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287_3 | After World War II, the Rock Island and Southern Pacific considered a new 39¾ hour (the accepted fast schedule between Chicago and Los Angeles/San Francisco) streamliner to be named the Golden Rocket. This name was an extension of the use of the name Rocket that the Rock Island had introduced on other routes combined with the prefix “Golden” which had been used for many years as a prefix for car names. See also the Rocky Mountain Rocket, the Des Moines Rocket, the Peoria Rocket and others. |
287_4 | The Golden Rocket was to have two sets of equipment (one supplied by each railroad) and compete with Santa Fe's Super Chief, another train between Chicago and Los Angeles. The Rock Island ordered cars with a red and silver color scheme, lettered for the Golden Rocket. The Southern Pacific was not as enthusiastic, primarily because of upgrades needed on the El Paso–Kansas City portion of the route, which was single track and poorly signaled. After Southern Pacific decided not to participate, Rock Island's set of Golden Rocket equipment was re-lettered and integrated into the Golden State. |
287_5 | The Golden State became a streamliner in January 1948, with vermilion red on the upper body and pier panel and the lower bodies either natural corrugated stainless steel or silver or grey paint on smooth-sided cars. The train ran with many styles of equipment. Smooth-sided and corrugated stainless steel equipment were mixed and heavyweight baggage, Railway Post Office (RPO) and dormitory cars were common. |
287_6 | Transcontinental sleeping car service between New York and Los Angeles on alternate days via the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad was added in 1946 but ended in 1951. Other sleeping car routes on the Golden State included Chicago – Kansas City and Chicago – San Diego (via the Southern Pacific and their subsidiary, San Diego and Arizona Railway, connecting at Yuma, Arizona). The train carried linked sleeping cars from other carriers: in Kansas City, it picked up a Rock Island Railroad sleeping car from Minneapolis and at the same station it picked up also a Missouri Pacific Railroad sleeping car from St. Louis,
The train had a coordinated connection with the National Railway of Mexico's (NdeM) El Fronterizo (7/8) in El Paso, Texas; this NdeM train continued to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and Mexico City. The schedule was set to accommodate travel from Los Angeles to Mexico, and the reverse direction. |
287_7 | The Golden State had the same declining passenger revenues as other trains in the 1950s and 1960s, although service was not downgraded severely as on other trains. A sleeping car and grill/lounge or dining car was always included. The train was combined with Southern Pacific's New Orleans – Los Angeles Sunset Limited west of El Paso after April 1964. The last westbound Golden State left Chicago on Monday, February 19, 1968, and the last inbound Golden State pulled into Chicago's LaSalle Street Station on February 21.
Amtrak's Sunset Limited between Los Angeles and New Orleans uses the Golden State's route west of Yuma. The Sunset runs three times weekly; Southern Pacific reduced the Sunset Limited from daily to tri-weekly before Amtrak's formation.
Routes |
287_8 | The Southern Pacific line from Los Angeles to El Paso was completed in May 1881; the Golden State ran on the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad from Tucumcari, New Mexico, to El Paso. West of there it sometimes used the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad (EP&SW) through Douglas, Arizona, to Tucson and sometimes the Southern Pacific (SP) via Deming; SP carried the train Tucson to Los Angeles. The former EP&SW between Douglas and El Paso was abandoned in 1961 and the tracks removed in 1963. |
287_9 | Rock Island had many feeder lines used for freight and passenger service to southern California. One of these was the ‘Choctaw Route’ from Memphis though Little Rock, Oklahoma City and Amarillo to Tucumcari, New Mexico. This line was completed in 1900 to Amarillo, Texas, and to Tucumcari, after purchase by the Rock Island, by 1902. Over the years connections were made with through sleeping cars from Memphis and Little Rock to Los Angeles, generally connecting with the Golden State. The Rock Island actually owned the rail line to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, south of Tucumcari, but since the routes intersected at Tucumcari, this is where the change from Rock Island to Southern Pacific crews and locomotives were made. |
287_10 | The Rock Island main line crossed the Colorado and Southern and Fort Worth and Denver railroad main line at Dalhart, Texas. This Dallas-Denver line was the route of the Texas Zephyr and other trains. For many years travelers could connect here to go north and south between El Paso and Denver, the only other route being the Santa Fe to Albuquerque with a second change of trains at La Junta, Colorado.
As part of the merger agreement between EP&SW and SP in 1924, the SP agreed to build a main line through Phoenix, which until then was on a branch from Maricopa. The main line was built from a point near Picacho through Coolidge to Chandler, Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix thence on existing tracks to Buckeye with a new extension to Wellton on the original SP main. This alternate route is no longer in service between Roll and Buckeye, Arizona, although the tracks are in place.
Equipment |
287_11 | The Golden State received regular upgrades to equipment. Beginning in 1924 Golden-series observation cars were assigned to the train. These 3-compartment, 2-drawing room observations became famous in the Pullman fleet as the most modern and luxurious equipment available and were also operated on the Santa Fe (Silver series) and New York Central (Central series).
Starting in 1940, 8-section, 5-double bedroom rebuilt heavyweight Clover-series cars appeared on the Golden State. |
287_12 | During 1926-29 and after 1948 the Golden State was an extra-fare train, supposedly to account for the costs of the luxury service and the reservation system for chair car seating. In later years, the extra fare became something of a joke as service deteriorated badly. Extra fare for Pullman accommodation Los Angeles to Chicago was $10 in 1948, adding perhaps 10% to the total fare. The $3.50 extra fare for chair car passengers had the advantage of individual reserved seats and modern, leg rest, air-conditioned coaches. If you did not want to pay the extra fare, the slower secondary trains (see below) were available. The additional costs in a non-computer era for coach seat reservations were substantial; however, a nationwide reservation system for Pullman (sleeping car) passengers had existed for many decades. |
287_13 | Shortly before World War II, three streamlined dining cars (Yucca, Saguaro and Ocotillo) were built by Budd for service on the train. These cars were placed on the Twin Star Rocket in 1945 and later returned to the Golden State.
Two-tone grey, smooth-sided 4-4-2 (4 double bedroom, 4-compartment, 2-drawing room) and 6-6-4 (6 sections, 6 roomettes, 4 double bedrooms) lightweight sleeping cars were assigned to the train beginning in 1942. Later that year 4-4-2 sleepers from the discontinued Arizona Limited and Treasure Island Special were also assigned (Imperial Clipper, Imperial Guard, Imperial Throne and Imperial Banner). These cars wore only numbers as the RI/SP did not name their cars until after World War II (and then only for a short time).
Streamlined 44 and 48 reclining seat leg-rest (long-distance) low-capacity chair cars from both the Southern Pacific and Rock Island were added to the Golden State as they were built. |
287_14 | Southern Pacific used “Roman”-style lettering on its equipment, while the Rock Island favored “Zephyr”-style lettering. Except for the 1942 built sleeping cars, the postwar cars built for the Golden State also differed in their car side style between the two roads: Except for two corrugated side coaches, Southern Pacific cars had smooth sides, while Rock Island cars had corrugated sides except for the Rock Island owned 4-4-2 and 6-6-4 sleepers. In the late 1950s the slower counterpart train on generally the same route was the Imperial. |
287_15 | Between 1947 and 1950, after the demise of the Golden Rocket, streamlined sleeping, chair, meal and lounge cars were added. As five consists were necessary, Rock Island and Southern Pacific each supplied two or three different cars. For example, Rock Island and Southern Pacific each built and assigned two 12 double bedroom sleeping cars for Golden State service, which resulted in four consists each featuring one such car type, while the fifth consist had a 4-4-2 sleeping car in place of the non existent fifth 12 double bedroom sleeping car. Unlike the Rock Island, the Southern Pacific had five 10-6 (10 roomette, 6 double bedroom) sleeping cars assigned to this train, where three cars of this type were normal mid train sleeping cars and two of this type were tail cars with a blunted end. The three normal mid train 10-6 sleeping cars usually ran in those three consists that did not feature a 10-6 blunt-end sleeping car at the rear but one of the three Rock Island round end observation |
287_16 | cars. |
287_17 | As for mail cars, baggage cars and baggage dormitory cars, the situation was as follows:
Both Southern Pacific and Rock Island each provided five mail-baggage cars (featuring a Railway Post Office) for Golden State service.
