The Casa View

Elementary School Story

The Casa View Eagles colors are Hunter Green and Gold

In 1952 they began pouring the concrete - although from the visual quality of the newspaper photo above they might as well have been pouring banana pudding...we can't tell the difference in this picture!

When the school opened in September of 1953, the Board of Education hosted an open house.

W. Bailey Hargrave was the principal through our 6 years at Casa View - 1954-1960.

Some of the fondly remembered teachers (and some of the other teachers, too!)  Top Left: Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Schultz, Mrs. Rader.   Top Right: Mr. Hargrave and Mrs. Freedman, school secretary. Lower: A line up of teachers in the late 50s. Miss Irene Heartsill (profiled in Beverly's "Memories" secton below) is  fifth from the left on the top row.

Recent color pictures of the school

Teacher line-up for 1956 - 1957, our 3rd Grade Year

In 1955 the school hosted a round-up. In 1957 police were trying to round up a school burglary ring. It turned out that the hardened criminals were two 12 years olds and a 10 year old.

In our 6th Grade year, Mrs. Mason, school nurse, was proud that Casa View Students had good teeth. We can only assume that the poor schmucks who went to Reinhardt had crumbling, yellow teeth.

It was 1952 when my parents bought their new, 2-bedroom, frame house on
Barnes Bridge Road.  My dad was a WWII veteran who bought his own
home on a GI loan. They lived in that house nearly 50 years til they both passed away.
At the time, there was nothing across the street from us except cotton fields as far as you could see.  There were so many churches on Barnes Bridge that we used to call it Church Road.  Some time before I started school, they began work on the "water tower".  There it sat out in the middle of the cotton field.  That didn't last long.  Soon there were houses springing up in that field and new streets like El Capitan.

When I started first grade, it was our first exposure to a classroom outside Sunday school.  Not like today's kids that go to pre-school from the time they can walk.  I remember I cried when my mother left me at Casa View Elementary the first day and  I wasn't the only one crying.

I spent 6 years at CVE in a time that was fun and innocent.  I guess that's why we like movies like "My Girl", "Stand by Me" and  "Sandlot".  Kids were free to roam and explore all day for blocks and blocks.  Especially the summer-time.  We could ride off on our bicycles and be gone all day, only to go home when we got hungry.

The kids on my block were: Donna Douglas, Chuck Yates, Priscilla and Frieda Hearne, Tim and Teddy Watson, David Ramsey.  Behind us on Tisinger were Nettie Sanford, Orville Johnson and Linda Chesley.  Later after the cotton field was gone, there were Robert Hedges and Karen Stevenson.

People who lived on the other side of Centerville were in another world.  Over that way were Charles Johnson (the smartest kid in school), Melvin Crews, Connie Richardson, Glenda Holt, Sue Lowry, Mike Woodard, Bob Bishop and Anne Hill.  The kids that lived on or around Joaquin were in the center of everything:  Paul Roach, Roger Rainwater, Joanella Crawford, Lynn Hagedorn, Priscilla Phillips and Marsha Erickson.  My first experience with a best friend was a girl named Bonnie in the first grade.  She lived on Joaquin.

After getting attached, she moved away at the end of that year.  I think that scarred me for life.  There were so many kids on every street.  Guess that's why we are called "baby boomers".  On Fenwick lived Linda McKendree, Linda Schaffer, Kay Thomas, Mark and Mike Mathews, and Adele Spelling.

2nd grade  --  In this photo: Lynn Zuber, Roger Rainwater, Linda Schaeffer, Bob Bishop, Lanetta O’Dell, Dickie Moore, Jay McAlexander, Orville Johnson, Nettie Sanford, Jimmy Caldwell, Beverly Kirk, Linda McKendree, Bobby Shoemake, Vickie Dauterive, Karen Stevenson, Bill Colwick.

Lots of time was spent outside, both at home and at school.  Linda Chesley (photo at right) remembers that there was no a/c at CVE.  The windows were open and we had big fans in the classrooms.  Of course, it was the same way at home.

Mike Woodard, remembers riding his bike or walking to school at CVE all by himself.  Wow!  How independent!  We lived on our bicycles all summer. On Barnes Bridge, we would ride down to the corner of Shiloh and ride under the street through a giant drainage pipe.  On the other side was another cotton field.  We played games pretending our bicycles were our cars and we would  drive our husbands to work and back. Remember at that time each family only had one  car.                                                                                                                        

Once there was a rumor that there had been a man exposing himself to kids on their way home from school. Every car we saw, we thought was him.  One day I was walking home with my sister and a car was slowly following us.  We were scared to death.  When we got up Farola to Joaquin, he turned around and went back toward the school.  Guess we scared him, too.
                                             

                     Some of the Casa View kids: Vicky Dauterive, Roger Rainwater, Linda McKendree, Bryant Parsons
 

Karen Stevenson lived on Housley Drive.  When she was in the 1st grade she remembers getting lost.  "But to be honest, I've never had a decent sense of direction - still that way" she says.

