AR GenWeb Project - Garland County - Jessieville School District

Jessieville School District

Contributed and written by Jimmy D. Johnson, Reprinted with permission 2003.

Roscoe DAVIS - 1950

Principal - also taught 7th and 8th grades - Coach of Senior and Junior boys

Jessieville School was formed as Jessieville School District No. 45 in 1931 by a petition by the citizens of the area to the state Department of Education and the Garland County Board of Education.
In 1930 Mr. Elbert JOHNSON, Forrest NEWKIRK, and John BALDWIN along with the help of several other citizens of northeast Garland County began a public forum, which led to a petition drive to consolidate the four small school districts of the area into one large district. The new school would offer a high school education for the local students. Up until this time all four schools had only offered an eighth grade education.
The four Districts that consolidated were, Ballew Springs, Central, Bethlehem and Marble. Ballew Springs was located just South of Coleman's Rock shop on the West side of No. 7 highway. Bethlehem was down on Little Blakely where Vernor and Inez SHAW live. Central was about 2 and 1/2 miles north of Jessieville on the East side of No. 7 highway where Rector WARD lives. Both the SHAW's and WARD's remodeled the schoolhouses and lived in them. Marble was located just South of Marble Baptist Church at the junction of Beaudry Circle and Talley Cemetery Road.
The five Board Members of the new District were, E.C. SHAW - President, A.F. NEWKIRK - Secretary, R.F. BLACKMON, E.L. JOHNSON and J.A. BALDWIN. All were transferred from their respective small schools. E.C. SHAW from Bethlehem, A.F. NEWKIRK from Central, R.F. BLACKMON from Ballew Springs, E.L. JOHNSON and J.A. BALDWIN from Marble.
After consolidation in 1931, plans were implemented to begin a new school building to house all the students. While arrangements were being made and construction gotten under way all four schools continued to have classes for Primer (Kindergarten) through eighth grade. Grades nine through twelve were sent to Fountain Lake for three years, although not many attended. Some, but not all of the Jessieville students who graduated from Fountain Lake were, Vera MUSE, Jeff NEWKIRK, Ester NEWKIRK, Herman JOHNSON and Lois JOHNSON.
In 1934 the school remodeled the old Jessieville Baptist Church House and had High School classes there for two years. Some, but not all the students who graduated from Jessieville in the Church House were, Orpha BALDWIN, Eva PENNINGTON and Nina JOHNSON.
Mr. Henry BRAUGHTON was Principal. Miss Ovie SORRELLS and Lois JOHNSON were teachers. Because some of the graduates did not receive full credit for one of their courses, they attended Fountain Lake for two months, took a test and received a diploma from there.
During this time, work was going on the new Rock School Building. The U.S. Forest Service moved their headquarters and work center and donated the land to the school for the new building. The work on the new building was completed in time for school to open on July 19, 1936 for an eight month term with 180 students enrolled. It had taken almost five years, countless hours of work, headaches and red tape to secure a loan and the co-operation of various Govt. offices; but the ambitions of the community and Board members were accomplished. I am told the Board members spent more time on school business than they did on personal things during this time. We must not let ourselves forget the work and sacrifice these men donated to our School and community.
The completed new Rock Building cost the School District only $6,092.18. This was accomplished by the Board securing the donation of the rocks from Mr. Walter HEBERT (Pronounced A Bear), and Mr. Harve GRAVES. Sand and gravel were donated from various sources and all the labor was donated by the W.P.A. a Govt. work project. The W.P.A. also donated about 20% of the other material.

The Faculty for 1936, the first year in the Rock Building were,

High School:

Jeff D. NEWKIRK, Principal, Science teacher and Basketball Coach. D.O. BLACKMON, History and Math. Kitabel SHANNON, English.

Elementary teachers for 1936.

Orpha BALDWIN- Primer, First and Second.
Lois JOHNSON- Third and Fourth.
Herman JOHNSON - Fifth and Sixth.

The first graduates from the new Rock Building in the Spring of 1937 were.
Madge AULT, Glen CASEY, Allen GREEN, Ray GREEN, John NEWKIRK and Beatrice WRIGHT.

