Recalling Traditions
Our school had many wonderful traditions that combined educational expectations and opportunities to experience responsibility. Let's see what we can recall.
- What were the school colors?
- Black and orange. (Mr. Mountz liked Princeton.)
- What did Mr. Mountz call the daily auditorium assemblies?
- Chapel. (He wouldn't be able to get away with that today, but as he once said, "our students need it.")
- What was his favorite Bible reading?
- St. Matthew 7: "...a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock..."
- What song books were carried daily into chapel?
- The Green Book and the Golden Book of Favorite Songs. Remember The Little Brown Church in the Vale, Mockingbird Hill, A Capital Ship for an Ocean Trip...?
- What chores were available to upper class members?
- Carrying the milk around to the rooms, selling cookies during recess, campus patrol. We thought of them as great opportunities, not work!
- What was the last word on the Eighth Grade section of the Minimal Spelling List?
- Conscientious!
- When was the TV used in the auditorium?
- In those days, we often saw film strips up on the darkened stage, or reel movies, but the TV was turned on for the World Series.
- What was The Exhibit?
- Wooden frames were assembled around the auditorium and in the halls, upon which posters with student pictures and projects were proudly displayed to parents and the public, once a year.
- What about St. Paddy's Day?
- Ah, a special day when Irish tap dancers and an accordian player might appear on stage. And don't forget the Halloween parade too!
- When was Mr. Mountz born?
- He was reluctant to discuss his age, and sometimes said that his birth certificate was burned in a fire, but according to Social Security records, he was born in 1884. Clearly, he wanted to stay on as long as he could, and a good thing that was.
- What was different about Mr. Mountz each day?
- He wore a different necktie, and after wearing it once he gave it to a lady who made quilts from them.
- How many counties are there in Texas?
- Over 250, and Mr. Mountz could rattle them all off to demonstrate the ability to memorize. (Of course, we would have never known if he missed a few, but it was darned impressive.)