The Southern Pacific assigned five older heavyweight mail-baggage cars numbered 5065-5069 which were painted in the new red and silver scheme.
The Rock Island assigned three newly in 1947 built lightweight corrugated side mail-baggage cars numbered 802-804 and later in 1952 two newly rebuilt (from old parlor cars) heavyweight mail-baggage cars numbered 720 and 721. These three cars were the only cars of the entire Golden State car pool that never received the red and silver paint scheme and remained all stainless steel with Rock Island lettering in the letterboard instead of Golden State. |
287_18 | Unlike for the mail-baggage cars where each road had provided five cars for, the situation for the baggage dormitory cars was different, as there were only five such cars in total assigned for Golden State service.
The Rock Island provided three baggage dormitory cars: One lightweight corrugated side baggage dormitory numbered 820 built new by Pullman Standard in 1947 and two older heavyweight baggage dormitories numbered 6014 and 6105.
The Southern Pacific provided modernized heavyweight baggage dormitory car 3401 which was built by American Car & Foundry as hospital car for the US Army in 1944 and was painted red and silver in 1947, and in 1949 a newly built lightweight smooth side baggage dormitory car numbered 3100. |
287_19 | With only five baggage dormitory cars available for the five Golden State consists, the Rock Island soon painted heavyweight baggage dormitory 6013 into the red and silver scheme and assigned it as a protection car in case one of the five regularly assigned baggage dormitory cars were off for shopping. |
287_20 | From 1948 until late 1950, the five Golden State consists had been always operating with two headend cars (one mail-baggage car and one baggage dormitory per consist). Only a consist that featured a combination of Southern Pacific baggage dormitory 3100 or Rock Island baggage dormitory 820 together with one of the three Rock Island mail-baggage cars 802-804 would be an entirely streamlined Golden State consist. All other options featured one or two heavyweight cars, which is why the Golden State could actually never be considered a full streamliner train. That possible combination of having at least one fully streamlined consist out of five was made impossible in late 1950 and early 1951 when the Southern Pacific started to assign four red and silver painted heavyweight ex baggage-horse cars now converted to mail-storage cars numbered . Rock Island also provided two 1947 built corrugated side baggage cars (numbers 852 and 853) as mail-storage cars during that time. So now the number |
287_21 | of heavyweight cars in a Golden State consist could reach up to three. Only a consist which had either Rock Island baggage dormitory 820 or Southern Pacific baggage dormitory 3100 in combination with Rock Island mail-baggage cars 802-804 and Rock Island mail-storage cars 852-853 would be an all streamlined consist. It was not until 1959 that the number of heavyweight cars assigned to the Golden State consists would be reduced again. |
287_22 | In addition to the luxurious 2-double-bedroom, 1-drawing room observation La Mirada, built for the Golden Rocket, the Rock Island had observation cars Golden Vista and Golden Divan. All these three observation cars arrived in August 1948, which means by the time the Golden State was officially introduced as a streamliner in train in January 1948, all five consists continued operating without any observation cars until August that year and two consists even until June 1950. The Southern Pacific did not believe in observation cars, feeling them to be a nuisance to switch and non-revenue producing (mid-train lounge cars always made more money off beverage service). In June 1950 they supplied two blunt-end 10-6 (10 roomette, 6 double bedroom) sleeping cars, similar to the cars built in 1950 for the newly streamlined Sunset Limited. And instead of observation cars, SP supplied two full mid-train lounge cars named Golden View and Golden Outlook that arrived in late 1949. The two consists |
287_23 | featuring the blunt-end 10-6 sleeping cars on the rear operated with the full mid-train lounge cars, while the three consists featuring observation cars operated without any full lounge car, as these observation cars themselves featured a buffet lounge in the rear half of the car. In May and June 1956, the Rock Island converted their three observation cars for the Golden State into full mid-train lounge cars, which caused three of the five consists to operate without any tail car, as the Rock Island did not have any blunt-end sleeping cars. |
287_24 | The five Golden State consists were remarkable in the point that they featured at least six unique cars that never were built in more than one example. These cars were Southern Pacific lightweight smooth side baggagage dormitory 3100, Rock Island lightweight corrugated side baggage dormitory 820, Rock Island lightweight corrugated side 4-4-2 sleeping car La Quinta, Rock Island lightweight corrugated side coffee shop lounge El Café (informally labeled as “Fiesta Car”), Rock Island lightweight corrugated side dining car El Comedor and Rock Island lightweight corrugated side sleeper buffet lounge observation La Mirada. Especially the unique and partially handmade decorations and interiors of El Café, El Comedor and La Mirada were heavily promoted in advertising but the chance that one of these unique cars was part of a Golden State consist was only one in five, which basically resulted in all five consists having unique compositions. |
287_25 | After World War II and until 1953 all cars in the train had names, mostly beginning with Golden. After 1953, when the red and silver paint scheme was discontinued, the names were gradually removed from the Southern Pacific cars and replaced by numbers. Also, the Golden State lettering in the letterboards of the Southern Pacific cars was replaced by Southern Pacific lettering written inside a red stripe and the train name was featured in a logo in the center of the car (like on the Sunset Limited). The Rock Island however retained the names and the Golden State lettered letterboards for their cars. The repainting process from the red and silver paint scheme to the all silver scheme for Rock Island cars and to the simulated stainless steel with red letterboard stripe scheme for Southern Pacific cars started in April 1953 and was not finished until January 1955. In late 1958, the Southern Pacific cars paint scheme was again changed by deleting the Golden State train name in the logo, by |
287_26 | slightly enlargening the height of the red letterboard stripe and by painting the headend cars solid grey. |
287_27 | A unique type of sleeping car was introduced by Rock Island in 1954; 10 cars with eight roomettes and six bedrooms assigned to the Rocky Mountain Rocket and the Golden State. These cars had more space for long-distance travelers. Standard streamlined sleeping cars with roomettes normally held 22 passengers in various configurations (10-6, 14–4, etc.) but these, along with a “Western” series of 12 roomette, 4 double bedroom cars built for the Wabash and Union Pacific, were extra spacious. Also in 1954, Southern Pacific provided new 44-seat corrugated side coaches for the Golden State, which unlike the older smooth side coaches were built by Budd instead of Pullman Standard. In 1959, Rock Island purchased three lightweight smooth side baggage dormitory cars from the New York Central, which replaced the heavyweight baggage dormitory cars that the Rock Island had been constantly using for the Golden State since 1942. And also in 1959, Rock Island purchased two lightweight smooth side |
287_28 | lounge cars from the New York Central for Golden State service, while it reassigned its original Golden State assigned lounge cars La Mirada, Golden Divan and Golden Vista to other trains. |
