The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 19, 1986 Page: 1 of 28
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1836-1986
TWi The Tuna Herald
COVERING SWISHER COUNTY LIKE THE SUNSHINE * * ★
Vol. 78. No. 25
TWO SEC TIONS
THF: TIJI IA (Swisher County) HERAl D
THURSDAY. JUNE 19, 1986
mi
Flames Destroy Much Of Happy High School
MAYRI A FROWN IN HAPPY? Happy Schools Superintendent Hill
Mayfield turns away from the high school lire. 1 ater he said, "sse'll sur\ i\e it
we’re going to keep a smile'” (Stall Photo)
‘Happy People Won 9t
Be Down For Long!9
BV 1 Rl( IA HARGRAVE U
BY WENDELL TOOLEY
Tuesday morning after fire gutted the
top floor of the Happy High School
building most of the talk around Happy
was “how soon can we rebuild?”
According to T'ulia insurance man Sam
In its meeting last week the Tulia
School Board employed three more
school teachers: Robin Nelson at East
Ward. Susan Anderson at Highland
Elementary and Rick Wallace, high
school science
In other business the board:
Heard reports from Shirley Dalluge
and Roy Miller on the tests Tulia stu-
dents have taken (story in this edition of
I he Herald),
Renewed membership with the Equity
Center;
Approved High I unit Catastrophic
athletic coverage by Keystone Life Insu-
I WROTE AN EDITORIAL, last week
about cheap wheat and the price of
bread Alvin Moudy commented, “a box
of grape-nuts cereal costs about as much
as I get for a bushel of wheat ." Maybe
grapes are expensive (Hmmmm. wonder
if there are really any grapes in
grape-nuts)
THROUGH THE YEARS I’ve writ-
ten a lot of exciting interviews with many
people one. I particularly enjoyed
w riting was about Robert McKone’s suc-
cessful kidney transplant
I enjoyed sharing his excitement and
then relating it to our readers.
So, it was with a lot of sadness I
learned that he had died at the age of
31. Robert was a good citi/en. . we
express our svmpat hy to his many friends
and loved ones.
“HE GOT OFF WITH PROBA-
TION!” . . is an often heard expression
following various jury trials and judge
sentences. Just what does probation
mean'' Of course it means not going to
prison . and this bothers a lot of people
The Herald’s Tricia Hargrave went to
Plainview last week and interviewed the
adult probation officer and has written a
pretty interesting feature for this edition
of the Herald about all the ramifications
of “probation”.
I think you’ll find it interesting and
informative.
CONGRATULATIONS to Roger
and Millie Otwell on the birth of a brand
new daughter, Rachel, . . . born on
Father’s Day. maybe something offi-
cial next week.
LAST THURSDAY I was visiting
with a couple on the banks of Eagle Nest
Lake . bothof us preparing to board our
boats and try our luck at catching some
trout and salmon
I asked the woman, "where do you
live?” She replied. "Oh. a little town
south of Amarillo." I replied, "well, 1 live
in a little town south of Amarillo.”
T he couple was Quinton and Sybil Gill
of Happy. 1 didn’t get to check out their
“fishing iuck”. . mine wasn't very good.
Sadler, the first step in rebuilding is set-
tlement with the insurance company. "It
may be a day or two before an adjuster
from Houston can inspect the building."
Sadler added
He said it was insured for $1.5 million
ranee Company to all junior high and
high school football participants:
Awarded ihe student accident insu-
rance program for 1986-87 to Keystone
Life Insurance Company;
Approved purchase of personnel lift
for the maintenance department (used to
replace light bulbs in high ceiling
buildings);
Nominated Paul Belton of Borger to
TASB District 9TASB board of trustees.
I he board also discussed purchase of a
59 passenger school bus and placing a
voting box at Vigo Park. no action
taken.
WE’RE ALW AYS looking for some
crop our farmers could produce that
would make money. I have often thought
of onions. . and I not only think about
them .1 enjoy eating them.
However, after several years of observ-
ing onion farming at Floydada. . some-
times the price went bad . or the quality
of onion produced wasn't good enough
and our farmers lost money.
It seems that with any vegetable crop,
the farmer would be wise to try only a lew
acres, not a make or break situation.