About 1944 during WWII, both buses owned by the school were completely worn out beyond repair. Since the War required all available material, new buses could not be found. In order to get the students to school, the Board hired Mr. John TEAL to haul them on his grocery truck. He put a tarp over the top, made seats from boards and made two trips both morning and evening. There was no heat in winter and lots of dust in summer. Many students left home before light and arrived back after dark. I believe this lasted about one and one half school years. (I rode the first route in the morning and the last in the evening. J.D.J.)
In 1945 or 1946 a school lunch program was established with the lunch room being in the basement where the rest rooms are now located. Up until then all students brought their lunch from home, most in little striped Rex jelly buckets. There were no soft drinks available at school. A few years later the U.S. Army gave the school a barracks building at Camp Robinson near Little Rock. The men and boys of Jessieville tore it down, pulled the nails and loaded the lumber on Mr. Floyd WARD's log truck, he then hauled it back for us. A new lunch room was constructed from this material.
In 1949 Jessieville was enlarged by the addition of the Schools at Rock Springs (Star) Mt. Tabor and Avant. The High School students immediately enrolled at Jessieville. The grade school came a short time later. This addition made Jessieville the largest District in area in Garland County and added to her financial structure as well. In the late 1940's or early 1950's Jessieville did not have enough students enrolled to meet State requirements to maintain a High School. Mr. Roy MORGAN the County School Supervisor brought the bad news. Jessieville High School would again be sent to Fountain Lake. In an attempt to avoid this the Board sent Board President Mr. Raymond JOHNSON to Little Rock to meet with the State Board . Mr. Arch FORD director of the State Board of education was a former Superintendent at Mtn. Pine and familiar with Jessieville. He reasoned, because of the enormous area the District covered and the distance many students would have to travel, the High School should remain at Jessieville. Jessieville School District No. 45 was changed to Special District No. One (1). Jessieville was the first Special District in the State. Jessieville remained in this status until 1972 when she again became an Independent District.
Jessieville had begin as a class "C" High School. She later obtained a class "B" rating and in 1957 her rating was raised to class "A".
A new Elementary building was constructed about 1950 near where the present one is located. In 1953 construction was begin on Jessieville's first gymnasium. Up until this time we only had an outdoor basketball court. We practiced outside in the cold and even played some games on the dirt court. The court was later blacktopped. The new gym was completed in time to play four games in it in 1954. The first games ever played in a gym. at Jessieville were with Mt. Ida. I do not remember the outcome of the other games; but the Senior boys lost by four points. (I was on the Sr. boys team). In the Spring of 1955 a tornado took the top off the new gym. The rain ruined the hardwood floor and much of the inside. The lunchroom was completely blown away with damage to other buildings. All the buildings were replaced, then in February 1961 the gym burned to the ground. The present Glazner gymnasium was then constructed in 1961 and 1962.
In 1951 the Jessieville Sr. boys basketball team went to the finals of the State class "B" basketball tournament. They lost to Valley Springs.
The team members were;
Junior McEARL - Center
Douglas RICE and Willie CLICK - Forwards
Dale CASTLEBERRY and Grover GRAVES and Ralph SHAW-Guards
Leon WARD, Jerry SPEERS, Junior BLACKMON, Clim SHAW and J.C. OATES moved up from the Jr. team to play in the tournament.
Mr. Roscoe DAVIS was Principal and Coach. Record for year, Won 22 - Lost 6

In 1955 the Jessieville Sr. boys again went to the semifinals of the class "B" State basketball tournament where they lost to Delight who won the championship.
Team members were;
Allen Dean McEARL, Jimmy CASH, Bobby RICE, J.W. CASTLEBERRY, Euel Dean WARD, Preston AULT, Billy COCKMAN, Leon EVANS, Charles BEAN and Kenneth NATIONS. Coach - Roscoe DAVIS.
Record for year - Won 2-2 - lost 5

This is but a brief record of the early history of Jessieville High School. I am sure others could add much more. I have written from memory, interviews with many, records & countless phone calls. I was able to find only one (1) of the students living who graduated from the old Church House, Nina (JOHNSON) MOORE who is eighty years old. I was not able to find any of the Jessieville Students living who graduated from Ft. Lake, although I had talked with Mrs Lois (JOHNSON) HUNTER about this before her death. Some of the information came from the first school paper published in August 1936.

Written by Jimmy D. JOHNSON
A 1954 graduate at Jessieville

Arnold C. FRANKLIN, Jr. - 1950
11th Grade
Senior girls Coach

Quinton H. WHITE - 1950
9th & 10th grades
Junior girls Coach

Lou Anna HILTON - 1950

5th and 6th grade

Lois HUNTER - 1950

3rd and 4th grade

Lela Grace SHIPP - 1950

1st and 2nd grade

From: Ike MURRY - Attorney General for the State of Arkansas
To: Mr. Raymond L. JOHNSON, President of School Board for Jessieville, Arkansas

Dear Mr. JOHNSON:

In your letter of October 22, you stated that under Initiated Act No. 1, adopted at the general election in 1948, Jessieville High School District No. 45 was created into a new district and that your county examiner says that it is no longer Jessieville School but that it is "Garland County District No. 1." You further state that all of the surrounding schools have names, and you ask if your school can still be known as Jessieville School, District No. 1. You state that it is embarrassing to the pupils, the ball team, and others to go into other counties with no name on the bus rather than the number of the district.

