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The school in Wayside
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone, April 2004 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Founded in 1893 as a rural school district, the town was known as
Beulah for a daughter of the family who donated land for the school.
With the arrival of the post office in 1897, the postmistress changed
the name to Wayside.
Cowboys of the JA Ranch were the areas first settlers and Wayside
became a supply point - first for the cowboys and later for farmers
when irrigation made farming feasible.
The community had 40 residents in 1940. This expanded to 100 by the
late 60s, but in 1969 it suddenly dropped to only thirty-six. From
1970 to 2000 the population was listed as forty. |
WAYSIDE
SCHOOL by David Higgins
Photos Courtesy of Suzan Caudle, Lubbock, 9-05
Wayside school, is in the SW corner of Armstrong County. |
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The school sign reads "Wayside #7" which apparently signifies the
seventh school district in the county. |
| Each district
having only one school and covering approximately 100 square miles.
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The
trophy case contained banners, ribbons and trophies, all from the
30's & 40's and mostly for boys & girls basketball achievement. |
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This
was the only schoolhouse we have seen so far that still had the blackboards.
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The
playground equipment is still intact, including a functional merry-go-round
and seesaw. |
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The building is still in good shape and appears to be an "occasional"
community center. |
The population
of this community appears to be around 20.
- David Higgins, Lubbock, Texas, September 2005
More Texas
Schoolhouses |
Wayside
Texas Forum
Subject:
Wayside
Dear Texas Escapes, I was surfing the web and came across your magazine
showing the Wayside School and it's surroundings. I was raised in
Wayside. My mother and dad were Charles and Inabelle Kennedy. I
was also related to the Stocketts and Fishers. Most of my family
is buried at Wayside. I lived there from 1945 until leaving for
college in 1963. My parents sold the farm in 1972. The school pictures
bring back so many memories. I have done a lot of math and spelling
on those blackboards. I was in school there from 1952 through 1958.
After that I attended the 8th-12th grades in Happy, Texas Public
Schools. I have been gone from the area since attending college
at Texas Tech in 1963 but I do occasionally return to visit and
to enjoy the Palo Dura Canyon north of Wayside where I spent most
of my childhood roaming the canyons either on foot or horseback
hunting and enjoying the outdoors. Oh, if life were only as simple
now as it was then. We had things so good then. Thanks again for
bringing back some wonderful memories. - Richard Kennedy, Lewis,
Kansas, December 28, 2007
Subject:
Wayside
I enjoyed the article about Wayside. My mother, Alice and I lived
there with my Aunt Alene and Uncle Man (J.E) Littlefield for a while.
I attended school there in the building shown, was the only fourth
grader there, shared upper grade room. Ate my first "commodity"
school lunch in a lunch room above the gym prepared by mothers,
ate lots of sour (cabbage) and drank lots of grapefruit juice, played
baseball (though I didn't want to) and made some friends. Attended
the church that was a combination congregation alternated Sundays.
One winter the snow was DEEP, the cattle walked out of the fields
over the fences and the clothes line in the back yard was almost
under. I had to bend to touch it.
Played pilot on a tractor with my cousin, James Eugene Littlefield,
who went on to be an aeronautical engineer and recently went back
to work after retiring (twice). Smart man. Lives in Arlington now.
I could ramble on and on. Like most old ladies. This is meant just
to 'Thank You' for the memories of a good place to grow up in. -
Jean Jennings, Amarillo, Texas, April 23, 2005
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