EXPANDED REGIONAL COVERAGE
Times were different in 1966 when the last senior class walked across the stage to receive diplomas from Marvin Pynes School, an all-black school in the small Northeast Texas town of DeKalb.
The country was wavering, developing and uncertain. There was unrest, discontentment, worry, but also harmony, hopefulness, enthusiasm. The pungent aroma of change was pervasive throughout the nation.
In the mid-1960s, a controversial war being waged in a faraway country known as Vietnam. There was a change of attitude sweeping our nation called the Civil Rights Movement. There were still colleges that were inaccessible to black students, an unheard of phenomenon in today’s times.
But there was an eagerness among the young. And Marvin Pynes students were stepping out of their comfort zone and into a bright, new, promising world.
“We were bursting through something that no one knew what to expect,” Jamie House, alumni of this remarkable school, said.
“But there was tremendous optimism by our parents for what we could possibly achieve and at the end of the day, it was up to us to do that. To take advantage of those opportunities that were opening up for us.
“And many of us did and we blazed trails. They could see that more than we could. They had to put the inspiration in us to do it. And we went from there. We were moving into a new frontier.”
Now, half a century later, a small group of these graduates recently celebrated their 50th high school reunion. They recalled not only being the last graduating class from the school, but their admiration for their teachers and families for helping them to succeed.
To have had so much support and strong, determined teachers surrounding the students, pushing them, teaching them. It was the structure, the discipline. That’s how their teaching methods were successful.
And it made no difference whether they were in a tworoom schoolhouse out in the community or in the halls of Marvin Pynes. It was the positive influence of the adults in their young lives that helped them succeed.
Most of the children who went to school in their own communities had older buildings, one or two rooms, one or two teachers.
Marvin Pynes offered them so much more.
“Marvin Pynes was a betterment of our meager educational beginnings and served as a bridge to a brighter future for all of the students,” House said.
Voluntary integration was offered to the students in the fall of 1965. A few of the students opted to move while most remained at Marvin Pynes.
The Rev. Joe Ganaway and Stanley Easter chose to attend DeKalb High their senior year.
But that didn’t stop them from meeting their old friends from Marvin Pynes for the reunion that included dinner at Copeland’s Restaurant in Texarkana.
“We gathered for dinner on Friday night to reminisce with each other, have fellowship, talk about old times, remember our teachers and recognize those members of our class who have become deceased since we graduated,” House said.
“Then the following day, we took a tour of Marvin Pynes, which is now DeKalb Middle School.”
One distinction the school offered was the special relationship between the teachers, parents and students.
“What was so unique about the school, the teachers were relatives of ours, relatives of mine and of many of the students,” House said. “They were our cousins, our parents’ cousins.”
Having that connection meant the students received an abundance of encouragement and were inspired to continue their education beyond high school.
In fact, Marvin Pynes School had a large percentage of its students pursue college educations, careers and professions that carried them successfully through their lives.
“We were a very enterprising group of students, not just my class, but the whole school. We were always pushed to try to have success beyond what the generation before us did,” House said.
And it is all because of the commitment of their parents, teachers, families and strong cohesive communities that these class members are able to hold their heads high with pride.
“The evidence speaks for itself,” Ross Cullins, Doctor of Ministry and Marvin Pynes graduate, said. “The key to it, from my perspective, is we were all encouraged by our teachers, by our parents. We were a close-knit community. We didn’t realize at the time what we had.”
It’s the encouragement, the involvement, the support and urging from the teachers and parents that made Marvin Pynes stand out.
“We used to hear about Dallas and it being this huge place. Occasionally people from our hometown would go to Dallas and they would talk about things going on there,” Cullins said.
“So you have a tendency to think that if you’re in a small town, you’re at a disadvantage. But our teachers taught us so well until we were able to compete with anybody. And I mean anybody. We were able to perform well because we had been taught the basics.”
As many people know, living in a small town, everybody knows everybody. That makes it increasingly difficult for kids in the community to get away with anything.
“We would see our teachers in church. Our parents would dress us down for being disrespectful,” Cullins said. “Somebody was going to see it, and somebody was going to report it. It really was a community effort.”
Easter agrees with the claims that the moral and educational values instilled in the students became a way of life for them. It just took some of them a little longer to realize it.
“My mom was a teacher in the DeKalb area so she wanted me, well, she insisted upon me to go to college,” Easter said.
“And at that time, I wasn’t quite ready to go. But I had no choice. I went, though, and out of two years I had 30 semester hours so you know I wasn’t doing everything right,” he said laughing.
Easter left Texarkana College during the Vietnam draft. But instead of joining the Army, he and a friend signed up for the Air Force.
“My experience in the military I wouldn’t exchange for anything,” he said.
Four years after enlisting in the service, Easter returned to his small hometown and began working at Red River Army Depot. It was during this time that he became interested in attending college again.
“I used my G.I. Bill and went to East Texas State and graduated in 1974 with a degree in business management,” he said.
So his mother was right all along. She knew what he was capable of achieving.
“I thank her every day for that. She was the one, she was the one.”
Earning a position in management at Red River, Easter later transferred to Rock Island, Ill., where he spent the next 17 years. His next stop was as a logistics assistance representative, known as a LAR, where he worked directly with the soldiers, including two tours in Iraq.
“I went with the soldiers with the different combat situations. We were just like the military but we were civilians,” he said. “We went in right after the Marines did. We helped set up the base there. I actually retired with 39 years of military time.”
In October, when his current work project comes to an end, Easter plans to return home.
“Hopefully then, I’m coming home for good,” he said. “I’ve got a little ranch up in DeKalb, gonna take my mom’s place. I kept it going with 20 to 25 head of cows to keep me busy. I love doing that.”
Cullins, who is celebrating his 46th year as a minister, currently resides in Houston and is pastor of the Solid Rock Baptist Church. Feeling a little nostalgic after attending the reunion, he, along with Easter, has visions of returning home.
“It was worth the trip just to see the people in that photo (at the restaurant), most of whom I have not seen in a few years,” he said. “Sometimes it’s years between times when we’re together. It was just very special.
“I’ve been thinking about coming home when I retire; moving out to the country on my grandmother’s place. In fact, it’s the place where I was born, out in the Garland community. That community had a lot of professional people. People who went on to do extremely well.”
Although most of the students’ parents did not attend college, some did. And there was always the understanding that they wanted their children to achieve more than they themselves had. Small school or not, they proved that it is possible to reach your goals and live out your dreams regardless of the size of your school.
“And to think 50 years ago we graduated high school. Where did the time go?” Cullins asked.
House, a graduate of Prairie View A&M University near Houston, has established himself as a certified public accountant with a multi-billion dollar corporation that serves large institutional investors.
As the vice chairman and chief operating officer of Smith Graham & Co., House’s office is on the 69th floor of the JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston.
“If I take the time to sit back and reflect on where I came from, then to be sitting here on the 69th floor looking out the window and looking over the entire landscape of Houston, it’s truly, truly amazing,” he said.
And it all began in little Marvin Pynes School.
The class is saddened by the recent loss of their classmate Sandra Betts Taylor. Sandra, who died last week, was an integral part of the class, a leader and a fun person to be around. Their thoughts and prayers go with the family.