Education/Schools | Flashback : Dallas

March 6, 2023

Dallas: “Outstanding Educational Center” — ca. 1943

Five education hotspots…

by Paula Bosse

From So This Is Dallas, a publication meant to lure new residents to the city by touting key aspects of what makes it worth your while to pack your bags and relocate NOW. This is the page that focused on education.

Dallas… Outstanding Educational Center

Early in its history, Dallas set a high standard for its schools, and so well has it maintained those standards, that it stands high among cities of the nation in the educational advantages it offers to the children of its people and to those of the surrounding states.

From kindergartens for tiny tots to great universities and colleges for those seeking the higher degrees of learning, Dallas can furnish any specialized or general training that the young citizen may require.

There are 62 elementary schools, 8 senior high schools, and 4 junior high schools in the public school system of Dallas and the surrounding residential cities. Several new junior high schools are planned, and new elementary schools are organized as rapidly as they are needed.

The public schools also offer evening classes for the training of adults, and vocational training for adults or those of school age who prefer the specialized fields.

In the field of higher learning, there is Southern Methodist University, the medical and dental schools of Baylor University, Miss Hockaday’s School for Girls, and the Terrill School for Boys. Several well-rated business schools offer training in business administration, and there are dozens of recognized schools of music, art, the dance, drama, trades, and professions. Only a few miles to the west, at Arlington, is the state’s great school, the North Texas Agricultural College.

North Dallas High School:

Southern Methodist University:

Woodrow Wilson High School:

The Terrill School for Boys:

Miss Hockaday’s School for Girls:

Why not post lists of schools from the 1943 Dallas directory? First, Dallas Public Schools (White):

Dallas Public Schools (Black):

Dallas Private Schools:

Dallas Schools, Colleges, Academies, and Odd Stuff:

And a lot of business schools….

***

Sources & Notes

Photos and text from So This Is Dallas, published around 1943 by The Welcome Wagon, with photos by Parker-Griffith; courtesy of the Lone Star Library Annex Facebook page.

See other Flashback Dallas posts using bits from this booster publication (circa 1943 and 1946) here.

7 Comments

April 25, 2021

SMU Campus, An Aerial View from the North — 1940s

(Squire Haskins Collection, UTA Libraries)

by Paula Bosse

When you see aerial views of the SMU campus, they’re usually looking to the north, toward Dallas Hall. Which is one reason this photo by ace photographer Squire Haskins is interesting. It’s also noteworthy because it shows “Trailerville,” the trailer camp set up on the campus from 1946 to 1953 for married war-vet students, and it also shows the pre-fab men’s dormitories, which look like army barracks. Housing in post-WWII Dallas was was very, very tight, and people had to make do and were crammed into all sorts of spaces. (See a very large image of this photo on the UTA website here.)

For reference, Mockingbird Lane is running horizontally at the top (I was wondering if that might have been the Mrs. Baird’s bakery (built in 1953) at the top left, but it’s not far enough east), Bishop Blvd. is in the center, and Hillcrest Avenue is at the right. And there’s also a whole lot of empty land — a startling sight if you’ve seen the present-day bursting-at-the-seams campus.

Here are a few blurry close-ups. First, Trailerville (which I’ve been meaning to write about for years!) — just northeast of Ownby Stadium:

Men’s dorms in temporary buildings which were removed in 1952/53:

And something that isn’t the Mrs. Baird’s Bread factory (scroll down to see what it was):

Thanks to the comments below by reader “Not Bob,” it appears that the photo of the long building at the top left corner — on the site later occupied by Mrs. Baird’s Bread — was once an armory for the 112th Cavalry (Troop A) of the Texas National Guard. The building was originally built in 1921 as the headquarters of the Wharton Motor Company, a short-lived automobile and tractor manufacturer. It appears to have closed by 1922 and the company was bankrupt by 1924. The 112th Cavalry (with about 40 horses) moved in at the end of 1927 — they were forced to move out by the end of 1930 because of neighbor complaints (and a lawsuit) about the horses being in such close proximity to residences. By the time of the photo above, it was the Town and Country food business which rented freezer-locker space to the public. Mrs. Baird’s Bread decided to build on the site in 1949 (with the intention, presumably, to raze the existing building) — construction began in 1952 and the factory opened in 1953 (incidentally, the factory was designed by legendary Dallas architect George Dahl). (I should write about the Wharton building sometime — it has an interesting history.)

