History Comes Alive For SMCISD Middle School Students At The Calaboose

“I hope to see the museum grow and gain more attention from the public and definitely plan on making this trip to the Calaboose a yearly thing for my students,” Miller teacher Corey Michalek said.

Miller and Goodnight Middle School’s 7th grade Texas History classes visited the Johnnie Armistead Calaboose Museum recently as part of their study of civil rights.

The students toured the museum and explored the historic Dunbar neighborhood, allowing them to better understand the history of civil rights in Texas and gain an appreciation for how the San Marcos of yesterday paved the way for our community of today.

Calaboose Board President Dr. Elvin Holt and Board Member Dr. Samuel Garcia alternated docent duties during the visits, providing some context, background, and highlights of the museum.

The students were especially intrigued at the existence of a dungeon under the historic building that acted as the county’s first jail in the 1870s, with many commenting that they would love to see it excavated someday while taking the obligatory selfie in front of the currently sealed entrance to the hole in the ground.

Two exhibits were popular with the athletes and musicians on the trip, as they introduced a couple of local celebrities of which few students were aware.

The first highlighted the career of Olympic gold medal winner and NBA champion Lucious Jackson, who was born and raised in San Marcos but forced to leave after his 10th-grade year to pursue his basketball dreams when he was unable to lace up for either the Rattlers or Bobcats due to segregation.

The students seemed quite moved by his story and pleased at the city’s recent honoring of Jackson at Dunbar Park in an effort to rectify this past injustice.

The musicians in the group were excited to learn of Eddie Durham, a legendary jazz guitar innovator born in San Marcos who achieved world renown working alongside such all-time greats as Count Basie and Glenn Miller.

Few of the students had heard of Durham, but many expressed inspiration that someone could rise from humble local roots to achieve artistic greatness.

Many of them were also excited that they now understood the musical motif visible at the Eddie Durham Park across the street from the Calaboose, a place which most of them had driven by numerous times unaware of the history all around them.

The most somberly notable exhibit that clearly caught the students’ attention was the Klu Klux Klan robe anonymously donated to the museum years ago and which now stares menacingly from behind a display case as you enter the front door.

It is one thing to read about the presence of such hate groups in a history textbook; it is quite another to see such an artifact from our town’s past and read a headline describing a 1919 rally and parade that saw 20,000 Klansmen marching through downtown San Marcos.

Goodnight teacher Cheryl Blake described the experience as eye-opening for the students and served to bring the past alive in a way not possible in the traditional classroom setting.

Miller teacher Corey Michalek was quite pleased with this real life aspect of the museum experience too, explaining that “it was great for the students to see this history that happened right down the road from their school. It really makes history come alive when you are standing right in front of it. I hope to see the museum grow and gain more attention from the public and definitely plan on making this trip to the Calaboose a yearly thing for my students.”

Miller instructor Brian Cole likewise reported, “It was satisfying to see students so interested in something historical in their own town with direct connections to themselves, especially considering that most of them had no idea the museum even existed.”

This sentiment was echoed by several of the students as well, one of whom was overheard stating that “I didn’t know it was there, but I don’t think I will ever forget it;” a perfect description of the experience for everyone involved.