287_29 | Dieselization began on the Rock Island immediately post-war with A-B and A-B-B sets of EMD E6, E7, E8 and sometimes even Alco DL units being assigned to the train. Later, A-B-A sets and even some FP7 units became more common. In 1947 Southern Pacific bought three A-B-B sets of EMD E7 units in the vermilion and silver (aluminum) colors. These red and silver Southern Pacific E7s were repainted to the familiar “Daylight” scheme (red, orange and black) in June 1949 before the Golden State even had received all its ordered lightweight cars which did not occur until June 1950. Until 1954, the Rock Island diesel units were painted in the original red, maroon and silver “Rocket” colors. In 1954 that changed to a simplified scheme without the red color, in 1958 to an even more simplified scheme featuring mostly a maroon front and silver rest and in the early 60's to an all maroon scheme, which by 1967 was enhanced with yellow wings at the front. By late 1953, Southern Pacific PA-1/PB-1 and |
287_30 | PA-2/PB-2 units began joining the E7 units with pulling the Golden State, and in 1954 E9 units were added. By this time A-B-A sets became more common on the Southern Pacific, which could be either made up entirely of E7 or PA/PB units or mixed consists featuring E7, E9 and PA/PB units working together. All these Southern Pacific diesel units remained in the Daylight scheme until 1958 and 1959 when they were gradually repainted into the “Bloody Nose” scheme featuring a red nose and grey rest, which they kept until the very end. Also by 1960, F7 units started to appear pulling the Golden State for a limited time in the early '60s. Although the Golden State was officially declared a dieselized train by January 1948, the Southern Pacific regularly assigned GS-4 class 4-8-4 steam locomotives to pull the Golden State between Tucumcari, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas until late 1953. Due to diesel shortages on the Southern Pacific, which lasted until the mid '50s, steam helpers in form of GS |
287_31 | class 4-8-4, MT class 4-8-2, SP class 4-10-2 and even AC class 4-8-8-2 and 2-8-8-4 steam locomotives were a common sight on the Golden State. |
287_32 | Schedule
In July 1948 the Golden State left Chicago at 10:15 pm CST and arrived Los Angeles 5:15 pm on the second day. The return trip left Los Angeles at 11:30 am arriving in Chicago at 11:30 am the second morning. In July 1954 it left Chicago at 2:15 pm CST and arrived Los Angeles the second day at 7:30 am. The return trip left Los Angeles at 1:30 pm and arrived the second day at 9:55 am. In later years the arrival in Phoenix, for example, was late in the evening. Pullman passengers on the Phoenix setout could stay in the sleeping car until morning.
Consist
A typical consist of the early '50s could include a maximum of 16 cars: |
287_33 | Southern Pacific heavyweight mail-storage car 4300
Southern Pacific heavyweight mail-baggage car 5066
Rock Island lightweight corrugated side baggage dormitory 820 (lettered for Golden Rocket)
Southern Pacific lightweight corrugated side coach "Golden Sand"
Rock Island lightweight corrugated side coach "Golden Trumpet"
Rock Island lightweight corrugated side coffee shop lounge "El Café" (lettered for Golden Rocket)
Rock Island lightweight corrugated side coach "Golden Flute" [Minneapolis-Los Angeles]
Rock Island lightweight smooth side 6-6-4 sleeping car "Golden Plaza" [Minneapolis-Los Angeles]
Rock Island lightweight smooth side 6-6-4 sleeping car "Golden Mesa" [St. Louis-Los Angeles]
Rock Island lightweight corrugated side dining car "El Comedor" (lettered for Golden Rocket)
Southern Pacific lightweight smooth side 4-4-2 sleeping car "Golden Mission"
Southern Pacific lightweight smooth side 4-4-2 sleeping car "Golden Moon" |
287_34 | Southern Pacific lightweight smooth side 4-4-2 sleeping car "Golden Strand" [Chicago-Tucson]
Southern Pacific lightweight smooth side 12 double bedroom sleeping car "Golden Orange" [Chicago-Phoenix]
Southern Pacific lightweight smooth side 10-6 sleeping car "Golden Sun"
Rock Island lightweight corrugated side 2-1 sleeper buffet lounge observation "La Mirada" (lettered for Golden Rocket) |
287_35 | See also
Passenger trains on the Southern Pacific Railroad
Notes
References
Jarel, Mike. "Diesel Power for the Golden State." SP Trainline 59 (2) 39–45.
Ryan, Dennis and Mike Jarel. "The Streamlined Golden State." SP Trainline 59 (2) 8-38.
Solomon, Brian (2005). Southern Pacific Passenger Trains. MBI Publishing Company, St. Paul., MN.
Dubin, Arthur D. (1964). Some Classic Trains. Kalmbach Publications, Milwaukee, WI
Official Guide of the Railways, July 1954 Edition. National Railway Publications Co. New York, New York
National Railway Publishing Company. The Official Guide of the Railways. July 1954; June 1948, other issues. New York, NY
"Golden State Makes Final Run," The Rocket (Rock Island employee magazine), March–April 1968, p12-13.
External links |
287_36 | The Golden State Page at the Rock Island Technical Society official website.
Southern Pacific Locomotive Paint Schemes
History of the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Company, accessed February 2009.
History of the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad, accessed February 2009
Passenger trains of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Passenger trains of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company
Named passenger trains of the United States
Night trains of the United States
Passenger rail transportation in Illinois
Passenger rail transportation in Iowa
Passenger rail transportation in Missouri
Passenger rail transportation in Kansas
Passenger rail transportation in Oklahoma
Passenger rail transportation in Texas
Passenger rail transportation in New Mexico
Passenger rail transportation in Arizona
Passenger rail transportation in California
Railway services introduced in 1902
Railway services discontinued in 1968 |
288_0 | {| class="mbox-small" style="text-align:center;border:1px solid #aaa; background-color:#f9f9f9;"
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center;border-top:none;"| Demographics (2010)
|-
| White| Black| Hispanic| Asian|-
| 54.27%
| 20.44%
| 24.40%
| 11.38%
|-
| Islander| Native| Other|-
| 0.03%
| 0.3%
| 10.5%
|}
The village of Bolingbrook is a southwest suburb of Chicago in Will and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 US Census, the population is 73,366. It is the 17th largest incorporated place in Illinois and the state's 2nd largest village.
Geography
Bolingbrook is at (41.698613, -88.088668), approximately 28 miles southwest of Downtown Chicago.
According to the 2010 census Bolingbrook has a total area of , of which (or 99.15%) is land and (or 0.85%) is water.
Bolingbrook borders the communities of Woodridge, Romeoville, Plainfield, Naperville, and Darien. |
288_1 | Interstate 55, locally the Stevenson Expressway, runs through the southern part of the village heading northeast toward Chicago and southwest toward Plainfield and Joliet. Interstate 355, also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway (formerly the North-South Tollway), runs along the far east side of the village between New Lenox and Addison. Illinois Route 53, locally known as Bolingbrook Drive, runs north–south through the middle of the village.
Other main streets in Bolingbrook include Boughton Road, Lily Cache Lane, Weber Road, Veterans Parkway (formerly Naperville Road), Briarcliff Road, Hassert Boulevard (formerly 111th Street), Rodeo Drive (formerly 119th Street), Schmidt Road, Crossroads Parkway, and Remington Boulevard.
Demographics |
288_2 | As of the census of 2000, there were 56,321 people, 17,416 households, and 14,246 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,746.5 people per square mile (1,060.2/km). There were 17,884 housing units at an average density of 872.1 per square mile (336.7/km). The racial makeup of the village was 64.51% White, 20.41% African American, 0.23% Native American, 6.38% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 5.65% from other races, and 2.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.09% of the population.
