Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana)
Encyclopedia
Minden High School (MHS) is the public secondary educational institution in Minden
, a small city
of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport
in northwestern Louisiana
. MHS houses grades nine through twelve (and a small number of eighth graders) but originally handled grades one through eleven prior to the establishment of the twelfth grade. The school is under the supervision of the elected Webster Parish School Board
.
, a New York
native who shaped the community into that of a parallelogram
and divided the area into lots. He named the settlement after the home of his ancestors in Germany
. Minden thereafter became the largest town in old Claiborne Parish, a part of which was separated to be included in the newer Webster Parish, named for Massachusetts
statesman Daniel Webster
.
In 1838, Minden received one of the first charter
s for a public school from the Louisiana State Legislature
. Though the school charged tuition
, it was open to all white children. Hence known as "Minden Academy", the school later split into the Minden Male Academy and the Minden Female College, both of which operated into the late 1890s. The current Minden High School is located on College Street on the site of Veeder's original Minden Academy.
In 1897, the Webster Parish School Board voted to establish a central high school in Minden. The trustees of the already existing Minden Normal and Business College offered a building. In 1901, the first year of its existence as a high school, MHS graduated one senior, Harry Crichton. Since that time, more than six thousand have received diplomas from the institution. From 1913-1917, the principal was John Barnard Snell (1884–1959), husband of short story
author Ada Jack Carver Snell
(1890–1972) and father of David Snell
(1921–1987), journalist and cartoonists with the defunct Life Magazine. Snell left the position for military service in World War I. On his return, he operated a successful cotton gin
.
As a result of the consolidation with the former historically African-American Webster High School, the Class of 1975, with 248 graduates, became the largest in school history. Other high schools were thereafter established in the Webster Parish communities of Dubberly
, Heflin
, Sibley
, Doyline
, Shongaloo
, Sarepta
, Cotton Valley
, and in Springhill
, the second largest city in the parish located adjacent to the Arkansas
state boundary.
There are four public elementary schools in Minden: William G. Stewart
, E.S. Richardson
, J.E. Harper and J.L. Jones. These schools send pupils to Webster Junior High School, which in turn directs them to Minden High School.
structure opened to the east of the existing building. The 1924 structure continued to be used as a classroom building and as a girls' gymnasium until the early 21st century. It was razed in 2005 to make room for yet another new MHS building complex. This latest fully renovated MHS opened at the same location in August 2007.
The new three-story structure features air-conditioned classrooms, a new gymnasium, computer services, and a cafeteria. After several defeats at the polls, including the rejection of a proposed new campus near Interstate 20
, community and business leaders pushed through a $33 million tax package in an election held in January 2004. The renovations will hence replace the older Minden High and Webster Junior High campuses and upgrade elementary schools as well. The junior high facility opened in August 2008.
(1875–1950) served as Webster Parish superintendent from 1921-1936. In the summer of 1927, he made appearances across the nation to explain the school improvement and consolidation plan that he had created in Webster Parish. He spoke in seven states to educational conferences on what some had termed the "Webster miracle." Richardson continued with his reforms by the establishment of a uniform promotion plan of four principal points:
1) Promotions in the first three grades were based on work done in reading
and numbers. For the second grade, a student had to perform in two minutes fifteen simple addition problems and nine subtraction problems.
2) In grades 4-7 a pupil had to pass arithmetic
, reading, and language before being eligible for promotion. He could still be promoted with one failure in either of the other major subjects, history
, civics
, geography
, and health
.
3) A pupil absent from school for the last marking period could return for the final examinations provided he had performed passing work in arithmetic, reading, and language at the time of his withdrawal, and provided that his absence was for sufficient cause.
4) Examinations were given at the beginning of each year to pupils, on request, if they failed two subjects, one of which could be arithmetic, reading, or language. Pupils who withdrew from school after attending as many as one hundred days could hence take examinations in all subjects with a view of promotion, provided they were doing passing work in reading, arithmetic, and language at the time of their withdrawal.
Pupils absent during the last marking period and who returned for the final examinations but failed to make passing grades, could again take examinations in the subjects in which they failed. Uniform tests were prepared by the superintendent and teachers and advertised in the newspaper as to when and where they would be administered. By defining this policy, Richardson hoped to further the standardization he established in nearly all aspects of the parish system, from furniture
to textbook
s.
Richardson was previously the superintendent in Bienville Parish from 1916–1920, when at forty-five, he took the top position in Webster Parish. He left Webster Parish schools in 1936, when he began a five-year stint as the president of Louisiana Tech University
(then Louisiana Polytechnic Institute) in Ruston
. He is honored by the naming of E. S. Richardson Elementary on East Todd Street in the eastern part of Minden.
, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana, began his teaching career in Shongaloo
in Webster Parish. He was principal of E.S. Richardson Elementary School
in Minden and then Minden High School, where he served from from June 1952 to 1961. He and J. L. Cathcart switched principalships, with Cathcart transferred to Richardson and Williams to MHS. During his administration, the new building opened in 1954, as did a new American football
stadium. In addition, a track, a covered walkway from the main building to the gymnasium, and parking lots were constructed. At the time, the gym contained one of the few indoor heated swimming pool
s in the state. Minden swim teams were state champions every single year of Williams' tenure.
The MHS Crimson Tide was the state football champion in 1954 and 1956, the basketball champion in 1955 and 1959, and the runner-up in 1954, the baseball champion in 1956 and runner-up in 1954-1955, and the Gulf Open golf
champion in 1956. Shreveport sportswriters at the time began to refer to Minden teams as the "Home of the Champions." Even when the teams did not win statewide, they were invariably district champions in the respective sports. In 1960, the football team secured the district title but lost to Neville High School
, a longstanding athletic rival in Monroe
. The team won statewide again in 1963 and 1980. In 1963, the later Superintendent Wayne Williams, Jr., the older son of W. W. Williams, was a junior player on the winning MHS team.
MHS during the late 1950s and early 1960s ranked in the top 1 percent on national standardized test scores in English
, the top 2 percent in science
, the top 3 percent in mathematics
, and the top 5 percent in social studies
. The school has yet to match those tallies once again.
MHS was the first school in the state to have a music program and an indoor pool. In 1981, the pool was abandoned when it became too costly to maintain.
Irene Williams, wife of W. W. Williams, served as the MHS secretary for many years. Maude Bullock (1905-1987), who joined the Webster Parish school system in 1926 and was named the 1960 "Outstanding Educator of the Year", served for a time as principal of the junior-high section of the school before finishing her career as a seventh-grade teacher at the since defunct Lowe Junior High School. In 1961, Williams was named "Citizen of the Year" by the Minden Lions Club.
On September 4, 2009, the MHS football stadium was named the "W. W. Williams, Sr., Stadium."
Morgan had a distinguished record in World War II
, having served from 1941-1946. He received officer training at Morrison Field in Florida
and was stationed for a time in both Newfoundland
and Central America
. At twenty-five, he was a United States Army major in charge of dignitaries at the Casablanca Conference. The conference met between January 14 and January 24, 1943, at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French
protectorate
. Its purpose was to plan the European strategy of the Allies. Present were U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
, and General Charles de Gaulle
, leader at the time of the Free French. The Casablanca Declaration called for the Allies to seek the "unconditional surrender" of the Axis Powers. The conference was followed by later summit meetings in Cairo, and Teheran.
Morgan was born in Webster Parish to Oliver Craten Morgan and the former Parma Rosana Armour. He graduated from Shongaloo High School and first attended Louisiana College
in Pineville
but then completed his bachelor and master's degrees from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. He was already teaching by the time that he entered the Army. After the war, he was appointed the principal of Heflin High School in Heflin
in south Webster Parish. In 1960, he was named by the Webster Parish School Board as the first principal of the then newly-opened Lowe Junior High School (since the Webster Parish Alternative School) in Minden. The school was named for Theresa McConnell Lowe (1907–1959), a highly-regarded Webster Parish educator. Morgan's former position at Heflin High School went to Harry Campbell, later the Webster Parish superintendent. Morgan served a year at Lowe until he was named principal of Minden High School in 1961.
On December 13, 1942, then Lieutenant Morgan married the former Marion Inez Kirkley (March 9, 1925- June 1, 2001), the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Kirkley. John Kirkley was a farmer and a former employee of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture. The couple lived in the Evergreen Community between Shongaloo
and Minden. The Morgans had two daughters, Barbara Ann Morgan Bogan (1944-July 7, 2007) and Sandra Morgan Morgan, wife of John Paul Morgan (both born 1948). Both daughters graduated from Minden High School when their father was the principal.
On November 21, 1987, Morgan was narrowly elected to the Webster Parish Police Jury, the governing body of the parish, akin to county commission
s in other states. He defeated his fellow Democrat
, Joe Pearce, 473 (51 percent) to 463 (49 percent). He maintained an interest in rural development but did not seek reelection in 1991.
