A continuation of Oil City School History Part I - Early Days and High School Years. Eighth grade classes and other information and pictures of interest from 1955-1970 are included here. Special thanks to Burnace Woodell Byers for several of the yearbooks used. Anyone willing to donate, loan, or sell (priced within reason) those from subsequent years; OR if you are willing to scan and provide other years, please contact me.
1955-1956
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| Elementary School Building |
1955-1956
Teacher assignments:
Shreveport Times 01-Sep-1955, Page 3-B
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| Walter Caughey - Music Director |
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| Mrs. Lonie Cooper - Fourth Grade |
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| Miss Jane Land - Fourth Grade |
Eighth Grade Class:
1956 OCJHS Bengal (yearbook)
In November, the now junior high Tigers won the first championship of a newly created football league comprised of the former high schools in the North Caddo area.
Jerry Arledge, shown below as a member of the 1955 Oil City football team, was named to the 1-AA All-District team in 1959 while playing for North Caddo High in nearby Vivian. He earned a scholarship to Louisiana Tech, where he lettered 1961-1963.
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| Jerry Arledge - 1955 football season |
Upon graduation, Jerry returned to his high school alma mater as assistant coach and biology teacher from 1964-1967.
He left North Caddo after the end of the 1966-1967 school year for Northwestern State University, where he served initially as a graduate assistant and later as a defensive end coach. In 1969 he moved again, becoming an assistant coach at Fair Park High in Shreveport, LA. Later he had stints as an assistant coach at Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech.
In 1993, he became Defensive Coordinator at West Monroe High School under hall-of-fame coach Don Shows. During their tenure, the Rebels became a football power in Louisiana; winning state championships in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2009, and 2011.
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Jerry Arledge, West Monroe Head Coach
and Athletic Director
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In spring of 2013, Coach Shows had a stroke (and later died) and Jerry assumed interim head coaching duties for that fall. The interim prefix was later removed as he was named head coach and athletic director at West Monroe on 24-March-2014.
That year the yearbook was dedicated to Harlan Gene Colgin (1942-1977), who a few years earlier had contracted polio and was confined to his home. He participated in classes by telephone.
1956-1957
Teacher assignments:
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| Mrs. Max Ann Garrett - Music Director |
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| Ida Goodman - Fifth Grade |
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| Mrs. Estelle Sample - Third Grade |
1957 Bengal
Homecoming Court:
1957-1958
Teacher assignments:
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| Miss Mary Baggett - Second Grade |
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| Mrs Ila Breedlove - First Grade |
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| Mrs. Louise Brooks - Sixth Grade |
Eighth Grade Class:
1958 Bengal
In October 1957, school enrollment was reported to be 349, down 17 from the prior year.
Brownies:
(All L-R) Back Row: Mrs. Beulah Sanders, Steve Sanders, Elise McLeod, 4, 5, 6, 7, Lynn Mandina, 9 (child on lap), Mrs. Bobbie McLeod; Middle Row: 11, Ann Vaughn, Brenda Floyd, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; Front Row: Kathy Sanders, Sharon Wilson Owens, Brenda Sanders, Leah Mathews, 24, Lynda Player, Adonna Hicks
Girls numbered above are unidentified, If you recognize someone, please contact me.
Cub Scouts:
(All L-R) Back Row: Mrs. Amelia Barnett, Randy Potter, Jim Densmore, Pim Barnett, Leland White, Montie Moore, Jim Creighton, Mrs. Lois Moore; Middle Row: Freddy Hawks, Butch Wynn, Johnny Vaughn, Tommy Vaughn, Doug Pearson, Mike Beck, Tim Creighton; Front Row: Mrs. Julia Pearson
Girl Scouts:
(All L-R) Back Row: Linda Gayle Wynn, Janet Clarice White Stephenson, Edweda Rougeau Holt, Shirley Ward, Sandra Barlow, Unknown; Middle Row: Janie Burton, 8, Mrs. Margaret Lavine, Debra Weaver Berry, Unknown, Louise Bolton, Gayle McKnight: Front Row: Mrs. Nettie Weaver, Carolyn Weaver, Donna Lavine Rougeau, Sara Goodman, Shirley Weaver Thiebaud, Ruby Hanner, Mrs. Jane Wynn
1958 Bengal
1958-1959
Teacher assignments:
1959 Bengal
John Horace "Rusty" Shafer grew up in a musical family (his mother was a music teacher) and during his high school and college years played in folk and rock groups. He's shown below (left) with the New River Four that gained area popularity during the folk boom of the early 1960s. He later earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern State University and a Master of Business Administration from Baptist Christian College.
