The so-called battle of Adams Hill occurred during the Civil War on May 9, 1861, between federal forces under Lt. Col. Isaac Van Duzer Reeve and Texas Confederate troops under Col. Earl Van Dorn. The confrontation took place on the military road between San Antonio and El Paso, about 15 miles west of downtown San Antonio. Under the terms of the surrender of the Department of Texas, Reeve proceeded from Fort Bliss to the Texas coast to join other federal troops in the evacuation of Texas. Reeve reported the total strength of his command at 320 men.
Upon arriving at Fort Clark, Reeve became aware of the Confederate internment of paroled federal troops in Texas and of concern by Confederate officials in San Antonio that Reeve's force was, in fact, hostile. He nevertheless resolved to continue his march to the coast to evacuate his command in compliance with former Department of Texas commander David Twiggs' terms of surrender. On May 8 Reeve camped his command on the east side of the Medina River opposite Castroville. At midnight, having received further word of Van Dorn's advance from San Antonio with the purpose of confronting the column, Reeve resolved again to push forward to San Antonio.
Upon the advice of Lt. Zenas Randall Bliss, Reeve halted his column on a high hill a few hundred yards from San Lucas Springs. There was a small collection of buildings and corrals, which Reeve supplemented with his wagons for defense purposes. At around 9 that morning, two officers representing Col. Van Dorn arrived under a white flag with the Confederates' demand that Reeve surrender unconditionally. With no actual hostile force in sight and his position a strong one, Reeve declined.
Van Dorn, on the march, soon arrived in full force with a command comprised of nearly 1,370 men and six pieces of artillery. Van Dorn's representative now offered Reeve an opportunity to inspect the Confederate force. Lt. Bliss was sent forward and examined it, then quickly reported the strength of the force to Reeve. The federals' effective strength had been reduced to 270 by sickness, desertion, and stragglers, and Reeve resolved that resistance would be futile and surrendered his command to Van Dorn. The Confederates, satisfied with this turn of events, retired, allowing Reeve to continue his march, under arms, at his own leisure. The federals arrived at San Antonio on May 10, and the next day a Confederate officer was sent to recover all arms and public property.
Period accounts of the confrontation refer to the event as having taken place at San Lucas Springs. Later accounts say Adams Hill. There were no shots fired; it appears that both sides were eager to avoid bloodshed.
-- Kevin R. Young, “Battle of Adams Hill,” in Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 30, 2009.
Julia Newton Aue Elementary School pays homage to a dedicated, beloved educator as well as her pioneering family, which played a pivotal role in the birth and development of the Leon Springs community.
Julia Newton was born in San Antonio in 1910 and graduated from what is now Fox Tech High School in 1928. The daughter of a Bexar County Commissioner was raised with the expectation that she would go to college, and Julia earned a degree in bacteriology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1933. She had plans to go to medical school but the Great Depression hit and made it financially impossible.
Her first job out of college was teaching at the rural Mackey School, where she worked until she married. Her husband, Rudolph Aue, Jr. was the grandson of Max Aue, the founder of Leon Springs who, in 1881, donated the land for the first one-room school in the town. Max Aue’s son, Rudolph Aue, Sr., opened a gas station, garage, and grocery store in 1929 that would later become local landmark Rudy’s “Country Store” and Bar-B-Q.
Julia worked in the family store and raised her two children, Betty Ann and Rudolph III for 20 years. After her children graduated from Northside, Julia returned to the classroom in 1957, teaching fourth grade at Locke Hill Elementary School. She later became a special education teacher.
During her 20-year career with Northside, Julia was a high-energy teacher who would go to any lengths to help a student, her former colleagues say. Always armed with a positive attitude, she had a unique way of connecting with children, particularly those with special needs. A former student recalls how Julia helped him and his classmates understand the assassination of President Kennedy; another student said Julia inspired her to be a teacher.
Julia retired from John Glenn Elementary School in 1978, giving her an opportunity to dedicate more time to her other passions, including her church. She served as an elder and sang in the choir at the Leon Springs Presbyterian Church, which was built on land donated by the Aue family. She also became a published poet and was active in several service organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Order of the Eastern Star
Julia died in 1995 at the age of 85, but now, as the namesake of a Northside elementary school, she will continue to inspire future generations of children.
Bob Beard was one of the pioneers of Northside School District. His forward thinking as a member, Vice President and President of the Northside Board of Trustees from 1967 to 1974, helped form what is now one of the premier school districts in the country.
Born in El Paso but raised in San Antonio, Beard graduated from Jefferson High School in 1949. He attended San Antonio College and graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering.
He began his professional career as a geological and engineering draftsman with Standard Oil of Indiana. His career led him coast to coast, and spanned an illustrious 43 years when he retired as Chairman, President and CEO of Gulf Resources Corporation.
While serving on the NISD Board of Trustees, Beard provided the leadership and vision that was required in transitioning Northside ISD from a rural school district to that of a more modern, suburban-urban, sophisticated multi-million dollar enterprise. He and his contemporaries strengthened the foundation for what would eventually become the “destination District” in Bexar County.
Leading by example, he advocated a positive policy-making role for the Board of Trustees, a focus on educational opportunities for students, and expanded constructive support of teachers and staff. Major improvements initiated by Beard include the conversion of buses to propane fuel (now a nationally recognized program), the implementation of Junior ROTC programs at the high schools, and recognizing the importance of effective two-way communications in this fast-growing community, the establishment of a professionally staffed Communications Department.
Beard embodied the spirit of community involvement and was actively involved in the life of his community. Some of his business and community involvement positions include founder and director of the First National Bank of Zapata (Texas); Advisory Board Member of the Trinity University School of Business Administration; founder and director of the Petroleum Club of San Antonio; member of the President’s Council a Business School at St. Mary’s University; and founder and president of the Park Mountain Development Corporation. In addition, he was a member of the Methodist church for more than 55 years, most recently University United Methodist Church.
Beard passed away in March 2011 and is survived by his wife, Emmajean, four children and 14 grandchildren.
The woman with a passion for preserving the past now has become part of history as a school namesake for Northside ISD.
Bobbye Behlau grew up in Lampasas, where she began her education in a one-room school house. After graduating from Abilene Christian College in 1950, she began teaching third grade in Killeen. She soon moved to Randolph Elementary School at Randolph Air Force Base, where she met her husband, Joe.
The couple married in 1952, and Behlau taught in California, Florida, and Georgia until her husband was discharged from the Air Force.
The couple and their son Robert settled in back in Texas, and in 1962, Behlau joined Northside ISD as a first grade teacher at Thunderbird Hills Elementary School, now Powell Elementary School. From 1972 to 1979 she served as a reading specialist for five elementary schools: Cable, Forest Hills (now Villarreal), Sunset Hills (now Glass), Oak Hills Terrace, and Locke Hill.
Behlau was committed to her students' education and literacy, because she knew it was their ticket to success. She also developed the Trailblazer Citizenship Program to teach children skills needed to be a productive and vocal citizens.
Behlau was equally dedicated to her fellow teachers, who admired Behlau for her legendary work ethic, her leadership skills, and her successful efforts to involve parents at her schools.
She moved into school administration in 1979 as vice principal at Boone Elementary School, and then opened Timberwilde Elementary School as principal in 1980.
After a decade at Timberwilde, Behlau retired from Northside in 1989, but her contributions to the District only grew greater.
To help keep NISD retirees connected and informed, Behlau worked with the Partnerships Department to start the In Touch newsletter and the annual retiree luncheon.
Behlau combined her love of history and education and wrote the history of Northside ISD in 2000 to celebrate the District's 50th anniversary. It remains the go-to source for NISD history and heritage.
At the same time, she also co-founded the NISD School Museum Association, whose mission is to celebrate and preserve the District's history and honor alumni. Behlau served as president of the organization from 2000 to 2004.
Since her retirement, Behlau's love of teaching has not waned. She supervised student teachers at Southwest Texas State, taught reading courses through North East ISD's Community Education program, and started her own reading clinic at her home.
Both the San Antonio City Council and Bexar County Commissioners have recognized Behlau for her outstanding community service, which also included a term as President of the Northern Hills Homeowners Association.
Today, Behlau remains as active as ever. In 2005, she moved back to her hometown where she currently leads a bible class, writes a monthly column for the Lampasas Dispatch-Record, and serves on the Board of Directors of Preservation Lampasas.
Patricia Blattman grew up in Denver, Colo. and began her career in education as an elementary school teacher there. Her husband was in the Air Force and the Blattman family moved from Illinois, to Germany, to Oklahoma, and finally to San Antonio in 1970.
Blattman began her Northside career in 1974 as a teacher at Oak Hills Terrace Elementary School. After serving as the District’s first Gifted and Talented Coordinator from 1983-84, Blattman was appointed Principal of Sunset Hills Elementary School (now Glass Elementary) and Colonies North Elementary School. In 1992, she moved to administration, serving as Executive Director for Elementary Administration, then Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Administration, and finally Deputy Superintendent of Instruction. Personal accolades include the Teacher of the Year Award by the Northside Independent Teachers Association, and the Northside Distinguished Achievement Award for Student Relations.
She retired at the end of the 2002 school year after a distinguished 34-year career in education, including 28 years at Northside. During her tenure as NISD’s instructional leader, the District became the largest Recognized District in Texas, had major increases in the number of Recognized and Exemplary schools, and seven National Blue Ribbon Schools.
Major improvements that occurred under Blattman’s leadership included the implementation of academic performance standards, the dual language immersion program, increased credit-taking opportunities for high school students, major expansion of the instructional technology program, and significant improvements in the Career and Technology Education program.
Blattman continues to remain active in the Northside community as a leader of the NISD School Museum Association.
Murray E. Boone served as the first Superintendent of Northside Independent School District from 1953 to 1964. Before becoming Superintendent, he served as Principal of Northside High School (now Marshall High School) from 1950 to 1953 and also taught at Leon Valley Elementary School from 1949-50. Before his retirement in 1969, Boone also served as Director of Research and Planning.
Boone was a life-long educator who served 36 years in education; 21 of those years were spent with Northside ISD.
“The most important political office is that of private citizen.” – Louis D. Brandeis
This famous quote from Louis D. Brandeis is window to the man who dedicated his life to public service, first as an attorney fighting for the rights of the common man, and later as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice protecting the laws of the land.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1856, Brandeis excelled in school and enrolled in Harvard Law School at the age of 19 without any prior formal education. He graduated two years later as class valedictorian.
After graduating from law school, he became a successful attorney in Boston and worked to reduce government corruption, protect the socially and economically disadvantaged, and advocate for individual freedoms. He became known as the “people’s attorney” because he was one of the first lawyers to work pro bono for his clients. Brandeis married Alice Goldmark in 1891 and had two daughters and four grandchildren.
Brandeis earned a national reputation for his decade-long effort to stop a merger of New England railroad companies. He feared a monopoly would impact consumers and waged a successful legal battle against the merger from 1905 to 1914.
He again earned national prominence for his role in Muller v. Oregon, which challenged a state law that limited a woman’s work day to 10 hours. As part of his defense for the state of Oregon, Brandeis boldly submitted a brief that contained an analysis of hundreds of sources of factual data about the impact of long working hours on women. It was the first time that social science was applied to law, and what would become known as the “Brandeis Brief” became the model for building legal cases.
Though Brandeis was not raised in a religious household, he developed a connection to his Jewish heritage as he became more aware of the needs of the Jewish community through his work as an attorney. He embraced Zionism, a movement that at the time called for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and he became a leader of the American Zionist movement in 1914.
President Woodrow Wilson nominated Brandeis to the Supreme Court in 1916. Not everyone subscribed to Brandeis’ progressive ideals, and his confirmation hearings were among the most debated in American history. When his nomination finally was approved, he became the first Jewish person to serve on the Supreme Court.
Of the 528 opinions Brandeis wrote while on the high court, 454 were for the majority. However, Brandeis probably is best known for his dissent in Olmstead v. United States and his concurrence in Whitney v. California. In Olmstead, Brandeis argued for an individual’s right to privacy, and in Whitney, he eloquently defended the freedom of speech.
Brandeis retired from the Supreme Court in 1939 and died in 1941 in Washington, D.C.
Brandeis believed that education happened both inside and outside the classroom, and the mark he left on the social conscience of this country will continue to inspire the students of Brandeis High School for years to come.
Sources: Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People, Brandeis University, michaelariens.com, Notable Biographies
Born in a log cabin in Guadalupe County, Texas to German-speaking parents, Henry Theodore Brauchle began school in Comal County. At age 9 he first learned to speak English. By age 20, he was clerking at Mumme's General Store in San Antonio and attending Alamo Business College where he studied bookkeeping and penmanship. After earning a teaching certificate, he taught at Agua Dulce in Ditto, Texas for a term before moving to Helotes School in what is now Northside Independent School District. During summers, he continued his education at Peacock and Brackenridge Normal Schools.
Brauchle soon met Eleanor Jane “Schatzie" Robinson, and after a year-long courtship, presented her with a piano as an engagement gift. The couple resided in one room of the two-room Helotes School. Because Helotes was a German community, none of Schoolmaster Brauchle's 48 students spoke English.
The Brauchles purchased a 200-acre farm near Helotes School and had 10 children. Brauchle played violin and made musical instruments by hand. In addition, he formed a family orchestra.
A pillar of the community, the Helotes teacher helped found Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes, and served as Helotes School Trustee, election judge, and owner/operator for the Helotes telephone system. He farmed, ran a dairy, raised livestock and kept an extensive apiary. His grandson, Charles Kuentz, also is a musician, educator and NISD namesake.
Braun Station Elementary School, home of the Bobcats, opened its doors in 1982 as a K-5 elementary school. The school got its name from the Theodore Braun Ranch which encompassed the area now known as the Braun Station community.
One of the most influential justices of all time, William Joseph Brennan, Jr., engineered many of the Supreme Court's landmark civil rights rulings. He championed the rights of individuals, particularly women and minorities, and his support of First Amendment freedoms was unwavering.
Brennan was born in 1906 and raised in Newark, New Jersey, the second of eight children of Irish immigrants. His blue-collar upbringing and public school education gave way to academic excellence and he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and then Harvard Law School.
Brennan established his career at a Newark law firm and after a brief stint in the U.S. Army, he returned to the firm, specializing in labor law. The rising star was named to New Jersey's Superior Court in 1949 and then to the New Jersey Supreme Court three years later.
Though Brennan was considered a progressive jurist, President Eisenhower, a Republican, appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1956. Appointing a relatively young Roman Catholic from the Northeast likely was a shrewd political move by Eisenhower, who was facing re-election at the time.
However, Eisenhower's appointment would prove to have profound and lasting impact on U.S. public policy.
Brennan's appointment came in the aftermath of the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. Brennan wrote several opinions upholding the principles of the Brown ruling, including Cooper v. Aaron, which forced school officials to accelerate classroom integration, and Keyes v. School District No. 1, which applied Brown to a Northern school district for the first time.
However, Brennan is best-known for two rulings: Baker v. Carr and New York Times v. Sullivan. Baker v. Carr gave federal courts - not elected officials - the power to ensure the fairness of voting districts, thus the "one person, one vote" doctrine. New York Times v. Sullivan reshaped libel law, making it more difficult for public officials to sue the media for libel.
Brennan was known as an articulate, persistent, and strategic consensus-builder who always kept his eye on the big picture. He earned the respect and affection of his conservative colleagues and often served as a bridge between the high court's two ideological factions. Warm, friendly, and charismatic, he eschewed formal titles and preferred to be called, simply, "Bill."
By the time Brennan retired in 1990, his 34-year tenure had spanned eight presidencies, during which he authored 1,360 opinions. Only five justices have served longer, and only one has authored more opinions.
Brennan died in 1997 at the age of 91. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his first wife, Marjorie, the mother of his three children, and his second wife, Mary, who he married after the death of his first wife.
Sources: Brennan Center for Justice, New York Times, Washington Post, Britannica Online Encyclopedia
As a descendent of a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and the son of a politically-connected rancher, Dolph Briscoe had the right pedigree to become governor. But it was his actions and his character as a businessman, statesman, philanthropist, and a champion of education that made Dolph Briscoe a quintessential Texan and true southern gentleman.
Briscoe was born and raised in Uvalde and developed an interest in politics at an early age. His father, a self-made millionaire, was friends with former Gov. Ross Sterling, and Briscoe once stayed at the governor's mansion as a young boy.
After graduating as valedictorian from Uvalde High School, Briscoe enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where he met his beloved wife Janey. They were married in 1942 and went on to have three children.
Briscoe first was elected to statewide office as a state representative in 1948, and he immediately became a changemaker. In 1949, he advocated for the Gilmer-Aiken Act, which transformed Texas public schools, consolidated many rural schools, and established the first comprehensive school funding system. The law also created the State Board of Education and what is now called the Texas Education Agency.
Also in 1949, Briscoe was the driving force behind the creation of the state's farm-to-market road system, which has been the single greatest economic stimulus to rural Texas.
After serving four terms as state representative, Briscoe returned home in 1957 to head the family ranching business. By 1972, he was the state's largest individual landowner.
After many years away from state politics and in the wake of the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal, Briscoe became the first governor elected from southwest Texas in 1972.
As governor, he increased education funding by $4 billion and raised teacher salaries by the highest percentage in history - without raising taxes. Briscoe also appointed the first black members to state boards and appointed a larger number of women and minorities to government positions than any previous governor.
He served as governor until 1979 and returned to his cattle ranching and banking business in Uvalde. Friends and colleagues from both political parties say that despite his wealth and power, Briscoe was an honest, humble man brimming with integrity who treated everyone with respect throughout his entire life.
As much as he made history, Briscoe was perhaps more passionate about preserving it.
Much of Briscoe's philanthropic efforts - and millions of his dollars - have been aimed at Texas historical institutions, including the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at UT Austin.