The commenter (“Not Bob”) also linked to a similar view of the campus in 1955, post-Trailerville:

(DeGolyer Library, SMU)

By then, Central Expressway had been built and Mrs. Baird’s was cranking out that delicious aroma that filled the neighborhood for decades:

***

Sources & Notes

“Aerial view of the campus of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas” is by Squire Haskins, from the Squire Haskins Photography Inc. Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries; more information on this photo can be found here (click thumbnail photo to see larger image).

“1955 aerial view of campus from the north” — by William J. Davis — is from the collection of the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University; more information on this photo is here.

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11 Comments

April 18, 2021

SMU Cartoon Timeline — 1935

Just the highlights…

by Paula Bosse

Here’s a handy little chronology of the first 20 years of Southern Methodist University’s history, found on the endpapers of the 1935 SMU yearbook, the Rotunda.

Click to explore (“glub”):

***

Sources & Notes

Images from the 1935 Rotunda, yearbook of Southern Methodist University.

For more on SMU’s first year, 1915-1916, see these Flashback Dallas posts:

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January 24, 2021

Ursuline Academy — 1921

Velma Rich and her classmates…

by Paula Bosse

I never tire of looking through old high school yearbooks. Here are some photographs from the 1921 edition of The Ursulina, the yearbook of the Ursuline Academy, the all-girls school located in the block bounded by Live Oak, Haskell, Bryan, and St. Joseph in Old East Dallas.

Above, the “I Year High,” which I gather would be the equivalent of the freshman class. (I am transfixed by the girl in the center of the front row — I think she is Velma Rich — I bet she was a handful.) (Caption for this photo listing the girls can be seen here.)

Below, the East View of the Academy. The caption reads: “A Famous Battlefield (the study hall) and the Porch of Dreams, where school girls congregate to discuss the latest bulletin board news while enjoying some toothsome dainty.” (All photos larger when clicked.)

The auditorium. “And this is where we treat our friends to music, play and dance.”

The chapel. “‘Tis just the place to go for help when things are ‘up and down.'”

The dining hall. “You may live without learning/You may live without books/But show me the man/Who can live without cooks.”

The hall and stairways. “If these old stairs had power of speech, what girlish secrets they could tell!”

The music room. “A spot where many young ladies are kept very busy, ‘Untwisting all the chains that tie the hidden soul of harmony.'”

The recreation room. “Just the spot where, nine months out of the year, you can always find ‘Jest and youthful jollity/Quips and cranks and wanton wiles/Nods and becks and wreathed smiles.'”

The campus. “What you and me/Were wont to ‘saw and see.'”

The campus. “This is a gay spot at all times. It is kept alive in summer by games of roller skating, croquet and tennis; in winter, by ‘hikes,’ basket ball, races and, on rare occasions, old fashioned snowballing.”

The grotto. “Somehow, all life seems much more sweet/When I take my old brown beads and kneel at Mary’s feet.”

The pecan grove. “Where nuts grow, and school girls go to while away the time.”

“II Year High” (sophomore class).

“III Year High” (junior class).

The provincialate and novitiate. “Sweet secluded retreat where young Ursuline teachers are trained in the spirit of the Order to continue the work begun by St. Angela de Merici over three hundred years ago.” (Another, slightly more gothic image is here.)

And because I love her attitude, another look at 15-year-old Velma Rich.

***

Sources & Notes

All photos from the 1921 edition of The Ursulina, the yearbook of the Ursuline Academy. Many (if not all) of the photos are by Dallas photographer Frank Rogers.

Other Flashback Dallas posts on Ursuline can be found below:

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5 Comments

December 6, 2020

St. Mark’s Campus — 1960s

St. Mark’s chapel at dusk, 1961

by Paula Bosse

A few photos of St. Mark’s School of Texas campus buildings and history from various editions of Marksmen, the school’s yearbook.

Above the exterior of the chapel beneath a full moon. Below, the interior of the chapel (click for larger images).

1965

A photo spread from the 1963 yearbook, commemorating 30 years as an institution (see the St. Mark’s timeline here).

1963

1964

Decorated for Christmas:

1964

1967

1968

1961

1962

1963

***

Sources & Notes

All images from various editions of Marksmen, the St. Mark’s yearbook.

