“ Caring for and contributing to our community.”
100 + nationaliites, across 354 congregations and 22 schools.
FIRST SCHOOLS IN KEENE
In 1893 the Texas Adventist Conference requested that a school be established in Texas. That same year Keene Adventist Elementary School began under the name“ The Texas School” with first teacher Ella E. Evans.
In 1898, residents voted on a free public school to assist students who could not afford private education. Seventy-six voted for and four voted against the idea. This led to establishing Keene ISD that now operates with more than 1,200 students.
OLD SOGGY, THE FIRST AIRPLANE BUILT IN TEXAS Unlikely as it seems today,
Keene was once the aviation capital of Texas and then, about 40 years later, became the stick horse capital of the world.
A replica of Old Soggy, the first airplane built in Texas which was constructed in Keene by Floyd H.“ Slats” Rogers, hangs in the lobby of Southwestern Adventist University’ s Hopps Museum and Welcome Center. The original Old Soggy was built in 1912. During its construction,
Rogers was chased out of Cleburne and ended up finishing the plane in a garage located on the University’ s campus. When it was finished, Rogers had it towed by a couple of donkeys in the middle of the night to Cleburne, where he flew it for the first time. The replica was given to the university by Averil Hausinger in honor of her late husband R. C.“ Doc” Hausinger, an aviation
enthusiast who took flying lessons from Rogers and built a Keene business, Nu-Cushion Products.
Doc also built the first airplane hanger in Keene at the city’ s old airport and donated it to the University. The replica of Old Soggy, named by Rogers because one wing hung a little lower than the other, was built by John Beach, co-owner of Beach Brothers Auto Repair in Deming, N. M. He donated 1,800 hours to build the one-half scale model that weighs 135-pounds, is 13-feet long, and has a 17-foot wing span.
Meanwhile, Averil and Doc built Nu-Cushion Products into the leading national and international stick horse manufacturer, making Keene the“ Stick Horse Capital of the World.” Scores of students financed their education at SWAU working for Doc, who died in 1975.
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