Funny how all of our memories revolve around play, not school work. There was a  great playground at Casa View.  It was one of the  best parts of elementary school.  There was also a city swimming pool on the grounds of CVE.  In the summer they taught swimming lessons.  My mother would drop me and my sister off for lessons, but we would skip the lessons and go play on the swings.  No wonder we never learned to swim.

We must have been a really fit bunch of kids.  Anne Hill says "I was into sports big-time…of course all we had was P.E.  But May Day was a huge event for me….remember Mr. Prince?"  Remember Ms. Vinyard, too. She was the other P.E. teacher. Donna Chenault remembers winning third place in the 75 yard dash.  She still has the white ribbon.  Bob Chenault says May Day was a real highlight for him.  In 4th grade his class swept the relay race, but in 6th grade was humbled by the same bunch of kids.

More kids from the 'hood: Priscilla Phillips, Melvin Crews, Donna Chennault and Charles Johnson

Mike Woodard remembers playing tether ball on the schoolyard with a bunch of other kids and no adult supervision.  In those days we got to go outside on the blacktop when we finished eating those wonderful cloverleaf rolls in the cafeteria.  Many a kid threw their lunch away in order to spend a few minutes outside.
 

Linda McKendree remembers being chased by Bryant Parsons (Bunkie) on the playground at recess to try to catch her and kiss her.  She says "He must have told his mom about it because at the end of the year we had a picnic up on Flag Pole Hill for the whole class and his mom offered to pick me up and my mom for the picnic.  Sadly Bryant Parsons has passed away now."

I remember those end of the year school picnics too.  There was one down at Samuel Park (before East Grand cut through between the park and the golf course).  One year some of the kids found a water moccasin.  I hate snakes!  Just something else for the boys to use to scare the girls.

How about four-square-ball.  Remember that?  The girls liked to just take their turn passing the ball to the next square and keep it going.  The boys, however, got great satisfaction out of "slamming" it so you couldn't return it.
                                    

                                                  Dickie Moore, Anne Hill, Mike Woodard, Connie Richardson

When I was in grade school, I was so very shy.  Bet most of my classmates don't even remember me being there.  Well, I was still a joiner.  I was in several of Casa View Elementary's famous talent shows.  Donna Douglas and I took baton lessons together from a high school girl on our block.  I remember we performed in the talent show to Rock Around the Clock.  We wore red satin shorts, white turtlenecks with a red, felt megaphone on it and the letters “CV” in silver sequins.  We were hot!  

During our time at CVE, petticoats became standard fashion for girls.  It was a contest to see how many you could wear at one time and how much starch you could get into them.  Thank goodness someone invented spray starch.  That sure made it easier.  It's funny, looking at these class pictures,  the skirts don't look near as full as I remember them.  We all had to have a poodle skirt (felt skirt with poodle appliques).  I think at Christmas some people even had felt skirts with Christmas appliques.  Initial necklaces, clutch purses, white bobby-socks, penny loafers, neck scarves, and pony tails were just a few other fashion trends.  Who needed Hannah Montana?    

One of the highlights of fourth grade was the square dance festival.  We actually had to dance with a boy!  Connie Richardson says "Those festivals were the best!  I remember my mother making my outfit.  So much fun!"

Karen Stevenson says "Oh, my gosh - those square dance festivals at CVE - and those skirts and all those petticoats - what fun it was!"  Donna Chennault shares "Wow, does that take me back…I didn't come to CV until 2nd semester of 4th grade, so I was behind.  I remember being so scared because I didn't know a dosey-do from a promenade, hardly knew my right foot from my left.  I remember the outfit my mom made too…red with large white polka dots..."

Linda McKendree remembers dancing with Gayland Daniels and Gary Green and doing the bunny hop.  I remember my dress being white with red trim, square neck and puffed sleeves. The poor boys just wore white shirts with those rolled-up blue jeans.  Those songs we danced to were probably 100 years old when we sang them.  They are still using them today.  Songs like Red River Valley,  Rose of San Antone, and Yellow Rose of Texas.  Check out the "Videos" section of this website to hear Red River Valley and watch Rose of San Antone.

