Rural schools were a way of life in the first half of the 20th century. In Medina County, according to a Devine News publication on July 18, 1902, there were 19 school districts, and 33 in 1926-27. Here’s the interesting list of the 19 in 1902: Castroville, San Geronimo, Lacoste, Quihi, Hondo, D’Hanis, Haass, Chicon, Francisco, Lower Hondo, Black Creek, Community, Rear Crock, Devine, Tehencuna, Deer Creek, Leinweber, Maverick, Coal Mine, totaling 2140 students.
Later, the school “districts,” as they were called, that fed Devine Schools were Biry, Shook, Big Foot, and Black Creek. In around 1952, those rural schools that served the surrounding communities and consisted of first-sixth grades were closed. Up until that time, students attended DISD for their remaining years, but once the rural schools were closed, students from Big Foot, Biry, Black Creek and Shook attended Devine schools for all grades.
A little history of the Shook rural school has been shared by Bob Bendele. Not only did he attend Shook, but so did his father, his mother, and his maternal grandmother. But when Bob was in the second grade, this school and others across the county were closed.
The school consisted of three rooms and six grades. Picture a rectangular building with one room on each side, a hallway down the middle, and a larger room extending at the back. Facing the building, students in first-third grades attended class in the left room; students fourth -sixth attended in the right room. Each room had only one teacher. The back room served as an auditorium with a stage at the back. Bob says many performances happened there as well as community events.
The entrance to the school building had a porch with a bell tower above it. It was actually a very attractive school house, and at the time Bob attended, there were 29 total students.
Other interesting features Bob Bendele shared was that there was a garden that once was used as a mule pen. There was a windmill with a cypress water tank. And there was also a building that had been a teacher’s residence at one time. West of the school house was an outhouse and a baseball diamond, which Bob says was beat down hard from bare feet and drought. Today, the slab where the porch stood remains, and nearby there is a historical marker. The location is near the corner of Hwy 1343 and Calame Store Road (C.R. 664), all which was once Keller property.
Rather than being demolished or left to decay, the Shook school building was moved to Devine and situated at the football field to be used for many years (until 1964) as a field house. The left side was used as concession stand – with the upper part of the wall removed to accommodate customers – and the right side was used as a visitors and B-Team dressing room. The former auditorium was used as the varsity dressing room and the former stage became the coaches’ office. Unfortunately, the bell tower was not moved or saved. And few of these historic school buildings across the state were saved, which is such a shame. But we can share and thus save the stories.