Morgan died in a Bossier City
hospital of complications from a fall. Services were held on October 22, 2007, with the Reverends Floyd Stratton, Ben Jordan, and Carol Daye Heard officiating. Miss Heard had also been a Minden High School student during the time of Morgan's principalship. In addition to his daughter Sandra, Morgan was survived by two sisters, Maggie Mackey of Lafayette
, and Eulyne Adkins of Shongaloo
; a brother, Bill Morgan of Lafayette; four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Morgan was a member of the Evergreen Union Church. He is interred at the Evergreen Cemetery. Pallbearers included Webster Parish Superintendent Wayne Williams, Jr., and two former superintendents, Richard V. Noles and Matt Martin.
in south Bossier Parish and died at his residence in Minden. He graduated in 1942 from Doyline High School in Doyline
in south Webster Parish. He served in the United States Navy
from 1942-1946 during World War II
. After the war, he procured his bachelor's degree
from Centenary College
, a Methodist-affiliated institution in Shreveport
, where he was a three-year letterman in basketball
, was captain of the men's basketball team during his senior year, and was an all-conference guard. He then earned a master's degree
from Peabody College
in Nashville
, Tennessee
. He was recalled by the military to serve in the Korean War
from 1951-1952.
On his return to Louisiana, he began coaching basketball at Ringgold High School in 1952-1953 and at Minden High School in 1953-1954. His total basketball won-loss record was 312-97, or .763. Under his guidance, MHS won one state runner-up and two state championship titles in 1955, when Jackie Moreland
was a player, and again in 1959. During the time that Strong was either coach or principal, MHS teams won more than twenty state championships. In 1955 and 1959, he coached Louisiana High School Athletic Association All-Star teams. He was the first basketball coach named to the Louisiana High School Coaches Association. On January 28, 1988, Strong was inducted into the LHSAA Hall of Fame.
Strong was survived by his wife of fifty-two years, Evelyn Strong of Minden; son, Dr. Thomas Strong (born March 11, 1957) and wife Kim of Lake Charles
; daughters Linda Jones and husband Bill of Benton
, the seat of Bossier Parish, and Janet Merrell and husband Larry of Bossier City; sisters Virginia Allen (1921–2010) of Minden, Josephine Rodgers and husband Dave of West Monroe
in Ouachita Parish, brother Otis L. Strong, Jr., and wife LaVerne of Minden, and six grandchildren. Strong was Baptist
. He is interred at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden.
in Shreveport was launched in the middle 1970s, with the closure and consolidation of the former all-black Webster High School effective with the 1974-75 school year. Thereafter, MHS became majority black in enrollment. The latest total is 54 percent black, 45 percent white, and 1 percent Hispanic
. Some whites vacated the institution for the private Glenbrook High School, which was established in 1970, or for home schooling, which particularly gained popularity in the 1990s.
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, a small city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. MHS houses grades nine through twelve (and a small number of eighth graders) but originally handled grades one through eleven prior to the establishment of the twelfth grade. The school is under the supervision of the elected Webster Parish School Board
Webster Parish School Board
Webster Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in Minden, Louisiana, United States. The district operates public schools in Webster Parish.-Primary schools:PK-6* Central Elementary School 5-6...
.
School history
Minden was founded in 1837 by Charles H. VeederCharles H. Veeder
Charles Hanson Veeder was a Schenectady, New York-born lawyer who founded the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. In the 2000 census, Minden, which is located some twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, had a population in excess of 13,000.Veeder was the son...
, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
native who shaped the community into that of a parallelogram
Parallelogram
In Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a convex quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equal measure...
and divided the area into lots. He named the settlement after the home of his ancestors in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Minden thereafter became the largest town in old Claiborne Parish, a part of which was separated to be included in the newer Webster Parish, named for Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
statesman Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
.
In 1838, Minden received one of the first charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
s for a public school from the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. Though the school charged tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
, it was open to all white children. Hence known as "Minden Academy", the school later split into the Minden Male Academy and the Minden Female College, both of which operated into the late 1890s. The current Minden High School is located on College Street on the site of Veeder's original Minden Academy.
In 1897, the Webster Parish School Board voted to establish a central high school in Minden. The trustees of the already existing Minden Normal and Business College offered a building. In 1901, the first year of its existence as a high school, MHS graduated one senior, Harry Crichton. Since that time, more than six thousand have received diplomas from the institution. From 1913-1917, the principal was John Barnard Snell (1884–1959), husband of short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
author Ada Jack Carver Snell
Ada Jack Carver Snell
Ada Jack Carver Snell was an American short story writer originally from the historic city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.-Background:...
(1890–1972) and father of David Snell
David Snell (journalist)
David Snell was a reporter and cartoonist for the defunct Life Magazine and several other publications during his career as a journalist.-Early years, family, education:...
(1921–1987), journalist and cartoonists with the defunct Life Magazine. Snell left the position for military service in World War I. On his return, he operated a successful cotton gin
Cotton gin
A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...
.
As a result of the consolidation with the former historically African-American Webster High School, the Class of 1975, with 248 graduates, became the largest in school history. Other high schools were thereafter established in the Webster Parish communities of Dubberly
Dubberly, Louisiana
Dubberly is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Heflin
Heflin, Louisiana
Heflin is a village in southern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 245 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Heflin is located at ....
