| |
| Mozelle
consists of The Old High School and the buildings connected with it. There are
a few residences close by, but no sign of a town center. ("Mozelle town as
you refer to it, actually never existed as such." See Forum
)
We knew of Mozelle from a young woman we met in Coleman's Owl Pharmacy.
She had attended school there, so it couldn't have been closed that long ago.
It's a lonesome place, but the isolation is pleasant. It would be relaxing
to have a picnic here, although we're sure it would paralyze a victim of agoraphobia.
The Handbook of Texas has no entry for Mozelle.
© John Troesser
Mozelle
School 1945-1946 Yearbook - Old photos
Mozelle
School Demolished - Photos today
Mozelle
Texas Forum - Mozelle School, sports, and deaths in Mozelle |
| | The
Mozelle High School Storm Cellar
While storm cellars (or shelters) are fairly
common in west Texas, this is the first one we saw for a whole school.
TE
Photo, 2000 | |
|
Mozelle
School 1945-1946 Yearbook
"I love your website ! I have contacted you before about the history
of Independence, Washington County,
Texas.
Today I purchased a 1945-1946 old yearbook / annual for the
Mozelle School in Coleman County, Texas . In checking your website I was sad to
learn the building is being demolished . Thought you might preserve what it looked
like at its time of glory!" - John Gilmartin, Crockett
and Independence Texas, April
11, 2011 |
Mozelle
High School Building
Photo courtesy John Gilmartin |
Mozelle
School Home Economics Building
Photo courtesy John Gilmartin |
Mozelle
School Band House
Photo courtesy John Gilmartin |
Mozelle
School Demolished
Editor’s Note:
In a remote corner of Coleman County the owner of
the former Mozelle High School has taken on the formidable task of demolishing
the building. Although there never was a proper town of Mozelle (just the school),
the school was as special to the Mozelle alumni as any other school was to its
former students – probably more so.
Owners of private property have the
right to do whatever they wish with their property and if the sizeable town of
Denison
couldn’t save its beautiful
former high school, there wasn’t a thread of hope for the ugly duckling that
was Mozelle HS.
Our inclusion of the photos is just to point out that
vintage
schools in Texas are disappearing from the landscape at an alarming rate and
to ask the owner of the property if he can at least keep the memorial that was
placed there by the school students or donate it to the county historical society
so it might be saved.
Thanks to Misty Johnson for sending the photos
on October 10, 2007. Her letter follows:
“I attended school in Mozelle Texas
and had recently gone back to visit. I had been there a few years ago and my husband
and I were able to walk up the building and look in the windows. This time I was
shocked to see it's being torn down. Now the Mozelle as we knew it will be all
but gone.” |
 |
Mozelle
School main entrance
June 2007 Photo courtesy Misty Johnson |
Mozelle
School entrance close-up
June 2007 Photo courtesy Misty Johnson |
Mozelle School former gymnasium
June 2007 Photo courtesy Misty Johnson |
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Mozelle Texas ForumSubject:
Mozelle School, Sports...
As
one of your contributors noted, Mozelle was never really a town although it did
have a store at one point. It was primarily a school, all 12 grades. There is
a history that was published in the Eighties, I believe.
My father, Sherwood
Downey, graduated from the high school in the Forties, and my two brothers and
I did as well in the Seventies. My father also was the vocational agricultural
teacher there from 1968 until his retirement in 1983 (I think).
We lived
in a house on the school grounds; I walked to school every day, but it was only
a few hundred feet: no snow uphill, ever. The photo of the gym on your website
brought back memories especially: I worked one summer for the school when I was
17, and one of our jobs was to spraypaint the ceiling of the gym. We had this
tall scaffolding and a huge spray rig, and you'd climb up to the top in goggles
and a mask and spray for as long as you could stand the heat, about 15 minutes
at 115 degrees. What a tough way to make $1.25 a hour.
Mozelle played six-man
football, and we had some decent teams. My all-time favorite football memory was
when we won district my senior year in 1972. We played O'Brien in bi-district,
and we were trailing at half-time. We did an onside kick, recovered it and scored
and proceeded to do it again and again. We ended up winning something like 92-56.
We would have broken 100 since I intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown
in the 4th quarter, but there was a penalty. Funny what you remember decades later.
I also was the extra-point kicker. There weren't many decent kickers in six-man,
so extra points counted two points. I kicked nine that night; I was a soccer-style
kicker despite the fact I didn't play soccer, and neither did anyone else then.
Funny that I ended up writing about sports, but that's the main advantage of a
small school - you can play everything. I played football, basketball and golf,
in addition to running track.
Jaime Reyes, who commented
in 2003, was two years ahead of me in graduating from Mozelle. I haven't thought
of him in forty years. I didn't know that about the WPA, but I did remember about
the name.
