FEATURE STORY

from Etc Magazine Winter 2022

by mrobertsdigital

HOUR GLASS

LEFT: KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 1940S. RIGHT: RENDERING OF THE NEW KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL

Kilgore High School

Then & Now

BY LUCAS STROUGH | lstrough@kilgorenewsherald.com

After 90 years of faithful service, Kilgore High School is passing the academic torch to a new generation as the venerable structure is replaced with a larger, state-of-the-art campus.

Thousands of students, many of whom have raised their own families here, earned their diplomas in these halls.

Years of ideas and proposals became reality last year when Kilgore voters overwhelmingly approved $113 million worth of bond measures designed by the KISD school board to fund the construction of a new high school building and complete a number of campus improvements.

Just last month, the KHS Bulldogs defeated Hallsville at the homecoming game in the newly renovated R.E. St. John Stadium.

For many Bulldog fans, it was a first chance to admire renovations at the stadium, where a new entrance sign, turf and bleachers had been installed over the summer.

The original high school building, erected in 1932, was built to last — but the architects who laid it out could not have predicted how much the Kilgore population would grow over the next 90 years nor how much technology would change in that time. Additions were installed in the mid-90s but the student body has continued to grow since then.

The building has been outdated and outgrown, but many of the folks who still live here earned their diplomas under that red tiled roof and have expressed support for keeping the spirit of that landmark look alive.

KISD Superintendent Andy Baker said the school board knows how much the community values the original building and is aiming to pay homage to it in the new structure.

“We’ve been talking about trying to keep a lot of architectural aspects from the existing campus and trying to keep some of those details in the new structure. They’re trying to get that same look. We’re trying to keep that visual tradition and that concept. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do. That red-tiled roof, it won’t be that same red tile, but it will be the same look. As you drive by (the original building) that’s really eye-catching, so this will be that same look,” he said.

The designs do bear a resemblance to the original building: the familiar red roofs, tiled archways over entrances and the friendly stone bulldog mascot are all there. The new KHS takes a page from the past as it moves into the future.