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| L-R: Rusty Shafer, Leland White, Ronnie Thiebaud, Howard Lee |
Already an executive with Arkla Gas Company, in March 1993, he was named Assistant Director of the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the (then) new Clinton Administration.
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| Headline above, as "corrected" by biased blogger |
From his LinkedIn profile:
John has over 40 years of private and public sector environmental, health, safety and sustainability experience and has received several national awards for environmental leadership. As Assistant Director of Environmental Policy for the White House in 1993, Shafer created the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. John also served on the Governor’s Council for Sustainable South Florida and assisted in the development of plans to restore the Everglades. as all of the environmental, health, and sustainability requirements for those facilities.
John recently received the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Silver Eagle” award. It is the highest honor given by the USFWS to a civilian for exceptional achievement in conservation. The award was presented by Gary Frazier, Assistant Director of Endangered Species Program for USF&WS at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV.
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| John (left) receives the Silver Eagle award from Gary Frazier |
1959-1960
Teacher assignments:
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| Miss Betty Snellgrove |
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| Mrs. Connie Waters |
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| Mr. Dan Waters |
Eighth Grade Class:
Below: Vicki King, Homecoming Princess
Contributor: Ron Newton
Drum Major and Majorettes:
Marching downtown in the homecoming parade.
The school board approved modest renovations on the school that included new flooring, a metal cover over the walkway to the cafeteria, an external entrance to the band hall, and (per writer's memory) improved lighting.
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| Junior High Building |
1960-1961
Teacher assignments:
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| Mr. Terry Booty - Seventh Grade |
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| Miss Joan Lay - Fourth Grade |
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| Mrs. Lois Thompson - Third Grade |
Eighth Grade Class:
1961 Bengal
Below, the 1960 Homecoming Queen and her court.
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| L-R: Sandra McCann, Jimmie Dean Sloan, Lynn Mandina (Queen), Linda, Smith, Brenda Sanders |
Band Booster Club Officers:
(L-R) Standing: Mrs. Louteal Beck, Mrs. Audrey Alexander;
Seated: Mrs. Sue Sanders, Mrs. Frances Mandina
Trombonist Larry Moore and bass drummer Terry Beck are identifiable in this photo of the band performing in Shreveport's Holiday-In-Dixie parade.
RA district baseball champs:
(All L-R) Front: Mike Burns, William "Butch" Wynn, Terry Harrist, Pim Barnett, Eddie Burns, Mike Beck, Thomas "Junior" McNamara; Back: Wayne Pinckard, Leland White, Harold Watts, Lance Alexander, Mr. Lewis Watts, Gary McCord, Mike Powell, Freddy Hawks
Major General (Retired) Wilbert Douglas "Doug" Peterson, Jr. traded his Oil City Tiger football helmet for that of a pilot in the U. S. Air Force.
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| Doug Pearson - Left Guard (1960) |
Per his bio:
General Pearson entered the Air Force in 1970 as a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in the F-4, F-15, F-20, F/A-22, T-38 and more than 50 other aircraft. His flying includes 364 combat hours during the Vietnam conflict. He commanded the F-15 anti-satellite Combined Test Force during the time of peak flight activity and, while flying an F-15, launched the first anti-satellite missile which successfully intercepted and destroyed a satellite in earth orbit. Prior to assuming his current position, the general served as director of operations for Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
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| General Pearson |
(Prior to retirement) Gen. Pearson is Commander, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He directs the development, test and evaluation of manned and unmanned aircraft systems; the testing of experimental and research aerospace vehicles and parachute systems, and aerodynamic deceleration devices; the operation of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School; and the development, control and operation of the Edwards Flight Test Range.
General Pearson also served on an investigative board that studied the Columbia space shuttle disaster.
1961-1962
Teacher assignments:
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| Mrs. Ouida Butler - Second Grade |
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| Mrs. Geraldean Wade - Fourth Grade |
Eight Grade Class:
1962 Bengal
Homecoming Queen and Princesses:
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| L-R: Leah Mathews, Judy Paris, Linda Player (Queen), Patsy Colvin, Elise McLeod |
Gary McCord on drums:
1962-1963
Teacher assignments:
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| Mrs. Bernice Pickle - Fifth Grade |
Eighth grade class favorite Terence J. Harrist, MD, is a graduate of Baylor University, and Emory Medical School. He completed a residency in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in dermatopathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Following several years on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Harrist became a founding member and medical director of Pathology Services, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He has served as an assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and is a nationally recognized expert diagnostician. He has twice received the Harvard Medical School Teaching Award in Dermatopathology (1999 and 2006), and in 2003, received the Walter R. Nickel Award for Excellence in Teaching of Dermatopathology from the American Society of Dermatopathology. Dr. Harrist has published numerous articles and his specialty areas of interest include nevomelanocytic lesions and immunofluorescent studies of skin diseases.
