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The
History
Star Spencer High School traces its old roots to the “War Babies” of the
Second World War. When Tinker Air Force Base, just to the south,
converted from war to peace time operations, employed many war veterans,
and new housing developments went up on every vacant lot, the small country
schools of the Spencer and Star communities were inadequate to hold those
war babies as they reached school age. Therefore the elementary
schools of Star and Spencer were expanded to include Green Pastures, Telestar,
and Willow Brook Elementary School. As those war babies reached
high school age, they were being transferred to the Choctaw, Jones, Midwest
City and Oklahoma City schools. At that time the people were faced
with the problem of annexation to the Midwest City school system, which
most patrons felt was barely able to take care of the children of their
own community. With the community growing so rapidly, the patrons
had a vision of a high school in the future, so the vote to annex to Midwest
City was brought up and defeated twice.
In 1955 ten acres of ground was purchased on North Spencer Road from Mr.
W.H. Weinger for $5000.00. Seven classrooms, a principal’s office,
kitchen and cafeteria were built and ready for occupancy by October 1956.
Fred Caviness was the teaching principal and “Spencer Road School” was
the beginnings of a dream come true. The first plan was to begin
with a junior high school and gradually grew into a complete high school,
but according to state law, an entire high school had to be established,
so the seventh and eighth grade students from the elementary schools were
sent to the Spencer Road School, with ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
grades added the next year. Mr. William C. Gregory was transferred
from Star Elementary as the high school principal. Because of ill
health, Mr. Gregory retired at the end of the school year, and Mr. Raymond
Harvey was employed as superintendent, with Mr. C.W. Earnest serving as
principal. In hiring teachers for the new highs school, Mr. Harvey
gave preference to those who had high school age children who could play
football, basketball, or play an instrument in the band.
During
the year 1958-59 the school was officially named Star-Spencer High School,
navy blue and white was the school colors, and a Bobcat was the mascot.
Star-Spencer became an accredited high school and a member of the North
Central Association. Classrooms were still at a premium for the
growing number students, and some classes were held in school buses.
In February 1959, Star-Spencer suffered a great loss when the temporary
building that housed the band equipment and woodshop burned. A Band Booster
club was organized to aid the development of the instrumental music program
shortly after the beginning of school, but after the fire, their efforts
were directed in helping replace instruments destroyed by the fire. Mr.
Lyle Work was the band director. The first class graduate from Star Spencer
High School was May 1959, with 25 graduating seniors.
Star
Spencer kept up the tradition of growing, and the time had come for more
assistance than the County Superintendent could provide, so during the
1959-60 school year, patrons went to the polls and annexed to the Oklahoma
City School District, and on January 5, 1960, Star Spencer High School
merged with Oklahoma City and became a part of Independent School District
I-89. Mr. Harvey remained as area superintendent, with Mr. C.W.
Earnest, high school principal, Mr. Jim Tomlinson, junior high principal
and Mrs. Eleanor Lane, Counselor. Star Spencer had now grown to
an enrollment of 1025 with 30 classrooms, an auto mechanic shop, two industrial
arts rooms, a special education building, a band room, a girl’s gym equipped
with showers and dressing rooms, showers and dressing rooms added to the
boy’s gym and a garage repair shop for the 15 buses that transported students
to and from school. Mr. Harvey retired at the close of the school
year, Mr. Earnest transferred to another school, and Mr. A.R. Reeder was
appointed principal, with Mr. Sizemore Bowlan, vice principal. The
number of counselors was increased to three, and a school nurse, Florene
Walker, was hired.
Over
the next two years, more construction took place and the school year 1965-66
closed with 40 regular classrooms, nine temporary classrooms, with three
classes held in the auditorium. The latest additions were band room,
music room, auto mechanics, new offices, teacher’s lounge, material center,
speech room and the auditorium with a seating capacity of 900. Mr.
Ted Perdue and Mr. Tomlinson were vice principals. The junior class
won first place honors every year until Mrs. Metheny retired in 1977.
The peak enrollment was reached this year with 1,805 students, 189 of
those, graduating seniors.
The
year 1967-68 was a winning year for the baseball team who won the state
championship. Mr. Dawkins worked for expansion and beautification
of the campus area in 1968-69. Rogers Middle School for grades six
through eight came in to being in the school year, 1969-70. Carl
Twidwell, athletic director and football coach, was made vice principal.
Under the direction of the new football coach, Mr. Carl Smith, the Bobcats
shut out two conference foes and became Capitol Conference Co-Champions
in football. The Bobcat cross-country team took runner-up honors
in the State 3-A meet for the second straight year. Bobcat wrestlers
retained their Capitol Conference title, crowning four champions, and
outdistancing three other high schools in the conference tournament.
The
school year 1971-72 welcomed Mr. James Sandage as principal, and a brand
new addition, Security Guard, Mr. Bruce Bailey. Arcadia High School
students were transferred to Star-Spencer for the school year 1972-73.
In the fall of 1973 Dungee High School was closed and the students were
transferred to Star-Spencer. Mr. James Nees was principal, with
Ollie Cooper and Basil McCollom new vice principals, along with John Moore.