, Sibley
Sibley, Louisiana
Sibley is a town in south Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Doyline
Doyline, Louisiana
Doyline is a village in southwestern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 841 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
, Sarepta
Sarepta, Louisiana
Sarepta is a town in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 925 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, Cotton Valley
Cotton Valley, Louisiana
Cotton Valley is a town in central Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,189 at the 2000 census. It is located some twenty miles northwest of the parish seat of Minden.-Overview:-Municipal matters:...
, and in Springhill
Springhill, Louisiana
Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, the second largest city in the parish located adjacent to the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
state boundary.
There are four public elementary schools in Minden: William G. Stewart
William G. Stewart Elementary School
William G. Stewart Elementary School is a defunct elementary school, which formerly served the western portion of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, with public school pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The institution was located at 215 North Middle...
, E.S. Richardson
E.S. Richardson Elementary School
E.S. Richardson Elementary School is a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade campus which serves parts of the eastern section of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. The school opened in the 1949-1950 academic year, with Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr. , as the...
, J.E. Harper and J.L. Jones. These schools send pupils to Webster Junior High School, which in turn directs them to Minden High School.
Construction: 1924, 1954, 2007
In 1924, a new two-story brick MHS building was located on College Street. It was used as the principal school facility until 1954, when a new brickBrick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
structure opened to the east of the existing building. The 1924 structure continued to be used as a classroom building and as a girls' gymnasium until the early 21st century. It was razed in 2005 to make room for yet another new MHS building complex. This latest fully renovated MHS opened at the same location in August 2007.
The new three-story structure features air-conditioned classrooms, a new gymnasium, computer services, and a cafeteria. After several defeats at the polls, including the rejection of a proposed new campus near Interstate 20
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...
, community and business leaders pushed through a $33 million tax package in an election held in January 2004. The renovations will hence replace the older Minden High and Webster Junior High campuses and upgrade elementary schools as well. The junior high facility opened in August 2008.
Superintendent E.S. Richardson
E.S. RichardsonE.S. Richardson
Edwin Sanders Richardson, Sr., principally known as E. S. Richardson , was an educator who served from August 14, 1936, until 1941 as the president of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish. Previously, Richardson was the superintendent of schools in his native Webster...
(1875–1950) served as Webster Parish superintendent from 1921-1936. In the summer of 1927, he made appearances across the nation to explain the school improvement and consolidation plan that he had created in Webster Parish. He spoke in seven states to educational conferences on what some had termed the "Webster miracle." Richardson continued with his reforms by the establishment of a uniform promotion plan of four principal points:
1) Promotions in the first three grades were based on work done in reading
Reading (process)
Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...
and numbers. For the second grade, a student had to perform in two minutes fifteen simple addition problems and nine subtraction problems.
2) In grades 4-7 a pupil had to pass arithmetic
Arithmetic
Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers...
, reading, and language before being eligible for promotion. He could still be promoted with one failure in either of the other major subjects, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, civics
Civics
Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, and health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
.
3) A pupil absent from school for the last marking period could return for the final examinations provided he had performed passing work in arithmetic, reading, and language at the time of his withdrawal, and provided that his absence was for sufficient cause.
4) Examinations were given at the beginning of each year to pupils, on request, if they failed two subjects, one of which could be arithmetic, reading, or language. Pupils who withdrew from school after attending as many as one hundred days could hence take examinations in all subjects with a view of promotion, provided they were doing passing work in reading, arithmetic, and language at the time of their withdrawal.
Pupils absent during the last marking period and who returned for the final examinations but failed to make passing grades, could again take examinations in the subjects in which they failed. Uniform tests were prepared by the superintendent and teachers and advertised in the newspaper as to when and where they would be administered. By defining this policy, Richardson hoped to further the standardization he established in nearly all aspects of the parish system, from furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
to textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s.
Richardson was previously the superintendent in Bienville Parish from 1916–1920, when at forty-five, he took the top position in Webster Parish. He left Webster Parish schools in 1936, when he began a five-year stint as the president of Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
(then Louisiana Polytechnic Institute) in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
. He is honored by the naming of E. S. Richardson Elementary on East Todd Street in the eastern part of Minden.
W. W. Williams years
W. W. Williams (1917–2000), a native of LeesvilleLeesville, Louisiana
Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to the Fort Polk U.S. Army installation...
, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana, began his teaching career in Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
in Webster Parish. He was principal of E.S. Richardson Elementary School
E.S. Richardson Elementary School
E.S. Richardson Elementary School is a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade campus which serves parts of the eastern section of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. The school opened in the 1949-1950 academic year, with Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr. , as the...
in Minden and then Minden High School, where he served from from June 1952 to 1961. He and J. L. Cathcart switched principalships, with Cathcart transferred to Richardson and Williams to MHS. During his administration, the new building opened in 1954, as did a new American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium. In addition, a track, a covered walkway from the main building to the gymnasium, and parking lots were constructed. At the time, the gym contained one of the few indoor heated swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s in the state. Minden swim teams were state champions every single year of Williams' tenure.
