DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Now settle in, because this one's worth your full attention. The story of Alonzo Marion Story — and yes, that is the man's given name, so hold onto it — is the kind of story that makes you sit a little straighter behind the wheel.
Born in New Orleans in 1882 to John and Mary Story, young Alonzo came up through the public schools, earned his degree from Louisiana's Leland College, then pushed further still with post-graduate work in Texas and Colorado. Some people stop climbing once they've got a diploma in hand. Alonzo Marion Story was not some people.
He came to Texas at twenty-one years old and started teaching mathematics in Midway. He also worked as a mail clerk somewhere in there — a man who clearly believed in staying useful. Then in 1912 he moved to Palestine, Anderson County, and took up math at Lincoln High School, the school designated for African American students.
He taught there until 1917, and here's where the road forks in a way that says everything about who this man was. He left Palestine to become principal of the state's Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute for African Americans in Austin. That is not a small thing.
That is a man the state of Texas trusted with its most vulnerable students. Then 1924 rolls around, and Story gets offered a principal's job in Dallas. Dallas.
Now you might think that's an easy yes. Bigger city, fresh opportunity — but Alonzo Marion Story turned around and went back to Palestine. Back to Lincoln High School.
Back to the students he'd already poured himself into. He taught math there and served as principal, and he kept right on teaching through the years, through the decades, all the way until 1949 — and here's the part that will stop you cold — his last years in that classroom, he had no eyesight. None.
The man taught mathematics blind, and by all accounts the community loved and respected him for every minute of it. He didn't stop when he retired, either. He tutored students from his own home.
In 1953, the school district opened a new facility and named it Alonzo Marion Story High School. The community didn't wait for the man to pass — they named it while he was living, which is the highest kind of honor. The school later became a junior high, then an elementary school after desegregation, and in 1987 a tornado destroyed it.
The county lost the building but not the name. In 1990, the district built a new school and named it for him again. That name was not going anywhere.
Now beyond the classroom and the principal's office, Story served as director of religious education at West Union Baptist Church, sat on the executive committee of the Texas State Teachers Association, and served as vice president of the East Texas Teachers Association. One life, carrying all of that weight, all the way from 1882 to 1966. The marker says his contributions to Palestine were immeasurable, and honestly, you don't have to look hard to see why.
A man who came back when he could have left, who taught when he could no longer see, who tutored from his porch in retirement — that's not a career. That's a calling. Palestine remembered.
Anderson County remembered. And now, out here on the road, so do we.
What the marker says
Alonzo Marion Story Alonzo Marion Story (1882-1966) was born in New Orleans to parents John and Mary Story. He attended public schools and graduated from Louisiana's Leland College before doing post-graduate work in Texas and Colorado. Story came to Texas at the age of 21 and taught mathematics in Midway. He also served as a mail clerk before moving in 1912 to Palestine, where he taught math at Lincoln High School, the school for African American students. He taught there until 1917, when he moved to Austin to be principal of the state's Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute for African Americans. In 1924, Story was offered a job as principal in Dallas. Instead, he returned to Palestine's Lincoln High School, where he taught math and served as principal. Beloved and respected, Story stayed until retiring in 1949, teaching his last years with no eyesight. After retirement, he tutored from his home. In 1953, the school district opened a new facility and named it Alonzo Marion Story High School in honor of the revered educator. After desegregation, the school became a junior high and then an elementary school before being destroyed by a tornado in 1987. In 1990, the district built a new school named for him. Story dedicated his life to education. In addition to his roles as teacher and principal, he was director of religious education at West Union Baptist Church and served on the executive committee of the Texas State Teachers Association and as vice president of the East Texas Teachers Association. His immeasurable contributions to Palestine are reflected in the community's commemoration of his life. (2002)