More St. Mark’s-related Flashback Dallas posts can be found here.

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3 Comments

December 6, 2020

St. Mark’s, Aerial Views — 1960s

Rendering of the campus by architect Hal M. Moseley, from the 1960 yearbook

by Paula Bosse

St. Mark’s School of Texas, the prep school for boys in North Dallas (10600 Preston Road, south of Royal Lane), has been one of the city’s finest educational institutions for decades. It opened in 1950 after the merging of the Cathedral School for Boys and the Texas Country Day School, both of which traced their roots to the legendary Terrill School, founded in 1906 (see the St. Mark’s timeline on the school’s website here).

Below are a few aerial photos of the ever-expanding campus from the 1960s. (Above is a drawing of the grounds by architect Hal M. Moseley from the endpapers of the 1960 Marksmen, the St. Mark’s yearbook.)

The campus in 1964 (click to see larger image):

1964

In 1965, plans had been drawn for expansion and renovation. Five of the existing structures would be renovated, and a new gymnasium and “individual study center” (including a 50,000-volume library) would be constructed:

1965

Two photos from 1966, with the caption “before the building of the new library and study center”:

1966

And a rather haphazard editing of mismatched endpaper photos from 1968:

1968

***

Sources & Notes

All images are from various editions of Marksmen, the St. Mark’s yearbook.

More about St. Mark’s School of Texas can be found at Wikipedia, here.

Other St. Mark’s-related Flashback Dallas posts can be found here.

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October 25, 2020

Highland Park High School: Photos from the 1964 Yearbook

HPHS senior cyclists after school…

by Paula Bosse

A few random of photos of extra-curricular activities featured in the 1964 Highlander, the yearbook of Highland Park High School.

Above, the caption in the yearbook reads: “Senior cyclists Gay Crowell, Carol Webster, and Margaret Paxson prepare to pedal home.”

Below, “ROTC cadets salute the inspecting officers at the annual federal inspection.”

Below, “Ralph Cousins gives Donna Guest and Rick Sable a doubting look as Eloise Hancock tells of her adventures on the Midway during High School Day at the State Fair.”

Below, “Maintaining an international atmosphere, French teacher Neil Jarrett leaves his Volkswagen in the teachers’ parking lot.”

“Early morning finds girls repairing damage caused by gusty March winds.”

Below, a before-and-after photo featuring a student with the amazing name of “Kitten Quick” (!): “Vice-President Joe Tom Wood, Treasurer Kitten Quick, Sponsor Mrs. Rita Palm, Secretary Susie Urquhart, and President Lewis McMahon resist the temptation to play in the snow-filled schoolyard…”

“…but finally succumb to testing the depth of Dallas’ record snowfall.”

And, lastly, a huge snowman! “‘Seniors ’64’ marks the 14-foot snowman, built during Dallas’s record 7-inch snow.” (A record 7.4 inches of snow fell on Dallas in January, 1964.)

***

Sources & Notes

All images from the 1964 Highlander, the yearbook of Highland Park High School.

Other Flashback Dallas posts featuring items from HPHS yearbooks can be found here.

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6 Comments

September 27, 2020

Southwestern Medical College — 1944

Southwestern Medical College students in anatomy class…

by Paula Bosse

Decades before the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School was an internationally renowned institution, its precursor — the scrappy little Southwestern Medical College — opened its pre-fabricated doors to students in 1943 in temporary buildings on the Parkland Hospital grounds.

To read an in-depth history of UTSW, see their website. But, briefly, there had been medical schools in Dallas in the past (including the Dallas Medical College at the turn of the century), but by the time World War II had arrived, the Baylor University college of medicine (located on the campus of Baylor Hospital in East Dallas) was it, and many medical professionals at the time considered it to be lacking in facilities, equipment, and enthusiastic financial support. The Southwestern Medical Foundation was organized in 1939 by Dr. Edward H. Cary who, along with other Dallas civic leaders, spent many years working tirelessly to see his vision of not just a medical school, but of an entire sprawling medical center (hospitals, clinics, schools, research labs, etc.) finally built on a 36-acre tract of land, centered around Harry Hines and Inwood.

By 1943, the Foundation had plans drawn up and had been assured of support from the city and, more importantly, funding. They also hired the entire faculty of the Baylor medical and dental schools and attracted most of their students. They hoped to work with Baylor University as a partner in their grand medical center, but Baylor dropped out of negotiations when the Foundation insisted the new school would be non-sectarian. The Baptist university decided, instead, to leave Dallas for Houston, at the invitation of the M. D. Anderson Foundation.