I think our farmers who are trying
peppers this year are smart to try a lew
acres at first, and we certainly hope they
make a lot of money.
But. back to onions. . onions are
Texas' leading vegetable crop Onion
sales bring the state between $70 and
$100 million per year and the onion
industry has an overall impact of about
$350 million per year on the Texas
economy.
Most of us like "sweet" onions, the
Texas Grano 1015Y onion, a sweet
yellow onion is giving compeitors a run
for the money. I’ve been pulling some out
of my garden t hat I consider good eat ing
don't know what variety, but taste mighty
good with red beans and cornbread
Of course no hamburger is worth eat-
ing unless it has a big slice of onion inside.
This is probably w here I failed in rearing
fourchildren they all order hamburgers
without onions. . . .one likes his ham-
burgers without tomatoes
BACK IN 1936 trains from this area
transported school children to the Texas
Centennial in Dallas I didn’t get to make
the trip, but my brother did He brought
me a souvenir, a little blue 1936 Ford a
gift I treasured for many years.
Does anyone happen to have a picture
of Swisher people at the Dallas Centen-
nial .. .or perhaps Swisher people board-
ing the train for the trip'’
ANOTHER REQUEST. do you
have any relatives buried in Swisher
Cemeteries, who would have been 150
years of age this year'.’... you know, born
in 1836.
I he bla/e, which was discovered about
4:45 p.m began when electrical wiring
caught fire in the old gymnasium behind
the main two story high school building,
according to school superintendent Bill
Mayfield
I HI. .1 I.IA ll<t.II N< HOD, i I.ASS
OE 1936 has planned its 50th-year reun-
ion to begin with registration from 9:30
to 11:30 a.m. on July 19th in the fellow-
ship room of the First Presbyterian
C hurch in lulia.
Afternoon activities will be from 2:00
to 5:00 p.m. in the same location and will
feature a short program. Members of the
1935 and 1937 giaduating classes are
cordially invited to attend the afternoon
session.
Tor more information contact Edgar
Jennings, Box 65. Whiteface. Texas
79379.
THE DIABETIC (II R will meet
Thursday, June 19 at 12 noon, in the
Senior ( iti/ens ( enter in the Memorial
Building. Helpful hints for the diabetic
will be given by guest speaker. Gwen
Shannon, registered nurse of I ulia. The
program is free to the public and all dia-
betics are invited.
A REPRESENTATIVE of Social
Security will be at the courthouse annex
building each second and fourth Thurs-
day, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
MEDICARE: You can gel free help
with your Medicare claims by calling I-
800-442-2620 (TOLL FREE).
SOCIAL SECURITY: Many things
can be handled bv telephone, ( all 1-806-
293-9623 (TOLL CHARGE).
VIGO PARK HOMECOMING July
4 at community building (old school
house) dinner will be served, games, quilt
giveaway and old time visiting!
EH COUNCIL MEETING will meet
on Friday, June 20th at 9:30 a.m. The
open house has been canceled for this
date and rescheduled. A short TEH A
meeting will follow. Delegates from each
club will meet in the Slew Extension
Meeting room in the New Courthouse
Annex at 300 West Broadway in Tulia.
A PLEASANT TASK. . The 1986
Home Economics Task Force will meet
on Tuesday, June 24th at noon in the
New Extension Meeting Room located in
the New Courthouse Annex at 300 West
Broadway. All task force members are
asked to attend and to return their surv ey
form by June 20th.
SWEET SEC RETS. . will be shared
at the Diabetic Club meeting to be held
on Thursday, June 19th at 12 noon in the
Swisher Memorial Building Senior Citi-
zens Room. Registered Nurse, Gwyn
Shannon will discuss “Helpful Hints For
Diabetics”. Any diabetic or hypoglycemic
is invited to attend.
4H RECORD HITS.. Tulia 4H Club
is sponsoring a record book workshop on
Wednesday, June 25th from 2 til 4 p.m. at
the New Extension Office in the New
Courthouse Annex located at 300 W est
Broadway. Take 2 hours to plan for a
lifetime of record success!