The MHS Crimson Tide was the state football champion in 1954 and 1956, the basketball champion in 1955 and 1959, and the runner-up in 1954, the baseball champion in 1956 and runner-up in 1954-1955, and the Gulf Open golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
champion in 1956. Shreveport sportswriters at the time began to refer to Minden teams as the "Home of the Champions." Even when the teams did not win statewide, they were invariably district champions in the respective sports. In 1960, the football team secured the district title but lost to Neville High School
Neville High School
Neville High School is a high school in Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is administered by the Monroe City Schools Board. It is located 1/2 mile from the Ouachita River. Its mascot is the Tiger.-Alumni:...
, a longstanding athletic rival in Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
. The team won statewide again in 1963 and 1980. In 1963, the later Superintendent Wayne Williams, Jr., the older son of W. W. Williams, was a junior player on the winning MHS team.
MHS during the late 1950s and early 1960s ranked in the top 1 percent on national standardized test scores in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, the top 2 percent in science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, the top 3 percent in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and the top 5 percent in social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
. The school has yet to match those tallies once again.
MHS was the first school in the state to have a music program and an indoor pool. In 1981, the pool was abandoned when it became too costly to maintain.
Irene Williams, wife of W. W. Williams, served as the MHS secretary for many years. Maude Bullock (1905-1987), who joined the Webster Parish school system in 1926 and was named the 1960 "Outstanding Educator of the Year", served for a time as principal of the junior-high section of the school before finishing her career as a seventh-grade teacher at the since defunct Lowe Junior High School. In 1961, Williams was named "Citizen of the Year" by the Minden Lions Club.
On September 4, 2009, the MHS football stadium was named the "W. W. Williams, Sr., Stadium."
Principal Carlus D. Morgan
Carlus D. Morgan (June 14, 1917–October 18, 2007) succeeded Williams in 1961 as the MHS principal and served until 1969, when he became human resources director in the Webster Parish School Board office. He retired from the school system in the spring of 1971.Morgan had a distinguished record in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, having served from 1941-1946. He received officer training at Morrison Field in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and was stationed for a time in both Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. At twenty-five, he was a United States Army major in charge of dignitaries at the Casablanca Conference. The conference met between January 14 and January 24, 1943, at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
. Its purpose was to plan the European strategy of the Allies. Present were U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, leader at the time of the Free French. The Casablanca Declaration called for the Allies to seek the "unconditional surrender" of the Axis Powers. The conference was followed by later summit meetings in Cairo, and Teheran.
Morgan was born in Webster Parish to Oliver Craten Morgan and the former Parma Rosana Armour. He graduated from Shongaloo High School and first attended Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
but then completed his bachelor and master's degrees from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. He was already teaching by the time that he entered the Army. After the war, he was appointed the principal of Heflin High School in Heflin
Heflin, Louisiana
Heflin is a village in southern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 245 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Heflin is located at ....
in south Webster Parish. In 1960, he was named by the Webster Parish School Board as the first principal of the then newly-opened Lowe Junior High School (since the Webster Parish Alternative School) in Minden. The school was named for Theresa McConnell Lowe (1907–1959), a highly-regarded Webster Parish educator. Morgan's former position at Heflin High School went to Harry Campbell, later the Webster Parish superintendent. Morgan served a year at Lowe until he was named principal of Minden High School in 1961.
On December 13, 1942, then Lieutenant Morgan married the former Marion Inez Kirkley (March 9, 1925- June 1, 2001), the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Kirkley. John Kirkley was a farmer and a former employee of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture. The couple lived in the Evergreen Community between Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
and Minden. The Morgans had two daughters, Barbara Ann Morgan Bogan (1944-July 7, 2007) and Sandra Morgan Morgan, wife of John Paul Morgan (both born 1948). Both daughters graduated from Minden High School when their father was the principal.
On November 21, 1987, Morgan was narrowly elected to the Webster Parish Police Jury, the governing body of the parish, akin to county commission
County commission
A county commission is a group of elected officials charged with administering the county government in local government in some states of the United States. County commissions are usually made up of three or more individuals...
s in other states. He defeated his fellow Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Joe Pearce, 473 (51 percent) to 463 (49 percent). He maintained an interest in rural development but did not seek reelection in 1991.
Morgan died in a Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
hospital of complications from a fall. Services were held on October 22, 2007, with the Reverends Floyd Stratton, Ben Jordan, and Carol Daye Heard officiating. Miss Heard had also been a Minden High School student during the time of Morgan's principalship. In addition to his daughter Sandra, Morgan was survived by two sisters, Maggie Mackey of Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, and Eulyne Adkins of Shongaloo
Shongaloo, Louisiana
Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States.West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Daniel and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900....
