Hometown History
Category: Local... Photography...
Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 at 09:18 AM [GMT-6]

What is it about old aerial photos of familiar scenes that makes them able to provoke strong memories? Is it the difference in perspective -- the ability to see both the "forest" and the "trees"?

Whatever the reasons, I suspect that we all share an interest in hitherto unseen images from our pasts, and so I was delighted this morning when an email from my mom appeared with two old photos attached. They were taken by an unknown photographer in 1939 and 1942 and they show two of the school buildings in Fort Stockton that I attended (many years after the photos were taken, by the way!).

At the time the photos were taken, the schools were relatively new. The bigger of the two (#1 in the photo below) was the high school and the smaller (#2) was the junior high. During my attendance (in the 60s), both buildings housed junior high classes (6th, 7th and 8th grades); a new high school had been built by that time, a mile or so beyond the upper left corner of the photo. You can click the photo for a larger version.

A football field, track, and grandstands were built later in the open area behind buildings 2 and 3. That was where I experienced my first high school football game, and where I later grew to loathe running laps. (And now I do it for "fun.")

I'm not sure about the original purpose of building #3 in the photo, but it was serving as the junior high band hall when I arrived.

One of the memories that comes floating back to me is of spinning wooden tops during lunch period on the bare dirt between the band hall and the big building. We learned the arcane techniques of sharpening the metal spikes on which the tops rotated, and how to throw down the tops in such a way as to inflict damage on competitors. The ultimate thrill in these small-town equivalents of steel cage death matches was the rare occasion when metal met wood at the precise angle and point to completely split the victim into two pieces. Of such stuff was the original junior high urban legend built.

I can't say that I ever accomplished that feat, although I inflicted my share of chips and dings. I would be less than honest if I didn't admit that I also had my share of self-inflicted wounds, wherein my own top would turn traitor and bounce back into my shin or forehead. (And today's kids think they've got it rough with PSP-induced CTS!)

The second photo is a ground-level view of part of the high school building, with the junior high in the background. This photo is notable because of the snow on the ground. Snowfall isn't exactly a rarity in west Texas, but it's infrequent enough that it's considered prime photography material.

Most people my age and older can remember where they were in November, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I was on the second floor, building #2.