Briscoe and his wife considered San Antonio their second home and many local historical and educational institutions also benefited from their generosity, including the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the University of Texas at San Antonio, St. Mary's University, the Witte, and the Dolph and Janey Briscoe Western Art Museum.
Briscoe died on June 27, 2010 at the age of 87.
Sources: Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, San Antonio Express-News, University of Texas Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, Texas State Library & Archives Commission
W.Z. “Doc” Burke was an education pioneer who helped establish Northside Independent School District.
“Doc” Burke was the momentum behind the effort to join rural Bexar county school districts in 1949 to become Northside Consolidated School District #1. This consolidated school district eventually became Northside Rural High School District #1. In 1955, the name was changed to Northside Independent School District.
W. Z. “Doc” Burke was one of two original rural district trustees who led the consolidation move that ultimately built what is now known as Marshall High School.
Burke, a veterinarian from Leon Valley, and Clarence Galm (another NISD elementary school namesake) from Helotes worked with trustees from the Locke Hill and Leon Springs districts to successfully pass an election calling for consolidation of the four rural school districts. Other rural school districts which joined the original four include Los Reyes, West San Antonio Heights, Lockhart, Mackey, Clifton, Hoffman and Culebra. Burke was one of seven trustees named to the first Board of the newly formed school district. He served two years.
Burke graduated from Port Arthur High School and Texas A&M University where he earned his veterinary medicine degree. He worked for the U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry and then joined the U.S. Army where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He spent part of his military career at Fort Sam Houston teaching at Brooks General Hospital.
After his military service, he settled into the rural northwest Bexar County farming communities and set up his veterinary practice. It was here that “Doc” would eventually make his mark on Northside ISD. He and his wife, Hazel (Menefee), raised their children and became leaders in their community and schools. Burke passed away in 2006.
In the 1950s and 1960s, elementary schools in Northside typically were named for the subdivisions or the general area in which they were located. Cable opened in 1958, and its name was derived from its general location (i.e., the Cable Ranch area). The architectural plaque lists the school as Cable Elementary, as do early school directories and other documents.
The Cable Ranch area was named for local landowner and railroad tycoon Ransom Reed Cable. Born in Illinois in 1834, Cable spent most of his career as a businessman. He donated waterworks land in Rock Island, Illinois, and made many other generous contributions to his community throughout the years.
Cable acquired territory in San Antonio while serving as President of the Pacific Railway Railroad Company. Expansion of the railway brought him from Illinois to South Texas. It is not known whether he once owned the land where Cable Elementary now sits.
Ransom Reed Cable passed away on Nov. 12, 1909. The old Cable "Victorian" Ranch in San Antonio that was left to his family was purchased by Tom Slick and became the first site of Southwest Research Institute.
Carlos Coon’s interest in public education began when his sons enrolled at Locke Hill Elementary School. Coon became heavily involved in the PTA at Locke Hill, which led to his election to the NISD Board of Trustees in 1952. He served on the Board for 15 years until 1967 and was Board President during the majority of his tenure.
During his Board service, Coon provided much-needed leadership as Northside transitioned from a rural to urban and suburban school district.
After leaving NISD Board, Coon served as chairman of the Region 20 Education Service Center.
Carlos Coon Elementary opened in 1978 and Coon was a frequent visitor to the campus until his death in 1989.
Known as an innovative leader who thinks outside the box, Peggy Carnahan has spent more than 40 years improving science education for Texas public school children.
Carnahan grew up in Bandera, Texas, where she spent much of her time outdoors among plants and animals. It fostered a love of science that she was eager to share with others. So after graduating from college and marrying her husband, Bill, she made it her mission to instill that same love of science in children.
Jay High School was a brand new school when Carnahan was hired there in 1967 to teach biology and physical science. Carnahan strongly believed in hands-on activities and field trips to places like Big Bend and the Texas Coast so that students wouldn’t just learn about science but could actually experience it.
Her approach, she admits, wasn’t always orthodox.
If she had students who didn’t speak English, she put them in her honors biology class so that they could learn science – and a new language – alongside the brightest students.
She had her students create outdoor exhibits to show the flora and fauna of each region of Texas, then invited elementary students to come learn about ecology. High school students guided the elementary students through the elaborate displays, which were an institution at Jay High School for 13 years.
In 1981, Carnahan was promoted to central office and became the District’s secondary science supervisor. She left the District after 20 years of teaching, but her contributions to Northside haven’t ended.
She now is the director of Our Lady of the Lake University’s Center for Science and Mathematics Education, which offers innovative educational and professional development programs for science and math teachers from public schools throughout San Antonio and the surrounding area. Now, she helps teachers teach children to love science, and her efforts have made it possible for hundreds of teachers to earn graduate degrees, tuition-free.
Her impact on science education has been recognized statewide. In 1978, she became the first woman to be named a Texas Academy of Science Fellow. In 1980, she achieved another first when she was named the statewide Teacher of the Year by the Texas Education Agency. It is the first and only time a Northside teacher has earned that prestigious honor. And just this past summer, Carnahan received the Nita Beth Camp Legacy Award from the Texas Regional Collaborative for a lifetime of dedication and leadership in teaching.
After growing up on a farm in Burnet County, Jim Carson went to college to obtain a degree in agriculture. However, his education was interrupted by a stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After the war, he returned to school and got his teaching certificate in 1956 from Southwest Texas State Teacher's College. That same year, he started what would become a 35-year career as an educator in the Northside Independent School District. During his tenure, he served as Principal at five different elementary schools.
Retired since 1989, Jim Carson fills his days doing woodworking projects, many of which end up in Northside schools. He also demonstrates his continued devotion to the children of Northside by volunteering and mentoring in schools and making weekly visits to his namesake school.
Tom C. Clark (1899-1977) was a native of Dallas, Texas. After attending Virginia Military Institute, Clark received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Texas. After practicing law in Dallas, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1937 and headed its criminal and antitrust divisions. Clark was appointed Attorney General by President Harry Truman in 1945 and served in this position for four years, until President Truman appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Clark remained on the Court until 1967. He resigned to avoid a conflict of interest after his son, Ramsey Clark, was named U.S. Attorney General. Justice Clark was known as a defender of human rights. He was a member of the court that unanimously declared public school segregation unconstitutional. He wrote the court's opinions that required desegregation, upholding the civil rights act of 1964. His final opinion on the court limited the use of eavesdropping devices by the state.
Edmund D. Cody was born on Feb. 13, 1926 in South Carolina and moved to San Antonio at the age of 6. He graduated from Jefferson High School in 1942 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Furman University in South Carolina and a master’s degree in education from Trinity University.
He began his career as an educator with Northside ISD in 1952. He served as Principal of Helotes and Leon Valley elementary schools and later as Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum.
In 1965, Cody succeeded Murray Boone as Superintendent of Northside ISD. During Cody’s 17-year tenure at the helm of NISD, he earned countless honors from colleagues, parents, and students.
He served as the Texas Association of Suburban Schools as President, Vice President, and Secretary; he was named chairman of the State Textbook Committee in 1981; he was a member of the editorial advisory board of Texas School Business in 1980 and 1981; he was awarded an honorary life membership in the National Congress of Parents and Teachers; he was selected to serve as a suburban schools representative on the Federal/State Relations Committee of the Texas Education Agency; and in 1981, Barbara Bush presented him with the Advance Literacy Awareness Award for being one of the first Superintendents in the country to enter the national Right to Read program.
Cody retired from the school district in 1982, after 30 years in education.
Today, Cody remains active with the Northside Museum Association and still visits his namesake campus several times a year to participate in events such as the annual Cody Corral Night.
John Bowden Connally was born Feb. 27, 1916 in Floresville, Texas, attended Texas schools, and earned a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He married Idanell Brill, and they had four children.
Connally, a long-time associate of former President Johnson, served Johnson as secretary of the House of Representatives in 1939 and later as Administrative Assistant of the United States Senate in 1949. Between those two assignments, Connally earned a distinguished World War II record. Upon his return from naval service in 1946, Connally became president, general manager, and attorney for radio station KVET in Austin, Texas, a business he helped organize. President Kennedy appointed Connally as Secretary of the Navy in 1961. Connally later successfully ran for Governor of Texas, serving from 1963-1968. Gov. Connally was critically wounded while riding with President Kennedy when the President was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. After his tenure as Governor, Connally served on President Nixon's Advisory Council on Executive Organization in 1969-1970, and subsequently was appointed by the President to be a member of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 1970. Connally then was nominated by President Nixon to be the 61st Secretary of Treasury. He took office in 1971. John Connally was known as a Texas Giant and the "Educational Governor of Texas.” Connally died June 15, 1993.
As a Northside school librarian for 20 years, Rita Kay Driggers sparked a love of reading and a sense of adventure in hundreds of children. From the beginning, she defied the stereotype of a quiet librarian, and her libraries were hubs of activity, entertainment, and learning for her students.
Driggers’ own adventure began soon after graduate school, when she moved to Puerto Rico to teach at a military school. From there, she went to the Toul-Rosieres Air Base Elementary School in France, where she met her husband, Milton, a U.S. Air Force pilot. Milton’s career continued to take them around the world as they raised their three children.
In 1980, the family settled in San Antonio, and Driggers was hired to be the librarian at Glenn Elementary School. She would go on to lead the libraries at Shenandoah (now Howsman), Cody, Elrod, and May elementary schools.
A Rita Kay Driggers library was always warm, inviting, and stimulating. Her collection of puppets from around the world inspired students to learn about far-away places. Visits from authors made children clamor to read the books written by the person they had just met. But the best part of the library, students and colleagues agree, was Rita Kay Driggers herself.
Sometimes Driggers would dress up as a character from a book and visit classrooms to encourage students to go to the library. And she was always ready with a smile and the perfect book suggestion for her students, who loved to stop by the library and hear one of her famous tales.
She started after-school storytelling clubs, helped develop districtwide library curriculum guides and reading lists, and served on the Northside Education Improvement Council for four years. She also became one of the first NISD librarians to implement Accelerated Reader, a program that gets children excited about reading.
Because of her enthusiasm and her dedication to her students and work and her infectious love of life, Driggers was named Educator of the Year at three different schools.
Driggers retired from Northside in 2001 but continues to stay active as a mentor and volunteer for several community organizations, including the Northside School Museum Association.
Elrod Elementary was named for Jimmy L. Elrod, a former member of the State Board of Education who was also active in San Antonio civic, business, and educational communities. His civic activity includes two terms as President on North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
Elrod was a member of the Northside ISD School Board of Trustees from 1963-1969 and served as President two of those years. During these years, the District enrollment increased from 8,066 students to 19,092 students and five new schools were opened.
Elrod served on the State Board of Education from 1973-1982, where he was chairman of the Rules and Planning Committee and the Permanent School Fund Committee. He was appointed to the Governor’s Select Committee on Public Education where his efforts contributed to passage of the Education Reform Act of 1984 and a Constitutional Amendment permitting the Permanent School Fund to back local school district bonds.
Jimmy L. Elrod Elementary opened beginning in the 1988-89 school year. Elrod and his wife, Shirley, live in Northwest San Antonio and are frequent visitors to Elrod Elementary. Mr. & Mrs. Elrod are strong supporters and encouragers of Elrod Elementary staff and students and are much loved and respected in the Elrod community.
Gregorio Esparza was one of 10 Texians of Mexican descent who fought and died defending the Alamo. The Esparza family, who had been long-time residents of San Antonio, became divided in their beliefs about government. This resulted in Gregorio and his brother Francisco fighting on opposite sides against each other at the Battle of the Alamo. Gregorio, a Federalist, fought with the Texas Army; while Francisco, a Centralist, supported Santa Anna and the Mexican army.
The Esparza family was originally descended from Canary Islanders, some of the first European families to move to Texas. Gregorio's family had moved to the area of San Antonio de Bexar in 1795 where Gregorio was later born on March 11, 1808. Gregorio was the youngest of six children born to Juan and Maria Esparza and he lived all of his brief life in San Antonio. As a young boy, he did not go to school, but helped his parents work. When he was older, he worked as a "jornalero" (day-laborer) farmer and did odd jobs for the local priest.
As Texas' struggle for independence grew, Gregorio became a private in the Benavides company under Juan Seguin. He believed in a democratic constitution and that people should have the right to vote and express themselves, free of Mexico's rule. When word came that Santa Anna was sending an army to take over San Antonio, Gregorio planned for his wife Ana and four children to leave for a safer area. When they were trapped by the arrival of the Mexican army, Ana and the children sought refuge with Gregorio at the Alamo.
During the final battle on March 6, 1836, Gregorio was hit by a fatal cannon ball in his chest, while his wife and children watched. After the battle ended, Santa Anna released the women and children of the Alamo. Because Gregorio's brother Francisco served Santa Anna in his army, he received permission to give Gregorio a proper burial at the San Fernando Campo Santo.
Evers School, the first in the Leon Valley area, was established in 1894 through the combined efforts of Sylvester Steubing, Fritz Borman, Henry Reininger, George Reininger, and Christian Evers, Sr. The school was built on two acres of land donated by the Evers family at the corner of Evers and Huebner roads.
Evers School was constructed from 1 by 10-inch rough boards. The building was approximately 30 by 24 feet and was equipped with double folding desks, table, chalkboard, and a cast iron stove. It had lean-to sheds on two sides and a front porch which served as a stage for programs or plays. Later, metal siding was put over the boards and it became known as the Old Tin School.
Enrollment seldom exceeded 25 students in the years from 1894 through 1900. There were no compulsory education laws but most of the children began school at about age 7. Younger children were allowed to attend if they were accompanied by an older sibling. Children walked, rode donkeys, or rode in wagons with parents to school. Two students carried water in a pail from a hand dug well east of where Marshall High School is today. Playground equipment consisted of tree limbs, baseballs made out of socks, and piles of rocks for bases.
In 1924 the Leon Valley Common School District No. 5 1/2 came into existence. Evers School, the Old Tin School, was relocated by tractor and moved to the corner of Bandera and Grissom Roads. It was used as a teacherage through until the early 1950s when it was demolished to provide space for the construction of new classrooms and an office.
The current Christian Evers Elementary was built in 1992 and was dedicated by Mr. Jack C. Jordan, Superintendent of Schools, and Dr. Robert James, President of the Northside Board of Trustees. Mrs. Susan Evers, the great granddaughter of Mr. Christian Evers, Sr. spoke at the dedication on Nov. 15, 1992.
A native of Laredo, Raul B. Fernandez was born in 1937, the youngest of four children of Gus and Candelaria Fernandez.
As a youngster, Raul attended Ursuline Academy and Martin High School in Laredo. Fernandez later attended Texas A&M University where he earned a civil engineering degree (Class of '59).
He started working with H.B. Zachry Construction Co., and married Sylvia Pena, his high school sweetheart. Raul and his wife have three children.
In 1974, Fernandez joined Uptmore & Associates where he would become Senior Vice President.
Fernandez was selected to the NISD Board of Trustees in 1972 and served for 18 years. Using his expertise as a builder, Fernandez guided Northside in the construction of two dozen schools, numerous academic program improvements, and opening Northside schools to lifetime learning.
Mary Lou Fisher may be small of stature, but during her 40-year career as a guidance counselor at Northside, she made a huge impact in the lives of hundreds of students and colleagues. Known for her unwavering devotion to children, Mary Lou Fisher could always be counted on to provide encouragement and or a smile to students in need.
Fisher joined the District in 1959, when she was hired as an English teacher at Northside High School, later renamed Marshall High School. She served as the district’s first Dean of Girls and then as head counselor at Marshall during the 1960s.
The Air Force transferred her husband to England for two years, and when the Fisher family returned to San Antonio in 1971, Mary Lou was hired as a counselor at Holmes High School and her husband, Potts, was hired as a counselor at Marshall. Potts died suddenly in 1972, and at the request of teachers, administrators, and the superintendent, Mary Lou was asked to return to Marshall to replace her husband.
In 1974, Fisher was appointed head counselor at Marshall, a position she held until she retired in 2002. She says the best part of her job was getting the opportunity to help so many young people, and through the years, many former students have contacted her to thank her for her support.
Her impact on students went far beyond Marshall High School. As a member of the Northside Guidance Steering Committee in the 1980s, she developed a guidance curriculum for the District that was later adopted by the state and implemented in all Texas public schools. Fisher also brought recognition to Northside during her stint as editor of Guidelines, the Texas Personnel and Guidance Association monthly publication.
Throughout her career, she received numerous awards from military and civilian organizations, and she also was a recipient of the Rhosine Fleming Award for Outstanding Counselor of the Year from the South Texas Personnel and Guidance Association.
Her impact will not wane any time soon, now that Fisher is the namesake of Northside’s newest elementary school. In addition, she and her family, which includes two children and five grandchildren, established the Mary Lou Fisher Scholarship, awarded annually to low-income Marshall graduate who plans to attend junior college.
An internationally-known reading expert, Nora Forester was committed to making sure every student in the District learned to read, no matter their challenges. She worked tirelessly to improve reading instruction and literacy, and made it her mission to get every student in Northside ISD hooked on books.
Originally, Forester planned to be a social worker but her best friend’s mother, who happened to be the wife of a former mayor of San Antonio, urged her to consider teaching and landed her a job at Edgewood ISD as a second grade teacher.
On her first day of teaching in 1950, Forester met her future husband, James, also an educator at Edgewood ISD. She quickly fell in love with teaching – and James. Their 56-year marriage produced four children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Forester came to work at Northside ISD in 1961 and taught at Cable, Thunderbird Hills (now Powell), Locke Hill, Glenoaks, Leon Valley, and Helotes elementary schools. In 1966, she became the District’s first remedial reading teacher, and she was the first teacher in San Antonio to earn the state reading specialist certification.
Always the trailblazer, in the 1960s, Forester secured a federal grant to put a reading specialist in every school, making Northside one of the first districts in the nation to do so. She became the District’s first Reading Coordinator in 1972, and brought numerous innovative and effective reading programs to Northside ISD.
