I’ll never forget those first few weeks in January, 1958, when Jones opened” was Mr. Mill’s reply during a recent interview about some questions concerning the school’s history. “There were no seats or tile flooring in the auditorium and the 1015 students had to stand around and wait for their room assignments. Besides this, some of the class rooms were not finished and the band had to meet on the second floor. There were no senior graduates until June of the next year and we even had 115 high ninth grade students in attendance,” he added.
GOLD BEACH ACCOMMODATES 1015 STUDENTS AS THEY BEGIN SCHOOL IN JANUARY, 1958
By Cheryln Thompson, May 13, 1966 – The Gauntlet
“I’ll never forget those first few weeks in January, 1958, when Jones opened” was Mr. Mill’s reply during a recent interview about some questions concerning the school’s history. “There were no seats or tile flooring in the auditorium and the 1015 students had to stand around and wait for their room assignments. Besides this, some of the class rooms were not finished and the band had to meet on the second floor. There were no senior graduates until June of the next year and we even had 115 high ninth grade students in attendance,” he added.
Starting a new school is quite a job to tackle, but Mr. Mills, a faculty of fifty-two, and the student body accomplished a great deal in those first four and one-half months.
The name for the school had been selected far in advance, even before the actual construction of the building. There was a dedication ceremony at which there were many prominent school officials and Houstonians. Some of them were Dr. McFarland, Mrs. Frank Dyer, and John Jones, who is the nephew to Jesse H. Jones. A painting of Mr. Jones which now hangs over the auditorium door was presented by John Jones.
The following few months were probably the busiest in the history of the school. High on the list of things which had to be done were the selection of school colors and the choice of a mascot. Besides this there was no drill squad, school song, or any type of clubs or organizations.
Both Mrs. Ivy and Mr. Kennon remember the problem of having no grass on the campus. It seemed that the whole campus was made up of loose sand with a blade of grass here and there. When there was any type of breeze, sand would blow into the classrooms until the chalk trays, window sills, and edges of the tile in the rooms looked liked Galveston without the water. Students who sat reading in any of the rooms, had to shake the sand out of their books before turning a page. Since the gym was not completed, all of the folding bleachers were left folded in the halls outside Mr. Kennon’s and Mrs. Ivy’s classroom. Talk about confusion in the halls!
Then came talk about just which mascot and school colors to vote on. A large majority o the student body decided upon the colors of gold and white and even though Mr. Mills tried to warn them that they would not show up on the backs of the boys’ jerseys on the football field (this is why they are the burnt orange color for their jerseys). Although gold and white was the favorite combination, some of the students wanted orange and white, blue and white, red and white, and gold and green.
Selecting a mascot was another big job. There was a long list of entries from which to choose. Among the choice of Falcons were Rams, Brahmas, Jaguars, and the Eagles. Can you imagine being the “Gold Jaguars”?
A lot of work was done by the band even though it was on the second floor. Mr. Trevathan got busy and wrote the school song and fight song. (FYI – Jeanne Horn Ryan told us at the 2006 Reunion that her Mother Mrs. Trevathan helped her husband and wrote the words to both of these songs.) There was also a contest to name the newspaper and annual with a fifteen dollar prize for the person submitting the winning entry. Talon and Gauntlet resulted.
The drill squad was also formed that spring. It took much time and effort to create this organization because the sponsor and members had to make up rules and regulations, decide on their name and type of uniform, make up the manner of their drill and commands, and elect officers. The name Cadence Commodores was most popular, but there were a few who wanted to call the organization the Bavarian Brigadiers and dress the girls in colorful German outfits. They even wanted to play bells on the field. That certainly would have been a far cry from present day Hornpipers!
The Co-ops did not begin until two years after the school started. They were then known as the Booster Club until five years ago (1961) when they officially changed their name to Co-Ops.
Jones still has many teachers who were here that first semester. Beginning the English and language departments were Mrs. Bondurant, Mrs. Copeland and Miss Woods. Some of the “surviving” history teachers are Mr. Jones, Mr. Kennon, and Miss Webb. Mrs. Bowman, Mrs. Ivy and Mr. Leggett helped make up the math department. Some of the other teachers in various departments include Mr. Hays, Mrs. Hanagriff, Mr. Grochoske, Mr. Landry and Mrs. Minze.
Jones began it’s life with quite a good record which it has improved through the years. It won the City Basketball Championship only two years after opening for example. It has been a history of student bodies with enthusiasm and a tremendous amount of school spirit. Yes, Jones has had quite a history even though it is only eight years old. It began with the great name of Jesse H. Jones and it has lived and thrived on the love for education and life of that namesake.