Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, 1927. Under President George Winfield Lon Morris became the first Texas junior college to be so honored.
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The school is moved to Kilgore in 1873. There it becomes the property of the Methodist church and is named for Isaac Alexander who has, for several years, been an instructor at the institution. Alexander remains as president until 1890 and is a strong supporter until his death in 1919.
Building of the Twin Towers and the move to the present campus in 1909.
Sports, 1912. Under President M. L. Lefler Alexander College organized an athletic association, the Bearcats. Lefler also served as coach. Under his leadership the football team won an East Texas Championship in the 1913 season.
Cadet Corps, 1918, New President R. G. Boger assured the survival of the college by arranging for the government to run high school and college level cadet corps using the Twin Towers as a dormitory. The 1919 year book contains pages of photos honoring corps members who died in the war. With the advent of the great flu pandemic of 1918 (which killed several times as many people as the war did) the Twin Towers became a hospital.
First Student Theatre Productions, 1920. From 1929 to 1973 Lon Morris theater students would win 25 state championships in drama competitions.
The first State championship to go to Alexander College, 1922, in Football.
Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,
1927. Under President George Winfield Lon Morris became the first Texas
junior college to be so honored.
First Texas junior college accepted into Phi Teta Kappa, 1929.
Establishment of the college farm, 1937. Under new President Cecil Peeples this farm became a means of providing food for the school cafeteria and paying the school expenses of many students (including at least one future Lon Morris president, Faulk Landrum).
Naval Aviation School, 1942. The brainchild of Lon Morris coach W. A. "Windmill" Phillips, who procured a contract to run the school for the Navy. He arranged to use Lon Morris facilities and faculty for the classes taught by the school and split the profits with the college, again allowing Lon Morris to survive a war and even to repair long- neglected facilities.
First school-sponsored dance, 1951. Lon Morris was, after all, a church sponsored school in the Deep South so this was a big step.
Razing of the Twin Towers, 1960. Slowly crumbling on the outside and filled with well oiled heart pine on the inside, the Twin Towers had been labeled a fire trap and it was only marginally functional for the many roles it had to fill. Most of those who had gone to school were heartbroken at it's demise, whereas most of those who had struggled to maintain it and teach in it could not wait to see it go.
"Debt Free in '73" This motto was Cecil Peeples swan song, as the celebration both of Lon Morris's centennial as a Methodist institution and the retirement of the school's once crushing debts also served as the retirement celebration for the outgoing president.
Far left:
To the right of Isaac Alexander's portrait one can see the first Jacksonville
Main building, the Sunset Academy building, in the distance. Walking from
there to the foreground one will first see only young girls, signifying
the school's origins as a school for young girls. As they near the foreground
this crowd becomes coeducational and older, in keeping with Alexander Institute's
progression toward status as a junior college.
Left center: Dominating the left hand panel is the image of the Twin Towers Building. The coloring of the left panel is in the subdued classical colors of the 19th century. The lamp being passed from president to president symbolizes both the spirit of Education, generally and the special spirit of Lon Morris.
Center right: Cecil
Peeples' new administration and library complex is the dominant image in
this brightly colored panel. Behind the parade of presidents one sees a
sea of people. These are not intended to represent individuals. Rather
they stand together, reminding us of the Apostle Paul's admonition about
"so great a cloud of witnesses" To the right on the edge of the hill I
have placed one recognizable image, that of Isaac Alexander. The brilliance
of the light in this panel is that of the setting sun, but not because
I believe Lon Morris's time is past. This is allegory. By pursuing the
light of enlightenment, as educated people have for ages (It is darker
on the left hand panel, remember.) we can continue to make the day brighter.
Stop that pursuit for a generation and the sun sets on our children.
Far right: On the mural, at this time, Dr. Lee still holds the lamp of Lon Morris college out to the future. With his death now more than two years past us, and Dr. Miles McCall now installed as the president of the school, it may be time to look to adding a new light to the mural. We can, with some assurance look back on the past and feel a sense of comfort in Lon Morris's future strength.. That would be a false view of the work this line of men has done. When something falls as far outside the nominal culture as Lon Morris does it is always in peril. Those of us who have seen what is different about Lon Morris make changes in our lives all bear a share of responsibility to the youth represented on the mural's far right. Without our efforts those differences may not still be there to change their lives as well.
School songs: At the base of the center panels the first lines
of the Alexander and Lon Morris school songs are shown. Alexander's in
particular is of interest. This is because it is this song which is the
origin of the University of Oklahoma fight song!
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