There were 17,416 households, out of which 48.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 3.56. |
288_3 | In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $67,852, and the median income for a family was $71,527 (these figures had risen to $76,392 and $82,462 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $46,915 versus $33,665 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,468. About 2.9% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
History and growth |
288_4 | Bolingbrook is a relatively new suburb of Chicago, having been incorporated in 1965. The first settlement in what is now Bolingbrook was established in 1831, but the informal farming villages remained unincorporated for over 130 years. The tiny Boardman Cemetery, in what is now the Heritage Creek subdivision, contains the remains of some of these early residents.
Modern Bolingbrook has its roots in the housing boom of the 1950s. The first subdivision in Bolingbrook, known as Westbury, was immediately west of Route 53. A second subdivision, known as Colonial Village, followed on the far east side of Route 53. |
288_5 | The village continued to grow steadily for the remainder of the 1960s, reaching a population of 7,000 by 1970. The 1970s were the first period of rapid growth in Bolingbrook, during which its population quintupled to reach over 37,000 by 1980. Much of this growth was as much due to mass annexation as well as raw population growth; the population of Bolingbrook by the 1970 census but with its 1980 land boundary was approximately 25,000, further reflecting the vigorous annexation that took place during the 1970s.
By 1990, Bolingbrook's population had only increased by about 10% from the previous decade, to about 41,000. |
288_6 | Law and government
John J. "Jack" Leonard was instrumental in the village's incorporation and served as the village's first mayor. Prior to hiring a full-time police chief, he served "double-duty" as both Village President and part-time Police Chief. Eventually, the first police chief, Fred Greening was hired. He was recruited from the detective division of the Detroit Police Department.
In 1971, Bolingbrook purchased station 2 from the Lemont Fire Protection District, which had been serving much of the village, thus establishing its own fire department. Since then, that station has been expanded and four others have been built.
As of August 2020, the acting mayor of Bolingbrook is Mary Alexander-Basta. On July 31, 2020, longtime mayor Roger C. Claar resigned, having served in the role since 1986; Village Trustee Basta was unanimously appointed by the village board to complete Claar's term. |
288_7 | Economy
As of 2019, 24 companies of various sizes have their corporate headquarters in Bolingbrook. The largest being: The nation-wide cosmetic retailer Ulta Beauty, as well as vehicle floor liner manufacturer WeatherTech. Other corporate headquarters include: ATI Physical Therapy, Stevenson Crane, American Chrome, Computer Projects of Illinois, Diageo, Diamond Technical Services, Epir Technologies, Goya Foods' Illinois division, Midwest Fuel & Injection, G & W Electric, Illinois Paper & Copier, Jet Brite car washes, Wi-Tronix, Perkins Manufacturing, Vision Integrated Graphics, Clark Foam Products, Wastebuilt, COTG - Chicago Office Technology Group, and Windy City Wire.
Top employers
According to the Bolingbrook Park District's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the village are:
Major highways
Major highways in Bolingbrook include:Interstate Highways Interstate 55
Interstate 355US Highways Historic US 66Illinois Highways'''
Route 53 |
288_8 | Schools
Most of Bolingbrook lies within the boundaries of Valley View School District 365U and Fountaindale Public Library District, both of which also include nearby Romeoville, Illinois. Other school districts that serve Bolingbrook include Plainfield School District 202, Indian Prairie School District 204, Naperville School District 203, Woodridge School District 68, and Downers Grove High School District 99.
Early history
School District 365U was originally known as District 94. It took its present name when it became the first school district in the United States to implement the 45-15 plan, in which schools were occupied year round with 3/4 of the students in session at any one time. Students went to school for 9 weeks and then had 3 weeks off. Additionally, teachers were optionally allowed to work year-round.
The first school built in Bolingbrook was North View School at 151 E. Briarcliff Rd., Bolingbrook, IL (now closed). |
288_9 | High schools
Bolingbrook High School (365U), Plainfield North and Plainfield East (202), Neuqua Valley High School (204), Naperville Central (203), and Downers Grove South (99). Romeoville High School also serves as an alternative for some students residing in Valley View 365U.
Middle schools
In Valley View 365U
Brooks (in the former Bolingbrook High School building and home of the district's ESL program)
Jane Addams (near the Bolingbrook Recreation and Aquatic Center)
Hubert H. Humphrey
In Indian Prairie 204 (Naperville)
Gregory
In Naperville CUSD 203
Madison
In Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
Kennedy (Plainfield)
In Woodridge Elementary School District 68
Jefferson (Woodridge).
Elementary schools
In Valley View 365U
Bernard J. Ward (formerly a middle school)
Independence
Jamie McGee
John R. Tibbott
Jonas E. Salk
Pioneer
Oak View
Wood View
In Indian Prairie 204
Builta
In Naperville 203
River Woods |
288_10 | In Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
Liberty
Elizabeth Eichelberger
In Woodridge Elementary School District 68
John L. Sipley
William F. Murphy
Alternative schools
In Valley View 365U
STEP Program (also housed in the former Bolingbrook High School building)
Private schools
Catholic schools:
St. Dominic School (serving grades PK - 8)
Parochial grade school students may go on to Catholic high schools in proximity to Bolingbrook such as Benet Academy in Lisle, Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, and (until its closure in 2014) the all-girls Mount Assisi Academy in Lemont.
Islamic schools:
Furqaan Academy (PK-12)
Recreation |
288_11 | Bolingbrook Park District
The Bolingbrook Park District was created in 1970, after being approved by referendum. In 1974, the Park District built its first new building, the Deatherage-Drdak Center, constructed only with volunteer labor. In the following three decades the Bolingbrook Park District has grown to include numerous woodlands and parks, several community centers, the Pelican Harbor Indoor/Outdoor Aquatic Complex (recognized for its excellence by Chicago Magazine in April 2004), and the Bolingbrook Recreation and Aquatic Complex (BRAC). Most recently, the Bolingbrook Park District was one of the four finalists for the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park Management, Facilities and Programs.
In 1982, the Park District opened the first indoor wave pool in the United States. It was closed shortly after the BRAC and Pelican Harbor opened in 1996, and has since been converted to an ice skating arena. |
288_12 | In 2009, the Park District opened its Hidden Oaks Nature Center, which sits on 80 acres of woodland and river plain habitat. The Nature Center has a Platinum LEED Rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and was built from recycled materials. As of 2014, the Nature Center is used to run naturalist programs and summer camps. Animal residents include: coyotes, deer, great horned owls, and other species common to Northern Illinois.
Golf
Bolingbrook is home to the Boughton Ridge Golf Course, a 9-hole course owned by the Bolingbrook Park District. In addition, the Bolingbrook Golf Club, a municipal facility which includes an 18-hole course, is in the village. Other Golf Courses within proximity of Bolingbrook include Naperbrook GC, Tamarack GC, Wedgewood GC, and Links at Carillon (all in Plainfield), White Eagle GC and Springbrook GC in Naperville, Village Greens of Woodridge and Seven Bridges GC in Woodridge, Cog Hill GC in Lemont, and Mistwood GC in Romeoville. |
288_13 | Aviation
Clow International Airport is a small airport off of Boughton-Weber with an estimated runway. Clow is a public (non-commercial) airport, owned by the Village and operated under a contract with a management company. In 1989, the airport was named the "best privately owned, public use airport in Illinois." Currently, there are 70,000 take-offs and landings at the airport annually.
A WGN-TV helicopter is stationed at Clow Airport. The airport previously served as a base station for Air Angels Aeromedical Transport before the company closed its doors in early 2009. It also provides flight training and airplane charters through A & M Aviation, aircraft maintenance through A & M Maintenance, and has an EAA chapter that provides free Young Eagles flights for children.
The Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook was formed in 2004. The museum is staffed by volunteers and is in a remodeled hangar at Clow International Airport, currently donated by the Village of Bolingbrook. |
288_14 | Notable people
Mustafa Ali, WWE wrestler born in Bolingbrook
Kenneth Boatright, football free agent raised in Bolingbrook
Ronnie Bull, retired Bears running back who currently lives in Bolingbrook
Troy Doris, Olympian finalist triple jumper
J. J. Furmaniak, professional baseball infielder raised in Bolingbrook
Jerry Harris, cheerleader from Cheer (TV series) raised in Bolingbrook
Anthony Herron, former professional American football player and now broadcast analyst
Michael S. Pearson, Fort Hood 2009 victim raised in Bolingbrook
Drew Peterson, former Bolingbrook police sergeant, suspected in the disappearance of his fourth wife, convicted of drowning his third wife
Steve Williams, football free agent raised in Bolingbrook
Sister cities
San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines
Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
Xuchang, Henan, China
See also
The Promenade Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook High School
Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport
References |
288_15 | External links
Village website
Clow Airport
Illinois Aviation Museum
website of the Bolingbrook Park District
Fountaindale Public Library
Populated places established in 1965
Chicago metropolitan area
Villages in DuPage County, Illinois
Villages in Will County, Illinois
Villages in Illinois
1965 establishments in Illinois |
289_0 | H3K14ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 14th lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.
H3K14ac has not been widely studied partly due to previous lack of commercially available antibody. H3K9ac and H3K14ac have been shown to be part of the active promoter state. They are also present over bivalent promoters and active enhancers. H3K14ac is also enriched over a subset of inactive promoters.
The Tudor domain of the H3K9 methyltransferase SETDB1 binds to methylated H3 with both K14 acetylation and K9 methylation. SETDB1 silences retroviruses and gene regulation.
Lysine acetylation and deacetylation |
289_1 | Proteins are typically acetylated on lysine residues and this reaction relies on acetyl-coenzyme A as the acetyl group donor.
In histone acetylation and deacetylation, histone proteins are acetylated and deacetylated on lysine residues in the N-terminal tail as part of gene regulation. Typically, these reactions are catalyzed by enzymes with histone acetyltransferase (HAT) or histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity, although HATs and HDACs can modify the acetylation status of non-histone proteins as well. |
289_2 | The regulation of transcription factors, effector proteins, molecular chaperones, and cytoskeletal proteins by acetylation and deacetylation is a significant post-translational regulatory mechanism These regulatory mechanisms are analogous to phosphorylation and dephosphorylation by the action of kinases and phosphatases. Not only can the acetylation state of a protein modify its activity but there has been recent suggestion that this post-translational modification may also crosstalk with phosphorylation, methylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, and others for dynamic control of cellular signaling.
In the field of epigenetics, histone acetylation (and deacetylation) have been shown to be important mechanisms in the regulation of gene transcription. Histones, however, are not the only proteins regulated by posttranslational acetylation.
Nomenclature
H3K14acindicates acetylation of lysine 14on histone H3 protein subunit:
Histone modifications |
289_3 | The genomic DNA of eukaryotic cells is wrapped around special protein molecules known as histones. The complexes formed by the looping of the DNA are known as chromatin. The basic structural unit of chromatin is the nucleosome: this consists of the core octamer of histones (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) as well as a linker histone and about 180 base pairs of DNA. These core histones are rich in lysine and arginine residues. The carboxyl (C) terminal end of these histones contribute to histone-histone interactions, as well as histone-DNA interactions. The amino (N) terminal charged tails are the site of the post-translational modifications, such as the one seen in H3K36me3.
Epigenetic implications |
289_4 | The post-translational modification of histone tails by either histone modifying complexes or chromatin remodelling complexes are interpreted by the cell and lead to complex, combinatorial transcriptional output. It is thought that a Histone code dictates the expression of genes by a complex interaction between the histones in a particular region. The current understanding and interpretation of histones comes from two large scale projects: ENCODE and the Epigenomic roadmap. The purpose of the epigenomic study was to investigate epigenetic changes across the entire genome. This led to chromatin states which define genomic regions by grouping the interactions of different proteins and/or histone modifications together. |
289_5 | Chromatin states were investigated in Drosophila cells by looking at the binding location of proteins in the genome. Use of ChIP-sequencing revealed regions in the genome characterised by different banding. Different developmental stages were profiled in Drosophila as well, an emphasis was placed on histone modification relevance. A look in to the data obtained led to the definition of chromatin states based on histone modifications. |
289_6 | The human genome was annotated with chromatin states. These annotated states can be used as new ways to annotate a genome independently of the underlying genome sequence. This independence from the DNA sequence enforces the epigenetic nature of histone modifications. Chromatin states are also useful in identifying regulatory elements that have no defined sequence, such as enhancers. This additional level of annotation allows for a deeper understanding of cell specific gene regulation.
H3K14ac
H3K14ac has not been widely studied partly due to previous lack of commercially available antibody. H3K9ac and H3K14ac have been shown to be part of the active promoter state. They are also present over bivalent promoters and active enhancers. H3K14ac is also enriched over a subset of inactive promoters.
The Triple Tudor domain of the H3K9 methyltransferase SETDB1 binds to methylated H3 with both K14 acetylation and K9 methylation. SETDB1 silences retroviruses and gene regulation.
Methods |
289_7 | The histone mark acetylation can be detected in a variety of ways:
1. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ChIP-sequencing) measures the amount of DNA enrichment once bound to a targeted protein and immunoprecipitated. It results in good optimization and is used in vivo to reveal DNA-protein binding occurring in cells. ChIP-Seq can be used to identify and quantify various DNA fragments for different histone modifications along a genomic region.
2. Micrococcal Nuclease sequencing (MNase-seq) is used to investigate regions that are bound by well positioned nucleosomes. Use of the micrococcal nuclease enzyme is employed to identify nucleosome positioning. Well positioned nucleosomes are seen to have enrichment of sequences.
3. Assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) is used to look in to regions that are nucleosome free (open chromatin). It uses hyperactive Tn5 transposon to highlight nucleosome localisation.
See also
Histone acetylation
References |
289_8 | Epigenetics
Post-translational modification |
290_0 | Ruter AS is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus counties in Norway. Formally a limited company – 60% of its shares are owned by the Oslo county municipality and 40% by that of Akershus – it is responsible for the administration, funding, and marketing (but not direct operation) of public transport in the two counties, including buses, the Oslo Metro (T-banen i Oslo), Oslo Trams (Trikken i Oslo), and ferry services. Ruter also holds agreements with Norwegian State Railways concerning the regulation of fares on local and regional train services operated within the two counties. |
290_1 | Operation
The operation of services is performed by other companies:
Bus routes are subject to public service obligation, and operators include UniBuss, Nettbuss, Norgesbuss, Schau's Buss, and Nobina Norge.
The metro system is operated by Sporveien T-banen while the tramway is operated by Sporveien Trikken, both subsidiaries of the municipally owned Sporveien Oslo AS.
Ferries are operated by Tide Sjø, Bygdøfergene Skibs, and Oslo-Fergene.
In 2011, 285 million journeys were made on the Ruter network. This is much more than the other regional public transport authorities together, and roughly half of the total number of public transport journeys in Norway together.