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| Dr. Terry Harrist |
Field Day - 1963:
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| Presentation of the Colors |
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| Mrs. Cook coordinates the action |
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| L-R: Troy Stubblefield, Roger Marcus, Larry Moor, Tommy Floyd |
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| Mothers attending the festivities (L-R): Mrs. Dorothy Shafer, Mrs. Marylyn White, Mrs. Dolly Dickey, Mrs. Virginia Batts, Mrs. Audrey Alexander, Mrs. Sue Sanders, Mrs. Willa McCord, Mrs. Louteal Beck |
1963-1964
Teacher assignments:
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| Mrs. Nail |
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| Mrs. Margaret Nolan - Sixth Grade |
In October 1963 the home economics cottage, built in 1928, was offered for sale by the Caddo Parish School Board.
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| Home Economics Cottage |
1954 Bengal
Boy Scouts from Troops 28 and 57:
Holding flag in foreground (left): Tommy Gandy; To the right of the flagpole: Mr. Owens and one of his sons; (All L-R) Front row: Richard Woodell (in band jacket), Luther Broome, Jay Elmore, and Tommy Self; Middle: Tommy Anderson (head above Tommy G.'s arm), John Ridge, Roger Marcus, Tommy Floyd, Doug Self, Bobby Paris, Ike Taylor, and Layne Alexander. Back: Joe Arnold, unknown, Cecil Broome, Charles Warren, Bruce Warner, Mark Wayne Wendell, Jerry Allen, Jerry Taylor.
The seventh grade class took a field trip to the Shreveport Journal office production facilities.
Front (L-R): (1) Layne Alexander, (2) John King, (3) Troy Stubblefield, (4) Roger Marcus, (5) Rosemary Marroquin,(6) Joan Shafer, (7) Debbie Durham, (8) Terry McKnight, (9) Nora Batts, (10) Jay Hearn, (11) Tommy Floyd, (12) Ronie Herring, (13) Bobby Paris, (14) Larry Kirby, (15) Arch Henderson, (16) Georgia Dodson, (17) Susan Martin, (18) Eric Lumpkin, (19) Don McKnight
Back (L-R): (20) Ray Easley, (21) Edgar Pittman, (22) Billy Allen, (23) Mr. Sid Dean (teacher), (24) Mark Wendell, (25) Leslie Dickey, (26) Linda Carter, (27) Joe Arnold, (28) Wayne Hempley, (29) Wynelle Allen, (30) Mrs. Marguerite Bozeman (teacher), (31) Mike Norris, (32) Ike Taylor, (33) Mrs. Max Ann Garrett (teacher), (34) Troy Johnson, (35) Danny Tennis, (36) Billy Tolbert, (37) Mrs. Sybil Herring (bus driver), (38) Robert Grinage, (39) Leslie Medlin, (40) Daniel Owens, (41) Stephanie Walker
Not Pictured: Pamela Beavers, Shirley Berry, Ray Rice, Louie Ward
1964 Bengal
Recognizing the other folks who make each school day go smoothly:
Cafeteria
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| Student Brenda Dodson (left) checks out the fare served by student workers Rosemary Marroquin and Joan Shafer, who are overseen by Mrs. Myrtle Arledge, Dietitian and Manager |
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| Top (L-R): Mrs. Sybil Herring, Mrs. V. Allen Below: Mrs. Eura Woodell |
Building and Grounds Maintenance
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| Norman Cassel, Custodian |
1964-1965
Teacher assignments:
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| Mr. Sid Dean - Seventh Grade Language Arts & Social Studies |
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| Mrs. Florence Jennings - Second Grade |
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| Mrs. Martha May - Seventh and Eighth Grade Science |
The 1964 Tiger football team completed a perfect 6-0 record, while holding opponents scoreless the entire season.
