June 2001

NEOSHO SCHOOL
DISTRICT
Submitted by Sharon Eidson
     The first public school in Neosho was opened under Lemuel Hearell in 1842 in the old Masonic Hall.
     The Civil War destroyed most of the school buildings in Neosho. The year 1866 marked the beginning of education in Neosho. That year, a school board was organized and the "Old Brick" schoolhouse was repaired. It was located on the hill where the current Central School is located.
     In 1872, a new schoolhouse was constructed north of "Old Brick." Also in 1872, the school board purchased lot 6 in the Hennings addition for a black school.
     A new school was constructed on the same site as "Old Brick" in 1883 to replace the one built in 1872. The building was a two-story , eight-room structure that had two towers that were visible from the square.

The Third Ward School was constructed in 1891, as well as, Lincoln School for the blacks. The M.E. Benton School was constructed in 1898. The Third Ward School burned in 1898 and was rebuilt in 1899. It was renamed Eugene Field School. In 1913, the Board purchased the old Scarritt College north of the square for the purpose of constructing a new high school that was opened in 1916. The old Central building was razed and a new one built in 1930. The M.E. Benton School was completely changed in 1937, and a new building for Eugene Field was constructed at the same time. A new high school was constructed for Neosho in 1953 on Neosho Boulevard. The old high school building became the Intermediate School.
To provide for an increasing enrollment, South Elementary School was built in the 60s. The site of Benton was moved to a new school in 1990.

Neosho Middle School was then built west of the golf course.
In April 1927, the Neosho School Board made the fol- lowing rules; only experienced teachers would be hired, no employment of married women, teachers were forbidden to attend public dances and it was recommended that the Bible be read each day with no comment.
Neosho had the unique distinction of never being a consolidated school until the era of reorganization in the 1960s. Today, Neosho serves a fourth of the rural school districts which were in Newton County in 1910.

FUTURE BUILDING PLANS
CURRENTLY BEING
DISCUSSED
Watch for more information in the media and future newsletters.
Let's support Neosho Schools at the polls!

Visit Our Website: www.neoshoalumni.org

The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1982.
They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and probably did not know he had ever been shot.
They were prepubescent when the Persian Gu1f War was waged. Black Monday, 1987 is as insignificant to them as the Great Depression.
There has only been one Pope.
They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.
They have never feared nuclear war.
They were too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
Tiananmen Square means nothing to them
Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
Atari precedes them, as do vinyl albums.
The statement "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.

They have never owned a record player.
They have likely never played Pac Man and have heard of pong.
They may have never heard of an 8-track. The compact disc was introduced when they were one year old.
As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 33 cents.
They have always had an answerIng machine.
Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels nor have they seen a black and white TV.
They have always had cable.
There have always been VCRs, but they have know idea what BETA was.
They cannot fathom not havmg a remote control.
Roller skating has always meant in-line for them.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

They have never seen Larry Bird play.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII, and the Civil War. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They never heard: "Where's the Beef," "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane! De Plane."
They do not care who shot J .R. and they have no idea who J .R. was.
The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew!
Michael Jackson has always been white.
Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America and Alabama are places not rock bands.
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
There has always been MTV.
They don't have a clue how to operate a typewriter.

NHS Alumni Association

Name:__________________________________________

Address:________________________________________

City:_________________State:________Zip:___________

Phone:_______________E-Mail:___________________

____ I am Interested In Being a member (penny per year, class of 1951, $19.51/yr)
____ Receiving more Information
NHS Alumni Association offers a way for past schoolmates to stay in touch and involved in the community. If you would like to relive some of your favorite memories and help make some new ones, please clip this form and mail it to: NHS Alumni Association, c/o CBT, PO Box 400 Neosho Blvd., Neosho, MO 64850. Attention: Tammy Franks.

Lori (Steen) Barnes (78)
Norma Boyer
Tom Carver (65)
Ken Cope
Ann (Bush) Cope
Chuck Crossno (74)
Virginia (McCreery) Garrison (51)
Kathy (Thomas) Glass (78)
Bill Hoover
Jean Kyle (66)
Carmen Mailes (54)
Donna (Maxwell) Mclntire (54)
Charlie Neidert (71)
Lynn (Patterson) Otey (72)
Kathi (Hukill) Pellegrin (72)
Matt Ratekin (57)
Clarice (Ratekin) Ritthaler (63)
Ruth Ann Wilson (54)

NHS ALUMNI OFFICERS ELECTED

The NHS Alumni Association recently elected officers for the 2001-2002 year. Tammy Franks ('77) and Evelyn Harmon ('55) will serve as co-chairs for the association. Other officers were appointed as follows: Sharon Eidson ('52), secretary; Aaron Farber ('90), missions committee chairman; Haley (Bryan) Reardon ('85); newsletter committee chairman; and Chuck Crossno, publicity chairman.

Also discussed at the meeting was the possibility of hosting an all-school reunion in 2002.

Planning for the event is expected to begin at the next association meeting which is scheduled for June 19th. More information will be released as it becomes available.

In other business it was determined that the long-range plan of the NHS Alumni Association would be to provide scholarships for graduating seniors each year. In addition, the association will keep alumni updated on school activities, alumni news and reunions through use of the Internet and quarterly newsletters.

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library during the school year. During the summer months when the school is closed, meetings will be held at the downtown location of Community Bank & Trust in the boardroom. All alumni are encouraged to attend.

It was also reported that membership dues will run concurrent with the school year and will be due in September.
paw prints

Class of' 51 -Contact Blair Hoyt
Class of '39 -Contact Fredine Haddock
Class of' 41 -Contact Barbara Collie

Also holding reunions this year:
      Class of '49
      Class of '56
      Class of '61
      Joint reunion '69 - '72

2001...A Space Odessey
The class of '71 is opening up its 30-year reunion to all former NHS students, especially those from the late '60's and early '70's to enjoy a huge JAM SESSION with members of the old local garage bands: The Sting Rays, Sound Company, Outcast, Mustangs, Sammy & the Saints, Napolean & The 3 Bonapartes and Missouri Fox.

This event will held June 29th and 30th. Bands will perform on Saturday night at the Municipal Auditorium. For more infonnation, visit www.winnersville.com/reunion or call Charlie Neidert at 417-451-3995.

Do You Remember When?
In the late 40s and early 5Os...

There were FOUR movies around the square (Orpheum, Carmar, Bandbox and Foto)

Kids filled the theatres on Saturdays, so the ushers were very strict on throwing popcorn boxes and trash on the floor.
You were not allowed to touch each other or rough house in any way.
You could walk to and from the theatre from all over town without fear.
There was usually a cowboy movie with a cliffhanger to make sure you came back the next week.
The cost was a quarter or less.

G & L and Wilson's were popular drug stores on the square.

Sodas and phosphates were popular because they only cost a nickel.
Many students walked to the square after school to hang out.

Campus was not always closed for lunch.

Vos Cafe on Wood Street was a popular lunch spot
The roost popular order was grilled cheese with French fries
After lunch, Edmonson's bakery provided a place for a treat

Popular evening hangouts were CRC and the Dairy Queen on Coler St.