Wink Junior High and High School - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This marker relates the early Roy Orbison rock and roll history at Wink High School, and reminds of the wider significance of this school to the community.

Marker Number: 17754 Marker Text: The Wink School organized in April 1928, at which time an independent district formed and the first board of trustees was elected. The Wink Junior High and High School, built in 1929, is a two-story building with running bond brick cladding and Mission Revival styling, including shaped parapets, decorative tiles and clay tile roofs over arcades and covered entries. Milton C. Butler (1888-1968) of the Butler Company of Lubbock was the architect. He designed dozens of public buildings in Texas and other states from the 1920s to the 1950s, including the Bailey, Yoakum and Hockley county courthouses. The school complex has undergone several changes over the years including the addition of the Lena Laughlin auditorium (1968), a new cafeteria and a physical fitness center (1983) and a library wing (1999). Roy Orbison, a rock-n-roll singer and songwriter, grew up in Wink and graduated from Wink High school in 1954. While attending high school, Orbison and some friends formed a country music group called the Wink Westerners. Orbison and his band often performed at the school and on a weekly radio station program. The high school not only served as a location for learning but also as a meeting place for community activities and sporting events. Local groups have met in the cafeteria over the years, and Wildcat alumni hold an all-class reunion every five years in conjunction with the Roy Orbison festival. Athletics, marching band, student volunteers and other school groups remain a source of pride for the Wink wildcats and the community. The reverence of the students, faculty and patrons of Wink High school will maintain its appealing history. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2012 Marker is property of the State of Texas

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Date Logged Log   12/22/2013 Benchmark Blasterz visited it