For the third year a student from Star-Spencer was chosen Boy-Of-The-Month
by the Exchange Club of Oklahoma City; five for Hi-Lions, and five for
citizenship awards. Math teacher, J.H. Bowman, was appointed the
new head football coach and athletic director. The Counselors were:
Seniors-Marge Watters; Juniors-Richard Berry; Sophomores-Hallie Knight,
Freshman-Judy Legg.
The
year 1974-75 saw the usual Star-Spencer activities, such as band and choral
concerts, class elections, pep rallies, talent shows, Toys for Tots, Walk
for Mankind, door and hall decorations, homecoming parade, thespian plays,
Powder Puff Derby, modern dance and gymnastics programs, assorted assemblies
including the Grambling Band, and an especially interesting presentation
by Mrs. Pam Willis, a widely traveled teacher, on her trip to Russia.
The
1975-76 school year created a sad memory when the Pep Club bus chartered
for the Guymon-Star-Spencer game overturned on the way home. Luckily
most of the injuries were minor cuts and bruises. The Bobcat football
team went to the state 3A playoffs for the second year, and being rated
number one after winning State was a great experience for the Bobcat basketball
squad. Since this was the bi-centennial year, the History Club toured
Washington, D.C. during the Spring Break. The end of school was
most exciting. There were more banquets, assemblies, the prom, award
assemblies, and then—graduation!
The
year 1976-77 had for its motto, “The Shape of Things To Come.” Star-Spencer
was in a three-way tie for first place in the football Capitol Conference
with Southeast and Douglass and another State Championship was earned
by the Bobcat basketball team. Winner of the Best Legs Contest sponsored
by the Key Club was none other than our distinguished band director, Mr.
Richard Burrell.
The
school year 1977-78 started out with a new principal, Dr. Leon Edd and
several new classes including Carpentry, Child Care and Horticulture.
For the third year the Bobcat basketball team won the State Championship.
Looking
back to the beginning, the ebb and flow of students and teachers can be
compared to the sands and tides of the oceans. Teachers that started
at the beginning and are still with us include Mrs. Jean Hartis, Mr. Emile
Delsigne, and Mr. Ward McCaskill. Mr. R.C. Poteet is retired, but
still substituting. In the past, Star-Spencer has had three graduates
accepted by the U.S. Air Force Academy, and one graduate by the U.S. Naval
Academy. The whole of Star-Spencer can be compared to the melting
pot communities of large metropolitan cities: White, Black, Portuguese,
Iranian, German, Indian, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, and French are just a few
of the ethnic groups who have graced the halls of Star-Spencer.
1959-2002- the dream goes on…
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The
Mascot
Felis Rufus
Why
choose a Bobcat for a mascot? Read this and learn more…
The
name Bobcat may have originated from their short tails, which are only
6 or 7 inches long. The end of its tail is always black, tipped with white,
which distinguishes the Bobcat from its northern cousin, the Canadian
Lynx, whose tail is tipped solid black.
The Bobcat has long legs and large paws. Large specimens can weigh up
to 30 pounds, but the average Bobcat is only 15 to 20 pounds. The Bobcat's
growls and snarls are so deep and fearsome, particularly when hidden from
view, that one gets the miss-impression it must be a Mountain Lion.
Geographic variations have some effect on their color. Those found in
timber and heavy brush fields are darker with rust-colored tones, while
those found in the Great Basin area of northeastern California generally
are a paler tawny-gray, often with a complete absence of spots on the
back and less distinct markings. The coat in wintertime is a beautiful
fur. Despite its pussycat appearance when seen in repose, the
Bobcat is quite fierce and is equipped to kill animals as large as deer.
When living near a ranch, it may take lambs, poultry and even young pigs.
The Bobcat roams freely at night and is frequently abroad during the
day except at the peak of summer. It does not dig its own den. If a crevice
or a cave is not available, it will den in a dense thicket of brush or
sometimes choose a hollow in a log or a tree.
Bobcats occupy areas from 1/4 of a square mile to as much as 25 square
miles, depending on the habitat and sex of the Bobcat. Female Bobcats
occupy smaller areas than males and normally do not associate with other
female bobcats. Males roam wider than females; while they are not particularly
tolerant of other males, the home ranges of males will overlap those of
both males and females. Its mating behavior is similar to a housecat's.
Young are usually born in April and May, although litters may be born
during almost any month except December and January. The normal
Bobcat litter consists of 2 or 3 kittens, born blind and weighing 4 to
8 ounces. Birth occurs in a rock crevice or burrow, after a 60-day gestation
period. The kittens open their eyes after 10 days and are taught hunting
skills by their mother until they leave her 9 or 10 months later. The
father has no role in raising the offspring.
Young
Bobcats appear as lovable and harmless domestic kittens, but because they
are wild animals with the ability to inflict injury to humans, it is illegal
to keep Bobcats as pets without special permits.
Almost
overnight the pelt of the Bobcat came into prominence as one of the
most desirable and expensive furs that could be taken legally. Because
of the high value of the Bobcat's fur and the recent increase in the take
by hunters and licensed fur trappers, the California Fish and Game Commission
has imposed a wintertime trapping season to control the amount of time
when Bobcat can be taken.
The Bobcat has at last been recognized as a valuable part of
our wildlife resources.
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