Booth…Then and Now
June 16, 2020
From 1979 to 2019, Booth Middle School has been through many changes. When Sara Goza opened this school as first principal, she could not have imagined all the alterations within the forty years Booth has existed.
For one, our school did not have as many grade levels as it has now. “It used to only be 7th and 8th grade here,” current instructor of PA and PE, but former student of Booth, Coach Combs, said. The pods were also set up completely different from how they are now. Individual classes had names, such as 8C1, 6C5, or 7B3. “The classrooms in the pods didn’t have doors” Ted Lombard, former Booth teacher and principal said.
According to Coach Combs, the pods were not green and white. They were yellow, red, and blue. “There was no cafeteria; we ate in the middle pod. They had to ship our food in for us to eat because they couldn’t cook it here for us without a kitchen.” Coach Combs also said. The kitchen and cafeteria for students were added to our school in 2003. “Some classes were not even part of the building of Booth since then,” according to Ted Lombard, “There were 18 trailers positioned at the back of the school, in the bus loop and where the Aux Gym is located.”
Also, the clubs, courses, and connections here at Booth have changed dramatically. “We didn’t have Study Skills. We did have Latin,” Coach Combs said. The program Study Skills, for helping students, has not always been a part of Booth. However, languages other than Spanish and French were taught. Booth had its own Wrestling Team, and a girls’ softball team called the Lady Warriors (similar to the Lady Chiefs of McIntosh). Along with the girls’ softball team, we also had many sports that we have currently such as track, football, cheerleading, volleyball, and basketball.
The clubs one could take at Booth have also been interchanged, as we used to have a Diagramming Club, an Anime Club, a Comedy Recitation Club, an FCS Club, and a Fitness Club. Home Ec did exist, though it was a club and not a connection like it is now.
The field-trips of Booth used to be far more distanced, once Booth had an out-of-country trip to Europe. This may have been something that the student council of Booth, which we no longer have, took part in deciding.
Our gym has also changed, from having a rubber floor to the floor material we have now. “The bleachers were a lot smaller, and were wooden.” Coach Combs commented. Now we have metal bleachers, along with a track, which was yet another thing that Booth lacked years ago. The gym didn’t always have air-conditioning; in fact, it was first added in 2004!
“Project Adventure is new since I went here as a student,” Coach Combs remarked. The course that Coach Combs herself teaches did not exist when she went to Booth. The PA course was actually not cleared for the purpose it serves today. In fact, the area in which Project Adventure (PA) resides was first meant to be a softball field and was cleared for that reason. However, the softball team went away before the field could be built.
The gallery and 7th-grade annex (or West Wing) did not exist at Booth until 2003. At the time of Coach Combs being a student, there was no bus loop at the front of our school. The device for student communication before the Online Newsletter, or even Warrior News, but a student newspaper.
The school we currently learn and work in to help us connect with other students and our community has grown in an abundance of ways, and as have its students. However many times it is altered, J.C. Booth Middle School still plays an important role in each of our lives.
Timmy Thomas • Nov 8, 2022 at 3:21 pm
The article, “Booth, Then and Now” by Sophie T. on Boothwarriortimes.com was an attention catcher.
What amazed me what that J.C Booth Middle School did not always look like this. This article stated how it has changed over the years. The grades started only in seventh and eighth grade, not starting in sixth.
This reminded me of my own life when I left Massachusettes. After I left, My friend told me that they were renovating the gym because some of the lights were out and the wood boards on the floor were not up to par. We also had clubs like Sports Club, Chess Club, Running Club, etc.
All in all, the building changes are substantial in J.C Booth’s history. One question I have is why do we not have an actual recess area rather than the old school where we had a basketball court, tetherball poles, etc.
Tommy • Oct 15, 2022 at 5:54 pm
Booths first victory v cross county rival Fayette Co Jr High occurred during a 1979 Christmas basketball tournament @ Mundys Mill Jr High School. The boys team fought tooth & nail throughout the game before finally putting the game away in the waning moments with two free throws and two seconds remaining in the game. Head coach Doug Adams called the win “the upset of the century”.
Gracey • Feb 25, 2021 at 1:55 pm
This is fascinating! I didn’t know that the gym use to have a rubber floor, and the gym didn’t have air conditioning till 2004. I think it’s cool that Booth use to have a softball team, I still wish we had the team.
Rafael Trevino • Feb 25, 2021 at 8:11 am
Wow the school is now 42 years old and I am barely 12, it makes me look so young(I am).
Brandon Herring • Feb 25, 2021 at 8:03 am
I love the fact that the school has been here for over 30 years. I think that having was a great thing to help teachers so they don’t have to grade 400 students papers. and the sports were great. I guess it fun to watch. the connections like PA and art and drama since then are fun like extra periods. and the anime club would probably be fun to attend and that we even had one.
Tess • Nov 12, 2020 at 1:01 pm
This is really cool! I didn’t know the school used to have an anime club. Sounds interesting. And that the school didn’t have a real cafeteria? Wow. And school is 21 years old. Very interesting article. I like it!