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L-R, Front: Troy Stubblefield, Don Vaughn, Dennis Batts, Toby Tolbert
Middle: Terry McKnight, Pat Weaver, Gil Beck, Kenny Fedd, Roger Sanders, Larry Kirby, Rex McKnight
Back: Coach Earl Nolan, John King, Billy Allen, Joe Arnold, William Maleby, Arch Henderson,
Bobby Paris, Danny Tennis
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Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Officers:
Back (L-R Descending): Mrs. H. Wilson, Mrs. B. Barton,
Mrs. Jean Brumley, Mrs. Sadie Barber
Front: W. F. Bozeman, Mrs. Sybil Walker,
Mrs. Peggy Allen (Fedd)
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| Elementary School, Gymnasium, and Cafeteria |
1965-1966
Teacher assignments:
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| Mrs. Edna Gains - Eighth Grade English and History |
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| Coach Earl Nolan - Seventh & Eighth Grade Mathematics and Physical Education |
Eighth Grade Class:
1966 Bengal
Marsha Little Matthews, Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma) serves as Associate Professor of Communication. She is Coordinator for the undergraduate program in Mass Communication, Assistant Department Chair, and member of the Graduate Faculty. Dr. Matthews teaches undergraduate courses in Media Law and Ethics, Multimedia Production, Mediated Performance, Narrative Theory, Public Relations Case Studies, and Public Relations Campaigns. She teaches graduate courses in Mass Media and Popular Culture, Literary Journalism, Narrative Theory, and New Media.
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| Spelling bee contestant, honor student, and pep squad member - 1966 |
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| Dr. Mathews |
Research interests include meaning making, creativity and loss, the relationship among meaning making, creativity, and critical thinking, and the role of creativity in public relations/communication campaign development. Articles have appeared in Communication Teacher, Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education, and Journal of the Philosophy and History of Education. She is a member of the Faculty Learning Community on Service Learning.
Refereeing many OC sporting events during this era was Marvin "Hoot" Gibson (1909-1975), who had been involved with the administration and officiating of junior sports in the greater Shreveport area. Shown below when being honored in 1971, at times some Tiger fans felt he perhaps needed stronger glasses. (smile)
The groundwork to close the "rural" community schools of north Caddo Parish was laid in the 1940s, when a Peabody College study commissioned by the school board recommended that high school students could be served more economically, and be provided greater opportunities, if the seven high schools then operating (Belcher, Hosston, Ida, Mooringsport, Oil City, Rodessa, and Vivian) were consolidated into a single institution. Strong resistance from town leaders of the smaller communities delayed implementation for several years. However the board and Vivian, largest town within a newly created school district, prevailed with the result being North Caddo High's opening in 1955.
At the time, the board assured the other communities that their remaining campuses, now grades 1-8, would remain open, as it was stated local schools better serve younger students. By 1966 however, the issue of consolidation was resurrected and at the school board's request, Superintendent C. L. Perry presented a plan of additional merging of the seventh and eight grades. Most schools would retain grades 1-6 (Rodessa would keep its seventh and eighth) with the exception of Oil City, second largest school outside of Vivian, which would become an undefined "community center."
Resistance from the board, particularly from members representing the small communities, prevented implementation. Over the years attrition overtook the small schools with several, e.g., Ida and Rodessa, closing in the 1970s. Eventually Oil City was last holdout until 2016, when the board voted to close the school which was implemented in a hasty, questionable manner. When this occurred, an unstated but obvious goal 70 years in the making was achieved when all north Caddo Parish children began being bused to Vivian.
1966-1967
Teacher assignments:
Eighth Grade Class:
1967 Bengal
Boy Scout Troop 57:
Caddo Derrick 13-Oct-1966, Page 1
Notable sometimes translates to notorious. Jimmy Wingo (1952-1987), pictured above as a one-time Boy Scout, was convicted along with fellow jail escapee Jimmy Glass for the murder of Dixie Inn couple Newton and Erlene Brown on Christmas Eve 1982. After rounds of appeals that garnered national attention both received the state's ultimate punishment. Wingo, a one-time candidate for Oil City police chief, maintained his innocence until the end.
In 1967, long-time teacher Sid Dean took to moonlighting, of sorts, when he was elected the first mayor of his home town of Ida, LA. Below he's shown being sworn in along with aldermen that included a future Oil City principal, S. L. Graves. James E. Allison is familiar to many OC students who attended North Caddo High, where he served as guidance counselor for many years.
1967-1968
Teacher assignments
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| Mrs. Corrine Hall - Kindergarten |
Mrs. Sybil Self Twitchell was herself a graduate of the former Oil City High School.
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| Mrs. Sybil Twitchell - Xth Grade |
Eighth Grade Class:
1968 Bengal
Once a Tiger, always a Tiger. Below Ronald Barber was co-captain and played quarterback for OC's green and gold Bengals.
1968 Bengal
After high school at North Caddo where he was named to the Class AAA All-State team his senior year, he received a scholarship from at LSU where he was a three-year letterman and earned All-SEC Academic honors.
Marguerite Courtney first came to Oil City to teach in 1926. She eventually married another teacher and coach, William Franklin Bozeman, and their shared relationship with the school lasted 40-plus years.
