New Mexico Normal School Yearbook, 1936-37, Kappa Theta Fraternity
James "Jim" McArthur, Spur, Texas - column four, row four
James Ivan Perkins, Spur, Texas - column four, row five
Ivan's parents lived in the Red Mud Community that straddles Dickens and Kent Counties in Texas. His mother, Alice Ester Smith, first married William Albert McKay on the last day of 1899. Three sons were born to the union, plus a stillborn infant. William Albert died in 1911 at age 37, and a year or so later, Alice married James M. "Jim" Perkins. Their four Perkins children and birth dates were; Bonnie Pauline, 22 May 1914; James Ivan Perkins, 7 November 1915; Horace, 4 April 1917; and Hawley, 2 May 1920.
Tuberculosis, known as consumption, was common in those days. With no known cure, the only alternative was to change climates and hope for relief. Many went to New Mexico for higher altitude, and perhaps lower humidity. Jim developed the problem, and in September of 1918 the family began migrating westward with their three McKay boys and their first three Perkins children.
The family stayed for a while in Corona, New Mexico, located in the northwest corner of Lincoln County. It was during the family's sojourn in Corona that Bonnie Pauline, age four, died of pneumonia December 5, 1918. For whatever reason, the family returned to Texas, where their last child was born in 1920.
It is not known if the family left again, but we know that Ivan graduated from school in Spur, Dickens County.
In the fall of 1936, Ivan, almost 21, and James "Jim" McArthur, also of Spur, enrolled in New Mexico Normal School in Las Vegas, New Mexico. McArthur may have spent a year at Texas Tech prior to this. They were initiated into the Kappa Theta fraternity and were on the football roster; Ivan, a 205-pound tackle, and Jim, a 185-pound half back. The team enjoyed a winning nine-game season, with one tie and losses to West Texas Teachers College at Canyon, Texas and to the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico. Both Ivan and Jim were designated as All-Conference players.
In the fall of 1937, at the first scheduled football practice on September 13, Ivan "collided with a fellow player, Jerry Stockton. He arose from the collision, walked a few paces and fell dead." The next day, classes were dismissed for the afternoon so that the shocked students could attend a memorial service for Ivan.
We learn from Ivan's obituary that his body was brought to Lubbock by train and burial was in the Red Mud Cemetery in Dickens County, Texas.
The New Mexico Normal School yearbook for 1937-38 dedicated page four to Ivan's memory. Later, their football stadium was named "Perkins Stadium" in his honor. The particulars of this naming are lost in time, but the stadium remains so named to this day (2009).
At some date, Ivan's parents moved to Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico. They died there, Alice in 1953, and James in 1955. They were interred alongside Ivan in the Red Mud Cemetery.
New Mexico Normal School was founded in 1893, primarily for teacher education. It became New Mexico Highlands University in 1941 as it expanded its role beyond teacher education.
NMHU, located in beautiful Las Vegas, New Mexico, is affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) while competing at the Division II level. NMHU is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), which includes 14 institutions in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and New Mexico. The majority of the school's students are from New Mexico and are Hispanic. Highlands' programs focus on its multi-ethnic student body, especially the Hispanic and Native American cultures distinctive of New Mexico.
James F. "Jim" Mandarino, Coordinator of Alumni Affairs, provided information from the 1936/37 and 1937/38 yearbooks. Not found was documentation or particulars regarding the naming of the stadium.
| Family Links: | Perkins Famly | "Bonnie Pauline Remembered" |
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