Old Vickery - Park Lane and Greenville

I went to a lot of elementary school and later class parties at that skating rink. Made it to the swimming pool a few times.

Questions. Did Vickery have a school system? Put differently, was there a VISD? Was Hillcrest High School part of that system before annexation?

Wow! Yes there was a VISD and HHS was a part of it!

There were a number of schools named Vickery, going back to perhaps 1900. It is confusing, as the current school at Matilda and Mockingbird was named Vickery. This neighborhood, Vickery Place, was vaguely from Mockingbird south to what was known as the Belmont school district. Others schools burned. The school (forgot the name) that was formerly located behind the current 7-11 at P&G, if I remember correctly, was funded by the Caruth family, and was predominantly a black school, at least in early days. Anderson Bonner went to school there, traveling about 4 miles up and down the Richardson Pike each school day.

Vickery Meadows High School was completed in 1938 and the name seems to vanish in the following year and become Hillcrest High School.
There were so many schools called Vickery, which is why the second paragraph is here.

The earliest reference to the VISD is 1938 being in existence. Wonder how far it went back...

This is good mystery!
I'm a HHS graduate.

Article from August 13, 1937:



And from Sep 5, 1945 which shows other ISD's:





Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2010 11:23AM by Joel Parks.

Wow, what a cool article. I went to people at J.L. Long that came from Bayles Elementary. I guess Stonewall Jackson was the Vickery Elementary School? I lived for 12 years on Vickery Blvd, which is in Vickery Place.

sharkins Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow, what a cool article. I went to people at
> J.L. Long that came from Bayles Elementary. I
> guess Stonewall Jackson was the Vickery Elementary
> School? I lived for 12 years on Vickery Blvd,
> which is in Vickery Place.

I thought Stonewall Jackson was the school on the south side of Mockingbird not far east of Greenville. Is that the school you are talking about? If I am wrong about the name of that schoool, what is the correct name? It used to be a polling place and I suppose the first time I ever voted was there. The Babe's Fried Chicken Restaurant on the north side of Fort Worth is supposed to have some light fixtures from that school, or at least from Stonewall Jackson, IIRC.

With reference to HHS, I can well remember in the late forties - early fifties when Hillcrest north of NW High Way was a high crowned two lane blacktop that led out past a little school in the country. I think that Hillcrest was classified as 2A, enrollment wise then and they did not play a schedule against the previous DISD schools until about 1954. Seems like they made a pretty good start that year, Beat SOC who were city champs in football in the third or fourth year of operation.

The Stonewall Jackson school appears to have been built 1950. There are pre WWII references to a Vickery school on that corner. More study needed.

The Vickery Place Elementary School was renamed James Bonham Elementary and is located on Henderson.

The former school on Holly Hill (near P&G) was named Vickery Elementary School in the '50's.

Joel -

Don't know if this will add anything to the discussion but I have a copy of Walter E Schiebel, Education in Dallas, Ninety-two Years of History, 1874-1966. Dallas: Dallas Independent School District (1966)

It provides an overview and timeline of the construction dates of Dallas schools and the annexation dates of other districts. It also has a list of schools with principals by years of assignment which can correlate the school name with dates of operation.

Perhaps it will help differentiate between Vickery Place and the Town of Vickery

Annexations of School Districts by Dallas ISD including [i[Vickery[/i] in the name

30 August 1927 Greenland Hills Territory (Portions of Vickery Common School District #8 and Calhoun Common School District #63) laying south of Mockingbird Lane, west of Old Greenville Road, east of H&TC Railroad.

13 July 1937 Vickery Common School District: 82 acres (Record not too clear, but evidently to straighten boundaries when Vickery becomes an Independent School District 21 May 1937)

21 November 1945 Vickery Independent School District: 9,979 acres or 15.59 square miles, more or less

Schedule of Schools by date built or acquired through annexation note: Some of the schools in the annexed areas were in good shape and continued to serve "as was;" others were in bad shape and needed rich refurbishing; others were razed and replaced with new structures

1920 Vickery Place

1924 Vickery Place - later James B Bonham

1945 Vickery-Hillcrest High School (by annexation)

Partial List of Schools, with Principals, by Year note: first year of assignment

Hillcrest High School 1938

Vickery School 1935

Stonewall Jackson School 1939

Did you happen to note in the 1937 DTH article on Jim Wheat's site re the History of Vickery School that by 1937 had been erected 6 time on different sites and changed names 3 times. It began as the Fairland School in 1890. That is where the Methodist Sunday School held a concert and box social in 1896.

M C

Perhaps this question has been addressed in this thread, but if so I can't find it , so I ask a question: does the name Vickery, as applied to schools, churches, and the former town of Vickery derive from John E. Vickery, or does the name have an even earlier significance for this area?

This is the ultimate question, thank you Bob, and is a mystery and ongoing study.

Regarding Vickery Place, and its Vickery Blvd, appears to be named for a R. Vickery who was the director for the Works‑Coleman Land Company who developed Vickery Place which was platted in 1911. This is also confirmed in the DMN. That answers that one.

There is no apparent correlation to P&G and John Vickery.

The reference to John E Vickery as Founder of Vickery is also stated in Legacies.

M C-
Was the Vickery School on Holly Hill mentioned in your book?

Joel -

No specific mention of the Holly Hill address in the Schiebel book. Very few specifc locations are given except when there is a photo and that only included the earliest schools.

