Life in The Grove: Pleasant Grove — 1954-1956

pghs_1956-dairy-queenDairy Queen, 1238 S. Buckner — 1956 (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

The community of Pleasant Grove was first settled in the 1840s but didn’t officially become part of Dallas until it was annexed in 1954 after a huge postwar surge in population. Upon annexation, the schools that made up the Pleasant Grove Independent School District became part of the DISD, including Pleasant Grove High School, which was located on Lake June Road, between Conner and Pleasant Drive. PGHS closed when the brand new W. W. Samuell High School opened on January 28, 1957, halfway through the 1956-1957 school year. The photos here are from the yearbooks of the last three years that Pleasant Grove High School was open — most of the ads feature students inside or in front of the business establishments. And they’re great! (Click photos for larger images.)

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Photos of overcrowded Pleasant Grove High School and its numerous out-buildings, 1955.

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Pleasant Grove Pharmacy, Grady’s Clover Farm Grocery, and Grove Shoe Store:

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Worthington Service Station:

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Schepps Dairy:

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The Eatmore Hamburger System (greatest name EVER!!):

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Dasch Cleaners:

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Harvey Hayes, “The Insurance Man”:

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Cassidy’s Conoco Station, Tee-Pee Drive-In Grocery, and Gay and Jones Motor Co.:

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Worthington’s Magnolia Service Station (again) and Barrett’s Used Cars:

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W. W. Hughes Magnolia Service Station, E & L Service Shop (bicycle and lawnmower service), and, again, Pleasant Grove Pharmacy:

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Billie Price Real Estate and Maridell’s:

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Martin’s Sinclair Service Station (with a DQ photobomb):

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The Kaufman Pike Drive-In, “The Theater With a Heart”:

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And lastly, a very dark photo of Pleasant Grove High School from the 1948 yearbook:

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Sources & Notes

All photos and ads are from the 1954, 1955, and 1956 editions of The Bobcat, the Pleasant Grove High School yearbook.

More on the history of Pleasant Grove in southeast Dallas, here. More on the history of Pleasant Grove High School here and here. The confusing school changes revolving around the the PGISD/DISD switchover were a bit like musical chairs and affected attendance of numerous high schools (including Forest High School, Crozier Tech, and Woodrow Wilson), junior high schools, and elementary schools. Read about the details in the Dallas Morning News article “Mid-Term Switch Set for Students” (DMN, Jan. 6, 1957).

Google map showing Pleasant Grove and approximate location of PGHS, here.

As always, click pictures for larger images.

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Copyright © 2016 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.