Memories of Mancos High School

From the Mancos High School Blue Jay Chronicle, May, 2002
By: Kara Dunham, sophomore

Fire strikes basement of Mancos High school.
At 11 p.m. the janitor discovered smoke inside the school. Soon after, the smoke turned to flames. The fire had started in the downstairs chimney flue.
The fire damaged woodwork and the lower hall, blackened walls, broke glass and charred the lower staircase.

"Our fine new school building certainly had a narrow escape, and we shudder to think what a calamity it would have been had it burned to the ground. After all, we have something for which to be thankful for," wrote a reporter for the Mancos Times-Tribune in the Nov. 27, 1911 issue.

The school was very fortunate then, but not so lucky in the future. Two years later a larger disaster struck Mancos High School. Again the high school burst into flames, but this time the third floor and roof were completely burned and the second floor was severely damaged. Again, the school narrowly escaped being burnt to the ground.

Fire to our building twice, and yet, after 93 years, it still stands, the oldest high school in continuous use in the state of Colorado. When the school suffered disaster, classes were held in the other buildings and Mancos still had great sport teams.

During the early years of our school, baseball was very popular. In fact, Mancos had its own high school teams for both boys and girls. Since Mancos was located far from other schools, and cars were not yet a popular form of transportation, sport teams, including boys basketball, rode the train to competitions.

Mancos High School was growing fast and needed more room. So in 1920 the building was expanded to the rear, doubling its size. Over the years the high school has undergone several remodeling projects. Former teacher Art Adcock helped remodel the school.

"At one time the front entrance had been blocked, and what is now the entryway was used as the home economics classroom," said Adcock. The library was on the third floor, and during the remodeling it was moved to the second floor.

Former Mancos student Jean Bader graduated in 1940. There were no girl sport teams then, so Bader occupied herself by working on the school newspaper, and she participated in the band. Bader lived two miles from the school; instead of walking she sometimes rode her horse.

Frank Willburn, a Mancos student in 1945, said, "When I started school I thought it was the biggest in the world. I used to be in a one room school, and this one had stairs!" "In 1945 there was not really any dress code," said Willburn, "the only requirement was that you wear clothes."