When Old Becomes New: The story behind Waco High School

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Waco High opened a brand new campus this year, but the story behind the land stretches back more than a century.

Just last month, doors opened on the new building for the first day of school.

Waco ISD’s new home for the lions spans roughly 370,000 square feet, built with a $157.1 million project budget, accommodating over 1,200 students.

More than 100 years ago, the land was home to Rich Field Army Air Base, where pilots were trained for World War I starting in 1917.

Thousands of pilots trained for World War I on the land on the northwest corner of Bosque Boulevard and 41st Street.

A few years ago, memories of the air base resurfaced.

In 2022, workers near the new high school uncovered two World War I practice bombs, likely dropped from biplanes a century ago.

Thankfully, they were harmless and became historical souvenirs.

When the military closed Rich Field, the land became a place for schools, a community taking shape where planes once flew.

In 1961, Richfield High School opened on part of the old airfield and became home to the Scarlet and Gray Rams.

For 25 years, Richfield students built their own legacy.

“I believe we had some wonderful, amazing pep rallies,” shared Lisa Saxenian, Richfield class of 1980, director of career and technical education for Waco ISD. “We had class yells, and they were really neat, and we gave spirit sticks away at the end of the pep rallies for whoever had the most spirit. My class for 1980 says we’re the best at Richfield High 8 and oh will never die 1, 2, 3, Hook ‘EM Rams”

Richfield pride ran deep, carried on by alumni who later returned to teach.

“To be a ram and to come back and to teach in the same building, I know it was a different name, but it was in the same building,” said Saxenian. “It was a lot of ownership, and it just made you feel good, a lot of pride right there.”

Waco’s first public high school began long before the airfield.

In the 1880s, Waco High stood on Columbus Avenue as a symbol of growth and education before relocating in the 1970s.

Across town, Jefferson-Moore High School opened in 1972 as the first integrated high school.

Its mascot, the lion, would carry forward long after the school closed.

By 1986, it was consolidation time; Waco High, Jefferson-Moore, and Richfield merged at the Richfield campus.

The new school adopted the Waco High name, took the lion mascot from Jefferson-Moore, and kept the scarlet and gray from Richfield.

From then on, students of different traditions lived in one building together.

One staple at the site over the years is the flag pole, which first stood at the airfield, then was in the courtyard of both Richfield and Waco high schools.

Although it is not currently on site, the district plans to return it to campus, placing it in a courtyard.

Generations of students never really leave Waco High.

Many come back to coach, to teach, and to carry traditions forward.

“It was kind of unique being a student first, then coming in as an educator, I was able to bridge the past and the present for the kids,” said Alfred Freeman, Waco High class of 1995, college and career military readiness specialist. “Even when I was in school, the school was old, and so it’s good to see an environment that really enforces academic learning. Waco High is probably one of the most unique atmospheres in the city. We’re the only school that incorporates all sides of Waco, and so it’s a very diverse atmosphere.”

Freeman met his wife while attending Waco High, and the family connection doesn’t end there; all of Freeman’s children have attended the school, and his son, Trenton, returned to teach.

“Waco High has always been a traditional school, and it’s awesome, and I love the tradition of Waco High, but sometimes change is good,” said Trenton Freeman, Waco High class of 2021, special education inclusion teacher, football, and powerlifting coach. “I think the kids are loving this school. You hear ‘lion pride runs deep,’ and I think that stays true. Old school, new school, Richfield. It always runs deep, no matter what.”

Freeman isn’t the only recent graduate joining the ranks. Many teachers have generational ties, shaping the future while remembering the past.

“When we moved back into the school and we saw the murals, I had conversations with my parents, who also attended Waco High, and my grandma, who also attended Richfield, and so it’s just like sometimes you forget, and to have it all wrapped up in one place is really nice,” reflected Esme Houston, Waco high class of 2019, social studies teacher, soccer and cross country coach.

Each mural, each yearbook, each hallway now connects generations, from grandparents who were tigers, to parents who were rams, to sons and daughters who are lions.

The new Waco high doesn’t erase history; it displays it.

A legacy room holds yearbooks dating back to 1903.

Spaces carry names like the lion’s den, tiger square, Moore library, and ram’s place.

“Richfield is a part of this school,” said Saxenian. “I’m so glad I was able to be a student here when it was Richfield and then to come back in 2000 and work here for 22 years because it still did have Richfield in the back of my head.”

Even the cafeteria is called ‘the hanger’ in tribute to the air base that started it all.

“It’s always wonderful for the kids to know where they’ve come from, even though they are very young,” said Debbie Luce, Richfield class of 1972, chairman of the WISD historical committee. “I think to know history is wonderful. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know rich field was a thing.”

From airfield to rams, from tigers to lions, this new home for Waco High has a legacy more than 100 years in the making.