The new Southwestern Medical College opened in 1943 in a handful of temporary buildings built on the Parkland campus — they also utilized other nearby buildings in this first year, and lectures were often conducted in various Dallas hospitals and clinics.

These photos are from 1943-1944, the college’s first year and the humble beginnings of what just grew and grew and grew into a huge medical center and one of the world’s most respected medical research institutions.

Below, the epicenter! (Click photos to see larger images.)

Don’t know exactly where this was, but this is the very appealing Medical Library:

The Department of Medical Art and Visual Education, a building which was probably at 3802 Maple Avenue, across from Parkland Hospital:

A man in a white coat is seen walking toward the rows of temporary pre-fab buildings:

Below, Dr. E. H. Cary, the man who was the driving force behind the school and the vision which has now become UTSW (he was also a professor of ophthalmology at the new college):

The first yearbook was dedicated to Dr. Cary:

The dean was Dr. Tinsley R. Harrison:

One of the only women instructors at the new college was Dr. Gladys Fashena, who had a long career in Dallas. (See her in WFAA news footage from 1969 when she was a director at Children’s Medical Center — pertinent footage begins at the 6:49 mark.) There were a few female students, but very few. One can be seen in the top photo, the caption of which reads “Dr. W. W. Looney quizzes a group of freshmen on the mysteries of cross-section anatomy.”

Here is Dr. Herbert C. Tidwell teaching a biochemistry class:

Students attending a pathology lecture by Dr. George T. Caldwell:

“Sophomores examine pathological tissues under the microscope”:

Students pouring things:

When the first year began, the U.S. was deep into WWII. Most students would be headed to military service after graduation (which was accelerated in order to get more medical professionals into the pipeline). “Upperclassmen wait for ward rounds”:

The great vision of “The Greater Medical Center” (architect, George Dahl, 1943):

A little backstory:

The Foreword: “In this, the first Caduceus, an attempt has been made to record in words and pictures the acts and thoughts of both students and faculty who have made possible the birth of a medical college, which in the future will be the symbol of medical education, research and knowledge in the Southwest” (1944):

Dr. Edward H. Cary

***

Sources & Notes

All images are from the 1944 edition Caduceus, the yearbook of Southwestern Medical College.

Below, an early photo from Wikipedia:

More Flashback Dallas posts tagged as “Medical” can be found here.

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6 Comments

February 22, 2020

Black Schools in Dallas — 1930

by Paula Bosse

Let’s take a look at six schools for African American children in segregated Dallas in 1930. Three of the schools are still standing.

Above, the only high school for black students in 1930 was Booker T. Washington High School. Its address in 1930 was 1801 Burford Street (Burford and Flora). The school still stands and is now the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in a much-renovated and expanded building. See what it looks like now on Google Street View here. (A 1921 Sanborn map showing the neighborhood and school — and street names no longer in use — can be seen here.) (More Flashback Dallas posts about or related to Booker T. Washington can be found here.)

Below, the N. W. Harllee School (still standing) in Oak Cliff at 1216 E. 8th, at Denley. (The name of the school was misspelled in the caption.) See it today on Google Street View here, and on the same site (then at 8th and Miller, when different buildings housed the 9th Ward Public School) on a 1922 Sanborn map here.

The Phillis Wheatley School is also still standing, in South Dallas at Metropolitan and Meyers. See it on Google Street View here, and on a 1922 Sanborn map here.

The B. F. Darrell School was at 3212 Cochran, at Hall. See the still-empty lot on Google Street View here, and the location on a 1921 Sanborn map here when the site was occupied by Dallas’ first high school for black students, known as the “Colored High School”; when Booker T. Washington opened in the 1920s, this building was renamed B. F. Darrell and became an elementary school; according to Dallas Rediscovered by William L. McDonald, the building was built in 1895 and was demolished in 1973.

The Pacific Avenue School at 1221 Fletcher, near East Grand in the Fair Park area, was about to be left behind when students moved to the Julia C. Frazier School on Spring Ave. the next year. The site is now occupied by the Fannie C. Harris Youth Center and can be seen on Google Street View here. See the buildings on a 1922 Sanborn map here.

