A history of Deaf Smith County, featuring pioneer families Page: 36 of 174
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History
Deaf Smith County
Pioneersfor occupancy by June 15, Manager T. E. Seigler said.
It will bring the total space available for beds to 70,
furnishing 20 new private rooms.
After the new wing is occupied, plans are to renovate
the two-story part of the hospital completely under the
current contract. An elevator is being added, and new
plumbing, windows, doors, and other facilities will be
included.
Other men who have served as managers of the local
hospital are Chris Renfro, Bob Wilson, Elmer Mathis,
Hugh Simmons, Bill Miller, Bob Lewis, and Leonard
Watson. There are 50 employees, including nurses and
professional staff, who operate the hospital under the
direction of the hospital board named by the county. Some
eight to 10 more employees will be needed when the new
unit is occupied, Seigler said.
The bull barn is an example of the leadership the county
has had through the years. A group of registered Hereford
breeders had bought the Bowe barn, across from the depot,
in 1919. When the association became inactive, the county
took over the barn, remodeled and enlarged it, furnishing
adequate room for calf shows, fairs, and community
gatherings.
The story is told of a stranger who alighted from a train
one night, and seeking a hotel, walked across to the Bull
Barn. He thought the mammoth structure terribly dark
and vacant. Finally he stumbled out and made his way to
town. Upon questioning a native about the big building,
he was told proudly it was the Bull Barn.
"Gosh", remarked the stranger, "You fellows up here
sure must treat your bulls right."
When the old bull barn burned, the county commission
swung into action. They bought a site and constructed a
modern sheet iron and concrete building south-east of
town in 1956, just a few months after the old building
had been destroyed. The huge new building proved too
Small to house the junior livestock show; so the county
built another barn, called the Little Bull Barn. Now
both buildings are used frequently, not only for livestock
shows, but for all types of meetings, including square
dances, banquets, and barbecues.
Schools Provide County's Biggest
Payroll
During the years of depression followed by World War
II, Hereford schools, as well as business and civic
groups, found themselves behind on building as they
faced the area's phenomenal growth. This has necessitated
an almost constant building program since 1948.
Central School has been remodeled in 1936 under the
PWA program at a cost of $49,500. The third floor was
removed and wings added on both the east and west.
Shirley Elementary School was completed in 1949 with
12 classrooms; six more rooms were added in 1950. The
senior high school building was constructed in 1954 at
a cost of $850,000. The older high school building was
renovated and used as a junior high school. Aikman
Elementary School was built at a cost of $280,000 in the
north-east part of town in 1956.
Again expansion was necessary in 1958, when citizens
approved an issue of $488,000, which was used for a
three-way building program. Classrooms, laboratories,
band hall, and a gymnasium were added to the junior
high school; a combination adminstration, business, and
tax offices and junior-senior high cafeteria; and the
first unit of North-west Elementary School.
Even after the building of additions to the high school
and Northwest Elementary School during 1963, the public
schools face the possibility of again using church buildings
for emergency class rooms at the opening of the
1964-65 school term, according to Supt. Paul Stevens.by majority of almost three to one, voters in the Hereford
Independent School District on April 28, 1964, passeda $2,400,000 bond issue for a long range school building
and expansion program designed to permit the schools
to keep ahead of mushrooming space needs.
Phase one of the program calls for expenditure of
$750,000 for construction of a new elementary school,
eight-room addition to Aikman School, remodeling of
Central Elementary School, additions and improvements
to Stanton Junior High School and to the senior high
building, and for the purchase of school building sites.
Plans authorized by the bond issue for 1965 include
a second junior high school building, purchase of additional
school equipment, paving, and other miscellaneous
improvements. The long range plan calls for contracting
the construction of still another elementary school in
September, 1966. The school board has announced that
bonds will be sold only as needed to finance each phase
of the expansion program, which is expected to keep
Hereford schools in good condition during years of continuing
population growth predicted for the area.
C. H. Dillehay served as superintendent of Hereford
Public Schools until 1945, when he was succeeded by
Chester Strickland. Strickland accepted another superintendency
after a year, and George Graham became
superintendent in 1946. When Graham accepted a position
with Hardin-Simmons University, Fred Cunningham came
to Hereford as school head in 1957. He was followed by
Paul Stevens in 1960, and the board of trustees has
announced that Darrell Williams of Uvalde will be the
new school superintendent on July 1, 1964.
By 1951 there were 80 teachers, including two at Dawn,
which was the only rural school in the Hereford district;
total enrollment was 1,754. The only remaining independent
county school district is Walcott, which built a new
building in 1950.
In step with city and county growth, the schools, have
doubled in enrollment since 1950. An all-time high was
reached in April, 1964, when 3,463 students were enrolled.
The professional staff includes 176 teachers and 6 administrators
for the school system.
New Era Of Church Expansion, 1940
Four new church groups were added to the Hereford
scene in the 1940's: the Avenue Baptist Church, organized
as a mission of First Baptist Church, with Rev. J. S.
Sparkman as pastor, 1945; Immanuel Lutheran Church,
with Immanuel Church of the Rhea Community formed a
self-supporting parish, 1947; St. Thomas Episcopal Church,
Henry T. Seaman of Plainview, first rector, 1949.
Congregations and church buildings seem to be following
the growth pattern of the city and county since
World War II, with new buildings and congregations
springing up to serve new groups in the area. This
includes several Spanish-speaking congregations: Thompson
Memorial Mexican Baptist Mission, Templo el Calvario
Assemblea de Dios, Mission de San Jose, Iglesia
de Cristo, Iglesia Metodista San Pablo, and San Antonio
a la Iglesia.
Religious groups organized here from 1950 and holding
services regularly in the county are: Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Church of God in Christ,
Park Ave. Church of Christ, Frio Baptist Church, Mt.
Sinai Baptist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses Church, Bippus
Community Church, Westway Baptist Church, Wesley
Methodist Church, Grace Gospel Church, Fellowship
Baptist Church, Temple Baptist Church, and Seventh Day
Adventist Church.
Most, if not all, of the churches have constructed new
buildings or enlarged and renovated those they had built
before World War U. Expanding in their original locations
on Main Street were the First Methodist and First
Baptist Churches, each of which has made repeated
additions of class and assembly rooms, with First Meth
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Patterson, Bessie. A history of Deaf Smith County, featuring pioneer families, book, 1964; Hereford, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth16011/m1/36/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Deaf Smith County Library.