella Carrington, Wanda Lou Collins, Gloria Concienne,
Gerald Crane, Marion Creswell, Horace Crosby, Lorae Crump, Gene
Davis, Leona Decuir, Arleigh Duff (who won national fame as a
musician), Alfred Foster, Cozie Belle Fowler, O. W. Franke, Mary
Cleo Frederick, Wilma Fae Gibson, Albert Giebelstein, Hubert
Gore, Lilian Gore, Robert Goss, R. P. Goulas, P. J. Granger,
Rayford Guzardo, A. C. Handley, Emogene Hastings, Edward
Hemmingway, Leo Hise, Roberta Hughes, Ella Mae Kelly, Bill
Keltner.
Also, Hollis Paul Kennedy,
Mary Kimler, Dorothy Mae Lee, Joyce Lee, Anna Belle Little, J.
D. McGraw, Jesse McNabb, Dorothy Marlow, Jimmy Massey, Angeline
Maxey, Sigrid Melling, Mary Miller, Marjorie Morrison, Doris
Pousson, Allen Prejean, Terrance Redditt, J. W. Rhyne, Roosevelt
Richards, Jimmie Ritter, Edwin Roberts, Waymon Scott, Elmer
Smith, Nelson Sonnier, J. T. Tansil, Frank Taylor, Joseph
Terracina, Milton Turner, Albert Van Oostrom, Joe Ware, Dorothy
Wells, Joe Williamson, David Willis, Dennis Wills, and Evelyn
Rhea Wilson.
The 1942 Bulldogs football
team included Donald Sanderson, Howland Reich, Jack Perryman,
Willard Sinclair, Wesley Weatherly, Harold Sehon, Pete Premeaux,
Billy Fields, Allen Ritter, Tommy Vinson, Alfred Foster, Edwin
Roberts, Barney Green, Harold McNabb, A C. Handley, Elmer Smith,
and J. E. Barnett.
Also, Burton Pousson, Robert
Crosson, Stanley Delahoussaye, Wilson Frederick, Lewis Wallace,
Robert Goss, Albert Van Oostrom, Frank Taylor, Rynell Bernard,
Harris Broussard, Anthony Concienne, Jimmy Massey, Spencer
Ritchie, Joe Williamson, and Leo Hise.59
Sadly, the privations of war
and other causes resulted in no annuals being published for the
remaining war years of 1943, 1944, and 1945. Perhaps it was
unfeasible and even considered unpatriotic in the face of
wartime shortages, and horrific military defeats and deaths. At
any rate, there remains a considerable famine of knowledge in
Nederland’s scholastic history, because they do not exist.
During World War II, a large ‘medal of honor’ sign or bulletin
board with 200 names of Nederland servicemen on it was mounted
at the corner of Boston and 13th Street. Most were
Nederland graduates, and about 12 were killed during the war.
The 1946 annual reflects many
faculty changes that had taken place during the war years;
nevertheless such teachers as Frances Earle; C. A. Mathews, who
had been promoted to superintendent; and Marjorie Newson were
holdovers from 1929. The 20 faculty members included F. Earle
(social studies), C. R. Miller (principal); M. Newsom (home ec),
J. S. Badgett (band director), Jessie Lee Ross (science), Mrs.
Ethel Peterson (English), Edna Holder (commercial), J. Konecny
(science, asst. coach) Mrs. Daisy Swanson (librarian), Mrs.
Mabel Bradley (commercial), H. L. McRae (coach),, Gladys Estes
(English), Allie Bland (mathematic), T. E. Smith (mathematics),
Mrs. H. L. McRae (English, history), Mrs. R. G. Boggs (Spanish),
Lois Strong (girls’ phys-ed), Mrs. Elizabeth Mann (English) and
Verna Mae Abel, dietician.