Initiated Act No. 1 to which you refer in Sec 1 contains this language:
"The new district in each County shall be known as the "_________ County School District No. ______."

It would seem under this requirement that Garland County School District No. 1 would be the legal designation of the district. However, the School Board has control and management of school property and broad powers over the affairs of the district, and I see no objection to having the name "Jessieville High School" painted on the bus along with the name "Garland County School District No. 1"
Very Truly Yours,
Ike MURRY
Attorney General
Cleveland HOLLAND
Assistant Attorney General

Photo taken in 1936 The following excerpts are from the first Jessieville Times School Newspaper - August 13, 1936 Jeff D. NEWKIRK, Principal D.O. BLACKMON, Social Science Kitabel SHANNON, English Orpha BALDWIN, Primary Teacher Herman JOHNSON, Elementary Lois JOHNSON, Third and Fourth
PAPER STAFF Editor - Beatrice WRIGHT Asst. Editor - Madge AULT Business Manager - John NEWKIRK, Johnnie HUSTON, Ray GREEN Sports Editors - Helen HOWARD, Glen CASEY Social/Personal - Allen GREEN, Beatrice SMITH, Wylie VAUGHN Joke Editors - Bertha MURDERS, Howard NEWKIRK Sponsors - Miss JOHNSON, Miss SHANNON, Mr. BLACKMON	SOCIAL AND PERSONAL An event of much interest to the people was the pie supper and candidates speaking of July 22 at the school. The speakers talks were very interesting. The 63 pies brought the amount of $25.00, which was divided between the singing convention and the school. There was a large crowd and they all seemed to enjoy the entertainment. A revival was begun by Rev, Joe MILTON at Beaudry Sunday night. The meeting will continue until further notice. The weeks revival at Bethlehem closed Sunday night. Mr. And Mrs. Bill BURRIS have returned from Forrest City where they have spent the last few weeks. Mr. And Mrs. Jamie MIDKIFF are spending their vacation at Jessieville. Relatives from North Carolina are visiting Mr. And Mrs. HATLEY. Elmer CRUMPTON was with Flora TUCKER at the dedication program on Friday night. John NEWKIRK is visiting the JOHNSON home frequently, also Johnnie HUSTON is visiting the CASEY home.	1st and 2nd GRADE NEWS We are very glad to have started this term in a new building. We have been working hard the past month. The teacher seems pleased with our work. Our teacher is making our room an interesting place where we spend eight hours each day of our life. She draws for us and then sometimes she has us draw for her. We all like our teacher Miss BALDWIN. The beginners are now reading "Sleepy Head." We enjoy reading our new books. We can add small figures, which we are proud of. The teacher tells us that we are her spellers. We have learned how to spell cow, cat, dog, rat, and a few other words since school started. The first grade has just finished the story of the 3 rabbits, Hop, Skip and Jump. We like arithmetic in preference to other subjects. The teacher told us we are going to learn how to count money and tell the hour of the day. When we learn how to exchange money we can go to the store for mother. The second graders are reading of "Mr. Rabbit and the Wishing Pond." We have learned why Mr. Rabbit has long ears and a short tail. It is a very interesting story. In number work we are learning to subtract. The teacher has us to copy our spelling each day. We not only get the spelling but also the practice of writing. We have new pictures on the bulletin board every week. We clean our homeroom. We keep the blackboard clean. When you come to visit us just remember we behave well to our size. Primary Room
3rd and 4th GRADES Yes, here we are. We are proud of the large number, 46, that we have enrolled in our room. We have had a high percentage of attendance which shows we are very much interested in our books. In reading we have read several stories and poems about the Indians. As we went along with this we made some Indian pottery and drew some pictures. After we finished reading "Paper Boats" we found much fun in cutting and making some of them. We have been studying titles, parts of a letter, letter writing, and stories in English. We tiny tots never tire of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We have much fun while playing "Bean Bag," which teaches us to add numbers. We have been to Iraq, traveling up and down the Shattal, Arab, Tigus and the Euphrates Rivers. On our journeys we learned that we must not think that people who do not dress and act as we do are odd. Our ways may seem just as odd to them. We have brought several ?? to the windows. We like to watch them grow and turn themselves up to the beautiful sunlight. Making and painting our bird boxes was fun too. We think the thing we like best is to sing. We have learned a health song "Smile a While," and "Mary Had a Little Lamb, " "Paper Man," and one or two others. We already have several books which have been given or loaned to our library. It is our greatest delight to read "The Three Bears," "Little Brown KoKo," and the other stories which we have already collected.	