THE 3RD ANNUAL Juneteenth Pic-
nic Celebration will be held Thursday,
June 19th at Conner Park. There will be a
Juneteenth Pageant beginning at 10:00.
following will be a Sag Rag Contest.
There will be a Bar-B-Que dinner served
at 12:30.
Ihe building was built in 1928.
May field and Larry Ray, school main-
tenance employee, were working on the
football field behind the school when
they saw smoke coming out of the gym
area.
Mayfield said the (lames went up the
back of the gym into the ceilingarea.
“ I he small gym was engulfed in flames
and then it went into the attic area and
the rest of the classrooms," he said May-
field and Ray shut doors in the school in
an attempt to keep wind from spreading
the (lames.
Units from Canyon. Tulia. Kress and
Happy responded to the lire, which
burned for more than two hours. Happy
Fire Chief Bill Andrews said
Firemen saved the east wing of the
building and gymnasium on the west.
The lower level of the school was
soaked by water as the bla/e was con-
tained. damaging computers and typew
riters in classrooms
“It’s just a matter ol assessing the dam-
age and making decisions.” Mayfield
said
Smiles were scarce in the community,
which boasts being the "town without a
frown" But the spirit was strong as stu-
dents and residents assisted firelighters in
the clean-up Other residents made sand-
wiches and passed them out to the fire-
lighters and onlookers.
“We'll survive it.” Mayfield said
“We’re going to keep a smile ”
“This kind of thing could hurt a com-
munity, but it can also pull it together,"
said Mike l ouis. coach and history
instructor. “We'll be teaching around
here somewhere w hen fall rolls around ”
Fire chief Wayne Nevins said surpus-
ingly Happy's water supply and water
pressure were adequate for the emer-
gency. "We had to favor the needs ol the
Canyon fire truck's snorkel that needed a
lot of water and was very effective in
fighting the second floor fire,” Nevins
added.
Nev ins said most all hoses were used as
fireplugs were two to three blocks away
Irom the school.
Tulia firemen received a call for aid
about 5 p.m. I hey rushed to Happy with
five units and some 20 volunteer firemen
The big new fire truck remained in I ulia.
should there have been a fire here
Thanks. . . .Happy!
Tulia Fire Chiel Wayne Nevins told
I he Herald I uesday morning that I ulia
volunteer firemen were most appreciative
of Happy women who served them sand-
wiches, coffee and cokes as they fought
the high school fire Monday
I ulia firemen received the call lor help
about 5 p.m Monday and finally returned
home about 9:30 p m
“ I he refreshments certainly gave us a
lift.” Nev ins added
School Superintendent
Applications Considered
The lulia School Board met in a spe-
cial meeting Tuesday morning to begin
considering applications for school super-
intendent A total of 24 applications have
been received from all over the state.
Schol Business Manager Hob Fainter
told I he Herald that the bid opening for
remodeling junior high school has been
changed from the night of June 26 to the
night of July I.
Former superintendent Howard Bol-
lard is in the process ol mov ing to Denver
City, where he is school superintendent
The Pollards were given a Kenneth Wyatt
painting at a tarewell reception Sunday.
I ears ol shock, disbelief, and sadness
streamed down the laces of young and
old alike as what seemed like the whole
town ol Happy watched its high school,
built in 1928. sizzle helplessly in the grips
of raging fire
Generation after generation ol kids
spent some ol the best years ol their lives
in the classrooms, hallways, and offices
of the building that was engulled in
flames yesterday.
lama graduate ol Happy High School
and I watched it burn So many thoughts,
feelings, and emotions raced through my
mind as I watched it's hard to sort
them all out.
Each person remembeis Happy High
in a different way, but one thing that hit
me especially hard was seeing the "back-
room”abla/e. In case you've never heard
ol Happy High's “backroom", it was the
little room oil ol the typing room where
HHS yearbooks were produced I spent
many hours in that little room and so
have lots of others who worked on Happv
y earbooks No doubt the 1983 Roundup,
ol which I was editor, perished in the fire
along with the yearbooks ol manv years
past
I remember hanging many a painted
sign on the walls ol HHS the dav before
football games 1 hose same walls are
smoked and charred now I remember
our senior class proudly gathering
together to hang our picture on the wall
so we could officially join the ranks ol
HHS graduates who had gone before us
I remember congregating at the water
fountain and on the stalls laughing and
talking bet ore class every morning. Anil,
yes. I even remember being herded out of
the building and across the street during
fire drills We thought the drills were
really useless We would never have a
disaster like that at our little school
Many ol us may have had the thought
pass through our heads on the night
before that big exam. "I wish the school
would burn down so I wouldn't have to
take this test " We didn’t really mean it
I his tragedy that is so devastating cer-
tainly could have been worse Our gvm.
cafeteria. |unior high, and agdepartment
avoided the bla/e We must be thankful
that fire did not break out while school
was in session w hen lives could have been
lost.
