The Superintendents for the early years were: John C. Moore, 1884-1887; R. B. Cousins, 1887-1903; N. R. Crozier, 1903-1905; W. B. Toone, 1905-1906; E. B. Stover, 1906-1914; A. G. Koenig, 1914-1915; and A. B. Weisner, 1915-1916. Mr. Weisner was killed in the Opera House explosion.
A complete roll of the class of 1900 was not available. Two members of the class were Charles Harris and Anna Compton, both of whom were important to the history of Mexia. Harris, as far as is known about him, is the only native of Mexia to achieve the military rank of Major General. Compton was a long-time teacher in our school system.
The pay for the Principal in 1900 was $150 a month. Teachers were $55 a month and the janitor made $25 a month.
School was dismissed from the second Monday in February, 1901 for thirty days because of Scarlet Fever. Parents were afraid to send their children to school for fear of them taking the disease.
This is a partial list of the 10th and 11th graders of 1901. There was no listing of seniors.
Noland Arvin
Harvey Bennett
Guy Bond
Nathan Bourland
Minnie Carroll
Oscar Cox
Doyle David
Lillie Maude David
John Friley
Bess Gladdish
Gertie Green
Sadie Green
John Groover
Sallie Lou Hall
Bethel Hancock
Mabel Lewis
Tom Lewis
Lillian Machon
Nat Machon
John McBonner
Joe McCain
Ona McDonald
Lisia Miller
Retta Murphy
Jake Nussbaum
Rosa Phillips
Ona Roberts
George Ross
Vernon Ross
Luella Smith
Luther Smith
Laura Steen
Mary Steele
Ernest Stevens
Emma Taylor
Sophia Wood
Oran Wroe
Surrounded by the family and school board of the Mexia Public School, with a host of admiring friends and fellow citizens, the class of 1904 passed from the threshold of schooldom into the outer realm of reality. The stage at the Opera House was most beautifully and tastily decorated. The music was furnished by the Prairie Grove Band. High above the heads of the graduates was a gilded monogram, M.H.S. (This is an excerpt from the program of Closing Exercises for the class of 1904.
Roger L. Burgess
W. Barney Humphries
Janie Loader
T. Osro Lofland
Birnie May
Ena McDonald
J. Rueben Neese
William M. Peyton
May Phillips
H. Clay Watson
Herbert Wright
Julia Kauhl was a member of the class of 1906. She later was employed as a teacher and spent her entire life teaching career in the Mexia ISD. Hiram Sterling fled the law and became the star of a "wild west show." Ben Jackson remained in Mexia throughout his life and wrote a newspaper column about Mexia's history for the Centennial additions.
Sam Berry
Theo Bessling
Clara Best
Louise Bonner
Lucy Kate Bozeman
Leon Bryant
Preston Burgess
Bartow Cousins
Jennie Bell Dies
Katy Gray
Annie Griffith
Clay Griffith
Ruby Hayter
Ben Jackson
Julia Kauhl
Helen King
Mattie Bess Loader
Talmadge McDonald
Ione McSwain
Leonard Miller
Terrell Oliphant
Phocion Park
Mildred Phillips
Henry Picture
Mary Picture
Tom Rennolds
Grace Schulz
Eugene Sinclair
Frank Steen
Wiley Steen
Hiram Sterling
Brozia Stitt
Ileen Thomas
Maud Vaughn
Etta Mae Wooten
There was not a list available for the Class of 1907.
Superintendent Stover's salary was $1300 per year.
In May, 1907, these men were chosen as officers for the following year's school board: W. M. White, President; Julius Desenberg, VP; J. W. Clark, Treasurer; and W. M. Johnson, Secretary. Other members were Tracy McKenzie and Dr. J. M. Conrad.
May Bessling
Lil Harper
Guy Herring
Reuben Jackson
Anna Lake
Mary Lewis
Ada McDonald
Ella Mosely
Mary Ross
Eula Schulz
Excerpts from the 1908 handbook:
"For grades below high school, the Superintendent shall prepare all term examinations. For high school grades, all examination questions must receive his approval."
"If the teacher fails to reach school at the specified time, she must report in writing to the Superintendent the amount of tardiness. Any teacher violating this regulation without a valid excuse shall forfeit a half day's pay."
"Those students not completing the requirements in German or Latin will receive a certificate only and will not receive a diploma or graduate."
There was not a complete list of the Class of 1909. Some of the members were:
Lillian Bigger
Mary Corley
Willie Gilmore
Blake Hancock
Hilda Nussbaum
Leslie Sinclair
Mabel Sturdivant
Fay Yeldell
The school year of 1908-1909 saw the publication of The Mexia High School Magazine. Since that time the schools literary efforts have taken many forms.
Here are some excerpts from the magazine:
Two teachers gone the day after Thanksgiving! Thursday we might have said "The best is yet to be. There is still rest for the weary."
The ninth grade began the reading of Caesar on the 7th. Resolutions have been properly drafted, assuring the class that it has the sympathy of the entire school.
The basket ball teams have secured a copy of standard rules for the game, and they are ready to play in earnest as soon as the weather and the senior play permit.
A contract for the new high school building was awarded to C. W. Fugun for $10,031.27 and to S. E. Hooker for $3343.75.
