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From the Archives
Carved from the Prairie
Excerpt from Destined to Flourish, FWCD’s 50th-anniversary book:
Few people remember precisely what was said at the groundbreaking on December 12, 1962. It wasn’t because the words weren’t important. The noise from the bulldozers in the background made the speeches difficult to hear. The people gathered were taking a bold rise. They had acquired a plot of land for their school, but it was in a rural area known more for livestock than learning. Though they had made their decision, a huge question remained. Would parents who were accustomed to taking their children down the street to public school be willing to drive to a private school out in the country? … As hands chilled by the first 20-degree morning of the season guided the turning of symbolic spadesful of dirt, mighty earthmovers were already transforming the surrounding cattle pasture. With no time to waste, the urgency to create Fort Worth’s first coeducational independent school was all around them – and the excitement was practically deafening. Pictured above are Founding Trustees Perry R. Bass H’98 and Thomas M. Ryan.
See the 2024 re-creation of this photograph on page 35.