While the reading of
countless names may be tedious and cumbersome, the history of a
school is much like that of a church. Whereas the history of a
church is of its congregation, not of its sanctuary and steeple,
the history of a school is that of its faculty and students, not
that of its beautiful buildings and libraries, its sparking band
instruments and uniforms, nor of its football clothing and
stadium. It is always hoped that the knowledge imparted to each
young mind might produce a political leader, an inventor, or
great scientist; or if that were not possible, at least it would
help each graduate to earn a comfortable living and be an asset
to human society.
The year 1946 witnessed a
severe drop in graduates from 72 in 1941 and 1942 to 55 in 1946.
They are follows: Joyce Beakes, Charles Beard, Billy Beranek,
Rudy Berlin, Dorothy Brady, Luther Brown, Johnny Clements,
Herbert Coffman, Theresa Concienne, R. X. Cook, Averill Davis,
Gloria Davis, Addie Pearl Denton, Marceline Droddy, Robert
Eagleson, Lloyd Foust, Lillian Gardner, Marjorie Gardner, Robert
Earl Gray, Willie Jane Griffin, Guy Haynes, Sybil Hemmenway,
Hugh Allen Hooks, Plas Howard, Joe Milton Hughes, Emma Jeanne
Jones, Vernon Kimler, Juanita Keel, Bill Loudon, Gerald McManus,
Billy Darrel Moye, Pete Premeaux, Ralph Price, Opal Quarles,
Catherine Rauwerda, Howland Reich.
Also, Tom Ross, Janette
Sheffield, Don Sibley, Bud Smith, Juanita Smith, Dorothy Spoor,
Mildred Sumerow, Jack Sweeney, Wayne Taylor, Jack Thompson,
Irving Townsend, Bobby Vinson (All-American West Point player
shot down and still missing in Vietnam), Louise Walling, Gloria
Weatherly, Jewel Weeks, Nella Mae Westberry, Etta Alice Willis,
Billy Joe Wilson, and Daniel Zimmerman.
The 1946 boys’ basketball
team included Bobby Vinson, Everett Sanderson, Averill Davis, L.
G. Chaddick, Harold Gene Palmer, Tryce Taylor, Walter Davis,
Rudy Berlin, Bobby Wooten, Tyrus Sibley, and Irving Townsend.
The 1946 sponsors and maids were as follows: Willie Mae
Brousard, Mildred Sumerow, Dorothy Brady, Theresa Concienne,
Elaine Sandlin, Jewel Jones, and Joyce Hanchett. The 1946 cheer
leaders included Ray Rasberry, Wanda Jo Vinson, Joyce Beakes,
and John Willey.60
The 1947 faculty was almost
identical with that of the previous year, as follows: C. A.
Mathews, superintendent; C. R. Miller, principal; J. L. Badgett
(band); Allie Bland (mathematics); Mrs. M. L. Bradley
(commercial); Charles Ecles (Spanish); Frances Earle (history);
Gladys Estes (English II); Mrs. M. L. Fore (English 3, 4); Baron
Gray (coach); Edna Holder (commercial); Martha Bennett (girls’
phys-ed); R. O. Medlin (mathematics); Marjorie Newsom (home ec);
Mrs. E. G. Peterson (English 1); Jessie Lee Ross (science); T.
E. Smith (mathematics); Mrs. C. C. Swanson (librarian); Fount
Wade (science, asst. coach); and Mrs. Beatrice Davis
(commercial).
The 1947 graduating class was
back up to 68, an increase from 55 in 1946. The graduates
included Ruth Aldredge, Louise Bevil, Alta Gray Block, Goldie
Lou Bonsall, Lessie James Broussard, Willie Mae Broussard,
Katherine Bryan, Carl Bush, David Bush, Nell Camp, L. G.
