Gladewater is “calling all Bumblebees” back to the hive again this weekend for the fourth annual Weldon Honor Game Friday night.
Weldon Alumni Association’s Darren Richardson credits former GISD Athletic Director Johnny Louvier with the inspiration to pay homage to the Bumblebees in honor of the years the campus served as the local school for African American students during segregation.
In 1965, according to a 2023 history of the campus, “On Feb. 8th, the dual school system was abolished. Freedom of choice among the four Gladewater schools was instituted.”
Weldon Elementary-High School operated through 1969 before being converted and renamed Gladewater Middle School that fall. It was renamed Weldon Middle School in 1979, became the intermediate school in 1984 then transitioned to elementary in 2016.
During the school’s heyday, with its signature green and white, “There were a couple of times the Bumblebees played for a state championship. They never won, but they made it twice,” Richardson said. “The last time they made it was in 1968, when Walter Derrick was their head coach.
Come Friday, “The Bears will wear green and white jerseys and turn into the Bumblebees for this game.”
Fans, too, are encouraged to where Weldon’s colors Oct. 3 as Gladewater High School faces the Sabine Cardinals at Jack V. Murphy Bear Stadium.
Richardson is co-organizing this weekend’s alumni activities. For more information, contact him at 903-374-1370.
History of the Weldon Bumblebees
• 1894: The first school in Gladewater Proper was organized. The one room building was located on the east of Main Street in Gladewater
• 1921: The school rented the New Hope Baptist Church
• 1922: The school district qualified for the Rosenwald Fund and built a two room building on 2 acres. The Rosenwald school served the district until 1933
• 1932: Red Rock, Holly Springs and Lincoln Springs community schools were consolidated
• 1933: In May, it was decided that a consolidation “…into one school system to be located in Gladewater was the only hope for anything like adequate training.”
• 1934: The district purchased six acres at the current location and built a ten room building for $34,000
• 1935: The auditorium was complete
• 1937: The schools as named “Weldon” in honor of the principal, J. Weldon Williams
• 1937: The district consolidated Big Sandy, Joy, and Evergreen district.
• 1939: Organized athletics began with C.C. Cooksey as the first paid coach. The Weldon Band was organized under Milton B. Flemings
• 1953: A disastrous fire completely destroyed the main building
• 1954: Weldon was rebuilt for a cost of over a quarter million dollars. The campus was then approximately twenty-six acres and extended to South main to Roden Lane on the south side of Saunders
• 1959: Enrollment was 593 and three more classrooms were built
• 1961: The air-conditioned auditorium and eight classrooms were completed
• 1965: On Feb. 8th, the dual school system was abolished. Freedom of choice among the four Gladewater schools was instituted
• 1969: This was the last year that Weldon Elementary-High School was operated. In the fall, the campus was converted to the middle school in the Gladewater Independent County Line School
• 1969: Weldon’s name is changed to Gladewater Middle School (6th,7th & 8th)
• 1979: Gladewater Middle School becomes Weldon Middle School
• 1984: Weldon Middle School becomes Weldon Intermediate School (4th &5th)
• 2016: Weldon Intermediate School became Weldon Elementary School (2nd-5th)