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| Marguerite as a student at Louisiana State Normal School in 1924 |
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| Mrs. Bozeman in 1962 |
Later that month the principal's residence was offered for sale. The buyer had to move it.
Pictured 21 years earlier, it sat on the southeast corner of the high school grounds, facing Pines Street.
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| Principal's residence in background |
1947 OCHS Bengal
Below Mr. Bozeman stands in front of the house in 1968.
History of Oil City School 1910-1955, by Maggie Smith Warren (1975)
A few months later, an open house was held to honor the outgoing principal.
1968-1969
For the first time in over 30 years, Oil City school had a new principal, when James R. Perkins was named in July 1968.
Teacher assignments:
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| Mrs. Kathleen Gil - Fourth Grade |
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| Mr. James Kennedy - Music Director |
Eight Grade Class:
1969 Bengal
There was some unusual football scheduling that year as the local team split a home-and-home series with Hamilton Terrace of Shreveport, winning 8-6 at home and later dropping a 7-0 decision there. During the high school years, the Tigers regularly played St. Johns (later named Jesuit and now Loyola Prep), who was in their district; and often competed against the "B" teams of much larger Byrd and Fair Park.
It was the end of an era when another school icon, Coach Earl Nolan, retired the following year. Save for time in the U. S. Coast Guard during World War II, he had taught and coached at the school since 1937.
The town of Oil City recognized 25-May-1969 as "Earl Nolan Day" to honor the retiring coach, with a special luncheon and celebration at the school.
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| Mrs. Sylvia McKinney, housekeeper and H. Webb, custodian |
1969-1970
The following year, Mr. Perkins was replaced by Sterling L. Graves, who had previously served as principal at Ida Junior High.
.1970 Bengal
Teacher assignments:
With several of the long-time instructors either retired or reassigned, a group of new teachers reported in the fall of 1969. Mrs. Ethel Francis would later become school principal.
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| Mr . H. Allen - Seventh & Eight Grade Science and Social Studies |
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| Mrs. Ethel Francis - Fourth Grade |
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| Herman Humphrey - Seventh and Eighth Grade Mathematics and Coach |
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| Mrs. Mary Lambiase - Kindergarten |
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| A. Pagnato - Music Director |
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| Mrs. Y. Stickell - Fifth and Sixth Grades |
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| Mrs. Verda Tohline - Seventh and Eighth Grade Language Arts and Social Studies |
This year represented a milestone in that for the first time the student body included black students. Previously they had attended Herndon High, a Grade 1-12 institution several miles away near Belcher, LA.
Eighth Grade Class:
1970 Bengal
Getty Images
Former OC fifth grader Shawn Craig is the Lead Pastor of Crosspoint Church in St. Louis, Missouri; where he has ministered for more than thirty years in various roles of music ministry, worship leading and Bible teaching. Shawn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Webster University in St. Louis and completed graduate work at Fuller Seminary, Kings Seminary and Oral Roberts University.
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| Andrew Shawn Craig |
Shawn is also the middle name in Phillips, Craig and Dean (PCD), one of the most popular contemporary Christian music groups today. A prolific songwriter, Shawn has had many of his songs recorded and has received multiple Dove Awards, including the 1994 Song of the Year “In Christ Alone.” He is also author of a daily devotional book entitled “Between Sundays.”
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| Shaw (left) with group mates Randy Phillips and Dan Dean |
Eighth Grade Basketball Team:
Back (L-R): Coach Herman Humphries, Derrie Ford, George Ridge, Mose Linear, Chip Dickey,
Edward Poe, Shelby Johnson; Front: Mike Lyles, Steven French, Daniel Marroquin,
William Moore, Danny Craig
Edward Poe, Shelby Johnson; Front: Mike Lyles, Steven French, Daniel Marroquin,
William Moore, Danny Craig
Cheerleaders and Pep Squad:
Back Row (All L-R): Mrs. Jean Brumley, Mrs. Beulah Sanders, Mrs. Zelma Rivers
Third Row: Donna Cox, Janice Martin, Cindy Lundy, Denia Helton, Gail Owens, Joyce Thomas,
Delores Washington, Virginia Robinson, Sharon Jones, Sadie Jones, Unknown, Carla Williams,
Bonnie Faye Jones, Maggie Johnson
Second Row: Lisa Hoeft, Unknown, LaDonna Dean, Wanda Laney, Kathy Martin, Angie Fitzgerald,
Sheri Moses, Burnace Ann Woodell, Rose Mary Sanders, Unknown, Terri Lynn Ford
Front Row: Kim Rivers, Brenda Durmon, Karen Fedd, Belinda Allen, Pam Rivers, Teresa Green,
Kathy Carroll, Vickie Durmon
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