; a brother, Bill Morgan of Lafayette; four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Morgan was a member of the Evergreen Union Church. He is interred at the Evergreen Cemetery. Pallbearers included Webster Parish Superintendent Wayne Williams, Jr., and two former superintendents, Richard V. Noles and Matt Martin.
Principal and Coach Cleve Strong
Morgan was succeeded as principal by Cleveland "Cleve" Strong (October 18, 1923 - July 13, 2008), who served from 1969-1984. The son of Otis Lee and Lena Strong, he was born in HaughtonHaughton, Louisiana
Haughton is a town in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,792 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Haughton is located at ....
in south Bossier Parish and died at his residence in Minden. He graduated in 1942 from Doyline High School in Doyline
Doyline, Louisiana
Doyline is a village in southwestern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 841 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area....
in south Webster Parish. He served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1942-1946 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war, he procured his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Centenary College
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
, a Methodist-affiliated institution in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, where he was a three-year letterman in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, was captain of the men's basketball team during his senior year, and was an all-conference guard. He then earned a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from Peabody College
Peabody College
Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He was recalled by the military to serve in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
from 1951-1952.
On his return to Louisiana, he began coaching basketball at Ringgold High School in 1952-1953 and at Minden High School in 1953-1954. His total basketball won-loss record was 312-97, or .763. Under his guidance, MHS won one state runner-up and two state championship titles in 1955, when Jackie Moreland
Jackie Moreland
Jack Wade "Jackie" Moreland was an American basketball player for the Detroit Pistons and the former New Orleans Buccaneers.-Early Life & High School:...
was a player, and again in 1959. During the time that Strong was either coach or principal, MHS teams won more than twenty state championships. In 1955 and 1959, he coached Louisiana High School Athletic Association All-Star teams. He was the first basketball coach named to the Louisiana High School Coaches Association. On January 28, 1988, Strong was inducted into the LHSAA Hall of Fame.
Strong was survived by his wife of fifty-two years, Evelyn Strong of Minden; son, Dr. Thomas Strong (born March 11, 1957) and wife Kim of Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
; daughters Linda Jones and husband Bill of Benton
Benton, Louisiana
The town of Benton is the parish seat of Bossier Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. The population was 2,035 at the 2000 census. The larger Bossier City is located south of Benton...
, the seat of Bossier Parish, and Janet Merrell and husband Larry of Bossier City; sisters Virginia Allen (1921–2010) of Minden, Josephine Rodgers and husband Dave of West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in Ouachita Parish, brother Otis L. Strong, Jr., and wife LaVerne of Minden, and six grandchildren. Strong was Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
. He is interred at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden.
Desegregation
MHS was desegregated in January 1966, when two African-American male students, Elroy Allums and George Washington, Jr., were enrolled without incident. On May 24, 1966, during the Morgan years, Allums became the first black in history to graduate from Minden High School. A second phase of desegregation ordered by the United States District CourtUnited States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
in Shreveport was launched in the middle 1970s, with the closure and consolidation of the former all-black Webster High School effective with the 1974-75 school year. Thereafter, MHS became majority black in enrollment. The latest total is 54 percent black, 45 percent white, and 1 percent Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
. Some whites vacated the institution for the private Glenbrook High School, which was established in 1970, or for home schooling, which particularly gained popularity in the 1990s.
Notable faculty and administrators
- Jesse L. BoucherJesse L. BoucherJesse L. Boucher was a north Louisiana insurance agency owner and large-scale real estate developer who also served from 1958-1962 as the mayor of his native Springhill in northern Webster Parish....
(1912–2004), real estateReal estateIn general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
developer and former mayor of SpringhillSpringhill, LouisianaSpringhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, taught and coached at MHS in the latter 1930s. - Everett DoergeEverett DoergeEverett Gail Doerge was an American state legislator who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 10 from January 1992 until his death in office....
, Class of 1954 (1935–1998) – Social Studies; member of the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of RepresentativesThe Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of... - Jean M. DoergeJean M. DoergeJean McGlothlin Doerge is a retired school teacher and a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Minden, who has represented District 10 since the death in 1998 of her husband, Everett Doerge. In 2007, her colleagues named her to the House Appropriations Committee, a key...
– Business; succeeded her husband Everett Doerge as state representative - George E. DohertyGeorge DohertyGeorge E. Doherty was a National Football League player from 1944–1947, who thereafter was the defensive coach of the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs in Ruston and the head coach of the Northwestern State University Demons in Natchitoches from 1972-1974.-Early years and education:Doherty was...
(1920–1987) – MHS football coach; professional football player; Northwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
football coach
Notable alumni
- Jack BattonJack BattonJack Batton was a small businessman who served as the Democratic mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, for a single term from 1978–1982.-Early years:...