Judging from the photos on the website, memories are about all
that will be left of the school pretty soon. Thanks for saving what you can. -
Mike L. Downey, December 17, 2011
Subject:
Mozelle never existed as a town, and Early Deaths in Mozelle
Dear TE,
As far as I know, Mozelle town as you refer to it, actually never existed as such.
After attending Los Creek grade school, (five miles south of Coleman) through
the second grade, from 1947 to 1948, Los Creek school was closed and students
were transferred to other schools, some to Coleman, and some to Mozelle, depending
on where in the county of Coleman you lived. I attended grade school at Mozelle,
from the third grade thru the ninth grade, from 1949 to 1956.
As I said,
Mozelle as a town never existed, I remember a small store across the road to the
south of the main building, a cafeteria, and some other shops, plus another building
where we had agricultural class, to the west of the school, or the rear. To the
northwest was another small building, that grade schoolers went to, before attending
junior high. This was removed a few years later, I think. It's hard to remember.
Farther out to the north west was the football field, and due north of the school
were a couple of small houses for teachers to reside in. Just outside the north
side of the school, or the gym, was an area that was where the flag pole was at,
and was used for softball, for grade schoolers. Farther North past the teachers
houses, was another area, where we played baseball, and it was hard ball. Mozelle
as a township never happened, it was just a country school, built on donated land,
and named after Mozelle Monsey, daughter of G. Monsey. Mozelle graduated 1957,
if I ever saw her, I don't remember her although I was there.
One point
of interest, is the granite marker, near the south side door and rear cement steps
of the school, if it is still there. When I first started there in grade school,
there was one name on it. It was Jim ??? somebody, but later I remember three
more names that were added.
1. Jim ??????
2. Rex Winslett
3. Lorena
June Allen
4. Jennean Jones
All of these were tragic deaths, I don't
remember the dates of their deaths, but do remember how they died. Jim ????, was
killed in a lightning strike. Rex Winslett was electrocuted in a water tank, changing
a pump for his father. Lorena June Allen died in childbirth. Jenean Jones died
when a basketball goal that had been laid down, in front of the gym, turned over
and landed on her face, near the bridge of her nose. I was in class when that
happened. I really hope the slate remained with just four names.
The
person that wrote the first article is right, it is a lonely place, nothing here
at all to attract attention, but for all of that I still remember some great times
there, though the names are growing dim in my memory, the faces still remain,
just the same as when I was a student there. If anyone has them, my picture will
be in the year books from 1950 to 1956. - Regards, Thomas W. Dickinson, Bangkok,
Thailand, September 17, 2006
P.S., a word on Los Creek school - it
remained standing for a few years after it was closed, then was torn down, It
was a red brick schoolhouse, with a cafeteria, two large class rooms, a study
hall, and of all things a stage. It had two outdoor restrooms, one for boys and
one for girls. This was this first time I had ever seen this and of course not
knowing the difference, I immediately went into the wrong rest room for the girls,
I got a spanking the first day of school, and mostly had no idea why.
Anyway, right across a county road, there was the Los Creek church house. It was
also where I was Baptized, and of course no longer exists, one thing though, it
did have a pumping oil well, in the south side of the parking area. - TWD
Mozelle
School
So happy to see your site! I graduated from Mozelle High School
in 1961. It was a great place to go to school. We went all through school with
almost the same classmates, so we were all good friends and many of us relatives.
We had great teachers and small classes, so I do believe that we had a good education.
Ed Burnan, Virginia Jameson, Audrey Holt, Miss Essie (McGregor). Patsy Lee, Eugenia
Pittard were special teachers that I remember. There were eight students that
graduated in 1961. All but one started 1st grade together with Aubrey Holt as
teacher. With any activity, everyone had to be involved, or there would not be
enough. Everybody was in almost everything. We went on long cold bus rides to
other small schools to play basketball or football. We had a 6 man football team.
We didn't have a band, so we would play a record over the intercom and the girls
would have a dance routine during half-time. Purple and White--dynamite - Casey
McClure, August 31, 2004
I graduated from Mozelle High School in 1970 having grown up in southern Coleman
County since the mid-1950's. Mozelle was named for the oldest daughter of Gordon
Monsey, who donated the land for the high school to be built on. I attended school
with one of her sons and hence knew that bit of its history. The school building
and gymnasium were built by the WPA (Work Projects Administration). - Jaime
Reyes, P.E., Euless, Texas, February 03, 2003
I
remember in the late sixties attending Sidney High School and playing against
Mozelle High School in six man football. It's sad to see that Mozelle has joined
the long list of Texas Ghost Towns. I remember visiting Sipe
Springs many times as a kid.
As a Tex-patriate living now in the
Washington DC area, I was happy to see your site on the web. It really brought
back a lot of memories. Keep up the great work! - Deja C
Anyone
with stories, photos or incidents of Mozelle's history is invited to share them
with our readers. Please contact
us. |
|
Photo courtesy Mike Price |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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