While attending Reagan Junior High in the 1954 – ’56 time frame, my dream was to become an entomologist. I loved biology, especially zoology, and in particular entomology – the study of insects. It was at this time I placed my first purchase on layaway; a three-book set titled THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Big, thick, brown covers, within which was information I desperately wanted to read. However, it took me several weeks to saved my lunch money and pay them off a little at a time. The store was The Lovelace Bookstore in downtown Wichita Falls. Sixty years later those three books still hold a special place on my bookshelf, even though the information is now available for free online.
Oddly, I had a teacher at Reagan named Mr. Lovelace, and often wondered if he was related to the gentleman I bought the books from, but I never asked. John William Lovelace passed away in Wichita Falls this week. He was the son of Bryan Wood and Zora Willis Lovelace, the owners of The Lovelace Bookstore, and I’m sure I bought the books from John’s father, Bryan. Yes, John Lovelace did teach at Reagan, so maybe he was my teacher. I didn’t become an entomologist, but I never lost my interest in the subject, and to this day I’m fascinated with insects and paleo-biology.
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