Chaddick, Howard Clark, Sarah Jane Fox, Curtis Gough, Irene
Greer, Robert Harbour, Leon Hastings, Rena Huval, Jane Johnson,
Jewel Jones, James Kingston, Nancy Lawrence, Jackie Little, Gene
McCartney, Betty Markham, Barbara Matherne, Betty Jo Matte, Mary
Sue Merritt, Mary Collins (became
nationally
known
New York model and TV actress Ca. 1950,
see
Midc. Chronicle,
July
25,1990) , Bill Crane,
Earline Eagleson, Leroy Farley, Eugene Findley, Charles Ray
Fletcher, Harrell Fowler, Marjorie Fowler, William C. Mize, Jim
Newberry, Harold Gene Palmer, and O. R. Perdue.
Also, Lettye Layne Peveto,
Lois Lee Pregeant, Robert Quinn, Joyce Rackley, Faye Root, Cecil
Rose, Donald Sanderson, Everett Sanderson, Joy Elaine Sandlin,
Harold Sarles, Elvis Saulters, Jerry Shuart, Beverly Rachel
Stewart, Billie Swearingen, Betty Taylor, Trice Edgar Taylor,
Charles Tippen, Wanda Jo Vinson, Billy Whitman, and Bobby
Whitman.
On Nov. 20, 1946 the Kampus
Klub presented the 3-act play “The Lady in Gray.” The Senior
Class presented the play “Laughing Gas,” date not stated.
In 1947 the girls’ basketball
team players included Joyce Chambers, Shirley Dean, Goldie
Bonsall, Earline Eagleson, Inge Jordahn, Beverly Haynes, Delores
Babineaux, Rita Faye Melder, Mary Kingston, Dorothy Langham,
Bobbie Harris, Ida Mae Langham, Ms. Bennett, Edith Woods, and
Betty Miller.
The 1947 Bulldogs football
team included James Fultz, Trice Taylor, Elvis Saulters, Howard
Clark, Harold Palmer, Leroy Farley, Cecil Rose, Donald
Sanderson, O. R. Perdue, Leo Schion, L. C. Choate, Tyrus Sibley,
David Bush, Jerry Locke, Robert Harbour, Bobby Wooten, Everett
Sanderson, Darrel Monts, William Johnson, Bill Crane, L. G.
Chaddick, Lynn Price, Harold Zimmerman, Joe Wayne Dubose, Buddy
Davis, and Jimmy Locke.
The boys’ basketball team
included Bobby Wooten, Howard Clark, Buddy Davis, Everett
Sanderson, Jim Newberry, Robert Harbour, Ollie Ray Fuller, Elvis
Saulters, Gene Palmer, Trice Taylor, Joe Wayne Dubose, and L. G.
Chaddick. Chaddick and Davis made All-District, each having a
scoring record of 156 points. Later, Davis would become an
Olympic winner.61
The Nederland Board of
Education in 1950 included John McInnis, president; Dr. B. H.
Hall, B. A. Ritter, J. V. Radford, Murray Libersat, E. A.
Palmer, and W. F. Ricketts. The faculty of that year included C.
A. Mathews, superintendent; F. C. Burnett, principal; E. C.
Deering, supervisor; also, Mrs. B. B. Bolton (Spanish,
history), Mrs. M. L. Bradley (commercial), Emmett McKenzie
(physics). R. O. Medlin (math). Walter Deering (world history),
Mrs. Julia Dupuy (nurse), Frances Earle (history), Charles Enloe
(band), Marjorie Newsom (home ec), Mrs. A. E. Paradice
(bookkeeping), Elbert Pickell (coach), Harry Gerbens (industrial
arts). Louise Hogg (dietician), Mrs. R. L. LaBove (choral), L.
C. Lowery (asst. coach, math), Mrs. J. D. Presley (girls’
phys-ed), Jessie Ross (science), Mrs. Syd Russell (English),
Mrs. A. H. Smith (English, history), Mrs. Daisy Swanson
(librarian), J. W. Welch (typing, chemistry), H. S. Whiteside
(math), Mrs. H. S. Whiteside (English, speech), and Charles
Williams (English). The writer will use this space to recognize
the 21-year Nederland teaching career of Frances Earle and
Marjorie Newson, each of whom was dearly beloved by the student
body.
