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The first school house in Jonesboro, comprising 11 grades, was located at the corner of 3rd and Cooper. |
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The brick building completed in 1913 was destroyed by fire in 1925. |
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Jonesboro High School, Completed in 1927, Located on 4th St. |
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J-HHS Faculty Member Miss Lena Mae Ross wrote the words for the Alma Mater in 1934.
Picture and Signature from the 1936 Kraftsman |
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Firmly founded, Alma Mater, Mother-kind is she. Here within the sheltering structure, Pledge we loyalty. As we enter into battle, Look we must to thee. Ever faithful thou art J-H, Thus to VICTORY!
Note: The music used for the Alma Mater is Far Above Cayuga’s Water which is the Alma Mater for Cornell University. (Information provided by Betty DeCou, 10/2003) |
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The new J-HHS building was constructed during the most economically-depressed era of American History.
The architectural beauty of the structure soon came to symbolize Jonesboro-Hodge High School.
The picture is from the 1936 edition of the Kraftsman. It was the first published yearbook after completion of the new structure. |
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The building was designated as the Senior High after the completion of the Junior High Building in 1950. Photographs, sketches, and drawings of it would be in all of the published yearbooks that followed after the completion of the building. Stan Routh, a Baton Rouge artist, immortalized the Senior High in this print that he completed after the fire. On a trip through Jonesboro, he stopped and made some digital shots of the building and campus. He realized the value of the building even though it had been gutted by fire. He has been gracious in allowing us to use his print on many different occasions. In a 2004 conversation, he said that he hoped the picture would bring back memories for the J-HHS alumni who were fortunate enough to have known the beauty of this building.
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Picture 1 from a History of Jackson Parish |
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Picture 2 donated to J-HHS by the family of LaVada Gilbert Mathews |
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Picture 3 from the 1930 Kraftsman |
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Jonesboro-Hodge High School CALDWELL-PEACOCK STADIUM |
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Coach Neil M. “Red” Caldwell Graduate of Ansley High School, Class of 1921 Graduate of Louisiana State Normal College (Northwestern State University) JHS Athletic Director & Head Football Coach 1927-28 to 1932-33 1929 State Championship Runners-Up 1930 State Champions Class B
Neil Caldwell joined the U.S. Army Air Corps shortly after his 1933 year at JHS and was stationed at Brooks Field in San Antonio, TX. On a flight to Barksdale and Natchitoches, Cadet Caldwell and his co-pilot were both killed when the plane crashed in a rain storm near Danville on Sept. 3, 1934. The flight mechanic escaped with serious cuts. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston, LA. |
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Gordon Peacock, a J-HHS student and member of the Tiger football team, was injured during a practice in 1934. With pains in his chest and a fever, he was sent to Dr. McDonald whose only recourse was to put him to bed in the hotel since there was no hospital in Jonesboro.
He was released, but developed double pneumonia and was transferred to the Ruston hospital. His father, Rev. W. D. Peacock, was out of town and could not be reached. The Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Department provided the assistance in order to get Rev. Peacock to Ruston, but Gordon had passed away. In his memoirs, Rev. Peacock writes that just before Gordon died, he told his mother, Mrs. Annie Peacock, that everything was all right with him spiritually.
Coach Patterson was with Gordon when he died. His comment was, “If there is a heaven, he is in it. He had such talent and had to go so young.” The athletic association took care of all the medical and funeral expenses.
Gordon, through classroom lecture, was credited with the converting of seventeen of his classmates who asked forgiveness for their sins. Shortly after Gordon’s death, a classmate stopped Rev. Peacock and said, “He was a boy that could not be enticed to do wrong; he was a high-tone Christian.” |
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Gordon Peacock 23/Nov. 1919 – 25/Nov. 1934 Gordon is buried in the Jonesboro Cemetery. Inscribed on his tombstone: “Rest is thine and sweet remembrance ours.” |
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Information from: Jonesboro High School yearbooks; “How Caldwell-Peacock Stadium Got Its Name”, written by Raymond “Doc” Jeffress, Jackson Independent, 8-18-05, based on information from *Country Preacher by Rev. W. D. Peacock, State of Louisiana Vital Records 1900-1949, The Ansley Story, & The San Antonio Express (9-4-34).
Note: Three of Gordon’s nephews, Charlie Pyles, Jerry Pyles, & Robert Cook are graduates of J-HHS and were Tiger athletes. A great nephew, Steve Shovan, is the current principal of Quitman High School. |
J-HHS Traditions
Kraftsman: (excerpt from the 1961 Edition of the Kraftsman)
“The Senior Class of 1930 deserves much credit for initiating the enterprise, since there were only 170 high school students and seven faculty members housed with the grammar school in the present Jonesboro Elementary School building. In its infancy, the yearbook had a staunch supporter in Southern Advance Bag & Paper Company. In appreciation of the mill, the annual staff named its publication for the mill’s product, “kraft” paper. The depression had begun; however, the yearbook was able to survive and in the spring of 1930, the 31 seniors viewed with pride a 64-page volume – the first edition of the Kraftsman.”
(May, 2007 Clarification: This is the first edition of the Kraftsman, but not the first yearbook. Two alumni have verified that a yearbook was published in the late 1920s and included all students from all grades.)
Mascot: Harry Jones, member of the 1920 Jonesboro High School football team, is credited with giving the mascot name of “Tigers” to the football team.
School Colors: No information is available in regards to when Scarlet Red and Royal Blue became the school colors. It is believed the colors were used because of LA Tech.
Fight Song (Tune: Notre Dame’s Fight Song) We never stagger . . . . We never fall . . . . We sober up on wood alcohol . . . . All yea saints of J-HHS . . . . We’re on the ball tonight!
We know this fight song was used in the 1960s, 1970s, and up to the early 1980s. With the advent of the Rocky movies, the fight song was changed to “Eye of the Tiger”.
Motto and Crest: The motto - - Virtus, Sapienta, Gloria (courage, wisdom, glory) - - was chosen in 1966 by the J-H Student Body. Also, a crest was adopted at this time.
The information for this website has been provided by the Jonesboro-Hodge Classic Reunion. Its express intent is for information for J-H alumni and not for inclusion in any written materials or other websites. |
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“Moments in Time” Jonesboro-Hodge High School |