As President of the Texas Association of Reading, Forester is credited with developing the reading teacher certification program that was adopted by the state Legislature in 1975. She also served on the Board of Directors for the International Reading Association, and traveled to England and Australia to make presentations for the prestigious World Congress of Reading.
Her commitment to student success and her fellow educators has become lore. For example, when Forester came to work at central office, she got special permission to teach an elementary class every morning so that she could make sure her newest program, Reading Recovery, was working.
During a career that spanned a half-century, Forester received numerous honors, including the Literacy Award from the Texas State Reading Association, the Service Award from the Alamo Reading Council, and the Elva Knight Award for Research in Early Literacy from the International Reading Association.
Now retired, Forester continues her contributions to Northside by working with retired teachers and the Northside School Museum Association.
Clarence Galm often is called the “Father of Northside ISD” because he was so instrumental in the consolidation of the tiny rural school districts in this area into what is now NISD. Galm didn’t have a high school diploma, but he was an avid local historian, had a pioneering spirit, and had a lot to teach others about how to make a difference in the community.
Like his father and brothers, Galm was a trustee of the Helotes School District. He wanted to consolidate with other area districts so that children who lived in rural areas could have better educational opportunities. Galm served on the first seven-member Board of Trustees from 1949-53 after Northside became a District.
Galm lived to see his namesake school opened in 1987, but unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly just a few weeks before the dedication ceremony.
Colby Glass, was born in Alabama on Sept. 21, 1921 and found his home in San Antonio after ending his Air Force assignment at Randolph Air Force Base in 1942. He entered college under the GI Bill, earning his bachelor's degree from Trinity University in 1953 and his master's degree from Southwest Texas State University in 1962. His master's degree thesis was on the history and development of Northside ISD. The document (covering 1911-1961) has proven an invaluable source to Northside researchers over the years.
Glass began his 31-year Northside ISD career as a teacher/Principal at Leon Springs Elementary in 1953. He taught grades five and six and doubled as the school's Principal for one year. He then transferred to Locke Hill Elementary School and served in the same capacities for three years, after which he became a full-time Principal at Locke Hill.
In 1960, Glass moved to Sunset Hills Elementary as Principal, where he served until his retirement from NISD in 1984. It was under his leadership that many programs began, such as "Men in Blue" (renamed later to "Officers in Blue"). He stood behind the school motto of "Catch 'Em Being Good" and always looked for opportunities to reward students for good citizenship.
Glass’ optimism and love for his children carried over into his policies at the school. He operated a happy school, contending that when the atmosphere was positive among staff, the feeling was passed down to the students and patrons of the community. He was much loved by staff, students and patrons.
Glass retired from NISD after serving Sunset Hills for 24 years. The school was renamed in his honor in 1988. Although Glass passed away on March 5, 2000, he will be remembered as a man who gave so much of his life to the students and patrons of Northside ISD, and especially those at Colby Glass Elementary.
John H. Glenn, Jr., was born in Cambridge, Ohio, on July 18, 1921, the son of John Herschel and Clara Sproat Glenn. At age 2, young John moved with his parents to New Concord, Ohio where his father opened a plumbing business. After relocating to New Concord, the Glenns built a home that doubled as a rooming house for students from nearby Muskingum College.
Glenn would write many years later of his childhood, "A boy could not have had a more idyllic early childhood than I did." Surrounded by older students, encouraged by a father who liked to travel, and tutored by a devoted mother, John developed an early interest in science, a fascination with flying, and a sense of patriotism that would define his adult life.
He graduated from New Concord High School and attended Muskingum College. Shortly after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Glenn enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program and became a Marine pilot. He flew 59 combat missions in the South Pacific during World War II. When the Korean conflict began, Glenn asked for combat duty and flew 63 missions. For his total of 149 missions during the two wars, he received many decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross six times.
After the Korean conflict, Glenn attended test pilot school and then joined the Naval Air Test Center's staff of expert flyers. He served as a test pilot for Naval and Marine aircraft, including the FJ3, the F7U Cutlass, and the F8U Crusader. One of Glenn's most notable accomplishments during this period was the 1957 speed record he set flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes. "Project Bullet" secured Glenn's reputation as one of the country's top test pilots and provided a stepping stone for his participation in the emerging space exploration program.
Glenn's experience and skill made him a logical candidate for the astronaut corps being formed during 1958. He entered the space program as a participant in the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics' "G" force tests. When NASA put out a call for pilots to participate in its suborbital and orbital program, Glenn volunteered without hesitation. In 1959, NASA selected him as one of the first seven astronauts in the U.S. space program. On February 20, 1962, atop an Atlas rocket, he rode into space and piloted the Friendship 7 spacecraft around the globe three times, becoming the first American to orbit the earth.
Glenn's ride into space, a great technical accomplishment, held even greater significance for the country. Having lagged behind the Soviet Union in the "Space Race," Americans saw the event as a political as well as scientific milestone. Across the country, they welcomed Glenn as a hero who had conquered the bounds of earth and given new wings to America's spirit.
John Glenn, the pilot and hero, soon found NASA's plans for him did not include another flight assignment. While he continued to serve as an advisor to NASA until 1964, his interests increasingly turned to public affairs. Encouraged by Bobby Kennedy to seek public office, Glenn retired from the Marine Corps as a Colonel the following year to run for the United States Senate.
He entered the Ohio Democratic primary challenging the incumbent Democratic Sen. Stephen M. Young. An accident forced him to leave the race early in the campaign and to put his political career on hold. After recovery from the accident, Glenn joined Royal Crown Cola as Vice President and then President. Still interested in public service, Glenn again ran for the senate. His opponent, Howard Metzenbaum, defeated him in the 1970 primaries. Four years later, Glenn made a third run for the senate. This time he was successful, easily winning over his Republican opponent, former Cleveland Mayor Ralph J. Perk.
Astronaut Glenn now became Sen. Glenn. In this new career, he represented Ohio and took a leading role in weapons control and government affairs. He was chief author of the 1978 Nonproliferation Act, served as chairman of the Senate Government Affairs Committee from 1978 until 1995, and sat on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees and the Special Committee on Aging. Never far from the center of Democratic politics, he was a contender for the vice presidential nomination three times and ran in the Democratic primaries as a presidential candidate in 1984.
Glenn announced on Feb. 20, 1997 that he would retire from the senate. A year later, NASA invited him to rejoin the space program he had helped to create as a member of the Space Shuttle Discovery Crew. Glenn accepted the invitation and on Oct. 29, 1998, became the oldest human ever to venture into space.
John Glenn, soldier, pilot, astronaut, corporate executive, and senator, has taken on a new role. Upon his retirement from the senate and return from space, John and Annie Glenn founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service at the Ohio State University. Through its programs, they seek to improve the quality of public service and to encourage young people to pursue careers in government. The Glenns also serve as trustees of Muskingum College, their alma mater.
Source: The John and Annie Glenn Museum Foundation
Thomas L. Hatchett, Sr. was a giant of a man – both in stature and heart. Some people describe him as a big teddy bear of a man who always put children first. During his life, he lived for his family, his faith, and the children he served and loved as a teacher.
Perhaps Hatchett is best known for the thousands of children he served as a teacher for more than 20 years, or the tens of thousands of children he served as a member of the NISD Board of Trustees for five years, or the millions he swore to serve and protect as a member of the United States Air Force for 22 years.
Following a career in the military, Hatchett received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in occupational education and interdisciplinary studies from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos. His teaching career spanned 22 years, starting at Leon Valley Elementary School, where he as an instructional assistant, coach, and bus driver. He also taught at Jones Middle School for 10 years and later at Jay High School for seven years.
Hatchett was well known as an advocate for equal opportunity for all students, particularly those who were disenfranchised. He never gave up on any student who needed help. His involvement didn’t end at the classroom door either. He was known to go visit students’ homes to find out why they missed school on a particular day, or call them to make sure everything was going well in their lives. He always offered himself as a listener to his students and regularly dispensed advice and guidance. Hatchett’s greatest strength was letting students know that he really, really cared about them. He always encouraged his students to be successful in their lives.
His desire to serve children and his community eventually led him to serve on the Northside Board of Trustees. During his tenure on the Board, NISD passed a $495 million bond to build additional classrooms in the fast growth school district and welcomed a new Superintendent. The Northside Board of Trustees was also recognized as a Texas Honor Board, one of the top five schools boards in the state.
Hatchett was a man of great faith – faith in others, faith in children, and faith in God. He served 25 years as chairman of the deacon board at Grace First Baptist Church. Married to Bettye for 47 years, they had four children (all Jay High School graduates): Thomas Jr., Derrick, Michael, and Tonia. Hatchett passed away on Aug. 30, 2003.
The Thomas L. Hatchett, Sr. legacy will live on in the lives of the students at Hatchett Elementary School, where the staff continue to emulate Hatchett’s life in supporting the “Generations of Learners” to come.
A fierce civil rights pioneer, Dr. Hector P. Garcia dedicated his life to fighting for justice and equality for Mexican Americans. Whether pushing for health benefits for Hispanic veterans or pressuring a community to desegregate the school system, Garcia successfully marshaled support from migrant laborers and American Presidents to break down social barriers.
Born in 1914 in Mexico, Garcia emigrated with his family to Mercedes, Texas at a time when Mexican Americans endured harsh discrimination and could not visit the same restaurants, movie theatres, and barber shops as Anglos. Fortunately, Garcia’s parents instilled a love for and respect of education in him and his siblings.
Garcia attended Edinburgh Junior College, hitchhiking 30 miles to and from school every day, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1934. After earning a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Garcia joined the Army to fight in World War II.
While overseas, he earned a Bronze Star and six battle stars, met and married his Italian-born wife, Wanda, and had his first child. After the war, the family, which would eventually include four children, settled in Corpus Christi, and Dr. Hector, as he was known, started his medical practice.
Garcia’s passion to serve soon went far beyond his medical clinic. He was frustrated by a lack of health care and financial resources for Mexican American veterans and substandard schools for Mexican American children. So in 1948, Garcia founded the American GI Forum, whose motto was, “Education is our freedom, and freedom should be everybody’s business.”
The GI Forum played an instrumental role in numerous civil rights efforts and court cases, including Delgado vs. Bastrop ISD, the landmark Mexican American desegregation case. Garcia and the GI Forum garnered national attention in 1949, when they petitioned then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson and secured a burial for war hero Felix Longoria in Arlington National Cemetery. Longoria was the first Mexican American to be buried there.
Working diligently for social and political reform, the GI Forum developed into a respected voice for Mexican Americans that truly affected change. By the time Garcia was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 – the highest civilian honor given by a U.S. President – many of the barriers Garcia fought so hard for had come tumbling down.
Garcia died in 1996, leaving an important lesson for school children and all Americans about the importance of fighting for equality and justice for all.
Source: Justice for my People: The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Story
Nationally and internationally recognized as a trailblazer in the guidance and counseling field, Dr. Pat Henderson has had an impact on thousands of students and colleagues.
Henderson became a guidance counselor soon after starting her career in the 1960s as an English teacher in California. She had dreamed of becoming a guidance counselor since she was a teenager who had no one to talk to while her parents were going through a divorce. Henderson knew guidance counselors could be playing a much more critical role in the lives - and futures - of students.
In the 1970s, with colleague Norman Gysbers, Henderson began developing the Comprehensive Guidance Program, which consists of four main components: guidance, responsive services, individual planning, and system support. Together, these four components provide students with a full continuum of services, whether they need career advice or help managing a personal problem that is interfering with school.
After serving as Coordinator of Guidance for the Orange County, California Department of Education for almost a decade, Henderson was wooed to San Antonio to serve as Northside ISD's Director of Guidance in 1982.
She transformed NISD's Guidance and Counseling Department and expanded the paradigm of the counselor-student relationship. Instead of waiting for a knock on their door or a crisis to occur, counselors began reaching out to students.
Just five years after Henderson's arrival in Northside, the District was named one of the top 10 elementary guidance and counseling programs in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education. Her Comprehensive Guidance Program ultimately was adopted by the Texas Education Agency and now also serves as the basis for national counseling guidelines.
Henderson's dedication to students is matched only by her devotion to the counseling profession. She has served in leadership positions for national counseling associations and has served as President of just about every counseling organization in Texas.
She's authored more than a dozen books and numerous articles and has presented more than 100 workshops across the nation. And throughout her entire career, she has taught college courses, ensuring a pipeline of educated, professional school counselors.
Both the American School Counselor Association and Texas Counseling Association have honored Henderson with lifetime achievement awards. Later this fall, she'll receive a similar honor from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.
Henderson retired from Northside in 2001, but she continues to play a pivotal role in the school counseling field as a consultant to school districts across the nation. The mother of two grown children and her husband, Carl, continue to live in San Antonio.
William Pettus Hobby, editor, publisher, and Governor of Texas, was born in Moscow, Texas, on March 26, 1878, the son of Eudora Adeline (Pettus) and Edwin E. Hobby. One of six children, Hobby moved in 1893 with his family from Livingston to Houston, where he entered Houston High School.
In 1895 he began working for the Houston Post as a circulation clerk. Hobby became a business writer for the Post in August 1901. He began to take an active interest in politics, was a founder of the Young Men's Democratic Club of Houston and in 1904 was secretary of the party's state executive committee. He became city editor, then managing editor of the Post, and participated in the covering of some of the most spectacular stories of the time.
In 1907 he left the Post to become manager and part owner of the Beaumont Enterprise, which he soon acquired. Hobby was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1914 and was re-elected in 1916.
He was married in 1915 to Willie Cooper, daughter of former U.S. Rep. Samuel Bronson Cooper. She died in 1929.
When Gov. James Edward Ferguson was removed from office in 1917, Hobby became the 26th Governor of Texas and the youngest man, at 39, to hold the office. Hobby served during an eventful period. During World War I he set up an effective military draft system for Texas, a state in which half of the country's military camps and most of its airfields were located.
In 1918 Hobby defeated Ferguson by the largest majority ever received in a Democratic primary. Hobby's administration saw the passage of measures for drought relief, runoff requirements in party primaries, and state aid for schools and highways. He appointed the first Highway Commission in 1917. Laws included measures for oil conservation, the establishment of the oil and gas division of the Railroad Commission and of the Board of Control, and provision for free school textbooks.
After completing his term, he returned to the Beaumont Enterprise and purchased the Beaumont Journal. He retained control of both papers for more than a decade. In 1924 he became president of the Houston Post-Dispatch. When J. E. Josey acquired the newspaper in 1931 from Ross S. Sterling, Hobby continued in the presidency and maintained executive control. In 1939 he acquired the paper, again called the Post.
In February 1931 Hobby married Oveta Culp of Killeen and Houston, a former parliamentarian of the Texas House, who became a Post staff member, served in World War II as commander of the Women's Army Corps, and served in the Dwight David Eisenhower administration as the first secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Hobbys had a son and a daughter.
Under Hobby, the Post grew in circulation and prestige. The Houston Post Company also included the radio station, KPRC, and the television station, KPRC-TV. In August 1955 Hobby became chairman of the board of the company, with Mrs. Hobby as president and editor. Hobby died in Houston on June 7, 1964.
-- William P. Hobby, Jr., “William Pettus Hobby,” in Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 30, 2009.
John Hoffmann truly was a Northside pioneer. At the turn of the 20th century, the well-known rancher played an integral role in the education of children who lived in Northwest Bexar County.
Hoffmann was born in 1855, grew up near Castroville, Texas, and attended the French Settlement School on the Medina Lake. He married his wife Julia in 1878, and they began raising their family – which would eventually include 10 children – on the Medina Lake ranch owned by Hoffmann’s late father.
In the late 1800s, Hoffmann purchased a 1,700-acre ranch on Culebra Road for about $6 an acre. Hoffmann and his wife moved there in part because they wanted their children to receive an education, and fortunately, the ranch already was home to an established one-room school. Hoffmann donated four acres to the school and later helped the school expand to two rooms.
The school, called Culebra, would eventually become one of the original 11 schools that consolidated in 1949 to create what is now the Northside Independent School District.
Hoffmann and his wife were major benefactors for the school, providing water, wood to heat the school, and room and board for the teacher. Many of the students walked long distances to the school, and at the end of the day, they stopped by at the Hoffmann home for a snack before their long journey home. If a student became ill, he or she was sent to the Hoffmann home to recuperate. And, at holiday time, Hoffmann chopped down a large cedar tree for the school Christmas party.
Hoffmann was an avid rancher who opened his home and land to anyone who needed a place to stay on their way to the livestock market in San Antonio. Ranchers came from miles around to use Hoffmann’s dipping vat, which eradicated ticks and flies that preyed on cattle. When Hoffmann died in 1919 at the age of 63, his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Bexar County.
The ranch was eventually sold in 1960 but the land maintains a strong connection to education and Northside ISD. Taft High School, which opened in 1985, and Briscoe Middle School, which will open in 2010, both are located on the former ranch. And now, the Hoffmann name will be forever linked to the land with the opening of John Hoffmann Elementary School on what was once one of the ranch’s pastures
John Hoffmann leaves a legacy of generosity and commitment to education that will be instilled in students for generations to come.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., son of Oliver Wendell Holmes, a noted poet, essayist and physician, and Amelia Jackson, a daughter of a Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Judicial Court, was born on March 8, 1841.
Educated at Harvard, Holmes was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 20th Massachusetts Infantry in June 1861. He was wounded three times in three famous battles of the Civil War: Ball's Bluff, Antietam, and Fredericksburg, and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
On leaving the Army, Holmes graduated from Harvard Law School, and in 1870, he became the editor of the American Law Journal. The following year, Harvard appointed him university lecturer on jurisprudence, and in 1882, he was awarded a professorship in the Harvard Law School. For 20 years, Holmes served on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and was Chief Justice the last three.
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Holmes an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Roosevelt had hoped to put Holmes' rather "liberal" mind to work for his administration. He was proven wrong in this as Holmes demonstrated his independence of mind in many dissenting minority opinions. This led to his title as "The Great Dissenter."