Sporveien |
290_2 | Sporveien is an independent company wholly owned by the City of Oslo. It owns and maintains the rapid transit and tramway systems, including the rolling stock. The company was established on 1 July 2006, when the former Oslo Sporveier was split into an operating company and an administration company. The actual operation of the T-bane is performed by the subsidiary Sporveien T-banen, while the tramway is operated by Sporveien Trikken. Sporveien also owns Unibuss, which has won many of the public service obligation bids for bus operation in Oslo and Akershus. Unibuss also operates the coach service Lavprisekspressen. |
290_3 | Ticketing and fares
Single, 1-day, 7-day, monthly, and yearly tickets are available. Ruter operates on a proof-of-payment system, and there is a fine of either or for traveling without a valid ticket, depending on whether or not the fine is paid on location. Payment is based on a zone fare schematic, and Oslo remains a single zone with free transfer. A single-zone ticket costs NOK 35 if bought in advance, and NOK 50 if bought on a bus or tram. Day passes cost NOK 90 while a month pass costs NOK 708. Children and seniors pay half price. Prices increase if multiple zones are traveled. The Flexus ticket system is in 2011 almost completely introduced.
Service
Metro |
290_4 | The Oslo Metro is the rapid transit system that serves all boroughs of Oslo, and also cuts deep into Bærum. It is operated by Oslo T-banedrift, a subsidiary of Kollektivtransportproduksjon. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city center, with a total length of . It has a daily ridership of 200,000 with 101 stations of which 16 are underground or indoors. |
290_5 | The first rapid transit line was the Holmenkoll Line, opened in 1898, with the branch Røa Line opening in 1912. It became the first Nordic underground railway in 1928 when the underground line to Nationaltheatret was opened. The Sognsvann Line opened in 1934 and the Kolsås Line in 1942. The opening of the upgraded metro network on the east side of town occurred in 1966, after the conversion of the 1957 Østensjø Line, followed by the new Lambertseter Line, the Grorud Line and the Furuset Line; in 1993 trains ran under the city between the two networks in the Common Tunnel, followed by the 2006 opening of the Ring Line. Between 2006 and 2010 the system is replacing the older T1000 stock with MX3000 stock.
Tramway |
290_6 | The tramway () consists of six lines running , with 99 stops and a daily ridership of 100,000—accounting for 20% of total public transport in Oslo. It is operated by Oslotrikken, a subsidiary of the municipal owned Kollektivtransportproduksjon, who maintain the track and 72 tram vehicles. The system operates on standard gauge and uses 750 volt direct current. Depot, workshops and headquarters are at Grefsen (at the terminus of lines 17 and 18).
Commuter rail |
290_7 | The commuter rail has eight services which all operate from Oslo. The system is operated by Norges Statsbaner (NSB), who use Class 69, Class 72 and now Class 74 electric multiple units. The infrastructure is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration. All services serve the three railway stations of Oslo Central Station (Oslo S), Nationaltheatret and Skøyen, with all eight services operating east of Oslo S and four operating west of Skøyen. The system has services that extend along the Gjøvik, Trunk, Gardermoen, Kongsvinger, Østfold, Eastern Østfold, Drammen, Spikkestad and Sørland Lines. All but one line extend into neighboring counties.
Lines 400 and 500 (along the Østfold, Trunk and Drammen Lines) serve the suburban areas of Oslo, and have 30 or 15-minute headways. The other six lines cover towns further away, and normally have 30 or 60-minute headways. Line 450 serves Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. |
290_8 | The services are financed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, but Ruter pays NSB additional subsidies to provide travellers with Ruter's fares, which are lower than NSB's regular fares. The service on the Gjøvik Line was made subject to public service obligation, and will be operated by the company NSB Gjøvikbanen until 2015. The Ruter tickets are also valid on NSB regional trains, within their geographic area of coverage, which gives more departures to choose from, when going between the most important stations.
Bus
Bus transport is the dominant form of public transport in Akershus, and there is also an extensive bus network in Oslo. |
290_9 | Ferry
The main ferry route connects the peninsula of Nesodden—located on the other side of the fjord of Oslo—with Aker Brygge and Lysaker. This service was traditionally served by municipal owned Nesodden–Bundefjord Dampskipsselskap, but from 2009 the PSO contract was won by Tide Sjø. The other ferry services are operated by Oslo-Fergene, that run from Vippetangen to the Oslo Islands. |
290_10 | Non-Ruter public transport
Several public transport services in Oslo and Akershus are outside the jurisdiction of Ruter, mainly because they are self-financing or because they represent intercity transport. NSB operates both intercity and regional trains to several parts of the country, though these normally have restrictions on transport within Oslo and Akershus. NOR-WAY Bussekspress and several other coach companies operate intercity coach services to Oslo, but these are also hindered from providing transport within Oslo and Akershus. Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is served by both the Flytoget (the Airport Express Train) and several airport coaches, all that are outside Ruter's jurisdiction, despite the airport being in Akershus.
History
Ruter was created on 1 January 2008 as a merger between Oslo Sporveier and Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk, that were the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus, respectively.
Akershus |
290_11 | Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk or SL was the public transport authority for bus and ferry transport in Akershus from 1973 to 2007. SL was organized as a limited company owned by the Akershus County Municipality, the City of Oslo and the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, with a third each. The company planned, marketed and organized the public transport in Akershus, but did not operate any buses or ferries—instead it issued contracts to operating companies based on public service obligation. |
290_12 | The company was created in 1973 in part to help coordinate the public transport around Oslo. The metropolitan area of Oslo stretches beyond the city limits into the county of Akershus. This had created problems coordinating public transport between the counties. All buses operated on contract for SL were uniformly painted green and SL took care of marketing and customer relations for the bus companies. The companies that operate for SL at the time of the merger was Nettbuss, Norgesbuss, Schau's Buss, Schøyens Bilcentraler, Veolia Transport Norge and UniBuss. In addition ferries were operated by Nesodden–Bundefjord Dampskipsselskap and Sandvika Fjordturer.
Oslo |
290_13 | Oslo got its first public transport with Kristiania Sporveisselskab building a tramway in 1875. By 1894, it was joined by Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei. The two private companies were supplemented by the municipal Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie 1899, but since they were operating the least desirable routes, the city chose to sell the unprofitable company in 1905. In 1924 the concessions of the two private tramway companies expired, and the municipality created Oslo Sporveier to take over all tramway operations in the capital. |
290_14 | The company started with bus transport in 1927, including from 1940 to 1968 trolleybuses. Since 1966 rapid transit and from 1985 water buses have also been operated by the company. The company gradually took over all suburban tramways in Oslo and Bærum, and eventually also operated all bus routes in Oslo. Oslo Sporveier painted their buses red to differentiate them from those operating in Akershus. The first PSO contracts were issued in 1991, and in 1997 it was reorganized as a corporation with operating subsidiaries.
References
External links
Ruter #
Public transport administrators of Norway
Public transport in Akershus
Public transport in Oslo
Companies owned by municipalities of Norway
County-owned companies of Norway
Companies based in Oslo
Norwegian companies established in 2008
Transport companies established in 2008
Akershus County Municipality
Oslo Municipality |
291_0 | Albert Sidney Johnston High School served as a comprehensive, coeducational high school in the Austin Independent School District from 1960 to 2008. Located in Austin, Texas, the school was named after General Albert Sidney Johnston, who served as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas and as a brigadier general for the Texian Army of the Republic of Texas, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army.
From its inception in 1960, Johnston High School was well known for a wide variety of vocational and technical programs that prepared students for work in such fields as cosmetology, printing, auto mechanics, industry and business. Primarily a school for the Hispanic and African-American students of East Austin, Johnston High School grew to be a 5A school and weathered the challenges of desegregation, forced busing, and the end of desegregation. |
291_1 | From 1988 to 2002, Johnston High School housed the signature Liberal Arts Academy, a college-preparatory liberal arts magnet program that brought students to Johnston High School from throughout the Austin independent school District. Beginning in 2004, Johnston High School hosted International High School, a "school within a school" that provided an intensive English program for ninth- and tenth-grade immigrant and refugee students who were bused to Johnston High School from throughout Austin.
