The 1925 Lady Lions
by Tim Campbell · first published 29 September 2017 · his original post
This is the 1925 Blooming Grove High School Lady Lions basketball team. In the back row is Dora Collier, Lois McClure, Eloise Stubbs, Ida McClure, Nellie Mae Cumpston. In the front row is Nell Martin, Mary Henderson, Edith George, Jessie Low, and Tollee Archer.
This team went as one of the top teams in the state to the AAU state tournament, held in Waco in March of 1925. There was no such thing as size classing for the schools, so teams like Blooming Grove and Roane ended up playing teams like Waco and Denton. Teams at the tournament included Waco, Denton, Blooming Grove, China Springs, Roane (Navarro County), Beaumont, Chilton, Atlanta (Tx), Breckenridge, Cisco, South Bosque. The hometown team of Waco eventually won the tournament. Blooming Grove played Denton in the first round, losing by a score of 10 to 8 (only one point per shot was awarded in 1925). One of the leading scorers for the year on the BG team was Nellie Mae Cumpston but she broke her arm in the first half of the Denton game.
Here are some biographical tidbits about the girls who played on this talented team.
Collier, Dora Nettie (1907-1981) - daughter of local farmer John Marion Collier and wife Laura Virginia Crabtree. Married Tatt Kagler, 2 children Jimmy and Mary Ann. The Kaglers attended Central Baptist Church and were life long residents of BG. I believe it was the Kagler's bawling cow that kept President Lyndon B. Johnson almost completely sleepless the night that he spent in Blooming Grove as a guest of Drew Gillen.
McClure, Annie Lois (1906-1992 ) daughter of local farmer John Edward McClure and wife Mollie Forgey. Married Albert E. "Jack" Littlejohn of Milford. One daughter, Wynell Littlejohn.
Stubbs, Eloise (1909-2004) daughter of Dr. James Silas Stubbs and Nora Hill. Dr. Stubbs was a dentist. By 1930 the Stubbs had moved to Sanger, Tx in Denton County. Eloise married Ross Larsen. They had one son, Larry. For 37 years, Eloise taught elementary school in Amarillo, Tx where her husband was an administrator and coach.
McClure, Ida Janette (1908-1999) daughter of James N. McClure and Nancy Callie Thompson. Ida was also nicknamed "Bill". She was a life long resident of the Lone Oak area just north of Blooming Grove. I believe she must have married twice, once to a Mr. Speer and again to a Mr. Hawk. I don't believe she ever had children.
Cumpston, Nellie Mae (1907-2000) daughter of local cotton gin owner / inventor Fred Cumpston and wife Flora Campbell. Nellie Mae's mother and my grandfather Thomas were brother and sister. She became a school teacher early in life and taught with her uncle Edgar Campbell in several rural Navarro County schools. She was a school teacher for 40 years in various Texas public schools, finally settling in Grapeland, Texas. She married James Williams and they had 3 children, Sandra, James, and Fred.
Martin, Nell - (1906-1990) Nell was the daughter of local farmer/carpenter Ira L. Martin and wife Mattie Love. By the 1930s the Martins had moved to Ft. Worth. Nell married Walter S. Horne. They appear to have had at least three children, Walter, Ronnie, and Patsy.
Henderson, Mary Ellen- (1910-?) Mary was the daughter of Samuel W. Henderson and Anna Mae Thompson who were schoolteachers in Blooming Grove in the early 1920s. By 1930 the Hendersons had moved to the Houston area and Mary Ellen herself had become a teacher. As of 1940 she was still teaching school and single. I could find no record of her after 1940.
George, Edith - (1910-1997) Edith was the daughter of Richard Warren "Dick" George and wife Alva Hill. Her father came to Blooming Grove with his family from Alabama and was long time editor and owner of the Blooming Grove newspaper, later a successful investor in insurance and oil businesses. Edith was born in BG in 1910. After graduating from Blooming Grove she attended and graduated from Baylor University in Waco. She worked as a teacher and librarian. She married Flint Albrecht and they lived on Fordyce Street in BG.
Lowe, Jessie Viola - (1908-1988) Jessie was the daughter of Jesse Curlock Lowe and Julia Finch. Her father was a clerk in one of the dry goods stores in BG in the early days of the town and also farmed. By 1930 Jessie had married Roy Ryan and was living with Roy's family. By 1940 Jesse C. and Julia Lowe as well as Jessie, her husband Roy and their children, had moved to California, where they all spent the rest of their lives in the Santa Barbara / Bakersfield area of Southern California.
Archer, Tollee - (1908-1986 ) Tollee was the daughter of Jeremiah "Jerry" Archer and wife Martha Mae "Mattie" Scarborough. By 1930 Tollee had married William Aubrey Sorrells and they had moved to the Dallas area where they spent the rest of their lives and had two daughters and one son.
This piece was published without a title. The one above was written here; the words below are his.