Until his retirement in 1932, he continued to demonstrate his originality of thought, his legal scholarship, and his mastery of pungent style. He died in 1935.
Howsman is named after outstanding educator Shirley J. Howsman, the Executive Director of Elementary Administration for Northside ISD. During her 32 years as an educator, she was affiliated with six of Northside's elementary schools. She was among the first women to be named a school Principal in San Antonio. Her first assignment as Principal was at Shenandoah Elementary, where she remained for eight years. Following this position, she was Principal at Northwest Crossing Elementary and Locke Hill Elementary. Prior to her administrative positions, Howsman served the District as a classroom teacher at Glenn, Lackland City, and Villarreal elementary schools.
Howsman was a multi-talented woman who touched the lives of many. In addition to her professional dedication to students and staff, she also enjoyed the leisure activities of reading, camping, needlework, and playing bridge. She was not only an educator but also a wife, mother, grandmother, and a special friend. Shenandoah Elementary renamed in Howsman’s honor in 1992.
John Jay (Dec. 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829), American diplomat and politician, was the first Chief Justice of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1794.
In 1792 he was sent by George Washington to London to negotiate a new treaty with the British. The treaty he returned with, known as Jay's Treaty, deeply displeased many in the U.S. Jay became so unpopular that he once commented that he could travel from Boston to Philadelphia solely by the light of his burning effigies. When no alternative treaties could be negotiated, Jay's treaty was accepted as tolerable, and was signed by Washington. In 1794, Jay was sent on another diplomatic mission, this time to France. While in France, he was elected Governor of New York state. He resigned from the Court, and served as Governor of New York until 1800. President John Adams then renominated him to the court; the Senate quickly confirmed him, but he declined, citing his own poor health and the court's lack of "the energy, weight, and dignity which are essential to its affording due support to the national government." Jay was also the fifth President of the Continental Congress, and thus the leader of what was to become the United States, from Dec. 10, 1778, until Sept. 27, 1779. He was preceded in office by Henry Laurens and succeeded by Samuel Huntington. Jay did not attend the Constitutional Convention, but contributed five essays to what later became the Federalist Papers.
Source: Biography Base
Wallace B. Jefferson has a penchant for making his mark at an early age.
At the age of 44, Jefferson became the youngest school namesake in Northside history and the first Northside alumnus to serve as a namesake for a middle school, an honor reserved for prominent Texas leaders.
The 1981 graduate of John Jay High School began making a statewide – and national – impact soon after he graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. With two of his colleagues, Jefferson founded one of the first appellate firms in Texas in 1991, and the San Antonio legal eagle quickly earned a nationally respected reputation.
Jefferson successfully argued two cases before the United States Supreme Court in his mid-thirties, something most lawyers don’t even do once in a lifetime.
In 2001, Jefferson was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court at the age of 37, making him the first African American and one of the youngest justices to serve on the state’s top judicial panel. He was elected to the seat in 2002, and in 2004, he made history again when the Governor appointed him to Chief Justice. In 2006, he garnered more votes than any other non-federal candidate for statewide office.
It’s an awe-inspiring career ladder for a descendent of a slave who had a modest upbringing on the West Side of San Antonio as one of six children of William and Joyce Jefferson. Jefferson often talks about the importance of rising above challenges, and that achieving any goal, no matter a person’s race, is possible.
“I’m no different from any of the students who will be attending Wallace Jefferson Middle School,” he says. “If they can focus on what the teachers are teaching them, they can be anything they want.”
Now a husband and father of three sons, Jefferson is widely admired by members of both political parties. He is known for his integrity, his objectivity – and a sense of humor he doesn’t often get to display on the bench.
In Northside, Jefferson literally is considered a Pillar of Character. In 1999, he was selected as the District’s first Pillar of Fairness, now bestowed annually on distinguished Northside alumni who exhibit exemplary character traits.
As a school namesake, Jefferson will continue to make his mark, this time as a role model for thousands of young children who will walk through the doors of Wallace B. Jefferson Middle School.
Anson Jones was born on Jan. 20, 1798 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In 1820, Jones was licensed as a doctor by the Oneida, New York, Medical Society, and began medical practice in 1826. He moved to Philadelphia to teach and practice medicine until 1824, when he decided to go to Venezuela.
In 1833 Jones headed to Texas, settling eventually in Brazoria. Here, he met with success, establishing a medical practice that prospered quickly. In 1835 he attended The Consultation, a meeting held at Columbia by Texas patriots to discuss independence from Mexico. Jones himself presented a resolution at the Consultation calling for a convention to be held to declare independence, but he himself refused to be nominated to the convention.
During the Texas Revolution, Jones served as a judge advocate and surgeon to the Texas army, though he insisted on holding the rank of private throughout the conflict. After the war, Jones returned to Brazoria and resumed his medical practice.
Jones was elected to the Second Texas Congress. His most significant act in Congress was to call for the withdrawal of the Texas proposal for annexation by the United States. He also helped draw up legislation to regulate medical practice, and called for the establishment of an endowment for a university.
Jones expected to return to his practice at Brazoria after his term in Congress, but Texas President Sam Houston instead appointed him Minister to the United States, where Jones was to formally withdraw the annexation proposal.
During this time, while many Texans hoped to encourage eventual annexation by the United States, there were some who supported waiting for annexation or even remaining independent. The United States, in the late 1830s, was hesitant to annex Texas for fear of provoking a war with Mexico. Jones and others felt it was important that Texas gain recognition from European states and begin to set up trade relations with them, to make annexation of Texas more attractive to the United States or, failing that, to give Texas the strength to remain independent.
Jones was recalled to Texas by new President Mirabeau Lamar in 1839. Back at home, he found himself elected to a partial term in the Senate, where he quickly became a critic of Lamar's administration. He retired from the Senate in 1841, declining the opportunity to serve as Vice President in favor of returning to his medical practice. However, late in 1841 he was named Texas Secretary of State by President Sam Houston, who had been recently been elected President again by opponents of Lamar. Jones served as Secretary of State until 1844. During his term, the main goal of Texas foreign policy was to get either an offer of annexation from the United States, a recognition of Texas independence from Mexico, or, preferably, both at the same time.
In September 1844, Jones was elected President of the Republic of Texas, despite running a virtually silent campaign. That November, James K. Polk was elected President of the United States on a promise of Texas annexation. However, Jones held his silence on the subject, preferring to wait for the ideal outcome of simultaneous annexation and independence offers. This proved unpopular. Late in 1844, the Texas Congress declared for joining the United States, and popular sentiment in the republic for annexation grew.
Finally, in June 1845, Jones' emissary to Mexico returned with a treaty recognizing the republic's independence. At last he put the question before the people — accept the offer of annexation from the United States, or sign the independence treaty from Mexico and remain an independent state. The Congress and the people went for annexation.
Preparations began for annexation, and Jones' role as President was greatly diminished. On Feb. 19, 1846, a formal ceremony was held to bring Texas into the United States. Jones, in his last official act, declared that, "The Republic of Texas is no more." Then he retired to Brazoria.
Source: Wikipedia
Jack C. Jordan’s career in education spanned 43 years, and during his 35 years in Northside ISD, he served as teacher, coach, Vice Principal, Principal, and Deputy Superintendent before becoming Superintendent in 1982.
His was hired for his first public school teaching job in 1955 at Harris Junior High School in San Antonio ISD. He then became a teacher, coach and then Vice Principal at Northside High School (now Marshall High School). In 1964, Jordan became the first Principal of Holmes High School, and in 1967 he came to central office as Deputy Superintendent.
During his tenure as Superintendent from 1982 to 1993, NISD grew from 34,000 to 55,000 students. Jordan provided facilities to handle the phenomenal growth while keeping academic standards high and taxes low.
A man of extraordinary vision, he initiated programs such as AIM to provide well-trained administrators who would be needed during Northside’s rapid growth. To meet the needs of a diverse student population, he established programs such as Business Careers and Health Careers high schools, Academic Decathlon, Reading Recovery, and ACE. Jordon pioneered the use of propane to fuel school buses to cut student transportation costs. He also authored the UIL two-division system in 5A, doubling the chance for student participation in championship level competition statewide.
Believing in teamwork as a lifetime skill, he teamed up often with parents and community members to improve the quality of life for young people. PTA Council awarded him two life memberships and endowed the Jack C. Jordan PTA Scholarship Fund.
Because of his innovations in education, the Texas Association of School Boards recognized Jordan as on of the top five superintendents in Texas in 1989 and 1991.
Jordan retired in 1993, but has remained committed to the Northside community as an active member of the Northside School Museum Association.
Lloyd M. Knowlton was a prominent local citizen who was widely respected for his commitment to education and support of local community organizations.
Knowlton was born March 5, 1912 and grew up on a dairy farm in San Antonio. At the age of 16, he started his own dairy farm at the corner of Braun and Leslie roads. He took college courses in dairy production and animal husbandry at Baylor and Purdue universities.
Knowlton Dairy soon became the largest independent producer of milk, ice cream, and butter in Texas. Knowlton married Roberta, a school teacher, and they had five children.
During World War II, Knowlton delivered milk on a Clydesdale horse to conserve gas. He was known as the milk man because he personally delivered milk to homes.
In the early 1950s, Knowlton convinced farmers and local business leaders of the need for the area’s first high school, now Marshall High School. He served on the Northside Board of Trustees from 1949-1956.
Some of the community organizations he supported included Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, March of Dimes, and United Way. He was a trustee and financial backer of Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital and served on the Board of Directors of the Methodist Home for Children. He was a charter member of Jefferson United Methodist Church and was known for inviting soldiers from Lackland AFB to his home so that they could eat a home-cooked meal. He also was active with the Bexar County Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Knowlton remained Chairman of the Board at Knowlton Dairy until 1979. In 1982, he received the Joe Freeman Award for Distinguished Service to the South Texas Agribusiness Industry, and in 1984, he was named to the Texas Dairy Producers Hall of Fame. He passed away in 1984, just before his namesake school opened.
Dean H. Krueger has been a fixture in Northside ISD his entire life, and will forever be remembered through the school bearing his name.
Born and raised in Leon Valley, he attended Leon Valley Elementary School, Ross and Neff middle schools, and Marshall High School. After college, he returned to his roots and was an employee of the District for 31 years before retiring in 2002.
Who better to eventually help run a school district than someone who knew it from the ground up – first as a child and then as a school teacher. Krueger began his career as a teacher at Rayburn Middle School, then transitioned to Assistant Principal at Holmes High School, and then to Vice Principal and Principal of the Northside Opportunity Center (now Holmgreen Center), where he helped bring an academic focus and organizational structure to that campus. He then was asked to open Zachry Middle School, where he served as principal for 8½ years.
These experiences helped mold him into the District leader he became. He was named the Executive Director of Secondary Administration, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Administration, and retired as Deputy Superintendent for Administration.
Among his many accomplishments over the years, he highlights the hiring of a “fabulous” staff when he opened Zachry Middle School. From those staff members hired at Zachry in 1985-88, 62 received promotions by December 1993, and they have held leadership positions throughout Northside and other South Texas schools and districts.
His many accolades over the years are too numerous to list but include Lifetime Membership awards from both state and national PTA, an Honorary Colonel recognition in the Jay High School Junior ROTC, the NISD nominee for the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) Outstanding Middle School Principal of Texas, and the Achievement in Youth Services Award.
Among his many duties as Deputy Superintendent, Krueger was responsible for the Administrative Internship Management (AIM) program, which mentors potential future leaders in the District; was the coordinator of the School Boundary Advisory Committee, working with Northside parents on changes in school attendance zones; and was the lead person on maintaining the District’s Crisis Resource Manual and planned responses.
Whether as a teacher or administrator, he continually focused each decision on the question, “Is this in the best interest of kids?” It is caring, child-centered individuals, such as Krueger, that make Northside the quality District that it is today.
Charles Kuentz was a beloved Northside band director who instilled in his students a passion for music and taught them about the importance of character, commitment, and work ethic.
Kuentz grew up in a musical family that often would get together with friends for jam sessions on Sunday afternoons. His mother played the piano, his father played the fiddle and accordion, and Kuentz played the trumpet, just like his older sister.
Though Kuentz lived in the Woodlawn lake area as a boy, he frequently visited his grandparents’ dairy farm in Helotes. His grandfather was Henry T. Brauchle – also a musician, an educator, and a Northside namesake. O’Connor High School, and now Kuentz Elementary School, sit on the site of the former Brauchle dairy farm.
After graduating from Jefferson High School in 1952, Kuentz enrolled in Texas Lutheran College. It was here that he met his wife Judy, a fellow musician and future NISD music teacher. Kuentz was studying to become a minister until his college band director suggested he think about a career in music.
Kuentz quickly realized that “ministering” to children through music was his calling. Kuentz switched majors, and after completing his degree, he began working as a music teacher and band director in Rocksprings, Charlotte, and Three Rivers.
His family, which would eventually include six children, returned to San Antonio, and in 1969, Kuentz became the band director at Jefferson, his alma mater. In 1974, he joined Northside, first at Hobby Middle School, and then a year later, at Marshall High School.
He revolutionized the Ram Band, bringing in showmanship, choreography, and music that made the half-time performance a must-see event at football games. He put the Ram Band on the map – and in the record books – when they were invited to play in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. in 1977. To help raise money for the trip, students held a “band-a-thon” to break the Guinness World Record for the longest, continuously playing band. It took 52 hours, but they broke the record.
Despite the many accolades and awards the Ram Band received, students say it was the life lessons Kuentz taught them that had the biggest impact. Kuentz served as a father figure to many of his students, serving as a role model for self-discipline, teamwork, and taking pride in one’s work.
In 1982, Kuentz moved to Rudder Middle School to be the school’s first band director. He retired in 1992, but still remains actively involved with music as Director of the Helotes Community Band.
The Kuentz tradition of music, education, and character isn’t likely to fade anytime soon. Numerous former students of Kuentz have gone on to be music teachers and educators, including three of his own children, who all teach in Northside ISD.
Known as the father of Texas school law, Ralph G. Langley was committed to public education, public service, and the legal profession.
Langley grew up in Dallas, and though he struggled financially, he ultimately earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He began his law career in 1937 at the San Antonio law firm where he had worked during the summers in law school. The firm eventually became Langley & Banack, the now-venerable San Antonio law firm.
Langley’s law career was briefly interrupted during World War II, when he served five years in the U.S. Army. He married his wife, Doris in 1943, and shortly after was shipped to New Delhi, India. He returned home with a Bronze Star and the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Langley and his wife had two daughters, and in 1953, long before it was common for men to be involved with PTAs, Langley was the first male president of Maverick Elementary School in San Antonio ISD. Also during the 1950s, Langley was a founding member of the Good Government League, which worked to clean up corruption in San Antonio city government.
In 1970, Langley, already a school law expert, was one of eight attorneys who crafted the School Law section of the State Bar. It established a protocol for how all school districts should function, taking into account the rights of students, parents, staff members, board members, and taxpayers.
Soon after, he became one of Northside ISD’s first district lawyers and was instrumental in helping the rural school system transition into a large, urban and suburban district. Those who worked with Langley say it is because of his influence that Northside has always had a reputation for following the law and treating people fairly.
Northside ISD wasn’t just one of Langley’s clients. He could always be counted on to speak at a school’s Career Day, and he frequently visited high school fairs to encourage students to consider a career in law.
He was equally dedicated to the city of San Antonio, serving at various times as Chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Public Library. He also served as President of the San Antonio Bar Association , and in 1999, Langley received the Joe Frazier Brown Senior Award for Excellence for his outstanding leadership and service to members of the legal community and citizens of Texas.
Langley continued practicing law until shortly before his death in 2003 at the age of 88. He leaves behind a legacy of hard work, preparation, and loyalty – qualities he would want every student of Langley Elementary School to espouse.
The Northside Fine Arts department has been influenced and shaped by the teaching talents and administrative skills of many people over the years. However, the direction and vision of the music department was shaped by one person, Bob Lewis. Lewis spent 33 years as music teacher and eventually music supervisor for Northside ISD. In 1957, Northside Schools were vastly different from present day NISD in terms of students, facilities, and fine arts staff. The District was mostly rural. The high school and junior high were located on the site of present day Marshall High School. There were six elementary schools that were spread throughout the District's 355 square miles. In 1957, there were 2,157 students and one music specialist.
When Bob Lewis was hired as band director of Northside High School in 1957, music offerings were limited. The only music that students experienced was through supplemental teachings offered by general classroom teachers. Although Lewis was not the first band director of Northside High School, the program he inherited consisted of 36 students with limited musical knowledge. Throughout the years, the fine arts programs at Northside continued to expand as the District grew.
Today, tens of thousands of students are involved in fine arts programs at NISD including art, band, choir, theater, dance, orchestra, art history, jazz, madrigals, mariachi, and theater production. Northside regularly ranks in the "top ten" in the number of students selected to the Texas Music Educator All-State Band/Choir/Orchestra, and regularly qualifies for Texas State UIL One-Act Play competition and Texas State UIL Marching Contest.
Born in Abilene, Lewis' musical career began around the age of 11 when he picked up his first trumpet. He graduated from Abilene High School in 1943. He attended both Hardin-Simmons University and North Texas State University before being called into service by the Army in January 1945. He rose to the rank of Tech Sergeant and was among the first troops into occupied Japan. He left after two years and returned to Hardin-Simmons to graduate with a bachelor's degree in music in 1948 and eventually earned a master’s degree in education from Our Lady of the Lake University.
After working for one year as a music teacher at Sanderson and Abilene, he became band director of Hondo High School and stayed there for six years before joining the NISD staff in 1957.
Lewis and Celeste, his wife of more than 60 years, have six children: Chris Lewis, Greg Lewis, Theresa Espinosa, Mary Anna Smith, David Lewis, and Gabriel Lewis. They also have 14 grandchildren and one great grandson.
