Rice School - Honorable Mention - Smith County, TX Submitted by the Wilma Camp Thedford 4 November 2004 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ***************************************************************** HONORABLE MENTION May Traver Rice 1875 - 1961 Ms. May Trayer Rice was born in 1875. Her teaching career lasted for about fifty years. Ms. Rice taught at Liberty School in 1900 and also taught at Smyre near Mt. Zion. The Majority of her career in teaching was centered at Rice School. She taught at Rice from 1918 through the late 1950's. Ms. Rice was a good teacher and all the students liked her very much. She died in 1961 and is buried at Kendrick Cemetery. ***************************************************************** Gladys Pinkerton 1904 - 1996 Ms. Gladys Pinkerton was born in 1904. In her adult years she was married to a man named Billy. Ms. Pinkerton began teaching at Rice School in 1923 and became very popular among the students. The students at Rice knew her as Miss Gladys. Billy her husband always played Santa Claus during the Christmas holiday at the school. In 1948 her husband Billy Pinkerton died. After the death of her beloved Billy she lost interest in teaching, particularly at Rice. In 1950 she left Rice School. Later, she taught at Chapel Hill until she retired. She died in 1996. Words cannot express the kindness she displayed to all the children at Rice School. ***************************************************************** Henry Adams 1906-1964 Henry Adams was born in 1906 and like the other's he was well known and liked by all. He was the bus driver for Rice School for many years. He also did odd jobs at the school until his death in 1964. ***************************************************************** Francis Ingram Williams 1917 Francis Ingram was born in 1917. In 1923 Ms. Ingram began school at Smyre near Mi. Zion. Her teacher at Smyre was Ms. May Rice, the same teacher who later taught at Rice School. In 1925 at the age of eight, she began the third grade at Rice School. At this time Rice School was nothing more than a three-room schoolhouse. In the seventh grade her and a few other students were sent into Tyler for schooling, due to the small size of their class. The school district paid tuition to Tyler rather than hire a teacher for such a small class. She graduated from school in 1934 and began going to college at Tyler Junior College. After two years at TJC she earned a degree for teaching. Her first teaching job was in 1936 at Rice School. She taught at Rice School until 1943. At that time she decided to take a better paying job in Camp Fannin. Later she married a Yankee soldier stationed at Fort Polk, LA named Frank Williams. During their marriage they had only one son together. Today, Ms. Williams is still living here in Tyler, TX. I'd like to take the time now to express my heart felt thanks and gratitude for all the help she was in the making of this book. Ms. Williams provided me with valuable information and pictures. Thank you again for all your help and kindness. ***************************************************************** 1947 YEARBOOK Year Valedictorian Salutatorian ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1942 Willie Jewell McFarland Wand June Hogue 1943 Mary Sharp Billy Parrott 1944 Judy Winn Harold Curtis 1945 Othelia Dorn Melba Smith 1946 Frances Weesner Milburn McMillian ***************************************************************** Rice School - Mr. Elmer Burn's Baseball Team - circa 1940 Lewis Hood, Wade Lilly, Barney Ray Steele, Melvin Steele, Willie Lilly, Ray Massey, Billy Joe Everett, Jimmy Ray Dark, James Waters, James Ivy