South Park High School joe

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SOUTH PARK SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF
BUDDY AND JANE HEBERT

JOE VINCENT

PRINCIPAL - SUPERINTENDENT

"The Colonel"

EVEN BEFORE MY FIRST DAY AT SOUTH PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (NOW PIETZSCH) I KNEW JOE VINCENT WAS A MAN WHO DEMANDED DISCIPLINE AND RESPECT. AND ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL WE WERE INTRODUCED TO PRINCIPAL JOE VINCENT AND HIS COMPANION OLD BETSY.

'OLD BETSY" WAS A WOODEN PADDLE ABOUT 2 1/2' IN LENGTH, ABOUT 6" WIDE, TAPERED TO MAKE A HANDLE - WITH HOLES IN THE FLAT SURFACE OF THE PADDLE. AND BELIEVE ME, NOT MANY OF THE STUDENTS WANTED TO MAKE A TRIP DOWN TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.

JOE VINCENT WAS A BIG, BURLY, GRUFF SOUNDING MAN, AND WE ALL KNEW HE MEANT WHAT HE SAID. BUT IT DID NOT TAKE LONG TO ALSO REALIZE THAT JOE VINCENT WAS A KIND, CARING, LOVING, BIG HEARTED MAN AND HE WILL FOREVER REMAIN IN MY MEMORY.

JOSEPH VINCENT WAS BORN IN A PLACE CALLED VINCENTS LANDING ON THE CALCASIEU RIVER, SOMETIMES BEFORE 1900. BUT THE DATE OF HIS BIRTH WAS ALWAYS A MYSTERY, BUT JOE PICKED COLUMBUS DAY TO CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY. IT WAS SAID BY MANY THAT JOE VINCENT SELECTED THIS DAY TO CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY AS IT WAS EASY TO REMEMBER SINCE SCHOOL WAS ALWAYS OUT ON THAT DATE.

THE STORY WAS TOLD THAT HIS FOREBEARERS WERE CALLED VIN CENT AND WERE PROFESSIONAL DUELISTS. WHEN DUELING WAS OUTLAWED BY THE CONGRESS, THE VIN CENT BROTHERS LEFT NEW ORLEANS IN 1804 IN A RIVER BOAT, INTENDING TO SETTLE IN TEXAS, BUT A MISCALCULATION IN THEIR NAVIGATION CAUSED THEM TO MISTAKE THE CALCASIEU RIVER FOR THE SABINE RIVER, THUS LANDING ON WHAT THEY WOULD LATER CALL VINCENT'S LANDING.

JOE HAD A TYPICAL CHILDHOOD OF THAT DAY AND TIME. LIFE ON A FARM WAS HARD WORK, AND JOE ALWAYS BRAGGED THAT HE WAS RIDING HORSE BACK BY THE TIME HE WAS SIX YEARSOF AGE, AND HELPING IN CATTLE DRIVES, AS DID ALL THE OTHER BOYS HIS AGE. HE ATTENDED THE SETTLEMENT SCHOOL WHERE MOST OF THE STUDENTS WENT UNTIL ABOUT THE 8TH OR 9TH GRADE, BUT JOE HAD THE DESIRE FOR MORE EDUCATION, AND HIS MOTHER, BEING AN EDUCATED WOMAN, ENCOURAGED HIM TO OBTAIN A BETTER EDUCATION.

IN 1908 JOE LEFT VINCENT'S LANDING AND WENT TO LA FAYETTE, A HUNDRED MILES AWAY, WHERE HE ATTENDED SW LOUISIANA INSTITUTE. SCHOOL WAS NOT EASY FOR JOE, AND HE WAS HOMESICK FOR HIS FAMILY, AND HE BECAME DISCOURAGED AND DEPRESSED. IT WAS DURING THIS TIME HE MET A TEACHER, EDITH DUPREE, WHO ENCOURAGED HIM AND ILLUSTRATED TO HIM THAT YOU MUST FIRST CAPTURE A PUPIL'S INTEREST BEFORE HE CAN BE CHALLENGED - AND JOE VINCENT NEVER FORGOT THIS TRICK - SHOW GENUINE SINCERITY IN YOUR PUPILS AND THEN GIVE THEM A CHALLENGING ASSIGNMENT.