, Class of 1932 (1913–1996), Minden mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, 1978–1982; previously the streets and parks commissioner - Bruce M. BolinBruce M. BolinBruce Martin Bolin is a current Louisiana state district court judge who was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1979 to 1990. Bolin holds court in the 26th Judicial District based in Benton, the seat of Bossier Parish. He is a native of Minden, the seat of...
, Class of 1968 – State representativeLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, 1979–1990; state district judge, since 1991 - Roger Dale Bright, Class of 1961 (1943-1986) – scientist and engineer
- James E. BolinJames E. BolinJames Edwin Bolin, Sr. was an American jurist and politician who served as a judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal and Louisiana Supreme Court as well as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in the northwestern part...
, Class of 1931 (1914–2002) – state representative, 1940–1944; state district judge, 1952–1960; state appeal court judge, 1960–1978 - Noel "Gene" Byars, Class of 1957 – Minden mayor, 1982–1989; former educator
- Billy Joe BoothBilly Joe BoothBilly Joe Booth played professionally with the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League from 1962-1970. He also played for his alma maters, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Minden High School in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where he was born...
, Class of 1958 (1940–1972) – Football player for Ottawa Rough RidersOttawa Rough RidersThe Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
in the Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
from 1962–1970; died in private plane crash near London, Canada - Larry C. BrewerLarry C. BrewerLarry Clinton Brewer was the offensive end for the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs during the 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969 football seasons. In the latter two years, he served primarily as one of two main receivers for Terry Bradshaw, the Shreveport native who subsequently embarked on a highly...
, Class of 1966 (1948–2003) – MHS and Louisiana Tech UniversityLouisiana Tech UniversityLouisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
football player; hospitalHospitalA hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
administrator - Barbara Ann Logan ColleyBarbara ColleyBarbara Ann Logan Colley is a romance and mystery novelist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her recent work is centered on the fictitious "Charlotte LaRue", the subject of a series of mysteries. She has written more than a dozen novels which have been published in some seventeen languages....
, Class of 1965 – RomanceRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
and mysteryMystery fictionMystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novelist - Harmon Caldwell DrewHarmon Caldwell DrewHarmon Caldwell Drew was a lawyer from Minden, Louisiana, who served prior to 1945 as the district attorney of Bossier and Webster parishes and then as a judge of both the district and the state appeal courts. His political career ended with his defeat by future Governor Robert F. Kennon...
, Class of ca. 1906 (1889-1950) - District attorney, district judge, circuit court judge - Harmon Drew, Jr.Harmon Drew, Jr.Richard Harmon Drew, Jr. , is a Louisiana judge, legal lecturer, and rhythm-and-blues musician. He is serving a second 10-year term on his state's Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shreveport.-Ancestry:...
, Class of 1964 – Circuit court judgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
based in Shreveport - R. Harmon Drew, Sr.R. Harmon Drew, Sr.Richard Harmon Drew, Sr. was a fourth generation judge and a former Democratic state representative who was descended from pioneer families of Webster Parish in north Louisiana...
, Class of 1933 (1917–1995) – Minden judgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
and state representative, 1972–1978 - Jasper GoodwillJasper GoodwillJasper Goodwill served from 1955 to 1958 as the Democratic mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana...
, Class of 1906 (1889–1974) – Mayor of Minden, 1955–1958 - Fred HaynesFred HaynesFreddie Lynn "Fred" Haynes was an American football player for the Louisiana State University Tigers from 1966–1968, having climaxed his three-season career by successfully quarterbacking both the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta in calendar year 1968...
, Class of 1964 (1946–2006) – LSU American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
star - O. H. Haynes, Jr.O. H. Haynes, Jr.Oscar Henry Haynes, Jr., known as O.H. Haynes , was the Democratic sheriff of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana from 1964-1980. He was also the parish Exxon distributor for some four decades...
, Class of 1939 (1920–1996) – SheriffSheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Webster Parish from 1964–1980 - Charlie HenniganCharlie HenniganCharles Taylor Hennigan, Sr., known as Charlie Hennigan , is a retired American football player with the former Houston Oilers who resides in Shreveport, Louisiana. Born in Bienville in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, Hennigan grew up in nearby Minden, the seat of Webster Parish, located...
, Class of 1953 – Professional football player and educator - Jerry HuckabyJerry HuckabyThomas Jerald Huckaby, usually known as Jerry Huckaby , is a retired businessman who served as a Democratic U.S. representative from the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana between 1977 and 1993...
, Class of 1959 – Former member of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
; VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
businessman - Herman "Wimpy" JonesHerman "Wimpy" JonesHerman "Wimpy" Jones was a businessman who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from Bossier and Webster parishes for a single term from 1956 to 1960...
