The Hughen School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Hughen School, out of Jefferson County. Now, some institutions are built on land. Others are built on a vision — and this one, well, it started with a vision held by a Rotary Club.

The Rotary Club of Port Arthur had an idea: start a movement in the interest of children with disabilities. That idea took root. In 1933, the Port Arthur Society for Crippled Children was organized.

Three years on, in 1936, the society was incorporated. And in 1937, they started a school — modest beginnings, tucked inside St. Mary's Hospital.

But Port Arthur didn't let modest beginnings stay modest for long. By the end of that same year, 1937, the community had constructed a building right here at this location. They called it the Spastic School at first.

In time, though, the institution was renamed — for a benefactor, a businessman by the name of Thomas W. Hughen, and his wife Juliet. Now, a name change is one thing.

Growth is another. The institution added physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy — expanding to meet the needs it saw right in front of it. The campus added space so that special needs students from outside the area could come and live there.

The school was reaching further and further out. And it wasn't just building classrooms — it was building law. The Port Arthur Society for Crippled Children advocated hard for the Texas state education act of 1945.

That act became law, and according to this marker, it played a major role in the education of children with special needs across the state. Not bad for an organization that started with a conversation around a Rotary table. Now here's where the story takes a turn most folks don't see coming.

Other facilities were added through donations — fundraising campaigns that brought in names a good deal larger than local. Famed entertainer Bob Hope — that Bob Hope — participated in a telethon co-sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. That telethon raised one point two million dollars.

One point two million. And with that, a high school was erected right there on the campus. They named it for Hope, who also appeared at other Hughen Center fundraisers.

The man didn't just lend his name — he showed up. By the mid-1980s, another chapter. Funds were donated to construct the Hebert Adult Vocational Training Center — built to help adults with physical disabilities gain the skills they needed to advance their careers.

The mission had grown from schoolchildren to adults, from Port Arthur to the wider region, from one room in a hospital to an entire center bearing the Hughen name. Since 1937, through legislation, through telethons, through the slow patient work of a community that refused to look away, the Hughen Center has kept its doors open — offering assistance and care to children and adults with physical disabilities. That Rotary Club's vision turned out to have some real staying power.

What the marker says

Since 1937, the Hughen School and other related facilities have provided assistance to individuals with disabilities. The school grew out of a vision by the Rotary Club of Port Arthur to start a movement in the interest of children with disabilities. In 1933, the Port Arthur Society for Crippled Children organized, and in 1936, the society was incorporated. In 1937, the society started a school in St. Mary’s hospital. By the end of the year, the community constructed a building at this location. First called the Spastic School, the institution was renamed for benefactor and businessman Thomas W. Hughen and his wife Juliet. To meet community needs, the institution added services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy programs. Additions to the campus allowed special needs students from outside the area to live at Hughen School. The Port Arthur Society for Crippled Children also advocated for change in state legislation, promoting the Texas state education act of 1945, which became law and played a major role in education of children with special needs. Other facilities were later added through donations given during fundraising campaigns. Famed entertainer Bob Hope participated in a telethon co-sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, which raised $1.2 million to erect a high school on the campus. The school was named for Hope, who also appeared at other Hughen Center fundraisers. By the mid-1980s, funds were donated to construct the Hebert Adult Vocational Training Center to help adults with physical disabilities gain skills to advance their careers. Today, the facilities of the Hughen Center continue to offer needed assistance and care to children and adults with physical disabilities. (2010)