In 2008, Johnston High School was the first school in Texas to be closed and reconstituted under the accountability system of Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott.
School Information
School Name
In 1958, the Austin School Board approved the construction of a new high school in East Austin, some 3,000 feet from a bend in the Colorado River. Construction on the facility—originally named Riverside High School—began in 1959. |
291_2 | The program for the school's 25th jubilee in 1985 suggests that the school was named Riverside High School "partly because it was on the [Colorado] river, but also because there was a well-known high school in Fort Worth at the time named Riverside High School." The school's 1985 yearbook similarly shares, "While under construction, Johnston was called Riverside High School because it was near the Colorado River. Things soon changed. ‘River rats’ wasn't an appropriate nickname [for a mascot]." The 1985 jubilee program confirms that even before the school was opened, "the nickname ‘Riverside Rats’ was already being applied. So several students at Allan Junior High, who would be coming to the new high school, petitioned the school board to change the name. Besides, hidden in the school board regulations was a ruling that stated that all schools in Austin must be named for a person and that person must be dead." |
291_3 | Students of Allan Junior High submitted a list of possible names for a renamed school. The list of possible names that came before the Austin School Board included such heroes as David Crockett, John H. Reagan, Sidney Lanier, and Albert Sidney Johnston, an American Civil War hero buried in Austin. |
291_4 | Board minutes reflect that the school board ceded to the request of future students to change the name of the school to honor "some historical or educational figure such as the other high schools of the city." Three names were ultimately considered by the Board: Davy Crockett High School, Coronado High School, and Albert Sidney Johnston High School. |
291_5 | With heightened activities focused on the centennial celebration of the American Civil War (1860–1865), the school was renamed after Albert Sidney Johnston, an American Civil War general buried at the Texas State Cemetery, 3.5 miles west of the school. The next two high schools built by the Austin Public Schools during the centennial celebration would also be named for Confederate heroes: Sidney Lanier High School (which opened in 1961) and John H. Reagan High School (which opened in 1965), prompting some to speculate that the naming of these three schools for Confederate heroes was a "push to glorify the Confederacy as a deliberate slap in the face to minorities and the federal government after the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision Brown v. Board of Education." |
291_6 | It seems that Albert Sidney Johnston, a native-Kentuckian, was relatively unknown at that time. In an Austin Statesman article entitled, "Yes, Ma’m, He’s Texan," Anita Brewer wrote, "Some Austinites are perplexed about this man, Johnston. Just who was this fellow? Why was he important enough for the Austin Board of Education and the future students of Austin’s new eastside high school to scuttle a perfectly good name like 'Riverside' to name the school for Johnston? The School Board voted unanimously Monday night to rename the new school the Albert Sidney Johnston High School…. Historians are cheering the board’s decision as a fine one and a belated and overdue tribute to one of the greatest of the early Texans." A photo of Johnston's tomb at the Texas State Cemetery was featured in the newspaper, with the caption, "Johnston interest is revived as School Board names new high school for famed Confederate.” |
291_7 | With Founding Principal Gordon Bailey's death thirty years later, on January 27, 1990, alumni rallied to rename Johnston High School for their longtime principal of happy memory. In May 1990, a petition was brought by alumni to the Board of Trustees of the Austin independent school District, to rename the school for Bailey. The school's newspaper reported: “‘Papa Bailey,’ as he was affectionately called, often met his students at the door each day. His devotion to the school was deep, working weekends and coming in to help do school repairs himself. It is this kind of spirit that moved his alumni to attempt to honor him with a renaming of the school [to which] he gave so much. But many students now attending Johnston reacted with disbelief and protest. ‘When you take the name, you also take our identity,’ Joy A. Foster said." The Board did not rename the school for Bailey in 1990, but broke ground in 1992 for a middle school in Austin named in Bailey's memory. |
291_8 | In 2008, Johnston High School was the first high school in Texas to be closed under a new state accountability system. In August 2008, a new high school, Eastside Memorial High School, was opened in the same facility. In 2009, the school was divided into two campuses: Eastside Green Tech and Eastside Global Tech. On May 23, 2011, partly to honor the legacy of Johnston High School, the school was renamed Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus.
Memorabilia from Johnston High School can be found at the Johnston Rams Legacy Hall, located inside the cafeteria of Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus.
School Colors |
291_9 | The Johnston High School colors were scarlet and Columbia blue, colors often associated with the flags of the Confederate States of America. The program for the school's 25th jubilee shares that "students of the new school chose everything. It was their school" and that the choice of Columbia blue was "somewhat rare as a school color at the time." The choice of Columbia blue is interesting insofar as Confederate flags typically contain navy blue; a lighter blue, similar to Columbia blue, was contained in the Second Confederate Navy Jack (1863–1865).
School spirit often centered around "the Red & Blue," and various school programs and events incorporated the colors. |
291_10 | School Songs
The Johnston High School song, or alma mater, was "Loyal Hearts," which was sung to the tune of Jean Sibelius’ "Finlandia." The words were: “With loyal hearts, we hail our alma mater, praising her name for all the world to hear. Her colors fly up in the sky triumphantly and wave us on to glorious victory. Her Red & Blue, her spirits true do testify of (or ‘to’) praises sung for mighty Johnston High!” The lyrics are attributed to Jacqueline McGee, an English teacher & yearbook sponsors at Johnston High School, who would later become the school's first Dean of Girls, then Austin’s first woman principal, first at Burnet Junior High and later at Stephen F. Austin High School.
The program for the school's 25th jubilee in 1985 notes that "the tradition of linking little fingers during the school song was, according to Mr. Bailey, a common tradition among high schools at the time and a symbol of unity among the students." |
291_11 | Johnston also had a fight song entitled "Fighting Rams." Its lyrics were: “We are the Rams of Johnston High. Invincible we stand, united in our praises of the best school in the land. Let’s give a cheer, a rousing cheer. Let’s fight to win the game. In victory, we’ll crown our school with glory and fame. Let’s fight! Let’s fight! For Johnston High, let’s fight! Let’s fight for the Red & Blue and victory tonight! Go! Fight! Go, Rams! Go!”