Noone really knowsat this point, what
the luture holds for Happy High or w here
it will go from here As the building
smoked and crackled, kids were asking.
"Where will we go to school next year ’"
No one could really answer them lor
some were wondering if the school w - mid
survive this tragedv
As men. women, and children carried
cold drinks to the firelighters, during the
hot bla/e. there was no doubt in my mind
that the school wouldn't survive I’ve
been around the people ol llappv long
enough to know that they won’t give up
and this won’t get them down lor long
Smoke and Haines were visible lot miles
around hi all directions from Happv
People dropped whatever they were
doing, even harvesting w heat, to rush to
the scene to offer help Fven while the
building was still abla/e. women were
preparing food and drinks in the cafeteria
lor those who were so desperately light-
ing to extinguish the fire.
I believe there is a purpose lor all
things good and bad I believe there is a
purpose behind this tragedy People will
pull together and work together like
never before and something good will
come out ol this disaster lor Happy H igh
I w ill never again be able to walk down
the halls of HHS exactly as they were
when I went to school there But the
memories w ill live on foiever in my heart
and nnnd. as they will in the hearts and
minds ol many. Perhaps the memories
will be even more vivid than belore
Town Topics
New meter connections reported bv
the City of I ulia since last week Felipa
Basaldua. 305 North Hale. Rudy \ and
Jesse B Orti/. 508 N I 2nd: Guillermo
( arhajal. 331 North Bowie: Rickv and
Barbara Allmon. 812 North I I Paso
•
Marriage licenses issued bv Swisher
County Clerk since last week I homas
Reed Pittillo. Happv. and Martha Hens-
ley Herron. Happv Rick Loyd I homp-
son. Canyon, and Fh/abeth Ann Raw-
son. Canyon: Jesse Belmares. I ulia. and
I aura Fster Chavez. l ulia
•
Patients admitted to Swisher Memor-
ial Hospital since last I uesdav lames
\Y aters. I ave W aide. Sv Iv ia Collum. Beth
Reid. Mrs Rickv Hurt
BORN IO
Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Hurt. 50' North
Donley . I ulia. a girl, born June 15
•
New subscribers to Ihe lulia Herald
since last week Rickie Stark, c o Dia-
mond K Ranch. Route I Box 41-C. Cha-
rleston, Arkansas. Malcom Atwood. 705
Twin Oak. Sweeney. Texas. Tommv
Beck. 218 N W 10th. lulia. lexas.
Mandi Shipman. 127 Ridgewood. Col-
lege Station, lexas. Rav Bradlev. 2I70"’
Shadv Spring Road, Castro Valley . Cali-
fornia. Barrv Stevens. 1075 Santa Fe.
Canyon, lexas; Jeff George. 7|| South
Austin. No 10. I ulia. Texas
•
TUI I A MARKETS
WHEAT
2.40
CORN
4.75
Mil O
4 25
SOYBEANS
4 70
7 emperature extremes for
t he »»eek
were 92 and 5.5.
STATE 4-H CH AMPIONS--I inda Os burn and Paul Finch. Sw ishcr County
4-H members from Tulia. captured first place in the consumer life skills
contest at the 1986 State 4-H Roundup at Texas A&M University. June II
TOP FL.OOR OF HAPPY HIGH SCHOOL breaks into flames as the winds begin to spread the fire. (Staff Photo).
School Board Employs More Teachers
(gDMinsn? gisuf®!
By Wendell Tooley
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Tooley, Wendell. The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 19, 1986, newspaper, June 19, 1986; Tulia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth506096/m1/1/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Swisher County Library.