J. Z. Hattox, a native of the Stephenville area, came to Elgin during World War II in 1942 at the age of 33. With him was his wife, Cleo, and a son, Gene, and he was to be the vocational agriculture teacher at Elgin High School. He bought a residential lot across the street from the old high school (now the Administration Building) on North Avenue C and built his own home. In 1944, he and his wife added a daughter, Lenora (“Penny”). He lived there until his death in 1993. Few, if any, had a greater effect on the ...