, Class of 1924 (1905–1967) – Bossier/Webster state senator from 1956–1960; original founder of Minden's former Southern Kitchen restaurant - Francis Edward Kennon, Jr.Edward KennonFrancis Edward Kennon, Jr. , usually known as Ed Kennon is a multi-millionaire Shreveport real-estate developer and a former Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, the regulatory body for oil, natural gas, and utilities. He represented north Louisiana on the commission for...
, Class of 1956 – Former member of the Louisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
; Shreveport-area developer - Robert F. KennonRobert F. KennonRobert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon , was the 48th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1952-1956. He failed to win a second non-consecutive term in the 1963 Democratic primary....
, Class of 1919 (1902–1988) – GovernorGovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Louisiana from 1952–1956; former mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Minden - David Allen LeeDavid Lee (Baltimore Colts)David Allen Lee is a former American football punter for the former Baltimore Colts in the National Football League and subsequently retired from a career as a General Motors executive in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, in northwestern Louisiana...
, Class of 1961 – Baltimore ColtsHistory of the Indianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
player - Ben Earl LooneyBen Earl LooneyBen Earl Looney was a Louisiana artist and author known for his Water Colors of Dixie and Cajun Country, pen and ink sketches of Acadiana....
, Class of 1922 (1904–1981) – ArtistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only... - Leland G. MimsLeland G. MimsLeland Garland Mims was a Minden, Louisiana, businessman and civic leader who served as a member of the Webster Parish Police Jury from 1953–1976 and as president of the body from 1956-1973...
, Class of 1921 (1901–1979) – Webster Parish Police Jury President, 1956–1973 - Jackie MorelandJackie MorelandJack Wade "Jackie" Moreland was an American basketball player for the Detroit Pistons and the former New Orleans Buccaneers.-Early Life & High School:...
, – Class of 1956 (1938–1971) – First "All American" in basketball from Minden High School and professional player with the Detroit PistonsDetroit PistonsThe Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
and the former New Orleans BuccaneersNew Orleans BuccaneersNew Orleans Buccaneers was a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee where it became the Pros, Tams and Sounds for four years before an abortive move to Baltimore in 1975.-Origins:With the... - Frank T. NormanFrank T. NormanFrancis Toadvin Norman, known as Frank T. Norman , was a Democratic mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, from 1958-1966. From 1952-1958, Norman had served on the Minden City Council as the then public safety commissioner under the since disbanded...
, Class of 1931 (1914–1994) – Mayor of Minden from 1958–1966; city council member, 1952–1958 - Sammy Joe OdomSammy Joe OdomSamuel Joseph Odom, known as Sammy Joe Odom , was an American football player for the Houston Oilers, the Northwestern State University Demons in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and the Minden High School Crimson Tide in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.Odom was born in...
, Class of 1959 (1941–2001) – Football player for Houston Oilers and Northwestern State University; businessman in Mansfield, Louisiana; former De Soto Parish Police Jury administrator - J.E. "Pat" Patterson, Class of 1946 (1924-2010) – Mayor of Minden from 1974-1978
- John N. SandlinJohn N. SandlinJohn Nicholas Sandlin, Sr. , of Minden, Louisiana, represented his state's Fourth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1937. In 1936, rather than seeking a ninth term in the House, Sandlin, upon the request of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt,...
, Minden Normal School and Business College (1872–1957) – Former U. S. representative - Duane SimolkeDuane SimolkeDuane Simolke is an American writer based in Lubbock, Texas, who has authored The Acorn Stories, Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure, Holding Me Together, The Return of Innocence , and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio, based on the original Sherwood Anderson classic...
, Class of 1983 – AuthorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
based in Lubbock, TexasLubbock, TexasLubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University... - David SnellDavid Snell (journalist)David Snell was a reporter and cartoonist for the defunct Life Magazine and several other publications during his career as a journalist.-Early years, family, education:...
, Class of 1939 (1921–1987) – journalist and cartoonist with the defunct Life Magazine - Raymond Wayne Tate, Class of 1982 (1964–2010) – football player for MHS and the University of Houston Cougars
- Jimmy UptonJimmy UptonJames Saunders "Jimmy" Upton was a college and high school track star from Minden, Louisiana, who was inducted into the University of Louisiana at Monroe Hall of Fame. In 1971, Upton was a United States Track and Field Federation All-American hurdler...
, Class of 1967 (1949–2003) – Track star at University of Louisiana at MonroeUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeThe University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:... - John T. WatkinsJohn T. WatkinsJohn Thomas Watkins was a Democratic U.S. representative from northwestern Louisiana who served from 1905-1921...
, Minden Male Academy (1854–1925) – Former U. S. representative - Clarence D. Wiley, Class of 1926 (1909–1976) – Webster Parish clerk of court, 1956–1976