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According to
The Handbook of Texas Online, there were two schools in Novohrad
as early as 1882. One school was for Bohemian children and the Grieve
School was for German children. I did not find any details on the
Grieve School except that at some point it was consolidated with
the school at Praha,
located in Fayette
County. The other school at Novohrad
eventually consolidated with the Moulton
school district sometime during the 1950s and for the most part,
the town ceased to exist.
The following article appeared in a 1933 issue of the Lavaca
County Tribune and gives some interesting information about
the Grieve School at that time. So far, I have not found any data
as to how much longer the school survived. The story below has not
been edited and is featured as when first published.
The Tribune, Jan. 31, 1933 –
The Grieve School was established at the same time that the Novohrad
School began. This was in 1882. The Bohemians established the Novohrad
School and the Germans started the Grieve School as a result of
some rivalry between the Germans and the Bohemians of this community.
The school was named for Mr. Henry Grieve because he permitted the
school to be located in the southwest corner of his pasture.
Mr. E.O. Meitzen was the first teacher of the school. He was followed
by Mr. F.J. Pesek, and Mr. Pesek was followed by Mr. Alois Morkovsky.
At one time the school was known as the Pesek School, because of
some error.
The school trustees were very obliging to teachers during this age.
On one occasion, the teacher employed had but an elementary certificate
issued by Fayette
County, and was not eligible to teach the Grieve School which
was located in Lavaca
County. So the trustees, not to be outdone by this fact, moved
the school house from the southwest corner of the Grieve pasture
to the northeast corner of the same, in order to place the school
in Fayette County
so that a favorite teacher would be eligible to teach it.
This was in 1892. The building was placed just six inches over the
line in Fayette County.
Then in 1907, a severe storm blew the building completely back into
Lavaca County
where it has stood ever since
At this time the school had two sets of trustees (one from Fayette
County and one from Lavaca
County). The Lavaca
County trustees were: F.J. Pesek, John Foitek, and John Zapalac.
The Fayette County
trustees were: John Migl, Joe Hajek, and Charles Nesrsta.
Citizens promoting the earliest school in the Grieve community were:
Messrs. Grieve, Fojtik, Pesek, and Hildebrand.
Land owners of the Grieve School District are: H.B. Grieve 274.66
acres; Mrs. F.J. Pesek, 167 acres; John Fojtik, Sr., 222 acres;
Chas. Zapalac, 100 acres; Adolph Zapalac, 80 acres; John Kristinek,
120 acres; Joe Kristinek, 120 acres; Chas. Kristinek, 100 acres;
F.J. Okruhlik, 40 acres; F.H. Pesek, 41 acres; F. Janek, 107 acres.
A list of the Grieve school trustees and teachers follows:
Teachers from 1882 to 1933 were: E.O. Meitzen, F.J. Pesek, Wm. Eilers,
A. Morkovsky, E.H. Gillar, J.W. Stevens, Gussie Franta, Mary Olsovsky,
Marie Mozisek, John Krhovjak, Frances Klimitchek, George Kocian,
Jim Parma, John Robinson, Margaret Seger, Edward E. Darilek, Alberta
Hull, and Ben Kocian. Trustees from 1882 to 1933 were: John Zapalac,
John Fojtik, F.J. Pesek, H.B. Grieve, John Kristinek, John Muska,
Willie Grieve, and Jim J. Kocian.
© Murray
Montgomery
July 27, 2012 column
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