School Mascot
The mascot of Johnston High School was the ram. |
291_12 | The program for the school's 25th jubilee in 1985 shares that "students of the new school chose everything. It was their school, …and the principal, Mr. Bailey, was determined that they should have a voice in selecting everything from its mascot to its yearbook name." The school's 1985 yearbook shares that "rumors circulate that a ram was selected since a ram once roamed free around the school when it was first built and nothing but cow pastures surrounded the school. Another version accounting for the name was that since the Los Angeles Rams were a popular and powerful football team at the time Johnston was seeking a mascot, the Rams were a likely choice." The program for the school's 25th jubilee confirms, "The students selected the Ram as their mascot because the Los Angeles Rams were a powerful football team at the time." |
291_13 | School yearbooks suggest that during the school's first year, the Fall Student Council led an effort to purchase a ram, named "King Ramses I," which accompanied students to athletic competitions. During the school's second year, the Boys’ Service Club was formed to take care of the mascot and to transport it to and from athletic competitions. After the death of King Ramses I in 1964, the Boys’ Service Club mounted its head in the front hall of the school, and a new mascot by the same name was purchased. |
291_14 | The program for the school's 25th jubilee in 1985 offers a slightly different history: that “many high schools had live mascots in the 60s, and Johnston was no exception. A live ram was given to the school by a student’s father; he was promptly named Ramses. He was kept at a student’s house, but he went to all football games. At one game, another team was represented by a live horse with a student rider. The horse was spooked by Ramses and nearly threw his rider. The school board then ruled that no school could have a live mascot. So Johnston had to get rid of Ramses! A student group at the time, perhaps the Boys’ Club, decided to slaughter him and use the cooked meat as a fundraiser. The feast was held at a local restaurant, and Ramses’ head was stuffed and mounted and hung in the main hall of Johnston. The head was taken down in 1983 because of its dirtied condition and is being cleaned.” |
291_15 | The program continues: “After the demise of Ramses, the school was adopted by a second ‘mascot.’ A small black-and-white dog decided he would be Johnston's mascot, guard dog, and general care-taker. His name seems to be lost in the caverns of individual memories; some people claim he was called ‘Ramsey,’ others ‘Ramses II,’ and others say he was simply ‘Ram.’ At any rate, he was allowed to roam the halls and eat in the cafeteria. He had enough sense not to disturb classes, and the students had enough sense not to take him to football games. Ramsey and Johnston were very happy together until—one day, the circus came to town. And when the circus left, Ramsey was gone. Whether he was dog-napped, was killed, or voluntarily left for excitement and adventure was never known. But Johnston has not had a live mascot since.” |
291_16 | The school later purchased the costume of a ram for a new mascot, which was named "Rambo" after the protagonist John Rambo in the 1980s film series starring Sylvester Stallone. By 2001, the costume had suffered enough wear that a new Rambo costume was purchased.
Because the school mascot was the ram, the school was often referred to as "Ramland," and students and athletes alike were often referred to as Rams and Ramettes.
History
Opening
In 1958, the Austin School Board approved a new high school in East Austin for students graduating from the nearby Allan Junior High School, which desegregated that same year. Construction on the facility—originally named Riverside High School—began in 1959.
In 1960, with heightened activity focused on the centennial celebration of the American Civil War (1860–1865), the school was renamed after Albert Sidney Johnston, a Civil War general buried at the Texas State Cemetery, 3.5 miles west of the school. |
291_17 | Albert Sidney Johnston High School opened in 1960 under the leadership of Austin Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Irby B. Carruth and Johnston High School Principal Gordon A. Bailey, who led the school for 12 years.
The school's 1985 Jubilee program notes that Johnston High School was opened in February 1960 with a single administrator, Mr. Bailey, overseeing the education of 325 sophomores and juniors. The following Fall, another administrator, Vice Principal Wallace Dockall, was added to help oversee the growing student body, which now comprised sophomores, juniors and seniors. Albert Sidney Johnston High School graduated its first senior class of 80 students in 1961. In the Fall of 1962, the ninth-grade class was moved from Allan Junior High School, making Johnston High School a full, four-year high school.
Desegregation and Resegregation |
291_18 | The desegregation of public schools in Austin was a long and arduous process. The U.S. Department of Education had accepted the district's plan for desegregation in 1955, but the plan was still not implemented in 1966.
In 1956, 13 African-American students were integrated into Austin's "White" high schools; integration did not occur at the junior high level until 1958 when the first African-American student was integrated into the "White" Allan Junior High School, near Johnston High School.
The first integration of faculty in Austin did not occur until 1964 when world history teacher William Akins (after whom Akins High School in the Austin independent school District is named) was the first African-American teacher to be integrated at Johnston High School. Akins was one of three teachers to be integrated into "White" schools in 1964, with the other two, B.T. Snell and Narveline Drennan, being assigned to teach at the nearby Allan Junior High School. |
291_19 | In July 1971, after various failed attempts by the Austin ISD to desegregate its schools, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the immediate implementation of a busing plan that would transport over 13,000 Austin students to integrated schools at a cost of more than $1 million. Two pages of the 1972 Johnston High School yearbook were dedicated to largely negative reactions to busing by students. One student was reported as saying, "They ought to hang [busing] up. It’s not contributing to education. It’s just causing more hatred amongst the Black and White pupils because they can’t get along with each other." The same yearbook reported that violent incidents erupted "as well as some well-spread rumors of upcoming violence," and that "thousands of students stayed away from school on May 1 [1972], which was being called ‘Bloody Monday,’ because of expected violence on local [Austin] campuses." |
291_20 | While forced busing was appealed through the courts, the school's 1974 yearbook reported a great deal of persistent segregation. A White world geography teacher shared, "The browns sit together, the blacks sit together, and the whites sit by me." Other teachers observed, "My students tend to segregate themselves," "there is a lot of racial prejudice but it is well contained," and "[students] get along fine because all the browns sit together and all the blacks sit together. There are a few that mix." |
291_21 | According to the school's 1980 yearbook, "desegregation, busing, rumor and question marks occupied students, faculty in winter of ’79." In January 1980, a series of desegregation appeals were finally settled by Judge Jack Roberts, and a tri-ethnic desegregation plan of forced busing, affirmative action hiring, and bilingual education was implemented for the Austin ISD in the Fall of 1980 with $3.4 million of emergency aid from the federal government. The school's yearbook reported, “The almost decade-long desegregation case of AISD was finally coming to an end; Johnston High was in the midst of the issue. When school began, students, parents, and faculty knew of the changes coming to Johnston High School. What kind of changes? That was still not decided when school began. Yet, we decided not to wait for the final outcome of the court battles, appeals and counter-appeals.” |
291_22 | After the court-ordered busing was effected, students were bused to Johnston from northwest, southwest and south Austin. The demographics of Johnston High School quickly and dramatically changed, as evidenced by the White faces of the school's homecoming court and the "Who’s Who" section of its subsequent yearbooks. In 1985, the school's homecoming court was entirely White, and only one of 24 students in the "Who’s Who" section of the yearbook had a Hispanic surname. The White editor of the 1984 yearbook shared an idyllic view of racial integration: "Busing would take kids from the different parts of town and all the different walks of life, and gather them all together in one school. Both parents and students alike objected to the busing. Many people went to private schools, or moved into a different school district. Those that went along with busing did suffer some, but the majority of the students had no regrets later. The Johnston Senior Class was one made up of all sorts of |
291_23 | people and, through the years, they became very close. No integration was fully satisfied, but the Senior Class has made the first step in creating a unified bond between the different sections of the city." |
291_24 | For many, Johnston High School was a model for desegregation. An April 25, 1983, article in Time magazine noted how the school used to be, in the words of Principal Adan Salgado, "the doormat of the district," but that "the administration [subsequently] began beefing up the academic program, installing the school system’s first computer center and adding advanced courses in French, Latin, math, biology and chemistry…. In 1980, 90% of the students were below grade level in math; by 1982, the figure had improved to 54%." |
291_25 | Johnston High School again made the news when President Ronald Reagan cited the Time magazine article during a press conference on May 17, 1983, noting how local officials were taking the initiative to transform schools without federal aid and the court-ordered desegregation that Reagan often opposed. The New York Times offered a corrective, noting that court-ordered busing and $368,000 in federal aid "transformed the Johnston High School from a decaying slum school into an institution that has gained national attention for educational excellence." The paper quoted Principal Adan Salgado, who shared that President Reagan "did not really understand our situation. He did not have all the facts." Salgado noted that the President's decision to eliminate federal funding under the Emergency School Assistance Act negatively impacted the Johnston community, which, before desegregation through busing, was "99 percent Mexican-American and black, …the ‘doormat of the district.’" The article |
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