JOE LOVED SPORTS (ALL SPORTS) AND WHILE AT SLI PLAYED ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM. JOE'S FOUR YEARS AT SLI NOT ONLY PREPARED HIM TO ENTER LSU IN 1915 AS A JUNIOR, BUT LET HIM OBTAIN A TEACHING CERTIFICATE AND ENTER THAT FIELD IN 1913, TEACHING AT THE LITTLE SCHOOL AT VINCENTS LANDING, THE SAME LITTLE SCHOOL WHERE HE STARTED HIS OWN EDUCATION.

AFTER HIS FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING AT THE LITTLE SETTLEMENT SCHOOL, JOE KNEW THIS WOULD BE HIS LIFETIME CAREER. BUT HE WANTED TO REACH THE TOP AND IN 1914 HE RETURNED TO LAFAYETTE FOR MORE SCHOOLING.

IT WAS HERE THAT HE MET A DAINTY TEACHER FROM IOWA, LOUISIANA (ORIGINALLY FROM KANSAS) NAMED ESTHER FINDLEY. THE TOWN OF IOWA WAS "YANKEE LAND, AS IT HAD BEEN SETTLED MOSTLY BY MID-WESTERNERS - AND ESTHER'S FATHER MADE IT CLEAR THAT ALL LOUISIANANS WERE OFF-LIMITS TO HIS 10 DAUGHTERS.

ESTHER TAUGHT IN AN ALL FRENCH COMMUNITY - LACASSINE - WHERE ALL 19 OF HER PUPILS SPOKE NO ENGLISH, AND ESTHER SPOKE NO FRENCH. JOE VINCENT SPOKE FRENCH WELL, AND CONVINCED ESTHER HE COULD HELP HER LEARN FRENCH. THEY WERE MARRIED IN 1914, AND THEY KNEW THAT LIFE IN VINCENT'S LANDING WAS NOT PART OF THEIR PLANS.

JOE WAS RIGHT FOR A LARGER SCHOOL. AND HIS DESIRE TO TEACH TOOK HIM TO LAKE CHARLES, DE QUINCY, SULPHUR (WHERE HE BECAME A PRINCIPAL) AND FINALLY TO SOUTH PARK, BUT ALONG THE WAY JOE SERVED IN WORLD WAR 1, AND OBTAINED THE RANK OF CAPTAIN. NOT ONLY DID JOE TEACH IN ALL THESE SCHOOLS, HE WAS ALSO A COACH, A JOB HE REALLY ENJOYED.

IN 1925 JOE CAME TO TEXAS, WHERE HE HEARD THERE WAS AN OPENING FOR A PRINCIPAL IN
BEAUMONT SCHOOL DISTRICT. HE WAS NOW AN EXPERIENCED PRINCIPAL AND HAD COACHED ALL SPORTS AND TAUGHT CLASSES. HE APPLIED AT THE BEAUMONT SCHOOL OFFICE, BUT WAS NOT HIRED BY THEM. HOWEVER, HE MADE SUCH AN IMPRESSION ON THE BEAUMONT SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT, HE WAS REFERRED TO SOUTH PARK SUPERINTENDENT,"SKIPPER" BINGMAN.

SUPERINTENDENT BINGMAN WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH JOE VINCENT. HE WAS HIRED THAT DAY - AND WAS GIVEN THE CHOICE OF BEING PRINCIPAL AT SOUTH PARK HIGH SCHOOL OR SOUTH PARK ELEMENTARY AND JOE CHOSE SOUTH PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. HE CONSIDERED THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL A BIGGER CHALLENGE, AND IT PAID $200.00 MORE ANNUALLY. JOE'S PHILOSOPHY: ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITIES; NEVER SHY AWAY FROM THE BIG TASK; LOOK UPON ANY ASSIGNMENT AS A STEP UPWARD; AND USE THE EXPERIENCES GOOD OR BAD, AS STEPPING STONES TO BIGGER ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THE ENROLLMENT AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS TWICE THE SIZE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, AND THIS FACT APPEALED TO THE ENERGETIC YOUNG MAN FROM SUPLHUR. HE FELT INTERESTING EXPERIENCES AWAITED HIM AT SOUTH PARK