In the 1943 Greater Dallas Telephone Directory there is a listing for the Vickery Independent School District which includes the Vickery Grade School and Vickery-Hillcrest High School. No address for either but the grade school phone is Vickery 773 (a separate exchange from Dallas). The high school has a Lakeside exchange.

In the 1955 Greater Dallas Telephone Directory the Vickery Grade School is listed at 7006 Holly Hill Drive.

M C

Joel: Thanks for the information on the complicated Vickery story; will be interesting to see how all the pieces fit together. Bob

Ah, yes. The Randy Tar...spent many nights in the bar there. It was on the west side of Greenville (same side as Chili's) roughly across the street from where Enchilada's sits now. There are self storage units on the exact spot.
Other highlights on that street? Someone mentioned The Fifth Hole In The Wall. Great burgers for sure and the building still sits there empty as it was an Uncle Julio's in it's last incarnation.
Anyone remember The Pizza Pan? First Chicago deep dish pizza in Dallas. It was in the strip center at Greenville and Caruth Haven. There was also a Goff's on the end where Starbucks is now. That Pizza Pan was in the middle of the strip and later became a chinese restaurant that lasted for quite a few years.
At the corner of Greenville and Southwestern (NE) sat a Ninfa's which later turned into a Gonzo's (that was a fun place) and is now a McDonalds.
Great memories of Greenville Avenue in the '70s. Sure wish someone would reopen The Filling Station in it's original location!

Yes, The Fifth Hole In The Wall did have great burgers. Mmmm...

Vickery Feed Store is another restaurant of note that is now gone....due to a fire. I think in 1991 or so. If it had survived it would be hugely popular today. NE corner of Caruth and Greenville. The original Vickery Feed Store, where animal feed was once sold is now the "Great Outdoors" just north of Park on Greenville.

I remember the restaurants the other posters have mentioned too.

I lived in Vickery for a few years in the fifties.
I remember a drugstore I.do not remember the name.
There was also a hamburger place called Pete's. He was Greek . A really interesting man.Very kind to all of us kids.
The small burgers were fifteen cents ,.you sat at the counter and watched him make them. The large were twenty five cents...
He took a round ball of hamburgur meat put it on the grill and then a handfull of onions and pressed them into the meat..
I can still taste them.Of course the buns were toasted along with your burger. Some callled them onion burgers.
A grocery store and drugstore were across the street.
.On the same side as Pete's was a shoe repair shop.
The feed store was of course probably the largest business at that time.
The filin station was just a filin station.
We had another filing station named Andersons in between town and Vickery Park.
These were all on Greenville Avenue.
I went to Vickery Elementery in the 1st. through 3rd grades then moved back and went to the seventh . .

The third grade teachers name was Mrs. Sheehee. The 7th grade teachers name was Mrs. Banks.
She dated a well known weather forecaster I can't remember his name.
I remember some of the kids from the home...they came to the school..
In 1959 there was a cafe called Glen Lakes (i think that was the name) on Greenville Avenue built alone not "in the town site"but
in town. My son has the large clock that was on the front of the building..
I will always remember the ole men who sat on the bench by the grocery store and talked of the fact that Vickery would never grow...
Where North Park is now was a community of blacks who worked for the Carruths. They had only kerosene lamps in their homes.
We (kids) had only the skating rink and the Granada theater for our fun things to do. We walked many times to the Granada..
Lee Trevino was in our little group. One winter ( he was one of the few teenagers who owned a car) we tied a ladder to the back of his car and he pulled us all over town... Most all of the boys who were brave enough dove for golf balls in the lake at the golf course...they were paid for each golf ball...a way to make money to go tothe skating rink or the movies...When the skating rink closed there was a reunion and one of the local Dallas T V stations came and filmed the good byes...Many years ago.
There is a reunion every year of people who grew up in Vickery...I believe it is called the VICKERY EXES.
I have a lot if memories that I treasure from those days.
Everyone should have a small town experience in their past...

I wrote for thirty minutes on Vickery.
I lived there in the early fifties..
Where it went when I finished writing I do not know.
Will repost later.
I did click on post message.

Gloria, the drugstore was Palmers, the grocery store was Gerome's(sp) and where all the people say the Filling Station Restaurant is where my brother Johnny got his first mechanic job and it was called L & L motors. And who has the sign from Glen Lakes Cafe?? That was the Grandstaff's place. Also you mentioned Anderson's gas station, that was where you turned to go to Vickery School. I went to Vickery School for 1st, 2nd & 3rd grades buy WAY different years. The church across the street from Vickery School was where my brother Johnny's 1st wedding was.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2010 10:11AM by eastexas.

From the Van Valkenburgh plant nursery going north was a 2 story house that belong to the Detzels, the kids were Peter.Paul,Laura and Janet. Right next to them was the Dallas Fire Station and across the street (Blackwell) was my family's house until 1959. Down at the bottom of the hill where the Million Dollar Gentleman's club is I used to catch crawdads I here now you can catch the crabs there. lol



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2010 03:06PM by eastexas.

That swimming pool at Vickery Park in the 50's was the largest one in the state. Also in the 50's it was ran by the Cook family.

The L&L Garage, formerly the Filling Station, was started in 1921 by William Homer Loveless who lived nearby on Twin Hills. He and son ran the garage until something like 1960 when WH Loveless passed away.
The VanValkenburgh & Vogel nursery building is a vivid memory. It was located on Greenville just south of NW Highway on the east side. A picture would be nice, I've searched before for one and thought about contacting them.
They are still in business.
As moderately mischievous kids, we used to call their phone number just to here them answer and laugh for hours!