It was during the 1960's that the two high school grades eleven and twelve were returned from Pilot Point to Aubrey. These were very proud and high-spirited years as plans were made to pass a $250,000 bond which built a new school on the property that was owned by Mr. DeMoye who lived in Dallas and farmed and what is now the Circle Y Ranch.

The old building was sold and demolished and the land was developed into a group of nice medium sized homes.

It wasn’t too many years later that a new addition to the school was necessary and the school board voted to pay cash for a nice sized addition and shop building. Then one growing pain led to another and another school bond was necessary. That same spirit continues on into this day for the furtherance of the education of our youth and grandchildren.

My twelve years on the school board were a very rewarding experience. I learned first hand how to disagree agreeably – my ideas were not always the best, however consideration was made to all suggestions and problems whatever the nature. State mandates were a large part of our life as board members; however, if you can let your mind wonder what would happen if we didn’t have the mandates.

We need to practice this method of consideration – intelligent answers are most generally found in times of need. We are now about 150 years past a violent disagreement rather than an agreeable disagreement. My reference is to the local conditions as they existed during the Civil War. Our minds have since that time been molded into a constructive attitude whereas we have a deep desire to just simply leave our life’s ambitions and surrounding environment just a little bit better than it was when we entered this world. That within itself is not an impossible task and with a little practice we can make the area a lot better than what it was back during the Civil War when our community was struggling just to provide for the bare essentials to live and exist.

I am reminded of the period of 1862, when just a few miles to our north, a Citizens Committee was formed to be the judge and jury in disagreements which might result in the end of a life. The Citizens Committee was in Cook County and involved parts of Denton County (northeastern). The election of Denton County to secede from the Union was almost split in the middle even though it was favored by a vote of 331 to 250. Strong opposition to the secession was in five of the North Central Counties. This was a period when people did not trust each other which created a violent atmosphere where the hangings and courts took place above and beyond the good will of the citizens. This was a troubling time for any family where the settlers had already faced bitter opposition from the land hungry travelers who were in the process of liquidating the Native Americans any time that the opportunity presented itself. They would take what these people possessed with no substitute for justice.

I recently e-mailed one of our senators asking that he encourage the establishment and creation of a Texas Native American Commission. Most history books are closed to the knowledge of the hardships of the Native American people, and most of the historians of today would have to rewrite history if they printed the truth.

Anyway, thanks to the Great Equa (The Great Spirit of Creator), for we are still here because we never left.