BUT MOVING THE VINCENT FAMILY TO SOUTH PARK WAS A BIG TASK FOR JOE. HE WAS BROKE ! HIS WIFE 'TESS HAD LONG BEEN ILL, AND THERE WERE THEIR TWO SONS, JOE, JR. AND BRUCE. THE SALARY AT SULPHUR HAD NOT BEEN SUBSTANTIAL, AND JOE HAD BEEN ATTENDING LSU SEVERAL SUMMERS TO OBTAIN HIS MASTER'S DEGREE, THAT WORLD WAR 1, MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN HAD INTERRUPTED. HIS USUAL LIVING EXPENSES AND THESE THINGS DID NOT ALLOW ANY ACCUMULATION OF FUNDS. AFTER SIGNING HIS CONTRACT WITH SOUTH PARK FOR AN ANNUAL SALARY OF $3,000.00, JOE WENT TO A DOWNTOWN BANK, SECURITY STATE BANK TO ASK FOR A LOAN. ALTHOUGH JOE HAD NO COLLATERAL FOR A LOAN - ONLY HIS WORD - THE PRESIDENT OF THE BANK FELT JOE HAD AN HONEST FACE, AND LOANED HIMTHE $200.00 HE NEEDED TO MOVE HIS FAMILY TO SOUTH PARK. WHEN JOE RECEIVED HIS FIRST PAY CHECK, HE OPENED AN ACCOUNT AT SECURITY STATE BANK AND NEVER MOVED IT AS LONG AS HE LIVED.

SOUTH PARK ELEMENTARY WAS ALSO THE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR SOUTH PARK COLLEGE'S FUTURE TEACHERS, AN AREA THAT WAS NEW TO JOE- TRAINING TEACHERS - BUT HE LIKED IT. JOE WAYS BRAGGED THAT HE HAD INHERITED A CORE OF EXCELLENT AND DEDICATED TEACHERS, AND MOST OF THESE TEACHERS WOULD STILL BE AT SOUTH PARK AFTER JOE BECAME SUPERINTENDENT 23 YEARS LATER. HE NEVER MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRAISE THESE "OLD STANDBYS," AS HE TERMED THEM. USING THIS NUCLEUS OF MASTER TEACHERS, HE TRAINED AT LEAST TWO GENERATIONS OF FUTURE SCHOOL MARMS THAT SOUTH PARK COLLEGE SENT ACROSS WOODROW STREET TO LEARN TECHNIQUES OF SOUNDTEACHING.

JOE VINCENT REMAINED A CAPTAIN IN THE U.S. ARMY RESERVES, AND IN THE SPRING OF 1942 HE WAS CALLED TO ACTIVE DUTY DURING WORLD WAR II, AND AFTER V-DAY HE REMAINED IN JAPAN WITH THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION FORCES, WHERE HE DIRECTED AN ARMY COLLEGE FOR THE AMERICAN MILITARY PERSONNEL.

IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF 1947, JOE VINCENT RETURNED TO BEAUMONT, AND ACCORDING TO THE SCHOOL'S POLICY, HE WAS ENTITLED TO HIS FORMER POSITION AS PRINCIPAL OF SOUTH PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - NOW KNOWN AS PIETZSCH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. BUT ON APRIL 15TH (THE LAST SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ATTENDED BY SUPERINTENDENT BINGMAN) A NEW ADMINISTRATIVE POSiTION WAS CREATED; DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM. AND IT WAS ALMOST DEFINITE THAT THIS POSITION WOULD BE FILLED BY JOSEPH J. VINCENT.

HOWEVER, ON APRIL 22, 1947, AFTER A SUDDEN HEART ATTACK, "SKIPPER" BINGMAN PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 64, AND SEVEN DAYS AFTER "SKIPPER'S" DEATH, THE SCHOOL BOARD ANNOUNCED THAT JOE VINCENT WOULD ASSUME THE POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM AND ACTING SUPERINTENDENT AT A SALARY OF $4,500.00 ANNUALLY. ON JULY 7TH, 1947 "THE COLONEL" WAS ELECTED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD TO A THREE YEAR TERM AS SUPERINTENDENT AND SET HIS SALARY AT $6,000.00 ANNUALLY.

THE 17 YEARS THAT JOE VINCENT WAS SUPERINTENDENT OF SOUTH PARK SCHOOLS WAS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING, EXCITING AND PRODUCTIVE OF TIMES. EVEN BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT HE STARTED HIS WORK WITH GUSTO, WORKING TOWARD A UNIFORM SALARY SCHEDULE FOR ALL TEACHERS. THESE WERE TRYING TIMES AND MANY TEACHERS WERE LEAVING THE TEACHING FIELD FOR BETTER JOBS, AND WORKING TOWARD BETTER PAY FOR TEACHERS WAS JOE'S FIRST ENDEAVOR.

