Anyone Go To Wainwright Elementary back in 81-82? (El Paso, Fort Bliss: school district, cost)

[tony78201]

I was wondering if Wainwright was still open? did anyone go there back in 81-82? someone had told me it closed down. does El Paso still light up that big star on the mountain on Christmas?

[atrabilius]

It was overcrowded (more than 500 students in prekindergarten to 5th grade, in a building whose capacity was about 425--they had something like a dozen portable classrooms out back). It was worn out; El Paso ISD said it would have cost more to fix than it was worth. So they replaced it with Moye Elementary on Alps Drive at Dyer Street a couple of years ago.

But the Wainwright building hasn't been torn down. I think El Paso ISD has a student health center there right now and the school is sort of on standby because the school district thinks they might need it for all the Army kids that are coming into Fort Bliss as a result of the latest round of base closures and re-alignments. There's going to be this huge number of soldiers coming into Fort Bliss in the next four years (over 10,000, plus their families).

BTW: I'm a former northeast El Paso resident, too, but I went to Dowell Elementary, in the mid-70s.

And I think they do still light the star on the mountain. I think you can pay to have it lit to honor the person or people of your choice any night of the year.

[Chuco]

Originally Posted by tony78201

does El Paso still light up that big star on the mountain on Christmas?

Yup, the star is still lit up, in fact it is lit up every night these days. Back in the 90's they started lighting up on a regular basis. I think it hasn't been turned on lately because they are going to replace the older bulbs with some more modern ones that can be lit up at all times, such as when it rains and gets windy.


Juarez actually has their own mountain lights now as well, they started lighting up a portrait of Benito Juarez, the president of Mexico.. that the city is now named after.

So both cities now have large images on their mountains lighted up on a nightly basis.

[RobertKrimson]

Hey, I went to Wainwright during that time...I was in Mrs. Jones's class as well as with Mrs. Webb.

[tony78201]

Originally Posted by atrabilius

It was overcrowded (more than 500 students in prekindergarten to 5th grade, in a building whose capacity was about 425--they had something like a dozen portable classrooms out back). It was worn out; El Paso ISD said it would have cost more to fix than it was worth. So they replaced it with Moye Elementary on Alps Drive at Dyer Street a couple of years ago.

But the Wainwright building hasn't been torn down. I think El Paso ISD has a student health center there right now and the school is sort of on standby because the school district thinks they might need it for all the Army kids that are coming into Fort Bliss as a result of the latest round of base closures and re-alignments. There's going to be this huge number of soldiers coming into Fort Bliss in the next four years (over 10,000, plus their families).

BTW: I'm a former northeast El Paso resident, too, but I went to Dowell Elementary, in the mid-70s.

And I think they do still light the star on the mountain. I think you can pay to have it lit to honor the person or people of your choice any night of the year.

I am sorry for the late response, I had forgotten I had made this post. thanks for the info though. and thanks to everyone else that posted. Mrs.Web, that name sounds so familiar, it would nice to find a few of my old classmates.

[atrabilius]

Originally Posted by tony78201

Mrs.Web, that name sounds so familiar, it would nice to find a few of my old classmates.

Was this Ms. Webb a middle-aged Anglo woman with sort of sandy-colored curly hair or an African-American woman in her 30s? I might have had her at Dowell.

[tony78201]

Originally Posted by atrabilius

Was this Ms. Webb a middle-aged Anglo woman with sort of sandy-colored curly hair or an African-American woman in her 30s? I might have had her at Dowell.

you know it might be the anglo woman. did she teach art?
I also remember a math teacher by the name of Ms.Freeman

[atrabilius]

Originally Posted by tony78201

you know it might be the anglo woman. did she teach art?

It's possible. But Dowell had done away with its art classes starting in 1974, when I started sixth grade. That's when I had the white Ms. Webb. I had the black Ms. Webb the following year. Both taught English.

[tony78201]

Originally Posted by atrabilius

It's possible. But Dowell had done away with its art classes starting in 1974, when I started sixth grade. That's when I had the white Ms. Webb. I had the black Ms. Webb the following year. Both taught English.

mrs.webb and english sounds more familiar to me now.
I did some googling, and I think if I had stayed in el paso after wainwright, I would have gone to canyon hills middle school, then irvin high school. maybe I should go and take a look at classmates.com and see if I can find some old friends.

[Bobby1975]

Originally Posted by tony78201

I was wondering if Wainwright was still open? did anyone go there back in 81-82? someone had told me it closed down. does El Paso still light up that big star on the mountain on Christmas?

Madrid?