Pacific Avenue School, ca. 1910

And, lastly, the J. P. Starks School, at 1600 S. Preston, at Gano, near Old City Park. There’s nothing there now, but its general location is on Google Street View here. The school can be seen on a 1921 Sanborn map here when it was the Fred Douglass School (the school’s name was changed after the death of principal J. P. Starks — in 1930 there was another Fred Douglass school in West Dallas at Williams and Pine streets — in fact, I think there have been several schools in Dallas named after Frederick Douglass).

Other schools for black children in Dallas in 1930 (excluding kindergartens) were the following:

Beeman School (2518 Detonte)
Fred Douglass School (1401 Williams)
Eagle Ford School
Elm Thicket School
Fair Grounds School (4508 Collins Ave.)
Fair Grounds School Annex (Carter, near Spring Ave.)
Julia C. Frazier School (Spring Ave. and Carter)
Lincoln Manor (Rowan Ave. and Dyson)
Wesley School (5123 Keating Ave.)
York School (3rd Ave. and Carrie)

***

Sources & Notes

Photos from Official Directory: Dallas Negro Churches, Schools and Other Activities; Civic, Business, Fraternal, Social, Etc. compiled by James H. Smith, 1930; from the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, via the Portal to Texas History. This fantastic resource is scanned in its entirety here (the full list of schools, kindergartens, colleges, trade schools, etc. begins on p. 29). I will be posting more from this directory soon.

Photo of the exterior of the Pacific Avenue School is from Education in Dallas, 1874-1966, Ninety-two Years of History by Walter J. E. Schiebel.

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8 Comments

December 22, 2019

Christmastime at Booker T. Washington High School — 1950s

Decking the halls…

by Paula Bosse

Most of us have fond memories of holiday-themed activities in school — here are a few photos from the Christmas season at Booker T. Washington High School in the early ’50s.

Above, girls hang decorations on the office door.

Below, the Library Club poses for a photo at a Christmas party (all photos are larger when clicked).

via John Leslie Patton Papers, Dallas Historical Society

And the bottom two photos show members of the Booker T. Washington chapter of the American Junior Red Cross standing with the articles they’ve made and/or collected for distribution to various hospitals and institutions — a couple of girls can be seen crocheting and knitting items which will be added to the collection of things destined for grateful recipients.

via John Leslie Patton Papers, Dallas Historical Society

And below, Mrs. Catherine Robinson, the organization’s sponsor, stands with students and their gift-wrapped presents which are ready to be delivered to places such as the Hutchins Home for Convalescent Patients, Woodlawn and Parkland Hospitals, orphanages, boarding homes for juvenile wards of the state, and even to the leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana (a hospital which treated leprosy patients — a 1953 newspaper article reported that most of the then-current 400 patients were from Texas).

via John Leslie Patton Papers, Dallas Historical Society

Organized in 1917, the American Junior Red Cross had Dallas chapters in most — if not all — schools by 1918, including Booker T. Washington. By 1949 Dallas County had Jr. Red Cross chapters in 183 schools, with more than 78,000 students taking part; they made and/or collected 30,000 items that year which were distributed to active servicemen, to hospitalized veterans and children, to the needy, and to the aged. There were regular collection drives for reading material (elementary kids donated a LOT of comic books!), and there were regular visits to hospitals, etc., to entertain and perform (“except in times of polio epidemics”). Students also wrote letters to military personnel and to children in other countries and were trained in safety and first-aid procedures..

via Vintage Poster Works

Because of the efforts of Junior Red Cross members like these from Booker T. Washington High School, many who were convalescing, lonely, or in need were assured a happier Christmas than they might otherwise have had.

***

Sources & Notes

All photos of Booker T. Washington High School students are from the John Leslie Patton Papers collection of the Dallas Historical Society. (More on Patton, the legendary principal of Booker T. Washington for 30 years can be found at the Handbook of Texas site here.)

More on the American Junior Red Cross can be found in these articles:

“Bet You Never Heard of the American Junior Red Cross” by Janet Golden (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
“Contributions of Young Americans; Red Cross Supporters Prove You’re Never Too Young To Make a Difference.” (American Red Cross website)
“News of Women” by Katherine Dillard, The Dallas Morning News, March 5, 1950; a full-page look at the activities of members of Dallas’ Junior Red Cross groups (Dallas Morning News archives)

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