WHEN SCHOOL OPENED IN THE FALL OF 1947, THERE WERE 3,528 PUPILS IN SOUTH PARK SCHOOLS - A JUMP OF 300 OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR. JOE REALIZED THAT DURING THE WAR YEARS NO IMPROVEMENTS OR ADDITIONS HAD BEEN MADE, AND IN THE SPRING OF 1948 HE PROPOSED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD A BUILDING PLAN WHICH BOND ISSUE WAS PASSED BY THE SOUTH PARK RESIDENTS. ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS WERE MADE TO MAC ARTHUR JUNIOR HIGH, SOUTH PARK HIGH, PIETZSCH ELEMENTARY, HEBERT HIGH AND WEST OAKLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND THE SOUTH PARK STADIUM WAS ENLARGED AND REPAIRS MADE TO ALL BUILDINGS.

BUT IT WOULD BE 1951 BEFORE THE BUILDING PROGRAM WOULD CATCH UP TO THE DISTRICTS
NEEDS AND AN ADDITIONAL BOND ISSUE FOR 3 MILLION DOLLARS WAS APPROVED BY THE SOUTH PARK RESIDENTS.

SOME BIG CHANGES HAD OCCURRED IN THE SOUTH PARK DISTRICT. THE FIRST BEING IN THE SUMMER OF 1949 WHEN 151 HOME OWNERS RESIDING IN THE AREA SOUTH OF WASHINGTON BOULEVARD AND NORTH OF HARRIOT STREET PETITIONED TO LEAVE THE BEAUMONT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND JOIN SOUTH PARK, WHICH WAS APPROVED. THIS WAS THE FIRST CHANGE IN THE SOUTH PARK BOUNDARIES SINCE 1899 WHEN THE CITY LIMITS HAD BEEN EXTENDED SOUTHWARD TO WASHINGTON BOULEVARD.

IN DECEMBER, 1948 AMELIA WAS A COMMON AND INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT ON
SEPTEMBER 20, 1949 ASKED TO JOIN THE SOUTH PARK DISTRICT, AND ON OCTOBER 15, 1949 THIS
PROPOSAL WAS ADOPTED - WHICH JOE VINCENT WOULD LATER ADMIT WAS A MISTAKE FOR THE SOUTH PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT. WITH ONLY 250 HOMES IN THE AMELIA AREA, THE TAX ROLLS DID NOT BRING IN MUCH REVENUE FROM THIS AREA AND THE EXPENSES HAD BEEN GREATLY INCREASED.

JOE REALLY HAD HIS HANDS FULL TRYING TO ADMINISTER THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH THE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT JUMPING FROM 3,591 TO 4,235 STUDENTS. MORE TEACHERS HAD TO BE HIRED, BUT HE SOLVED HIS BUSINESS MANAGER PROBLEMS BY MOVING QUALIFI ED ADMINISTRATORS AROUND IN THE DISTRICT.

THE BOND ISSUE IN 1951 WAS TO BUILD A NEW HIGH SCHOOL FOR HEBERT HIGH, AND JOE VINCENT ALWAYS FOUND A WAY TO IMPROVE THE BUILDING SITUATION AND EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH PARK DISTRICT.

THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JOSEPH J. VINCENT ARE TOO NUMEROUS TO WRITE ABOUT ALL OF THEM, BUT HE HAD SO MUCH TO DO WITH SHAPING SOUTH PARK INTO A GREAT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AND MAKING IT A POWER IN THE COMMUNITY. HE HAD HELPED SOUTH PARK "PULL ITSELF UP BY ITS OWN BOOTSTRAPS" FROM A COUNTRY ONE-ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE TO AN ELEGANT AND CHOICE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

JOE VINCENT WAS CALLED BY MANY AS "FLAMBOYANT", BUT HE WAS NO PUT ON BECAUSE IT CAME NATURALLY. HE WALKED THE SIDE WALKS ANDSTREETS OF SOUTH PARK AS THOUGH HE OWNED THEM, AND THOUGHT THAT EVERY SOUTH PARKER SHOULD DO THE SAME.

TO THE "COLONEL" A MEETING IN FRONT OF THE DRUG STORE (HIGHLAND AVENUE) WITH THREE
STUDENTS WAS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS ONE IN AUSTIN BEFORE A THOUSAND ADMINISTRATORS. HE LOVED WALKING DOWN HIGHLAND AVENUE, TALKING TO EVERYONE - AND HE WAS KNOWLEDGEABLE ON ALL SUBJECTS. HE RELATED WITH ALL PEOPLE - RICH OR POOR. EDUCATED OR UNEDUCATED - YOUNG OR OLD.