In 1960 we were in the 6th grade.  It was the year of the presidential conventions, so Casa View Elementary decided to stage our own convention. The candidates that were running had to make speeches and we had actual voting. 

Each of us was assigned a state and had to make a life-size flag of that state.  We actually paraded into the auditorium carrying our flags.  I had Colorado.  When I was working on my flag at home with my dad, the hammer slipped and hit my finger.  Spontaneously I uttered the word "damn" to my father's shock and surprise.  I got in so much trouble.  Must have been my first experience with being grounded.  Do you remember your flag? Connie Richardson says she had California, so did Paul Roach.  Must have been opposite political parties.  Mike Woodard had North Carolina. WFAA's Wes Wise came out to the school and did a piece for the news about our conventions.  Some kids, like Connie Richardson, actually got on TV.      

Being a Blue Bird was a must.  Our little group met once a week and occasionally did public service work.  One Christmas, we took gifts for the needy down to Volk's Department Store at Gaston and Ross. They had a big Christmas tree in the corner window where we laid our gifts.  I remember we had a group picture made wearing our uniforms. A few days later, one of our friends came down with meningitis and died within 24 hours.  Since we had all been with her, our whole family had to take shots and be quarantined for two weeks over Christmas. I'm sure all of us still remember Susan Williams to this day.
                      

                                                 Bob Bishop, Sue Lowrey, Paul Roach, Glenda Holt

Casa View Elementary was a great school.  It was built in a square with a courtyard in the center.  All the classes had windows with the interior windows looking onto the courtyard or across to other classrooms.  In the springtime, you could hear the lawn being mowed in the courtyard from the classroom. The gym and cafeteria were on the left side and the auditorium was on the right.

The playground sat way up on a hill (at least it seemed like it) next to the city swimming pool.  The blacktop was outside the gym and cafeteria and seemed huge.  That's where H-O-R-S-E was played along with four-square tether ball, and dodge-ball.

Mr. Bailey Hargrave was the principal at CVE.  He was a rather large man with a friendly face.  He was probably an imposing figure to the boys who got sent to his office, like Jimmy Caldwell.  Whatever happened to him?

I remember the day always started out with one of the students getting to do the pledge and reading a short devotion over the PA from Mr. Hargrave's office.  Back then we actually were allowed to pray in school and out loud, no less.  Still, it was pretty frightening to go to Mr. Hargrave's office for ANY reason. Today, the principal of CVE is our own Michael Paschall from BA class of '66.  However, Dr. Paschall attended Reinhardt before going on to Gaston and Bryan Adams.

Some of the teachers had quirks that made lasting impressions on our memories.  Like the music teacher, Mrs. Lain.  She had a terrible habit of having her students come up next to the piano and sing by themselves. How embarrassing that was!  If you wouldn't do it, you had to go out in the hall. Whew!    

Mrs. Currier, who lived on Garland Road in one of those large houses across from White Rock Lake, had lots of cats.  Every morning she would have a student use Scotch Tape to remove the cat hairs from her clothes while she sat at her desk.  Sounds like child-labor to me.

The one teacher that left a vivid picture on all of our minds was the art teacher, Miss Irene Heartsill.  (Check the photo near the beginning of this article to see a group photo including Miss Heartsill and several other Casa View teachers.) Let's see if I can paint a visual.  She had long red hair that was in a bun.  She was short and stocky (putting it nicely). She had long, long, sharp fingernails painted red, red lips and too much rouge.  Her upper arms were saggy, flabby and we used to laugh at how they jiggled.  We really should not have laughed, because now it's happened to some of us.  Miss Heartsill was the first person I ever saw sharpen crayons.  They were as sharp as her nails. I'm sure that contributed to her beautiful coloring.  She was constantly eating ice chips from a cup, and her perfume was strong and flowery. It's probably a good thing this picture is small, as I would hate that it didn't match my memories.

I think it was Bryan Renfro who said how strange it is that we can remember perfectly so much of our elementary years and so little of junior high and high school.  He is so right.  As I prepared to write this I began to touch
base with other alumni.  It's amazing how many names came back to all of us.  The memories keep popping up.  Must be good exercise for the brain. I'm surprised at how many people have either kept up with each other over
the years or reconnected just recently.  There are mini-reunions going on all the time.  I'm so looking forward to the CougarPalooza this July.  Hope lots of you come.  It's never too late to rekindle those early friendships and
even start new ones with people we share a history with.

See you in July.