Lewis says that he truly enjoyed being part of the Northside District and watching it grow over the many years. “And now, by naming a school in my honor, they are enabling me to continue to be a part of the school district that I love so much,” he said. “It is the highest honor I can think of and I am very honored and humbled.”
Mr. Lewis retired from Northside in 1990. During his time at Northside, he enriched the lives of thousands of students and staff members. Mr. Lewis is known throughout Northside ISD as “The Music Man.”
Edmund Lieck was a true educational pioneer who helped establish the roots and traditions of Northside ISD long before the District was created.
Edmund Lieck was born in Heinsberg, Germany in 1845. He was one of 11 children of Gottfried and Sofia Lieck. He grew up in a house where education was valued, and he learned to speak three languages: English, German, and Spanish.
Edmund Lieck and his family immigrated to the United States when he was still a child. He and two younger brothers served in the Texas Cavalry during the Civil War, and all three survived and settled in San Antonio.
Lieck married San Antonio resident Catherine Gembler in 1874, and the couple had seven children. In 1880, Lieck purchased ranch land west of San Antonio, just south of what are now Potranco and Talley roads.
Wanting to educate his children, as well as the children who lived nearby, Lieck and his neighbors built a one-room school house on the ranch property. They called it the Lockhart School, named for a nearby spring. The school contained 25 home-made desks and a black potbelly stove to keep the students warm in the winter. Lanterns were used to light the inside of the school, and families took turns filling the water kegs and providing wood for the stove. The library had just five books.
Lieck was the first teacher at the school and was known as “the professor.” He welcomed all children to the school, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity. Teachers from San Antonio would come to teach at the school, but they would frequently become homesick and leave, and Lieck would fill in until another teacher could be found.
The school also was a gathering place for the community and functioned as a dance hall on Saturday nights, a church on Sunday mornings, and a voting site on election day.
Lieck died in 1907 at the age of 62, but the school continued to be used through the 1940s, when it became one of the original 11 schools to form Northside ISD in 1949.
It’s been more than a century since Edmund Lieck built the Lockhart school, but his legacy - a commitment to education and to serve all children - continues to thrive in his namesake school.
Dolores B. Linton is known for her contributions to the black community in San Antonio. Linton was born on Feb. 21, 1910, in Seguin. She began teaching in Pleasanton until the needs of the poor, isolated black community of West San Antonio Heights came to her attention during a visit in 1931. On her visit, she learned the closest school for black children was miles away with no transportation.
After gaining permission to use Paradise Cove, a former dance hall, for classes, she organized a parents' petition to request public funds for the school. Linton took on the responsibility of teaching all six grades herself. Three years, later the county built a one-room schoolhouse, without water, for her 30 students.
Dolores married Walter Linton in 1937. During World War II, she took a break from teaching to work briefly for the USO before returning to the West San Antonio Heights school. In 1946, a barracks building was moved onto the former site of the dance hall. This provided a two-room school facility. The building still had no water, electricity, or indoor plumbing. In 1952, because of Linton’s persistence the school board finally constructed a modern four-room school.
Linton continued to teach multiple grades until a court order forced racial distribution of students in 1966. NISD had to transfer Linton and her students. Linton taught at Thunderbird Elementary School until retiring in 1971. A new school was named for her in 1980, in honor of her commitment to equal educational opportunities. She died on Nov. 19, 1980 at the age of 70 in San Antonio. She was honored posthumously in 1981 with the Human Relations Award from the Texas State Teachers Association.
Northside’s 14th middle school bears the name of a Champion of Texas Education, a man with strong roots in and love for the city of San Antonio and its people.
Born the youngest of 17 children, Gregory Luna attended Brackenridge Elementary School, Lanier Junior High School, and Lanier High School. After high school graduation and attending classes at San Antonio College, Luna enlisted in the U.S. Army. He later joined the San Antonio Police Department and attended night classes to earn a bachelor’s degree in math and his law degree from St. Mary’s University.
He began his law career as a San Antonio city prosecutor and then went into private practice in 1968. He got his start in politics by campaigning for Pete Torres in his run for City Councilman in 1967. Luna ran for several positions before becoming a State Representative in 1984. He remained in that position until 1992 when he became a State Senator.
Luna made his mark on education from the first day that he walked into the State Capitol. He became known as a Champion of Texas Education because he was so focused on providing legislative support for Texas public schools and Texas school children of all ages.
During his first term in the Senate, he won authorization for $20 million in construction bonds for the University of Texas at San Antonio’s long-sought Downtown Campus. He served on the Senate standing committees on Education, State Affairs, and Jurisprudence. He also served on the Conference Committee on SB7 dealing with education finance and the Select Committee on Judicial Reform. In 1997, Luna chaired the Senate Hispanic Caucus, led the opposition to private school vouchers paid for with public tax money, and served on the conference committee on HB 4 dealing with school property taxation.
He is one of the founders of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Over the years, he has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Matt Garcia Public Service Award for his “outstanding leadership and service to the community” by MALDEF, the Lifetime Achievement Award from UTSA Hispanic Research Center, the 1987 Mexican-American Bar Association award for outstanding legal contributions, the 1991 MABA Outstanding Legislator Award, and the 1998 ERNIE Award from the Avenida Guadalupe Association. In 2004, he received the Henry B. Gonzalez award from the St. Mary’s Hispanic Alumni Association and the Champion of Civil Rights award from AARP and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
He married Helen Garcia in 1955, and they had four children: Leticia Ann, Delores, Gerard, and Gregory Val, and five grandchildren. All four Luna children attended Northside schools and graduated from Holmes High School.
John Marshall was born in a log cabin on the Virginia frontier on Sept. 24, 1755, the first of 15 children. He was the son of a land surveyor who had amassed a substantial library of books, and as a child, Marshall was encouraged to read extensively.
As a young man he served as a captain in the Continental Army, and saw action in several battles, including Brandywine and Monmouth. While still serving in the military he studied law part-time at William and Mary College. The course of lectures he attended would be his only formal legal education. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1780, and entered political life a few years later, winning election to the Virginia Legislature in 1782.
Marshall earned a reputation as a very good lawyer who could think on his feet. And he also became known for arguing forcefully that Virginia should ratify the Constitution. At the 1788 Constitutional Convention in Virginia he defended Article III, which deals with the judiciary.
Marshall contemplated several offers to serve in the Washington and Adams administrations. He declined service as Attorney General for Washington; he declined positions on the Supreme Court and as Secretary of War under Adams. At Washington's direction, Marshall ran successfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives but his tenure there was brief. Adams offered Marshall the position of Secretary of State, which Marshall accepted. When Oliver Ellsworth resigned as Chief Justice in 1800, Adams turned to the first Chief Justice, John Jay, who declined. Federalists urged Adams to promote Associate Justice William Paterson to the spot; Adams opted for Marshall.
Despite the apparently hasty circumstances of Marshall’s nomination to the Supreme Court, he would be the longest serving Chief Justice in American history, holding the position for 34 years.
His influence on the Court was profound. When Marshall took office the judiciary was considerably weaker than the other two branches of the government, as the Constitution gave little direction to the Supreme Court. But under Marshall’s guidance the Supreme Court became the powerful institution it has remained.
Marshall died on July 6, 1835. His death was marked with public displays of grieving, and in Philadelphia the Liberty Bell cracked while it was being rung in tribute to him.
Though Marshall was largely self-taught in the law, and his appointment to the Supreme Court seemed to be a spur-of-the-moment decision, he has been proclaimed “The Great Chief Justice.”
Source: www.oyez.org, about.com
Jim Martin was never a classroom teacher, but he dedicated his career to public education. An engineer by trade, Martin spent 30 years working for San Antonio area school districts, making sure children were educated in safe, durable, and energy-efficient schools.
The longtime San Antonio resident distinguished himself early in his career, soon after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1975, he was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Bexar County Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.
After a few years of working for a private engineering firm, Martin went to work for North East ISD in 1978. In 1986, he briefly returned to private practice but soon realized public education was his calling. He joined Judson ISD as the District Engineer in 1987, and then was hired at Northside ISD in 1991, as the Director of Plant Maintenance and Operations. In 1995, he was promoted to lead the District's Facilities and Operations Department and oversee the District's now burgeoning construction program.
Throughout his nearly two decades with Northside ISD, Martin transformed the District's building practices, leading NISD to become one of the most reputable builders in San Antonio. He believed schools should be built to last with low maintenance costs but high expectations for students' academic achievement.
After Northside voters passed the 1998 bond issue, Martin expanded the Facilities and Operations Department to include in-house project managers and inspectors, which sped up the construction schedule and saved the District tens of thousands of dollars that previously went to outside consultants.
In addition, his personal integrity and transparent building and bidding policies earned him the respect of architects, contractors, and engineers across the region. It is a testament to his reputation that the first year the San Antonio chapter of Associated General Contractors ranked the performance of public agencies in San Antonio, NISD was No. 1. And soon after Martin retired, AGC established a scholarship fund in his name at Construction Careers Academy, NISD's newest magnet program.
By the time he retired from NISD as the Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations in 2008, Martin had overseen the construction of more than 40 new schools and facilities as well as renovations and expansions at all schools throughout the District.
One of Martin's final projects at NISD was to push for construction of San Antonio's first official "green" school, to be built following the strict protocol established by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines. The Board of Trustees then honored Martin's commitment to the environment - and the entire Northside community - by naming that school after him.
Now that Martin is retired, he's focusing on his other passions - his church, his love of model trains, and his family, which includes wife Donna, also retired from NISD, and their children and grandchildren.
Mary Hull began her teaching career during World War II. She began teaching temporarily at Locke Hill Elementary School on De Zavala in San Antonio. She was a creative and inspiring fourth grade teacher that received great enjoyment from her teaching. She found herself to be truly happy helping children to learn. She also found herself ahead of her time.
During World War II, when Mary Hull believed she was just teaching “temporarily,” she came to have a great understanding of the realities of teaching. She began to form her own ideas about teaching and how children learn, especially how they learn best. Her opinions about learning coming “from books” was perhaps what made her such a great teacher. Mary Hull believed that children learned best when excited about learning and when learning something that had personal meaning to them. She decided that bringing reality and fun into learning would motivate the students into reaching their potentials.
One such lesson was when she combined math, history, social studies, and geography (and a little English along the way) and taught an entire year on a theme about the study of spices and how men went all over the world to find the sweet-scented and helpful herbs and seeds. The students traveled to China, Africa, and to the South Seas in their journey to find the spices. This brought the children closer to their lives and situations as many of them had family members overseas fighting in the war with the Japanese. The students felt closer to their families and their lives as they knew it and this in turn helped to motivate them to higher levels of learning and thinking skills. The students used math skills to multiply recipes and measures to make spice cookies and cakes. What student wouldn't want to learn if they got to eat along the way?
Northside named a school for Mary Hull because she held an opinion about teaching that was worth noting. Today, this type of learning and teaching has a name. It is called “Teaching Across the Curriculum” and is still found to be very beneficial to students. She also found that the differences in the students learning and in their lives made teaching more fun and enjoyable for both the teacher and the student if the teacher used these differences to teach. Today, we call this “Differentiated Instruction,” and Mary Hull Elementary is very active in finding the ways to teach using the differentiated instruction that leads to the highest potential in the students.
The oldest of three sons, Monroe May was born in Houston and attended elementary school in Yokum. In 1949 his family moved to San Antonio where he graduated from Jefferson High School. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in Austin and his master’s from Our Lady of the Lake University.
Monroe served Northside ISD for 29 years of his 30 years as a distinguished educator. He was a classroom teacher at Cable Elementary, Westwood Terrace Elementary, and Rayburn Middle School, as well as a counselor at Westwood Terrace. He was selected on two occasions to open new elementary schools as Principal, first at Meadow Village Elementary and later at Shenandoah (now named Howsman) Elementary. In 1972 May was named the first Director of Elementary Education in Northside ISD. He held that position, which involved providing both administrative and instructional leadership to District elementary schools, until his retirement in 1990.
May was highly respected by teachers, principals, district staff, and parents with whom he worked because of his clear interest of students, his friendly manner, and his professional expertise. He visited campuses and classrooms frequently and established a reputation among campus staff as knowledgeable and supportive of campus programs.
Gen. Robert F. McDermott, known as McD to family, friends, and colleagues, had a profound impact on the business, education, and entertainment landscape of San Antonio.
The educator, scholar, author, fighter pilot, and business leader was first and foremost a gentleman, whose code of ethics and conduct are legendary in San Antonio.
McDermott, a Boston native, graduated from West Point and received a master’s degree from Harvard University in 1950, making him the first military officer to earn a Harvard MBA. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a command pilot, staff officer, and professional educator.
President Eisenhower appointed him the Dean of Faculty for the first 10 graduating classes of the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1956, and three years later, at just shy of 40 years of age, he became the youngest General in America’s armed forces.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1968, he moved to San Antonio to become Chief Executive Officer of USAA. During his 25 years at the helm of USAA, the company grew from the 16th to the fifth largest insurer of private automobiles.
But McDermott’s influence spread far beyond USAA.
In 1974, he was elected Chairman of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and in 1975, to help bring new business to the city, he founded the Economic Development Foundation and served as its Chairman until 1980.
In the 1980s, he focused on developing biotechnology in San Antonio and founded the Texas Research and Technology Foundation, which developed the Texas Research Park. He was instrumental in working with the University of Texas Board of Regents to develop biotechnology facilities in San Antonio and to offer science and engineering programs at the doctoral level in support of biotechnology.
McDermott also served on St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees from 1978-89 and was Chairman of the San Antonio Spurs from 1993-1996. With his leadership, Fiesta Texas and La Cantera were built in partnership with USAA.
He founded and chaired numerous national insurance industry trade associations and was frequently recognized for his business leadership in national publications. He was inducted Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the American National Business Hall of Fame in 1989.
In Northside, though, McDermott is known as the guiding force behind Business Careers High School, which today offers an enriched and focused curriculum to prepare students to succeed in business and related fields.
McDermott and his first wife Alice had five children. After his first wife passed away in 1990, McDermott married Marnie in 1994. Gen. McDermott passed away in 2006 at the age of 86.
Sources: Recorder Times, San Antonio Express-News, USAA
Dr. Martha Mead doesn’t just believe in life-long learning. She preached it, promoted it and practiced it during her 31-year career at Northside.
Dr. Mead joined Northside in 1968 and spent the first half of her tenure with the District as a counselor at Jay High School. There, she had an open-door policy and was known for the great care she took with letters of recommendation so that students had every opportunity of getting a scholarship or into the university of their choice.
She received a doctorate in Adult and Community Education from Texas A&M University in 1981, and two years later, she became Northside’s first director of Adult and Community Education, then a fledging program that offered just a handful of classes.
As director, she established numerous programs that reached out to students and community members most in need of support. She started what is now the Excel Academy, a high school drop-out recovery program, in a shopping mall so that students could attend classes any time of the day. She also developed after-school, summer youth and family literacy programs, as well as services for pregnant teens and teen parents.
Under her leadership, Adult and Community Education grew to offer more than 500 classes in 25 categories. Northside now has one of the largest Adult and Community Education programs in the state and serves more than 25,000 people every year.
Just before Dr. Mead retired in 1999, she received the Berridge Award, one of the most prestigious honors given by the Texas Community Education Association. The award is given only occasionally when a person has developed and implemented innovative community education programs.
Even in retirement, Dr. Mead’s community service hasn’t ended. She tutors students, volunteers in the ESL/GED testing centers, and rocks babies for the School Age Parenting Program, which she once helped secure funds for.
Dr. Mead has been married to her husband, Donald, for more than 50 years. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Born Oct. 4, 1933 in rural Georgia, Mary Burns Michael did not escape the countless harsh injustices placed upon African-Americans during this time. However, she was able to survive because of her faith in God, her creativity, ingenuity, and many sacrifices.
Today, Mary Burns Michael is highly regarded and sought for her expertise on educational matters, Kwanzaa celebrations, and for her African/African-American storytelling which she delivers in her own unique way. The pilgrimage she made to Africa, along with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Curtis Michael, lends to the credibility of the stories she writes and tells.
Michael graduated from Albany State College (now Albany State University) in Albany, Georgia in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Subsequently, she taught school in Georgia, Japan (with the Department of Defense Overseas School System), and Texas. After retiring in 1992, she continues to serve in various advisory capacities with Northside ISD.
During her years in education, her colleagues nominated her for numerous awards both locally and nationally. In 1989, she was the recipient of the Black Achievement Award for “Excellence in Education.”
Mary Burns Michael was able to rise above her environments; she went on to become the first and only member of her family to earn a college education after which she became a classroom teacher for 35 years. At heart, she is a teacher’s teacher and is a member of the San Antonio Storytellers of America, and a former consultant with Macmillian/McGraw-Hill Publishers, and a published author with the San Antonio Word (a local Christian publication).
Michael and her husband are proud parents of Sharon Michael-Chadwell, Phyllis Michael, Lt. Vincent Michael (deceased), Valerie Johnson, and proud grandparents of two grandchildren, Curtis Laurence Chadwell and Gabrielle Olivia Johnson.
Michael continues to be an active part of the Michael ES community. Her retirement does not limit her tireless commitment as an active citizen. In addition to her many community responsibilities she continues to find time to frequently visit the campus and share time with the children.
An advocate for children in the courtroom and the classroom, Judge Andy Mireles worked tirelessly to keep students on the right track.
Paul Andrew Mireles was born April 3, 1950 in Lockhart, Texas and was one of six children of working class parents. An avid car racing fan, he learned early in his life that education was the ticket to success.
Mireles graduated from St. John's Seminary and briefly considered becoming a priest. But while earning a bachelor's degree in psychology at St. Mary's University, a professor suggested that he consider becoming a lawyer.
Mireles' decision to attend law school changed his life - and the lives of countless others.
While in law school at St. Mary's University, Mireles met his wife Margaret, also a St. Mary's graduate, and the couple later would have two sons, Jonathan and Matthew.