JOE ALWAYS HAD AN EAR AND THE TIME TO LISTEN TO A FAMILY PROBLEM, AND LUNCH OR AN
APPOINTMENT COULD WAIT IF A PARENT OR CHILD WERE IN DIFFICULTY. JOE WAS A CONFIDANT OF TEACHERS, STUDENTS, PARENTS AND IN SOME INSTANCES, RANK STRANGERS.

"THE COLONEL" BELIEVED IN COMMENDING PEOPLE FOR DOING A GOOD JOB .AND THE THING HE PROBABLY ENJOYEDTHE MOST WAS LETTING A TEACHER KNOW THAT THE HEAD MAN CARED AND NOTICED THE WORK A TEACHER HAD DONE.

HE WAS A BIG MAN - STANDING 6 FEET 4 INCHES, WEIGHING 225 POUNDS, AND STOOD TALL AND
STRAIGHT UNTIL THE DAY HE DIED. HE DID REGULAR MORNING PUSH-UPS AND TOOK OTHER
CALISTHENICS TO KEEP HIS BODY TONED. HE DID NOT USE HIS SIZE TO OVERPOWER A WEAKER
PERSON; BUT SHOULD AN IRATE PARENT OR PUPIL THINK THEY COULD MAKE JOE VINCENT
BACK DOWN FROM ANY POSITION HE HAD TAKEN, THEY WERE DOOMED TO DEFEAT BEFORE
THEY STARTED.

THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF JOSEPH J. VINCENTS TIME WITH THE SOUTH PARK SCHOOL
DISTRICT WERE QUITE AND UNEVENTFUL AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING IN APRIL, 1964, JOE VINCENT STUNNED THE GROUP BY ANNOUNCING THAT HE WOULD RETIRE AS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SOUTH PARK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AT THE END OF HIS CONTRACT - JUNE 30,1964.

THERE WERE FEW DRY EYES AMONG THE GROUP - FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS JOE VINCENT HAD RUN THE SHOW AT SOUTH PARK. HE HAD ALWAYS BEEN AVAILABLE WHEN NEEDED - ISSUES - PRO OR CON NEVER SEEMED TO FAZE HIM. HE ALWAYS SAID "THE BUCK STOPS HERE." THERE WAS NO DOUBT JOSEPH J. VINCENT LOVED HIS JOB - AND AT THE TIME OF HIS RETIREMENT THE SCHOOL BOARD HAD NOT ENACTED A RETIREMENT POLICY. SO - MANY WERE AMAZED THAT AT THE AGE OF 72 JOSEPH J. VINCENT WOULD RETIRE.

"JOE VINCENTS ARE RARE IN THIS WORLD." THESE WERE THE WORDS SPOKEN BY REVEREND KENNETH HINER AT THE FUNERAL OF JOSEPH J. VINCENT ON JULY 17,1972. NO ONE WHO DID NOT KNOW THIS MAN WOULD REALIZE THAT HE HAD TRAVELED THE WORLD OVER; HAD HOBNOBBED WITH TOP U.S. ARMY COMMANDERS, APPEARED BEFORE A CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL AND HAD STOOD RETREATS AND ARMY REVIEWS IN A DOZEN FOREIGN COUNTRIES DURING TWO WORLD WARS. NOR THAT THIS EXTRAORDINARY PERSON HAD ACCOMPLISHED THINGS LIKE BUILDING MILLION DOLLAR SCHOOLHOUSES THAT WERE YEARS AHEAD OF THE CONVENTIONAL DESIGN OF SUCH STRUCTURES.

HIS GRANDDAUGHTER ONCE WROTE IN AN ESSAY - "THIS IS PA JOE - COLOR HIM LOVE""PA JOE LOVES HIS COUNTRY. THE UNITED STATES IS MORE THAN JUST A PLACE FOR HIM TO LIVE" AND HE LOVED SOUTH PARK AND WAS PROUD TO BE A PART OF IT - AND WE WERE PROUD TO HAVE KNOWN HIM.

THE POEM "IF" WAS ONE OF JOE'S FAVORITE PHILOSOPHIES, AND WAS OFTEN QUOTED BY HIM. HOW WELL THIS DESCRIBED JOSEPH J. VINCENT.

INFORMATION TAKEN FROM RAY ASBURYS BOOK - THE SOUTH PARK STORY.

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