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Hall of Honor

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Jabez Haning (1827-1883) came to Grayson County with his family in 1846. In the 1850s Jabez Haning obtained a grant of 320 acres of land from the Peters Colony His land was located about nine miles south of the town of Sherman Harriet Campbell (1834-1880) and Jabez Haning were married in 1854 and established a farm In 1873 the Houston & Texas Central Railway established a line south of Sherman The route went through the Haning property, and they donated land for a town site in 1876 That town later became known as Howe

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Walter Pratt Thompson (1876-1959) was voted mayor of Howe for at least nineteen consecutive terms spanning from 1913-1949. More research could prove more re-elections. Every two years, Thompson would say he wouldn't run for mayor again, but the citizens re-elected him anyway

Alexander McGowan Ferguson (1874-1955), a professor at the University of Texas wrote a book called Elementary Principals of Agriculture which became the accepted textbook in public schools in 30 states for 12 years He moved his company called Ferguson Seed Farms to Howe in 1931 and shipped between 70 and 100 cars of seed daily by train Howe was known as the seed capital of Texas The former seed farm was located at the location of A.M. Ferguson Park (named in his honor), which the land was donated to the city by the Ferguson family for strict use of a city park.

Mame Roberts (1883 - 1976) lived her entire life in or near the community of Howe Largely selftaught, she worked as a substitute teacher in the lower grades at the Howe public schools in the early 1900's before turning to her life's workpromoting civic improvements and beautification As the writer of a weekly column in the Howe Messenger, Mame Roberts promoted her hometown and encouraged its beautification Her campaign to make Howe the "Prettiest Little Town in Texas" motivated other small Texas towns to take similar action A series of articles in the Dallas Morning News provided step-by-step instructions for carrying out beautification efforts, and she was in great demand as a speaker at garden club gatherings throughout this part of the state Mame's work attracted the attention of Life magazine and Reader's Digest, and she was named "Woman of the Day" on May 14, 1949, on Eleanor and Anna Roosevelt's National Radio Program Her leadership positions included: President of the Grayson County Federation of Women's Club; President of the Texoma Redbud Association, which urged the planting of Redbuds along highways in Texas and Oklahoma; and founder and president of the Howe Sesame Club Her work, which spanned the decades before and after World War II, is a significant part of the civic history of Howe and of all the towns that put her lessons into action.

Charles R. Thompson (1910-1996) dedicated his continued on Page #3

Hall of Honor

Continued from Page #2 life to the Howe Public School System He served as teacher, principal, and superintendent He graduated from Howe High School in 1928 and Baylor University, Waco, in 1933 He returned to Howe as a coach and teacher in 1933 and served s Superintendent of Howe Independent School District from 1948-1972 In 1978, the Howe School System named the New High School Gymnasium (now middle school gymnasium) for him and he was honored with Charles Thompson Day on April 21, 1996. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Howe and taught boys' and men's Sunday

School Classes for 55 years; he served as a deacon from 1936-1988 Charles was a member of Howe Masonic Lodge and was awarded the Lamar Medal on September 24, 2003 He was a member of Howe Lions Club and was active in all civic organizations in Howe

Arthur Boyle (1924-2014) came to Howe in 1958 and During his long career as an educator, he served twice as principal of Howe High School, coached the 1958 and 1959 Howe Bulldogs in football, and was superintendent of Howe Independent School District. His leadership in Howe and his ability to relate with people, faculty members and students made Boyle the obvious choice to return to Howe as the superintendent in 1977

Tony Brinkley (1926-1944) was Howe's first World War II casualty After the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor, Brinkley left school early and joined the Navy at the age of 16 and was an aviation machinist's mate, third class Brinkley helped repair the fuselages of fighter and bomber planes when they returned from battling the Japanese. He worked 12 to 14 hours a day which was enough without the air-strikes by the Japanese on the the island which finally took his life after two weeks of bombings But his death did not go unavenged The same planes that Brinkley had helped put back in the air helped take down the Japanese fighters Tony was just a boy, but he was doing a man's job

Brinkley also was the quarterback and captain of the Howe Bulldogs that found themselves without a coach in 1942. Brinkley organized practices and called the plays for the Bulldogs who miraculously won the district under those strange circumstances

L B Kirby (1924- ) is the most decorated living veteran in the state of Texas, with seven Bronze Stars, two Bronze Arrowheads and a Purple Heart, awarded for his service in the army during World War II Perhaps the most surprising thing about Kirby's heroic achievements is that for decades, he never told anyone about his awards, including his family.

A 1943 graduate of Howe High School, Kirby entered the military just 15 days after finishing high school. Kirby trained as a fire operator and served as a machine gunner under General Douglas

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