In 1975, after graduating No. 2 in his law school class, Mireles joined the firm of Hardberger, Branton & Herrera. Then, in 1982, Mireles formed his own law firm, Watkins, Mireles, Brock & Barrientos.
Mireles' commitment to serving San Antonio's youth was cemented when he was elected to the San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees in 1984. He served until 1988, and also served as a Board member for the Texas Association of School Boards.
In addition to a passion for helping children, Mireles also discovered a penchant for politics. He left private practice in 1989 when he was elected judge of the 73rd District Court. He immediately joined the Bexar County Juvenile Board and soon saw a need for a separate juvenile justice system that could better serve young offenders.
Mireles pushed for the creation of a docket that focused exclusively on juvenile crime, and from then on he was known as the father of Bexar County's juvenile justice system. Mireles didn't use his authority solely to punish young people, but rather he held them accountable for their crimes and gave them a chance to turn their lives around.
His reputation as a tough love judge who had high expectations for everyone in his courtroom - including himself - now is legendary at the Bexar County Courthouse.
And his ethics were beyond reproach, so much so that he wouldn't attend holiday parties of local law firms for fear of giving the impression he was playing favorites.
Mireles served as Chairman of the Bexar County Juvenile Board from 1998 until his death in 2009 at the age of 59. His death was a blow to the San Antonio community, which lost a champion of juvenile justice.
The lessons he instilled in his own sons and in the youth who visited his courtroom now will be taught to the thousands of students who will attend his namesake school: Be responsible, be honest, give back to your community, and leave the world a better place.
Sources of information: San Antonio Express-News, Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department, and the St. Mary's University Alumni Association.
It’s no accident that the students and staff at Dr. Winn Murnin Elementary selected a Mariner to be the school mascot. Dr. Winn Murnin is the epitome of a mariner, always setting sail in a new direction and always providing guidance to the ship.
In a career at Northside that spanned two decades, Murnin made an impact at every level, from pre-k to 12th grade.
She began her career at Northside in the 1970s as a math teacher at Holmes High School, and went on to serve as assistant principal at Clark High School and principal at Leon Valley Elementary and Stevenson Middle School.
After moving to central office to be the Director of Secondary Education, she became Northside’s first female Assistant Superintendent in 1990, when she was promoted to oversee curriculum and instruction.
Throughout her career at Northside, Murnin set high expectations for both students and staff, but she practiced what she preached. She finished high school at 15, and as remarkable as that may seem, she got her first teaching job at 18 after she graduated from Thomas More College, even though she technically was too young to be a teacher.
And in 1989, just a few years before she planned to retire, the life-long learner went back to school to earn a doctorate from Texas A&M University.
While at Northside, she fostered a climate of cooperation, humor and mutual respect, and always put students and staff first, say the many colleagues she mentored. She developed innovative programs, like the Academic Fair, Independent Study Mentorship for gifted and talented students, and the EXCEL math program for secondary schools.
Murnin retired from the District in 1994 to serve as Director of Student Teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and 12 years ago, she opened her own business, Winn Estate Services.
She has served on the boards of several community groups, including the Alzheimer’s Association, and has been honored by numerous organizations and businesses, including the American Mensa Research and Education Foundation, the American Association of School Administrators, and the San Antonio Express-News.
Murnin’s proudest achievement, though, she says, is her family, which includes five children, seven step-children, and 13 grandchildren.
The first woman to serve as President of the Northside Board of Trustees, Virginia Myers was dedicated to her children, her community, and her career.
Myers was born on July 25, 1934 in Parkersburg, West Virginia and was the youngest of four children. After graduating from West Virginia University in 1956 with a degree in history, Myers pursued her love of research and analysis and began a career as a contracting officer for the Air Force. She later became the highest graded woman in contracting at Kelly AFB.
While her three children were young, Myers left her career for several years to be a full-time mother to her three children and served on the PTAs of Sunset Hills (Glass) Elementary School, Neff Middle School, and Holmes High School.
She was elected to the Northside Board of Trustees in 1981 and made history in 1990 as the first woman elected President of the NISD Board of Trustees. As Trustee, she helped passed three bond issues and secured better teacher salaries and implemented tough discipline policies to improve the teacher workplace. She was instrumental in developing fiscally responsible budgets and served as a unifying force between the District, city, and county officials. She increased dropout prevention services and was the driving force in developing innovative programs like Health Careers High School and Business Careers High School. She served on the Board until 1995
Myers retired from civil service in 1993, then joined Texas Management Associates, a company that offers engineering and technical services to the Air Force.
In 1990, the San Antonio Express-News named Myers the Outstanding Woman in Volunteer Service.
Pat Neff, Governor of Texas and President of Baylor University, was born in Coryell County, Texas, on Nov. 26, 1871, the son of Noah and Isabella (Shepherd) Neff. He attended McGregor High School in neighboring McLennan County and earned an A.B. degree at Baylor University, Waco, in 1894. After teaching school two years in Magnolia, Arkansas, he earned an LL.B. degree at the University of Texas in 1897. He began his law practice in Waco and received an A.M. degree at Baylor in 1898.
Neff, a talented orator, launched his political career by serving in the Texas House of Representatives from 1899 to 1905, the last two years as speaker, the youngest in Texas history to that time. He afterward resumed legal practice in Waco and was elected county attorney in 1906, a post he held until 1912. A brilliant, merciless prosecutor, he tried 422 defendants and won convictions in all but 16 cases. During this time he was twice offered the position of assistant attorney general but chose to remain in McLennan County.
He served as Governor from 1921 to 1925. His agenda included reforms in education, prisons, public health, law enforcement, and taxation, as well as proposals to reduce the number of state agencies and establish a state park system. He succeeded in increasing funding to rural and vocational schools and establishing Texas Technological College and Texas State Teachers College. He also achieved a reorganization of the Highway Commission and establishment of the park system, which he believed was one of his most important endeavors.
After his two terms as Governor, Neff headed a Texas Education Survey Commission in 1925–26 and was president of the Texas Watersheds Association in 1939. In 1927 he was appointed to the United States Board of Mediation by President Calvin Coolidge. Governor Daniel J. Moody named him to the Railroad Commission in 1929, a position he held until 1932.
Neff resigned from the commission in 1932 to become President of Baylor University at age 60. A strict educator and careful financial administrator, he brought Baylor out of debt in the 1930s into a period of growth in the 1940s. During his tenure as President, enrollment at the university jumped from 1,200 to 4,000, the area of campus was doubled, and the university's endowment was increased. Despite these successes, Neff was viewed by many Baylor supporters as too rigid a disciplinarian who lacked a modern approach to education. In 1947, when he was 76, Neff resigned to become President Emeritus.
Neff was President of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, 1926–28; President of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1942–45; and Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas in 1946. He married Myrtle Mainer, a former Baylor classmate, on May 31, 1899; they had a daughter and a son. Mrs. Neff died in Waco on July 19, 1953. Neff died in Waco on Jan. 20, 1952, and was buried there in Oakwood Cemetery. His papers and personal mementos are a major part of the Texas Collection at Baylor, which he helped start. The university's main administration building is named for him.
Source: Thomas E. Turner, “Pat Morris Neff” in The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 30, 2009
Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Anna Mae “Mas” Nichols came to San Antonio in 1925 where she attended Travis Elementary School, Mark Twain Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School, going on to the College of Industrial Arts for Women, now Texas Women’s University. She began her career teaching physical education at Alamo Heights High School, and then transferred to Burbank High School after marrying Jack Nichols in 1941 because married women could not teach in Alamo Heights.
Her involvement with the Northside School District began when she and her family moved from San Antonio to Helotes in 1953. Following an absence of some years from the classroom to be a stay-at-home mother and raise her four children, “Mas” (who was so nicknamed by her husband) returned to teaching in 1965 at Helotes Elementary School until her retirement in 1990.
Mas’ professional and civic honors, achievements, and awards cover a wide field. Among her many accolades include the Lamar Award of Excellence for Personal Achievement Medal and the Yellow Rose of Texas Award from the Constance Allen Heritage Guild of Lifetime Learning.
Mas’ interest and involvement in community activities did not wane after her retirement. She served three terms as Councilwoman on the Grey Forest City Council and on the Communication Committee of the City’s Volunteer Fire Department. She was also named Paragon’s Hometown Hero for the city of Grey Forest, Texas in 1999. Active civic organization memberships included the Helotes Historical Society and the Senior Advisory Board for Northside School District, along with a lifetime memberships to the Helotes Optimist Club and Helotes PTA.
She founded the GranPals Mentors at Helotes Elementary School to help students with some of their education problems and to give both GranPals mentors and the students a chance to bond with different age groups.
Anna Mae “Mas” and Charles J. “Jack” Nichols were married 61 years until his death in 2002, and had four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Mas passed away in 2008 at the age of 89.
Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, was born March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas. Her parents, Harry and Ada Mae, owned the Lazy-B-Cattle Ranch in southeastern Arizona, where O'Connor grew up. The isolated ranch made formal education difficult so O'Connor's parents sent her to live with her maternal grandmother in El Paso. After high school, O'Connor attended Stanford University where she majored in economics. She chose economics originally with the intention of applying that knowledge towards the operation of a ranch of her own or even the Lazy-B Ranch. A legal dispute over her family's ranch, however, stirred her interest in law and O'Connor decided to enroll at Stanford Law School after receiving her baccalaureate degree magna cum laude in 1950.
O’Connor took only two years to complete law school and met her future husband, John Jay O’Connor, while in law school. O'Connor faced a difficult job market after leaving Stanford. No law firm in California wanted to hire her and only one offered her a position as a legal secretary. O'Connor turned to public service and accepted a job as the deputy county attorney for San Mateo, California. When O'Connor's husband graduated from Stanford a year later, the Army immediately drafted him into the Judge Advocate General Corps and stationed him in Frankfurt, Germany. While there, Sandra served as a civilian lawyer in the Quartermaster's Corps. When the O'Connors returned to the U.S. in 1957, they settled in Phoenix, Arizona and had their three sons in the six years that followed.
O'Connor again found it difficult to obtain a position with any law firm so she decided to start her own firm with a single partner. She practiced a wide variety of small cases in her early days as a lawyer since she lacked specialization and an established reputation. After she gave birth to her second son, O'Connor withdrew from work temporarily to care for her children and became involved in many volunteer activities. After five years as a full-time mother, O'Connor returned to work as an assistant state attorney general in Arizona. When a state senator resigned to take an appointment in Washington D.C., Arizona Gov. Jack Williams appointed O'Connor to occupy the vacant seat. O'Connor successfully defended her senate position for two more terms and eventually became the majority leader, a first for women anywhere in the U.S. In 1974, O'Connor decided to shift gears and run for a judgeship on the Maricopa County Superior Court. A year later, the newly elected Democratic governor nominated O'Connor to the Arizona Court of Appeals. Not quite two years later, President Reagan nominated her as the first woman to Supreme Court as a replacement for the retiring Justice Potter Stewart.
Early in her tenure on the Court, most observers identified O'Connor as part of the Court's conservative faction. However, after a few terms, O'Connor established her own unique position on the Court. Although she commonly sided with the conservatives, O'Connor would frequently author a concurrence that sought to narrow the scope of the majority's opinion. She approached each case with individual treatment and always sought to arrive at a practical conclusion. Her moderation has helped her role as the centrist coalition-builder, which consequently enhanced her influence on the Court. She retired from the Supreme Court in 2006.
Source: www.oyez.com
Paul Ott believed in Northside School District.
He lived in Northside.
His children went to Northside Schools.
He served on the Board of Trustees of Northside for 12 years.
He worked as an employee of Northside for 13 years.
Ott’s association with Northside actually began before the District was formed, when his children attended the Old Mackey School on Hunt Lane. Mackey is one of 11 schools that united to become the Northside Consolidated School District in 1949.
Ott was married to his wife, Ethel Galm, for 55 years. They have two children, Mata Nell Ott Orth and Paul C. Ott, who attended the Mackey School, Northside Junior High and Northside High School (now known as Marshall High School.) Ott was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1951, and served with other school namesakes Clarence Galm and Dr. W.Z. Burke. Many tough decisions were made in those early formative years on the Board such as setting up the boundary lines for this new district, building new schools, and improving the existing schools of Northside Junior High and Northside High School.
Northside was a growing district in Ott’s time. Nine elementary schools and two middle schools were opened during his tenure on the Board. In addition, the District grew from a University Interscholastic League 1A District to a 3A District. Today Northside is a 5A District.
After leaving the School Board, Ott was hired to establish the maintenance department for the District. He served as the first Director of the Northside Maintenance and Groundkeepers Department from 1963 until his retirement in 1976. Ott was the driving force in building a quality Maintenance Department by hiring the craftsmen necessary to do the jobs: carpenters, electricians, painters, and plumbers. He bought the first trucks necessary for these individuals to use while traveling throughout the District. He hired the grounds keepers for all the schools. He oversaw ordering all materials and janitorial supplies.
Ott’s belief that well-maintained schools result in students who are proud of their schools and who will take care of them. He knew that high quality environments would help students be successful. He knew that efficient and clean schools would help build community pride. And he knew that employees would be better workers if their physical surroundings were conducive to teaching and learning.
“Those were the earlier days at Northside when our budget was “lean,” and when the words “job description” didn’t mean much,” says Mary Ellen Burke, Superintendent’s secretary at the time. “One simply did what one needed to do to get the job done. Paul Ott was the person we all called on when there was a problem. He was our “go to” man.”
Paul Ott passed away in 1992.
J.B. Passmore Elementary, named after devoted Principal J.B. Passmore, opened its doors to the community in 1970. Passmore began his career as a teacher and later became a highly respected Principal in Northside Independent School District in the late 1950s. When Lackland City Elementary School first opened in 1957, Mr. Passmore accepted the role as its first Principal thru 1966. Passmore then became the first Principal at Colonies North in 1966 and continued thru 1969. Passmore Elementary was scheduled to open in 1970, and Mr. Passmore was to become the school's first Principal, but he passed away in the summer of 1969.
E. M. Pease Middle School proudly bears the name of Elisha Marshall Pease, a former Texas Governor and an ardent supporter of public education. E. M. Pease was born in Connecticut in 1812. Early in 1835 he came to Texas, settling at Bastrop, where he began to study law.
After holding various minor offices during the period of the Republic and serving in the state Legislature from 1849 to 1859, Pease was elected Governor in 1853 and again in 1855. For nearly 50 years from the eve of the Texas revolution to this day of his death in 1883, Elisha Marshall Pease was an outstanding figure in the history of the republic and the state.
On May 3, 1992, Thunderbird Hills Elementary was renamed Lawrence Powell Elementary. This renaming was in honor of the 36 years that Lawrence Powell dedicated to educating children. Twenty-six of those years were spent in Northside School District.
Lawrence Powell is a native of Houston and was born on Nov. 7, 1927. He married Bobbie Erfurth in 1952 and had three children. In 1953, he earned his bachelor of science degree from Trinity University and his master of education degree in 1966 from Sul Ross State College in Alpine, Texas. Powell served as Principal of Thunderbird Hills from 1974-1989.
Former Superintendent Jack Jordan recommended changing the name of Thunderbird Hills to the Board of Trustees. In his recommendation, Jordan described Powell as a "quiet, thoughtful, unassuming individual who cares about everyone and who has touched many lives. Mr. Powell has dedicated his life to promoting a healthy learning environment for children, and it is fitting that the school to which he dedicated his life is named for him."
Dr. Carl Raba graduated from Texas A&M University in 1968 with a doctoral degree in civil engineering. In 1968, he became President of Raba-Kistner Consultants, Inc., where he has served as chairman and chief executive officer since 1980. He has received numerous professional awards including the National Society of Professional Engineers Outstanding Young Engineer Award in 1973, the Texas Society of Professional Engineers Engineer of the Year Award in 1977, and Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1994. He has been a loyal supporter of Texas A&M throughout his life, serving various advisory and development committees. He is also a dedicated community servant, giving his time and talents to the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the Southwest Research Institute, the Rotary Club, and the Northside Education Foundation.
Bunny Jean Raba was born in San Antonio, Texas. She married Carl Raba in 1957. They raised five children, all graduates of NISD schools and Texas A&M University. She was one of the three co-founders of Raba-Kistner Consultants, Inc., and worked there until her retirement as Senior Chairman of the Board in 2000. Bunny Jean Raba was committed to her family and friends, but also to the community. She served on numerous boards including The National Kidney Foundation, YMCA of San Antonio and the Hill Country, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and the NISD Education Foundation (NEF), where she spearheaded the efforts to create a major endowment for the purpose of funding student educational enrichment programs. Some of the recognitions she has received over the years include the Katherine Dial Murray "Gift of Life" Award, the YMCA Chairman's Round Table Award, the Volunteer of the Year Association Award, and the Any Baby Can Alliance Angel Award. Bunny Jean spent many hours serving on the Board of Seton Home, a home for teenage mothers choosing to keep their babies. She served as President from 1999-2002.
Bunny Jean Raba passed away on July 2, 2003, leaving behind her legacy of love, devotion, and compassion for her family and the Raba community.
Known as a quiet leader with a steady vision, Ed Rawlinson always focused on what was right for students. Soon after becoming Superintendent in 1995, Rawlinson said he wanted “people to think of Northside as a school district where all students reach their maximum potential and as the school district that builds the capacity in teachers and principals to accomplish that.” In 2000-01, Northside became the largest school district in Texas to achieve Recognized District status, no small feat in a district as large and diverse as NISD.
Ed Rawlinson devoted 39 years of his life working in education, 31 of those years at Northside ISD where he established the “Family Friendly Schools” concept that today permeates the culture in NISD.
Rawlinson, a respected state leader in education, has drawn praise from many people including Dr. Nancy McClaran Oelklaus, former executive director of the Texas Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (TASCD) of which Rawlinson was President in 1996. She says “he has earned tremendous respect because of his integrity, his even-temperedness, his attention to detail, and his drive to do what is right. He’s a man who believes in seeking and speaking the truth.”
