Getting lost in the twists and turns in Hitchcock and Dundy County school history

The SOUTHWEST THUNDER?!?

Tracing consolidations and cooperative agreements is one of the most complicated parts of my research, and, by far, the most confusing tangle of them is the history of the schools in Hitchcock, and, to a lesser extent, Dundy Counties. The enmeshed athletic and educational histories of Stratton and Trenton High Schools are especially vexing. Over the last few days, I have straightened them out in my mind once and for all (read: for now).

What did I learn? Even those directly involved have trouble with the details.

Let’s walk through it timeline-style:

1986

School consolidation in Dundy County finished when the Haigler Eagles merged with Benkelman to form Dundy County High School. The new school kept the Tigers’ mascot and colors, though some have suggested that the gold was a nod to Haigler’s purple and gold scheme. (The school consolidation process in Dundy began in 1964 when Parks was absorbed into Benkelman, and continued in 1966 when Max did the same.)

1991

A combined committee of the Stratton and Trenton districts recommends co-op for 8-man football in the fall of 1991. Stratton had recently joined the Golden Plains Activities Conference (GPAC), and the co-op planned to play 8-man football in that league. Trenton played 6-man in 1990. The stories in the paper in February make it sound like a done deal. It doesn’t happen. (Yet.) Stratton played a 7-game, 8-man schedule while Trenton had five 6-man contests.