DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. Paul Industrial Training School, out in Henderson County. Now, you want to talk about a place built on pure determination, let me tell you about a community — and two people — that refused to be stopped by anything.
Not poverty, not distance, not even a tornado. The St. Paul community was a self-sufficient African American settlement, and it became renowned for two things: its school, and the remarkable husband and wife who ran it.
Let's meet them. James William Smothers was born in 1896 in Mt. Meggs, Alabama.
The man was educated — a graduate of Hampton Institute in Virginia and Prairie View College. His future wife, Alice Olenza Wingfield, was born in 1899 in Greenville, Alabama, and she graduated from Tuskegee Institute. Alice's father had established the first institution for underprivileged African American children in Greenville, and that work shaped her.
She came up watching what dedication to a community could look like. James and Alice married in 1926, and together they came to Henderson County with a mission. The state department of education had asked Hampton Institute to provide a teacher of scientific agriculture, and J.W. answered that call.
He arrived as Superintendent. Alice came as Principal. What they found was a small schoolhouse serving twelve students.
Twelve students. But word travels, and children began arriving from across Texas. Through assistance from the state and from benefactors, the campus grew.
The Smothers built something real out there. And then December 26, 1942. A tornado leveled every single school building on that campus.
Every one of them. Gone. Now, most people would have looked at that wreckage and felt the weight of it settle in their bones.
Not J.W. Not Alice. Not those students.
They went out and retrieved the lumber from the destruction, and they made temporary buildings. Right then, right there, they kept going. J.W. turned his focus to the school's crops and livestock, improving yields so they could consume what they grew and sell the surplus for profit.
Alice took to the road statewide, fundraising with a purpose. Philanthropists responded. And brick by brick, a permanent campus rose up from what that tornado had torn down.
The education those children received went far beyond books. Yes, there was a regular curriculum. But at St.
Paul, children also learned home economics, food canning, blacksmithing, sewing, and typing. They received instruction in music and voice. Practical skills for a world that didn't always deal fairly with them — and J.W. knew exactly what that world looked like.
He told his young people this, and I want you to hear it slow: "If you can't read, people will lie to you. If you can't count, they will cheat you. If you are weak, they will push you around, and if you are jittery, the world will keep you jumping." By the time the school closed in the 1980s, J.W.
Smothers, Alice Smothers, and their teachers had served thousands of minority students. James William Smothers passed in 1975. Alice Olenza Wingfield Smothers lived until the year 2000.
They built something out of twelve students and a small schoolhouse. A tornado took the buildings, and they built it again. That's St.
Paul Industrial Training School — and that's the kind of story a Texas road doesn't let you forget.
What the marker says
The historic St. Paul community, a self-sufficient African American settlement, became renowned for its school and its remarkable husband and wife educators. James Willliam Smothers (1896-1975) of Mt. Meggs, Alabama, was a graduate of Hampton Institute (Virginia) and Prairie View College. Alice Olenza Wingfield (1899-2000) of Greenville, Alabama, graduated from Tuskegee Institute (Alabama). Her father established the first institution for underprivileged African American children in Greenville, influencing young Alice. James and Alice married in 1926 and came to Henderson County to organize St. Paul Industrial Training School. The state department of education had asked Hampton Institute to provide a teacher of scientific agriculture. J.W. As Superintendent and Alice as Principal arrived to find a small schoolhouse for 12 students. Children began arriving from across Texas, and through assistance from the state and benefactors, the campus grew. On December 26, 1942, a tornado leveled all the school buildings. Undaunted, the teachers and students retrieved the lumber and made temporary buildings. J.W. focused on improving the school's crop and livestock yields to consume and sell for profit. Alice began statewide fundraising, and philanthropists helped build a permanent campus of brick buildings. Beyond the regular curriculum, children learned practical skills in home economics, food canning, blacksmithing, sewing and typing, as well as instruction in music and voice. By the time the school closed in the 1980s, the Smothers and their teachers had served thousands of minority students. J.W. taught young people that "if you can't read, people will lie to you. If you can't count, they will cheat you. If you are weak, they will push you around, and if you are jittery, the world will keep you jumping." (2008)