In 1950 senior class included
90 graduates, as follows: Revis Abshire, Billy Jack Abshire,
Juanita Adamson, Bobby Aldredge, May Nell Armstrong, Sadie Ruth
Baker, Darold Bartels, Donald Bartels, Johnny Bevil, Melba Ruth
Beyer, James Bolton, Davis Bourque, Carolyn Brackin, Thomas
Burnaman, A. J. Cessac, Freddy Cessac, Arthur Champagne, Barbara
Courts, Jack Childress, Ethel Courts, Billie Ferrel Dalby, Patsy
Daughrity, Arlen Daw, Jeanne Deese, Benny Driggers, Betty Lou
Dubose, Betty Eagleson, Florence Foster, Mary Fowler, and Martha
Bert Fox.
Also, Ruth Frederick, Leonard
Frazier, Pat Furth, J. T. Gall, Jimmie Nell Gaugh, Billy
Guzardo, Arlene Handley, Jerry Hanks, Shirley Hastings, Belvin
Havard, John Haizlip, Joann Henderson, Maxine Jennings, Billy
Johnson, Dorothy Langham, Gladys LaPoint, Hazel LaPoint, Julia
LeBlanc, Billie Rae Lewis, Richard Longbottom, Elton Luce,
Louise McBride, Jack McGaffey, William McGee, Robert Marcontel,
Dorothy May, Marion Mericle, Marguerite Miller, Alvin Mott,
Keith Norton, George O’Quinn, Darald Premeaux, Bud Rauwerda,
Wilma Rauwerda, Clara Lela Redditt, and Joyce Rienstra.
Also, Delores Richardson,
Gene Shaw, Arnold Sherer, Bessie Silkwood, Andrew Simmons,
Gerald Smith, Patsy Stark, Rebecca Street, Cleo Strickland, Mary
Thacker, Samuel Tobey, Jo Ann Tyer, Nelis Van Marion, Bobby
Watson, D. C. West, Donnie Whitehead, Bobbie Whitehead, F. A.
Wiegmann, Curtis Williams, Damie Whitman, H. C. Youmans, Roberta
Greer, and Ray Rasberry.
The many extracurricular
groups worthy of mention included the Future Homemakers, Campus
Club, Spanish Club, Speech Club, Choral Club, Student Council,
Health Council, Press Club, Science Club, and Pep Squad. There
were several dramatic plays presented during the year.
The 1949 track team included
Richard Longbottom, Walter Robin, Davis Bourque, Revis Abshire,
Dal Ray Brown, James Lee, Curtis Williams Bill Sturrock, Bud
Rauwerda, D. C. West, and Darald Premeaux.62
This completes a thumbnail
sketch of early Nederland education and a brief history of the
Nederland Independent School District from 1898 until 1950. Many
annuals or Pilot books are not on hand in the school archives,
and even if they had been available, the length of this treatise
would have become unmanageable if each year had been presented.
And the writer truly regrets that he could not mention each
graduate’s name from every graduating class. Some Nederland
graduates won national acclaim, among them Bobby Vinson,
All-American at West Point, who is still missing in action in
Vietnam; Arleigh Duff, western singer, whose “You All Come” made
top ten of Western music; Buddy Davis, who won an Olympic gold
medal; and Mary Collins, of New York model and TV fame. Tex
Ritter attended school briefly in Nederland before leaving for
Hollywood.
It would be easy to point out
in 2004 that the Nederland School District can boast of a high
school, 2 middle schools, and 4 elementary school; a large
capacity football stadium, an administration building, band
houses, libraries, computers, and a dozen other scholastic and
administrative aids which are needed to make its cylinders run
smoothly. However, as always it is its large faculty and student
body, which are worthy of writing about. It is the author’s
sincere wish that this scholastic entity will continue to
succeed for centuries to come, and always leave as excellent
an academic record in the future as it has in the past.
