DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Radford School, standing right there in El Paso. Now, some stories begin with a thunderclap. This one begins with a meeting — a room full of leading citizens in El Paso, back in 1910, deciding that the girls of this city deserved something better.
A quality school. A real one. Boarding and day.
And when Texans get a notion like that in their heads, things tend to move. Through their efforts, a joint stock company was formed, and they leased classroom space in houses on Terrace Street. Not glamorous, maybe, but it was enough.
On September 10, 1910, the El Paso School for Girls opened its doors with eighteen students. Ora W. L.
Slater and Olga E. Tafel served as associate principals, and whatever they were doing, it was working — because enrollment climbed, and the school quickly outgrew those borrowed rooms. The land at this very site was provided by Paul Harvey and Paul D.
Thomas, the owners of that Terrace Street property. Construction got underway, and by 1917 the first building was complete — a three-story residence hall with one-story classroom additions rising up right there in El Paso. A proper institution, taking shape in stone and mortar.
But here's where the story gets interesting. By 1927, the school was carrying a large debt. That's the kind of weight that can quietly kill a good thing.
Then Dr. Lucinda de Leftwich Templin of Missouri arrived as principal, and she was not a woman who accepted defeat lying down. She looked at that debt, she looked at her circle of friends, and she made a call.
George A. and Julia Brown Radford of Webster Groves, Missouri, answered it. They paid off the mortgage. They helped incorporate the institution.
And in gratitude, the school was renamed in their honor. The Radford School. New name, new footing, new growth.
It became a leading college preparatory school — one that, over the years, produced many prominent women leaders. The marker names one in particular: Sandra Day O'Connor. The first woman justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Eighteen students in a leased house on Terrace Street. One woman at the highest court in the land. That's the arc of this story, and it's quite an arc.
What the marker says
Plans for the establishment of a quality boarding and day school for girls in El Paso were begun in 1910 as a result of a meeting of leading citizens. Through their efforts, a joint stock company was formed and classroom space was leased in houses on Terrace Street. The El Paso School for Girls opened on Sept. 10, 1910, with 18 students. Ora W. L. Slater and Olga E. Tafel served as associate principals. With increased enrollment, plans were soon begun for the construction of new facilities at this site. The land was provided by Paul Harvey and Paul D. Thomas, owners of the Terrace Street property. The first building, completed in 1917, was a three-story residence hall with one-story classroom additions. In 1927 Dr. Lucinda de Leftwich Templin of Missouri became principal. Faced with the school's large debt, she persuaded her friends George A. and Julia Brown Radford of Webster Groves, Missouri, to pay off the mortgage and incorporate the institution. Renamed for the Radfords, the school experienced new growth. Now a leading college preparatory school, it has produced many prominent women leaders, including Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman justice of the United States Supreme Court. (1981)