Rawlinson was hired by Northside in 1971 to research and implement multi-track year-round schools as a possible solution for managing Northside’s enrollment growth. Years later, with about 9,000 elementary students participating in ACE, or Alternate Calendar Education, Northside had one of the largest ‘year-round’ calendar programs in Texas. In addition to the ACE program, Rawlinson was instrumental in the development of four of Northside’s magnet high schools – Health Careers, Business Careers, Communications Arts and Sunset (now Excel Academy). In addition to his extensive knowledge in school finance, Rawlinson is described as a visionary in curriculum and instruction
Rawlinson led Northside’s march into the 21st century with the development of the District’s Strategic Plan and two back-to-back successful bond issues that totaled more than $700 million to build new schools in what has become San Antonio’s “destination district.”
A native of Kingsville, Rawlinson received three degrees from Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M at Kingsville): a B.S. in secondary education (math/history) in 1963; a B.A. in history/English in 1967; and a M.A. in school administration/English in 1967. He has also completed all the course work toward a doctorate in School Administration from The University of Texas in Austin.
Rawlinson’s career in Northside includes Associate Superintendent for Research and Planning, 1975-76; Associate Superintendent for Pupil Services, 1976-82; Associate Superintendent for Instruction, 1982-94; Deputy Superintendent for Instruction, 1994-95; and Superintendent from 1995 to 2002. In addition he was a teacher Kingsville ISD and an administrator in Tuloso Midway ISD and Corpus Christi ISD.
Rawlinson and his wife Bobbye have three children and two grandchildren.
Sam T. Rayburn (1882-1961) was a lawyer from Bonham, Texas who served for 45 years as Representative (D) to the U.S. Congress. He presided over the House of Representatives for 17 years, more than twice as long as any House Speaker in American history. In his position as Speaker, he exercised great influence and was responsible for the formulation and support of many progressive social and economic laws and policies.
“Mr. Sam,” as he was called, was known and loved by many. He was closely associated with Lyndon B. Johnson, whose name he placed in nomination against that of John F. Kennedy in 1960. Johnson lost the race for presidency, but gained the second spot on the winning ticket and became the U.S. Vice President. Sam Rayburn died of cancer at age 79. He is remembered as a master of parliamentary tactics.
When Nellie M. Reddix came to Northside ISD with her family, she became a model parent, volunteering to help the PTA at her children's school. She moved through the ranks of the Parent Teacher Association leadership to the President of the PTA Council in 1974, and became the first black woman and the second woman in history to serve on the Northside Board of Trustees, serving with distinction until 1985.
After the Reddix children graduated with honors from Holmes High School and pursued higher education degrees, as well as meritorious careers, Nellie Reddix earned a degree in business administration with a specialty in management from Our Lady of the Lake University. She served as the Coordinator of Assessment for OLLU.
During her 11 years of service on the Northside Board of Trustees, Mrs. Reddix was a driving force in the push for instructional excellence. Programs which are deemed essential today did not exist until she began asking "Why not?" Mrs. Reddix worked to provide reading specialists, music and art teachers at elementary schools, and greater opportunities for girls in athletics. She also supported tax exemptions for senior citizens and saw to the reversal of a federal busing directive in 1975 by ensuring 'equal education opportunity.’
An advocate for strong parental involvement, Mrs. Reddix supported the Right to Read program and worked to relocate Mackey special education programs from the Hunt Lane facility to the Leon Valley campus.
With the construction of the Nellie M. Reddix Center, Northside ISD is in the forefront of education improvement for students with special needs. A state-of-the-art facility, the Reddix Center is home to innovative special education programs serving students from Northside and the metroplex. The professional people employed at the Reddix Center have their true inspiration, Nellie M. Reddix, whose high expectations "just made good sense to do.”
Reddix and her husband, Dr. Mason Reddix, a retired surgeon, have three children who graduated from Holmes High School, as well as seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Born in the East Central Texas town of Leona to a Baptist minister and music teacher, Frances (Fran) M. Lewis Rhodes knew that she wanted to work with children from an early age. As a young child, she often had tea parties with her favorite Teddy Bear to whom she would often read. (The Teddy Bear was given to her by her father when he left to serve as a Chaplain in WWII with instructions to “hold it tight until his return.”) Music was also a part of family life with her mother playing the church organ and Fran playing piano at church and the French horn in school where she was first chair from sixth to 12th grades.
Her love for learning grew as she became more and more active in school. She attended Texas City High School where she was active in debate, band, and all sports. She names two teachers that influenced her the most. Her ninth grade debate coach opened her mind to thinking, while her P.E. teacher saw a talent in sports and encouraged her. Upon graduation from high school, she was voted “best all around sports girl,” and received the “best all around girl student award.”
She met Milton Rhodes the first week of school at Baylor University, and they were married at the end of their sophomore year with a firm commitment to finish their studies, which they did, graduating together in 1958.
Her first teaching job was as a second grade teacher in Arlington and “it was everything I dreamed of.”
The family moved to San Antonio in 1965, and after working at Eisenhower Baptist Kindergarten, Windcrest Elementary School, and Our Lady of the Lake University, Fran found her home at Northside in the fall of 1972 when she began teaching fifth and sixth grade reading at Shenandoah (now Howsman) Elementary School. After only one year, she was tapped to serve as a Reading Specialist at Boone and Locke Hill elementary schools.
In 1976, she became of the Director of Professional Development Center for Individualized Instruction at Region 20 traveling to school districts throughout the region teaching the reading component for the first TABS Test. (The seven individuals that started in this Center have met once a year for the past 25 years for a reunion.)
In 1982, she returned to NISD as a reading specialist at the then new Rudder Middle School, and served as Vice Principal at Cody Elementary School for one year before becoming Principal at Oak Hills Terrace in 1985. She states that they were the pilot of everything. They piloted CMC, Reading Recovery program and the forerunner to the Steps to Success program. She opened the new Fernandez Elementary School in 1990, where they were selected as the first State Mentor School in Region 20, the Trinity selected Smart School for San Antonio, and were an Early Childhood model school for the state.
She became Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Administration in January 1996 and served in that position until her retirement in 2000. Although retired from NISD, Fran is still an active partner in educating the children of Northside. She can often be seen reading to the children in the library, and she hopes to instill her love for reading in each child that enters the doors of Frances M. Rhodes Elementary School.
Lawrence Sullivan “Sul” Ross (1838–1898), soldier, statesman, and university president, was born at Bentonsport, Iowa Territory, on Sept. 27, 1838. Sul's love for action and horses involved him in his first Indian fight while he was still a boy, after his family moved to Texas. Although his early ambition was to be an Indian fighter like his father, he recognized the value of education and enrolled at Baylor University in Independence, Texas, and then at the Wesleyan University in Florence, Alabama, where he obtained his A.B. degree in 1859.
After graduating from college, Ross built an illustrious career with the U.S. Army and Texas Rangers. After leaving the Rangers, he married Elizabeth Dorothy Tinsley, daughter of a Waco planter, on May 28, 1861. After acting as state peace commissioner to various Indian tribes, he enlisted in mid–1861 in the Confederate Army as a member of the Waco company raised by his older brother, Peter F. Ross. First as Major and then as Colonel of his regiment, Ross took part in numerous western campaigns, including those of Pea Ridge, Corinth, and Vicksburg. He was promoted to Brigadier General in early 1864 and commanded the Texas Cavalry Brigade.
The wartime period undermined Ross's health, and he spent the eight years of Reconstruction farming near Waco with his wife and growing family. In 1873 the citizens of McLennan County elected Ross sheriff. In his two years in office he ended a reign of terror and helped form the Sheriffs' Association of Texas. He urged needed reforms and helped write the document that governs Texas today, the Constitution of 1876.
He was elected to the state Senate in 1880, and then Governor in 1886, 1888 and 1891. During his two terms as Governor, the new Capitol was completed, the state attained new heights of industrial, agricultural, and commercial growth, and state eleemosynary and educational institutions flourished. Even more important, Ross's time in office was later considered one of exceptional good will and harmony.
When he left the statehouse, he stepped immediately into the presidency of the seriously troubled Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now Texas A&M University). Under his presidency the number of students grew, many new buildings were built, and public faith in the institution returned. In 1893 he was elected commander of the Texas Division of the United Confederate Veterans, and two years later he turned down an appointment to the Railroad Commission that would have taken him away from A&M. It was a blow to the university when President Ross died suddenly at his home in College Station on Jan. 3, 1898. As an editorial written after his death stated, "It has been the lot of few men to be of such great service to Texas as Sul Ross." Sul Ross State University, in Alpine, also is named in his honor.
Judith Ann Benner, “Lawrence Sullivan Ross,” in Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 30, 2009
Earl Rudder Middle School, the eighth middle school in the Northside Independent School District, was named after the patriotic Texan, Earl Rudder. Born in Eden, on May 6, 1910, Rudder was a graduate of Texas A&M and Texas Christian University. In 1932, he began a career in education as a teacher and coach in Brady, Texas. This career was interrupted in 1941 by the outbreak of World War II.
In June 1943, Rudder organized and trained the 2nd Ranger Battalion, which was given the mission of scaling 100-foot cliffs at Point du Hoc during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Rudder's Rangers suffered over 50 percent casualties during the first day of the invasion of France. Although wounded twice during the engagement, Rudder remained in action and in command.
In 1944, he took command of the 109th Infantry Regiment. Eight days later, the Germans began their last great counteroffensive of the war, now known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 109th is credited with a major role in repulsing the German attack.
After the war, he returned to Brady where he entered private business. He also remained active in the Army Reserve where he advanced to the rank of Major General, served as major for six years, and was Texas Land Commissioner from 1955 - 1958.
In 1958, General Rudder returned to education, and served as President of Texas A&M University System until his death in 1970. Earl Rudder Middle School proudly bears the name of this distinguished Texan and American.
As a longtime special education counselor and coordinator, Evelyn Scarborough always had an open door and a warm heart waiting for students, teachers, and parents of Northside ISD.
Growing up in Savannah, Georgia, Scarborough was the youngest of four girls in a family that placed a big emphasis on education. She graduated high school at 16 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Savannah State College and later, a master’s degree from Our Lady of the Lake University.
Scarborough began her career in education in 1956 soon after marrying her husband Robert. His Air Force career took the couple and Scarborough’s teaching posts from Puerto Rico to Georgia and to Maine. The Scarborough family, including daughter Stephanie, finally settled in Leon Valley in 1969 when Robert was stationed at Kelly AFB.
After arriving in San Antonio, Scarborough taught first grade in Edgewood ISD, but it was when she came to Northside in 1972 that she found her niche as a special education counselor. She had a knack for calming and comforting students during individual and group counseling sessions and made herself available to provide counseling any time, day or night. She was equally devoted to parents, and helped them decipher their child’s educational and psychological assessments and frequently made home visits to parents.
Districtwide, Scarborough was instrumental in the development of numerous services for special education students and their parents, including On Job Training and the Early Childhood Collaboration. A tireless advocate for special education students, perhaps her most significant work came in helping to remove the stigma of special education.
Throughout her career, Scarborough and her family were active in the Leon Valley and Marshall High School communities. Robert served on Leon Valley City Council, and Stephanie was a member of the 1977 Ram band that broke the Guinness World record for longest continuous playing band. Evelyn, a band booster, stayed with the band the entire time.
Scarborough retired in 1992, but the District wasn’t ready to let her go and asked her to continue working part-time as a special education coordinator. She retired permanently in 2004 after 32 years with Northside.
Scarborough, who recently became a grandmother, is a longtime member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church and continues to stay active as a volunteer with several organizations, including Top Ladies of Distinction, Top Teens of America, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the Leon Valley Events Committee.
Scobee Elementary School was the first school named in honor of F. R. "Dick" Scobee, the commander of the Challenger Space Shuttle Crew.
Scobee was born a May 19, 1939. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1957 and was stationed at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. He was accepted as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1978. He was pilot on the STS 41-C in 1984, logging a total of 168 hours in space during the mission. He then served as spacecraft commander of the Orbiter Challenger, which exploded during launch from the Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986.
Scobee was chosen as the school's namesake not only because he was a hero who challenged us to "reach for the stars," but also because he had many personal ties to San Antonio.
Henry Steubing, Jr. was born on May 27, 1872 in New Braunfels. He was born to German immigrants Henry Steubing and Katherine Margarethe Wetz. When Henry was 13 years old, his family moved to a farm near San Antonio. The farm was located on what is now Bandera Road at Leon Creek. While growing up, Henry attended school in Helotes.
On May 27, 1896, Henry married Francis Bormann, who had grown up on a neighboring farm, and together they raised nine children. To support such a large family, Henry worked primarily as a farmer and a carpenter. He was also a leader in the community. He helped to build the Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes and established a public school in Leon Valley, where he was a member of the first school board.
Henry Steubing, Jr. loved to read, especially the works of Zane Grey. Henry believed that a good education was very important. Another love was music, and he played the violin and several brass instruments. His music was well-known at Hermann Sons' Hall, a dance hall on Braun Road.
In 1957, Henry Steubing, Jr. passed away at the age of 85, leaving a legacy of influential leadership in the communities of Leon Valley and San Antonio. He left many memories for his children and grandchildren to pass on to the more than 200 descendants living today, many of whom live in Helotes, Leon Valley, and San Antonio.
John Paul Stevens was born on April 20, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois, as the youngest of Ernest and Elizabeth Stevens' four sons. His father made a fortune in the insurance and hotel business and owned the Stevens Hotel, which has since become the Chicago Hilton. The Stevens lived near the University of Chicago campus and sent their sons to the university's laboratory school for preparatory education. Stevens attended college at the University of Chicago, following his father's footsteps, and participated in a wide variety of campus activities and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1941. A year after graduation, Stevens married Elizabeth Sheeren, with whom he had a son and three daughters. Stevens and his first wife divorced in 1979 and he married Maryann Simon a year later.
Stevens enlisted in the Navy during World War II. In his position as part of a Navy code-breaking team, Stevens earned the Bronze Star. Following the war, he again followed his father's path and entered Northwestern University Law School to study law. Stevens distinguished himself at Northwestern by becoming editor-in-chief of the school's law review and graduating with the highest grades in the law school's history. After graduating, he served a term as law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Wiley Rutledge.
Stevens joined a prominent law firm in Chicago specializing in antitrust law and creating a reputation as a talented antitrust lawyer. He left the firm to start his own practice after three years and also began teaching law at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago law schools. His abilities in antitrust laws earned him positions with various special counsels to the House of Representatives and the U.S. Attorney General's office.
Stevens became known as a fair-minded and able counsel. Richard Nixon appointed him to the Unites States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1970. On the appeals court, Stevens continued to establish his reputation as a notable legal thinker.
President Gerald Ford appointed Stevens to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1975. As a justice, Stevens has avoided simple conservative or liberal labels. As the Court moved toward the right during the Reagan and Bush presidencies, however, Stevens appeared more and more liberal relative to the make-up of the Court. Although Stevens is difficult to predict, he will typically examine the facts of each case carefully and on its own merits. He also seeks to defer to the judgments of others who he feels are better suited to decide. He has demonstrated considerable judicial restraint and deference to the Congress. Today, Stevens is the most senior justice, both in age and years of service.
Source: www.oyez.com
Coke Robert Stevenson (1888-1975), Governor of Texas, named for Methodist bishop Thomas Coke, was born on March 20, 1888, in a log cabin in Mason County, Texas. His father was a schoolteacher and surveyor in various Hill Country areas, including Sutton County, where Stevenson finished his formal schooling. As a teenager Coke went into the business of hauling freight between Junction and Brady. He studied history and bookkeeping by the light of campfires, sold the freight line, and went to work for the Junction State Bank. He studied law at night, left the bank to practice law, and organized and became president of the First National Bank in Junction.
As a young man he was involved in many small businesses in Kimble County, including the Junction Warehouse Company, a motion-picture house, a hardware store, an automobile agency, a weekly newspaper, a drug business, and the establishment of the Las Lomas Hotel in Junction. In Kimble County he served as county attorney (1914-18) and as county judge (1919-21). He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1928, and he was a member of that body from 1929 to 1939. He served as speaker of the House from 1933 to 1937, the first person ever to hold that office for two successive terms. Stevenson was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and served from 1939 to August 4, 1941, when he became Governor after W. Lee O'Daniel resigned to become United States Senator. Stevenson was elected Governor on his own in 1942. He was reelected in 1944 by an overwhelming vote, and his tenure from August 1941, to January 1947, was the longest consecutive service of any Texas governor up to that time.
Stevenson's record in the Legislature showed a concern for soil conservation laws, expansion of and a permanent financing policy for the state highway system, an enlarged building program for the University of Texas, and increases in teachers' salaries. He was a strong believer in fiscal responsibility, and as Governor he emphasized conservative financial policies; his administration began with a state treasury deficit and ended with a surplus. Not an extremist on states rights, he was nevertheless against the centralization of governmental power, and he opposed some of the domestic policies of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
Coke Stevenson was married to Fay Wright on Dec. 24, 1912; they had one son. During Stevenson's first year as Governor, in January 1942, his wife died. He remained a widower until January 16, 1954, when he married widow Marguerite (King) Heap; they had one daughter. When he left the Governor's Mansion in 1947, Stevenson returned to his 15,000-acre ranch at Telegraph, near Junction. His last political race, for United States Senator in 1948, was the only one he ever lost, and it perhaps gave him more national attention than he had ever received before. That election, which he lost to Lyndon Baines Johnson by 87 votes, was the closest senatorial race in the nation's history.
Stevenson, a tall, quiet, pipe-smoking, Western-type man, died at the age of 87 on June 28, 1975, in Shannon Memorial Hospital in San Angelo. He was buried on his ranch in Kimble County.
Eldon S. Branda, “Coke Robert Stevenson,” in Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 30, 2009.
