It was the year Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states. Crayons and Legos entered the marketplace. NASA was born. Elvis joined the U.S. Army, and Pizza Hut served its first pizza pie.

Cabinetmaker Abner Knight poses at The Bendwood School with a photo of his first-grade class taken in 1958. He is highlighted in the photograph’s front row.

Do you know which Spring Branch ISD campuses are celebrating 50 years?

Back in the fall of 1958, Abner Knight was a new first-grader at Bendwood School on its first day. At that time, a shell road ran out front and wide open fields stood where the nearby Town & Country Mall would later rise.

Abner, a cabinetmaker, recalls a classroom without air conditioning, Cold War-era classroom air raid drills and the popular Dick and Jane beginning readers.

Texas State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, attended kindergarten at Bendwood in 1963. He recalls the same shell road, the open fields and a favorite climbing tree in the front schoolyard. His parents still live in the neighborhood five decades later.

“The front office and my old classroom are still in the same place,” Rep. Murphy noted during a recent campus visit. His old climbing tree has grown enormously.

Two SBISD campuses – Bendwood and Woodview elementary schools – will celebrate 50th anniversaries this year. Early next year, Shadow Oaks Elementary plans to mark the same milestone.

Bendwood will celebrate its anniversary during the annual Bendwood Craft Bazaar, which will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, on the school grounds. The Spring Branch Girls’ Choir will perform.

Woodview Elementary’s 50th Anniversary Celebration will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, at the campus, 9749 Cedardale. The birthday bash will focus on family activities with individuals dressed up in five decades of fashion styles. Donations are being sought to mark the major milestone with a gazebo or outdoor classroom.

The Bendwood School operated as a traditional elementary campus for two decades. Today, it serves 500 Gifted & Talented elementary students from across the district through the SPIRAL program and 45 children through its Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD).

“Bendwood is a wonderful place to work, and being able to celebrate its 50th birthday with the students, staff and community is exciting!” proclaims Jana Bassett, the school’s principal. “Since being here, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people who attended Bendwood. They share the same fond memories, and they are excited about the future of Bendwood as well!”

Principal Bassett said that a special spring activity is also planned. Interested alumni should contact the school for more information.

Woodview Elementary is cherished by many former staff as a one-of-a-kind workplace. Librarian Linda Cover began there in 1981 and worked 22 years. During that time, her daughter and three grandchildren attended the school, which excelled in reading and literature programs.

Cover and several other school retirees still meet often for what are known as Woodview Get Togethers. The

Woodview Elementary Principal Neda Scanlan stands with the original school Principal Claude Blanchard. Joining them are current staff member and former Woodview student Susan Eda, former student and neighborhood resident Jannette Williams and her son, Henry Garcia, who attends kindergarten now.

Woodview Principals Eight individuals, according to campus historians, have held the title of principal at Woodview Elementary. They are: Claude Blanchard Betty Lane Jim Felle Claude Blanchard (Second period of service) Joyce Ryan Barbara Hadley Agelia Durand Susan Escareno Neda Scanlan

former librarian raves about the school’s new library.

“I loved Woodview,” she said. “It was a wonderful community with a family atmosphere, a loving and caring spirit. Everyone there was on an equal footing.”

“The closeness of the faculty was always one of the best things,” recalls Joann King, who taught first grade there for 24 years. She’s nostalgic for the Woodview that she remembers.

“We had birds and animals right on campus,” Joann said. “You could walk out the school’s back door and be on a field trip. I can remember seeing morning doves building nests out there.”

Sisters Susan and Stephanie Eda, both educators, attended Woodview in the 1960s under Principal Claude Blanchard. They attended Spring Woods Middle and then both graduated cum laude from Spring Woods High. Today, Susan is in her second year as the educational diagnostician at Woodview. Her sister now teaches in HISD.

Susan recalls her third-grade teacher, Miss Keefer, who had students recite 10 times daily that “6 x 8 = 48” after the Pledge of Allegiance so that the class would not miss that multiplication fact ever again.

“We had lots of fun at Woodview,” Susan recalls. “The fall festivals were fun, and we had a spring festival. I think that it was for Cinco de Mayo. We always dressed up in Mexican clothing and did the traditional dances.”

She recalls the nickel ice cream, safety patrol, a bus driver named Squeaky, and kitchen-baked yeast rolls fresh from the cafeteria’s ovens. “You could smell them from all over the building, and they would let you buy an extra roll.”

Principal Neda Scanlan reports that photographs and memorabilia are being sought for the “Nifty Fifty!” Birthday Bash from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, at the school.

As a fund-raising project, donations are being sought from alumni, business groups and neighborhood organizations to help erect an outdoor gazebo and classroom at Woodview in honor of its 50th anniversary.

“Please show your support and pride in the Woodview Beagles and the greater community that we serve by participating in this event,” Principal Scanlan said. For details, please contact Kathy Bean at 713-365-4285.