Endnotes
1
W. T. Block,
“Tulip Transplants to East Texas: The Dutch Migration to
Nederland, Port Arthur, and Winnie, 1895-1915,”
East Texas Historical Journal,
XIII, No. 2 (1975), 36-50.
2
Holland, Mich.
DeGrondwet, May 24, 1898.
3
Midcounty
Chronicle, July
22, 1992.
4
Memories of Anna
Cooley in “From the Netherlands in Europe to Nederland, Texas.”
5
Histories of the
Elings, Koelemay and Westerterp families.
6
History of the
John Berthold Cooke, Sr. family.
7
Nederland
Diamond Jubilee, 1898-1973, p. 45.
8
Ibid,
p. 47.
9
History of the
Thompson family.
10
Nederland
Diamond Jubilee,
p.47 and other sources.
11
History of the
W. S. Gibson family, Vol. 5, Part A, “Chronicles of the Early
Families of Nederland.”
12
Beaumont
Enterprise,
.May 24, 1908.
13
Beaumont
Journal, Apr. 2, 15, 1905.
14
Ibid.,
May 21, 1905.
15
Beaumont
Enterprise,
May 26, 1907.
16
Nederland
Diamond Jubilee, p. 49.
17
Part X, Memoirs
of Carrie Goodwin, in “Chronicles of the Early Families of
Nederland.”
18
Memoirs of Annie
Marie McLean, Vol. 4, Part 5, “Chronicles of the Early
Families.”
19
Beaumont
Enterprise,
Sept. 10, 1911.
20
Ibid.,
May 19, 1912.
21
School Review
of Jefferson County Texas for 1921, pp.14, 50.
22
Nederland
Diamond Jubilee, p. 50.
23
Ibid.,
p. 49.
24
“School Review
of Jefferson County, Texas for 1921,” p. 49.
25
Ibid.,
p. 13.
26
Ibid.,
p. 50.
27
Ibid.,
p. 101.
28
Ibid.,
pp. 19-20.
29 Ibid.,
p. 51.
30 Ibid.,
“Jefferson County Health Department,” pp. 97-101.
31 Nederland
Diamond Jubilee, p. 50.
32 Part
U, Memoirs of Lowell C. Morgan, in “Chronicles of the Early
Families of Nederland.”
33 Part
C, Vol. 2, Memoirs of Adam Winters, in “Chronicles of the Early
Families etc.”
34 “Nederland
New School to be Ready,” Beaumont
Enterprise,
August 12, 24, 1924; also the 1928 Pilot, p. 16.
35 Memoirs
of Annie Marie McLean, Vol. 4, Part 5, “Chronicles of the Early
Families etc.”
36 Nederland
Diamond Jubilee,
p. 54; W. T. Block, “C. O. Wilson: Nederland’s Pioneer
Educator,”
Midcounty Chronicle,
April 17, 2002.
37 Interview,
W. T. Block with Albert H. Rienstra, Dec. 8, 2004.
38 Interview,
W. T. Block with Mrs. Alice Ruth Bodemuller, Dec. 8, 2004.
39 See
Nederland Diamond Jubilee, p. 51; also Nederland Centennial
History, p. 121.
40 Nederland
Centennial History, p. 64.
41 Ibid.
42 W.
T. Block, “C. O. Wilson: Midcounty’s Pioneer Educator,”
Midcounty Chronicle,
Apr. 17, 2002.
42a The
1928 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
42b The
1929 annual, The Pilot, pages 19-81.
43 The
1930 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
44 Ibid.
45 The
1937 annual, The Announcer, p. 4.
46 See
footnote 43.
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid.
49 Ibid
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 The
1934 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
53 Ibid.
54
The 1937 annual,
The Announcer, pages unnumbered.
55 Ibid.
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid;
also Nederland Centennial History, pp. 67-69.
58 The
1941 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
59 The
1942 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
60 The
1946 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
61 The
1947 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
62 The
1950 annual, The Pilot, pages unnumbered.
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