Katherine Stinson (1891-1977), pilot, was born in Fort Payne, Alabama, on Feb. 14, 1891, 12 years before the Wright brothers made their first successful flight. As a young woman, she planned to study music in Europe so that she could be a piano teacher. In order to earn enough money for her trip, she decided to become a stunt pilot and, after convincing her parents, asked Max Lillie of Chicago to instruct her. Lillie, one of the early great aviators, looked at the petite young woman and promptly refused. However she persuaded him to take her up in one of his planes, and after a mere four hours of instruction she was flying alone. Lillie then agreed to teach her stunt flying, and Stinson's career in aviation was underway.
On July 12, 1912, Katherine Stinson became the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license. As the "Flying Schoolgirl" she toured the country and thrilled thousands of viewers with her stunts at county and state fairs. Before long she not only relinquished her plans to study music, but also inspired her family to become involved in aviation. In 1913 Katherine and her mother, Emma, founded the Stinson Aviation Company in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the family's home at the time. Katherine's younger sister, Marjorie Stinson, and two younger brothers, Jack and Eddie, also adopted flying careers. Later that year Stinson moved to San Antonio. Lillie had gained permission from the United States Army to turn the parade grounds of Fort Sam Houston into a flying field. Furthermore, San Antonio's mild climate and flat terrain offered an ideal place to fly and practice stunts. The family soon joined her and established the Stinson School of Flying. Between supervising the construction and repair of the planes and managing the airfield, Stinson taught herself increasingly daring tricks. The loop-the-loop stunt was considered particularly dangerous. In a plane she had built herself, she became the first woman and fourth pilot in the United States to master the stunt.
She also pioneered in other areas of aviation. She was the first person of either sex to fly an airplane at night. Moreover, in 1915, in Los Angeles, California, she flew into the dark sky to spell out "CAL" with flares, thus becoming the first pilot to perform night skywriting. In 1916, the year Amelia Earhart graduated from high school, Stinson became the first woman to fly in the Orient. Fan clubs developed all over Japan to honor the "Air Queen." In 1917 she set a long-distance record of 610 miles by flying alone from San Diego to San Francisco, over the mountains of Southern California. When the United States Post Office started air-mail service, Stinson became the first woman to be commissioned as a mail pilot. She broke her flying record while carrying airmail with a 783-mile flight from Chicago to near New York City.
When the United States became involved in World War I and the Army asked for volunteer pilots, Stinson applied, but the military twice rejected her applications because she was a woman. Undaunted, she volunteered her services as an ambulance driver and was accepted. The combination of Europe's cold climate and brutal wartime conditions proved, ironically, to be more injurious to her health than her career as a stunt pilot had been. When she returned from the war, she struggled to overcome tuberculosis by moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her recuperation called for a new, less frenetic life. Trading aviation for training in architecture, she designed apartments in Santa Fe that were influenced by the architecture of the Pueblo Indians and Spanish missions. In 1928 she married Miguel Otero, Jr., a veteran airman who later became a district court judge. They had no children. At the age of 86, the "world's greatest woman pilot" died in Santa Fe on July 8, 1977. She was buried in Santa Fe National Cemetery.
Christine A. Keffeler, “Katherine Stinson,” in Handbook of Texas Online, accessed Sept. 14, 2009.
Distinguished jurist, effective administrator, but poor politician, William Howard Taft spent four uncomfortable years in the White House from 1909 to 1913. Large, jovial, conscientious, he was caught in the intense battles between Progressives and conservatives, and got scant credit for the achievements of his administration.
Born in 1857, the son of a distinguished judge, he graduated from Yale, and returned to Cincinnati to study and practice law. He rose in politics through Republican judiciary appointments, through his own competence and availability, and because, as he once wrote facetiously, he always had his "plate the right side up when offices were falling."
But Taft much preferred law to politics. He was appointed a Federal circuit judge at 34. He aspired to be a member of the Supreme Court, but his wife, Helen Herron Taft, held other ambitions for him.
His route to the White House was via administrative posts. President McKinley sent him to the Philippines in 1900 as chief civil administrator. Sympathetic toward the Filipinos, he improved the economy, built roads and schools, and gave the people at least some participation in government.
President Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and by 1907 had decided that Taft should be his successor. The Republican Convention nominated him the next year. Taft disliked the campaign--"one of the most uncomfortable four months of my life." But he pledged his loyalty to the Roosevelt program, popular in the West, while his brother Charles reassured eastern Republicans. William Jennings Bryan, running on the Democratic ticket for a third time, complained that he was opposing two candidates, a western progressive Taft and an eastern conservative Taft.
Progressives were pleased with Taft's election. "Roosevelt has cut enough hay," they said; "Taft is the man to put it into the barn." Conservatives were delighted to be rid of Roosevelt – the "mad messiah."
Taft recognized that his techniques would differ from those of his predecessor. Unlike Roosevelt, Taft did not believe in the stretching of Presidential powers. He once commented that Roosevelt "ought more often to have admitted the legal way of reaching the same ends."
Taft alienated many liberal Republicans who later formed the Progressive Party, by defending the Payne-Aldrich Act which unexpectedly continued high tariff rates. A trade agreement with Canada, which Taft pushed through Congress, would have pleased eastern advocates of a low tariff, but the Canadians rejected it. He further antagonized Progressives by upholding his Secretary of the Interior, accused of failing to carry out Roosevelt's conservation policies.
In the angry Progressive onslaught against him, little attention was paid to the fact that his administration initiated 80 antitrust suits and that Congress submitted to the states amendments for a Federal income tax and the direct election of Senators. A postal savings system was established, and the Interstate Commerce Commission was directed to set railroad rates.
In 1912, when the Republicans renominated Taft, Roosevelt bolted the party to lead the Progressives, thus guaranteeing the election of Woodrow Wilson. Taft, free of the Presidency, served as Professor of Law at Yale until President Harding made him Chief Justice of the United States, a position he held until just before his death in 1930. To Taft, the appointment was his greatest honor; he wrote: "I don't remember that I ever was President."
Source: www.whitehouse.gov
A native of Palestine, Texas, William J. Thornton was born on Aug. 17, 1923. When he graduated from high school, World War II was being fought in Europe. Bill Thornton joined the Army Air Corps and became the leader of the team in North Africa to set up America's first High Frequency Direction Finder Network.
His military training would eventually lead to a 30-year civil service career culminating with retirement in 1987 as Deputy Director for Manpower and Organization at Electronic Security Command at Kelly AFB.
Prior to joining ESC, Thornton earned an education degree from Texas A&M University in 1950 and was a teacher and coach for Brenham High School, where he taught the importance of "learning the basics" and "being competitive."
Bill and his wife, Lois (who passed away in 1994), were always interested in their four children's health, homework, report cards, school friends, and school events. All four of his children graduated from Holmes High School and pursued professional careers. Thornton's interest in his children and their education led him to serve Northside as President of the Lackland City Elementary PTA, Rayburn Middle School PTA, Holmes High School Booster Club, and Treasurer of the Northside Council of PTAs. It was his involvement in PTA that led him to run for the Northside School Board.
Thornton was elected to the Board in April 1968 and served seven consecutive three-year terms. He served as School Board President in 1973, 1974, and 1985, as Vice President three times, and Secretary twice. He represented NISD on the Bexar County Federation of School Boards (where he served two terms as President) and on the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of School Boards.
NISD achievements to which William J. Thornton contributed include reading specialists and music teachers for all the schools, the PALS (Parents Assisting Learning) volunteer program, successful bond elections to construct 30 new schools and accommodate enrollment growth, the Athletic Complex, Paul Taylor Field House, Northside Memorial Stadium, Aquatics Center, Inselmann Field, tennis and soccer facilities, and Northside Activity Center.
Other initiatives Thornton endorsed include Northside's nationally-recognized pre-kindergarten and bilingual education programs, special education, high school advanced placement courses, and the competitive athletics program for female students.
Mr. Thornton passed away on Feb. 23, 2007 at the age of 83. He was an advocate for the District, for all children and for the educational community.
Former state Senator and Representative Robert “Bob” Vale always will be remembered as one of the infamous “Dirty Thirty” and “Killer Bees,” but day in and day out, he was a family man who channeled his energy and political skill toward improving education, health care, and the environment for the working class of Texas.
The third of nine children, Bob Vale was born in 1931 in Roma-Los Saenz, Texas, where he developed his appreciation of and commitment to education. He was the salutatorian of the Manuel Guerra High School Class of 1950 and was valedictorian at St. Mary’s University Law School, where he graduated in 1954.
Vale served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1954 to 1956 and received an honorable discharge as a first lieutenant. He started his own law practice in San Antonio in 1956 and married his wife, Theresa, a native of England, in 1958 after a whirlwind romance.
Vale’s involvement in community initiatives and political campaigns led to his own successful run for office in 1965. He served seven terms in the Texas House of Representatives, becoming the first Bexar County legislator to serve on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. By the time he was elected to the Senate in 1978, he was ranked eighth in seniority among 150 house members and had served on every major House committee.
During his 20 years in state office – including two terms in the Senate – Vale changed the educational landscape of San Antonio by playing an instrumental role in securing funding for the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the San Antonio State School. He also was a key supporter of the Tuition Equalization Grants bill that has given thousands of students in Texas access to a college education.
Known for his organization and analytical mind, Vale also authored and pushed for bills that protected the environment and improved access to health care.
The fervent advocate of legislative reform gained notoriety in 1971 when he joined the “Dirty Thirty.” The group of 30 legislators opposed House leadership and successfully implemented some reforms in the legislative process.
Then, in 1979, Vale was one of a dozen senators who hid for 4½ days at the end of the 66th legislative session to block a bill that would have mandated an early presidential primary in Texas. The flight of the “Killer Bees” effectively killed the bill.
All this was done while juggling birthdays, swim meets, and class projects for his four children, Kathleen, Michael, Shelagh, and Maureen. The Vales settled in Northwest San Antonio in 1971 and became a fixture at Holmes High School, the alma mater of their three youngest children.
Bob Vale passed away from brain cancer in 1992 at the age of 60, leaving behind a legacy of passion and compassion that today continues to benefit the state of Texas and the San Antonio community.
Eduardo Villarreal Jr. contributed 38 years of his life to education, and 23 of those were with Northside ISD. He started as a classroom teacher at Cable Elementary in 1966 and was the first male kindergarten teacher in Northside. Two years later he became the Principal at Cable, making him the first Hispanic Principal in NISD. In 1971 he was named the principal of Forest Hills Elementary School. He was appointed Director of Federal Programs in 1975, and in 1979 became the Assistant Superintendent for Federal Programs.
Villarreal was born in Laredo, Texas on Sept. 17, 1928. He attended Texas Military Institute in San Antonio, and graduated from St. Mary's University. Villarreal was married to Acelie and had three sons, Eduardo III, Manuel, and Roberto.
In November 1989, Villarreal retired from Northside. He passed away on Dec. 24, 1990. On May 5, 1991, under the principalship of Dr. Benito Resendez, Forest Hills Elementary was officially renamed Eduardo Villarreal Jr. Elementry School.
From high school valedictorian and star athlete to teacher, coach and administrator, Carl Wanke has always been the leader of the pack.
Now as namesake of Carl Wanke Elementary School, he’ll serve as a role model for the Wanke Wolves for years to come.
Wanke graduated from Edgewood High School in 1955, and went on to St. Mary’s University, where he played both basketball and baseball and earned his bachelor’s degree. He later was inducted into the St. Mary’s Athletic Hall of Fame for both basketball and baseball.
Wanke began his 30-year career in education 1959 as a teacher and coach at Northside High School, later renamed Marshall High School. After teaching social studies at Rayburn Middle School and earning a master’s degree in education from Our Lady of the Lake University, Wanke went on to serve as assistant principal at Jay and Holmes high schools and as principal at Jones Middle School and Marshall High School.
During this time, Wanke also belonged to the Southwest Basketball Officials Association and served as an executive board member from 1967-1975.
His fairness, straightforward nature and ability to push students to reach their full potential propelled him to central office where he became Northside’s first director of pupil personnel in 1979, and then executive director for secondary administration in 1990.
As a central office administrator, Wanke worked tirelessly to ensure all campuses were safe for students and staff. He developed anti-vandalism programs as well as “Positively Northside,” a curriculum to teach students about the District’s discipline policies. He also implemented Northside’s “No Nonsense” discipline policy to rid schools and campus activities of weapons, fights, drugs and alcohol.
Wanke retired in 1993 but continues to sponsor youth activities and maintains membership in the National Congress of Parent-Teacher Association, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Fraternity and St. Mary’s University Booster Club. He and his wife Jane have a combined family of five children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Dr. Joe Ward's roots in education run deep. His father was a coach and teacher at various schools in Texas including Edison High School, where he taught health, PE, and Mechanical Drawing beginning in 1931. Joe says that he experienced "advanced placement in dancing" at an early age since his parents chaperoned many Edison dances, and many of the high school girls would ask him to dance although he ended up sound asleep in the back of the car by 9 p.m.
He attended Benjamin Franklin Elementary School and graduated from Edison High School (now Whittier Middle School). Only 11 years of education were available during the Depression years. He played football, basketball and track as each came into season; however, math was his favorite subject possibly because of the soft voice of his favorite math teacher. "I had to listen very carefully to be sure I didn't miss anything," he said.
During World War II, his father served as the director of the downtown YMCA, while his mother became the teacher and Principal (and the coach, the bus driver, and the cafeteria manager) at Woodlawn Hills Elementary School. "My mother was proclaimed to be the first woman football coach," he said proudly.
Only 16 years old when he entered the University of Texas at Austin, Joe made plans to study electrical engineering in anticipation of entering the Navy V-12 program in Electrical Engineering. Joe served aboard the USS Denver until his discharge and re-entered UT Austin majoring in mathematics in 1946. It was here that he met his future wife, Bettie. A true Longhorn fan, he has a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a master's degree in educational psychology, and a doctorate in educational psychology and mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.
In 1951, he began working as a Personnel Research Psychologist for the Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center at Lackland AFB. He also served as director of the Educational Technology Project for the Southwest Educational Development Lab. He is the recipient of many awards and accolades, including the Texas State Board of Education "Hero for Children" award, and the Gene Holmgreen Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award from the YMCA of San Antonio and the Hill Country for more than 25 years of service.
Ward passed away in 2011 and is survived by his beloved wife Bettie; two sons, Bradley and Kent; and three grandchildren.
"Over the years, I have adopted a motto that I have lived by," Ward used to say. "Work hard, play hard, and rest hard...and always try to catch the children being good!"
Earl Warren (1891 to 1974) was a California district attorney and 30th Governor of California, but is best known as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953-1969. His term of office was marked by numerous rulings affecting among other things, the legal status of racial segregation, civil rights, separation of church and state, and police arrest procedure in the United States.
He was born in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in Bakersfield, California, and attended the University of California, Berkeley both as an undergraduate and for law school. Warren then worked for five years for private law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. He went to work for San Francisco County in 1920 and in 1925 was appointed as District Attorney of Alameda County when the incumbent resigned. He was re-elected to three four-year terms. As a tough-on-crime District Attorney, Warren had a reputation for high-handedness, however, none of his convictions was ever overturned on appeal. Warren became a well-known figure in California and was appointed to the Board of Regents of the University of California while district attorney. In 1939, he became Attorney General of the State of California. He ran for Governor of California in 1942 as a Republican and was elected. California law at the time allowed individuals to run in any primary elections they chose. In 1946, Warren managed the singular feat of winning the Republican, Democratic, and Progressive primary elections and thus ran unopposed in the 1946 general election. He was elected to a third term (as a Republican) in 1950. Warren's state service was marred by his support for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. But it was also marked by laying the infrastructure to support a two-decade boom that lasted from the end of World War II until the mid 1960s. In particular, Warren and UC President Clark Kerr presided over construction of a renowned public university system that provided inexpensive, high quality education to generations of Californians. Warren ran for Vice President of the United States in 1948 on a ticket with Thomas Dewey. They lost narrowly to Harry Truman and Alben Barkley. In 1953, Warren was appointed Chief Justice of the United States by Dwight D. Eisenhower. To the surprise of many, Warren was a much more liberal justice than had been anticipated. He was able to craft a long series of unanimous decisions including Brown v. Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954), which overthrew the segregation of public schools; "One man one vote", which dramatically altered the relative power of rural regions in many states; and Miranda from the case Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966), which required that certain rights of a person being interrogated while in police custody be clearly explained, including the right to an attorney. Warren retired from the court in 1969. Warren headed the Warren Commission that theorized that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was the act of a single individual acting alone. (3 of the 7 Warren Commission commissioners did not agree with the magic bullet theory) Warren died in Washington, DC. The Earl Warren Bill of Rights Project is named in his honor.
Source: Biography Base
H. B. Zachry was born on Sept. 27, 1901, in Uvalde, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1922 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. In 1924 he began his construction company in Laredo by building a single bridge. After the Great Depression, Mr. Zachry moved his company to San Antonio, where it became a worldwide conglomerate that now includes construction, oil and gas, cement manufacturing, ranching, gravel and sand mining, insurance, and real estate.
Known for his personal integrity, Mr. Zachry was one of the richest but most modest businessmen in Texas. Locally, his projects included the Hilton Palacio del Rio, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital, and the Interstate 35-Loop 410 interchange, which at the time was the largest single state highway project ever let.
Education of Texas students was always of utmost importance to Mr. Zachry. Thousands of students have attended Texas colleges because of Mr. Zachry's contributions for scholarships and academic support. Many of these students never knew who provided their support, and that was the way he wanted it. He specifically ordered college officials to never disclose the total amount of his contributions, but it is known to have been in the millions of dollars.
Mr. Zachry served on the Coordinating Board of Texas Colleges and Universities, the A&M Board of Regents, and the Alamo Heights ISD Board of Trustees. He also was chairman of the HemisFair '68 Board, which helped spur development of San Antonio's tourism industry.
H. B. Zachry died on Sept. 5, 1984. Because he did not seek the limelight, the full extent of his good works will probably never be known to the public.
Sources: San Antonio Light, San Antonio Express-News