5th & 6th GRADES We, the fifth and sixth graders, are well pleased with our new school and the progress that we are making. We have been so interested the first four weeks that they seem to have passed as one. This fourth week is really our hardest week yet because we are preparing for and taking tests. Some of these are not going to be easy to pass. We find that studying the same grade with a large group of pupils is quite different from that of last year. The work is not harder but far more interesting. The following Class Officers were elected: Pres. - Alvin NEWKIRK Vice Pres. - Connelly NEWKIRK Secretary - Glenda SPURS Treasurer - Joyce SPURS Program Committee - James HATLEY, Bertha JOHNSON, Johnnie ELLISON	7th and 8th GRADES Here we are back in school again and in a new building too. We like our teachers and classmates. We elected school officers Friday; President - Jake AULT Vice Pres. - Ruby MURDERS Secretary - Serilda CASEY Treasurer - Murrel AULT Reporter - Jewell ELLISON Now we might as well tell you our teachers names: Mr. NEWKIRK, Miss SHANNON, and Mr. BLACKMON. Mr. NEWKIRK is our Science teacher; Miss SHANNON English; and Mr. BLACKMON, History and Arithmetic We ae working hard to make this the best school in Garland County.
9th GRADE We, the pupils of the 9th grade are very happy to be back in school again. There are 15 enrolled this year. We have been studying hard this past 3 weeks as we are trying to make this our best year. In English we have been studying the parts of a letter; In science we have been studying the work of Man and his environment; in Math we've been reviewing formulas; and in Civics we've been studying the guarding of property's and homes. Friday afternoon we elected class officers. They are as follows; President - Johnnie HUSTON Vice Pres. - Myra ROBBINS Sec. - Treas - Opal JOHNSON Reporter - Gloria SPEERS Sponsor - Miss SHANNON We found out Friday night that we have a very talented teacher when Miss SHANNON gave us the piano solo and also a very popular Principal when we heard the praises of Mr. NEWKIRK. The other teachers are fine too and we think our school has the finest teachers yet. We among others enjoyed the talks of the many speakers at the Dedication Friday night. Gloria SPEERS	10th GRADE NEWS We, the tenth graders are very glad to be back in school after a long vacation. We are now beginning our real work and we expect to do our part in making the first term in our new schoolhouse the most successful term the district has ever known. We have 9 pupils in our class. Our attendance has been good for this month and we hope it will continue throughout this term. In English we have been making formal speeches for the past two weeks. During this practice we hope to overcome our incorrect English used in speaking. Our Class Officers are: President - Helen HOWARD Vice Pres. - Beatrice SMITH Sec. - Treas. - Beth MURDERS Reporter - Flora TUCKER	11th and 12th GRADES We are now at the end of the first month of school. We have an enrollment of seven, one 11th and six 12th grade pupils. In English we have been analyzing sentences and are now studying literature. We are reviewing for tests in Economic Geography, Algebra and higher Arithmetic. We are all very glad to meet back this year and have the opportunities that we have. We open up with a new school building this year so every one should be able to study and do better work.
LIBRARY The Lions Club of Hot Springs, Arkansas presented a Websters Universal Dictionary to the library, which was very highly appreciated by all the teachers and students. Anyone who will donate or lend us books will be in our next paper. The following men - Messrs. Earl WITT, Roy C. REOF, Elza T. HOUSLEY, Mr. Elmer TACKETT, Clyde WILSON and George MATTAR contributed ten dollars to the Jessieville High School to help secure books for the library. Madge AULT	CAN YOU IMAGINE 1. Albert BROOKS getting a date with a girl? 2. Mr. PERKINS making some new rules on the school bus when he was only 15? 3. Jeff NEWKIRK going by Hoyt GIVENS every Saturday? 4. Madge AULT taking a nap every Monday morning at school? 5. Beatrice WRIGHT short and fat? 6. Jeff NEWKIRK smoking a cigar? 7. Mr. JOHNSON falling in love? 8. John NEWKIRK refusing to play ball? 9. Helen HOWARD an old maid we3aring specks? 10. Myra ROBBINS with coal black hair and with a C.C.C. boy?	SPORTS The teachers and pupils have organized an Athletic Association at Jessieville. We elected; President: Glen CASEY Vice Pres. - John NEWKIRK Secretary - Beatrice WRIGHT Treasurer - Johnnie HUSTON We have been practicing softball and plan to meet some team at Hot Springs in the near future. We shall have both boys and girls teams and we plan to take part in all games possible. We are looking forward to a successful softball and basketball season.