Learning Lessons From Grandma: Flossie Floyd Green

Flossie Floyd-Green never ran for school board or taught in a classroom but that didn’t make her any less worthy when the Allen ISD Board of Trustees named a school in her honor in 1995.

In simplest terms, Flossie was a farmer who overcame many hardships to raise a family and touch the lives of many children in the small town of Allen. There’s more to the story of course.

Flossie Floyd was born in 1886 and raised on a farm in west Allen north of the current Green Elementary School that bears her name. The farm was given to her parents, Robert and Lena, as a wedding present in 1872 by her grandparents who had settled in Collin County shortly after the Civil War.

One of nine children, Flossie attended a one room school house near the current intersection of Custer and Highway 121. She later attended college at what is now called Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, Texas.

Flossie married John W. Green who was born and raised on a nearby farm where Green Elementary School stands. The couple raised two children, John and Leonard, in Allen and Albuquerque, New Mexico before returning to McKinney. John died unexpectedly in 1932 leaving Flossie to manage the 132 acre family farm at the height of the Depression. Despite the challenges, Flossie maintained the farm and provided a college education for her sons. Both grew to become highly successful businessmen with one becoming executive vice-president for Texaco and the other serving as president of the Dr. Pepper Company.

Church was an important part of the family’s life, according to Flossie’s grandson John Green who, with his wife Georgie, managed a Morgan horse farm on the original Floyd family property for many years. “She rarely missed a service at the First Baptist Church in McKinney and was active in that congregation for over 50 years.” “She loved children and especially enjoyed working with the GA (Girls In Action) group at the McKinney church,” he added.

Years later, Flossie and her lifelong friend Lucy Rasor helped raise funds to rebuild the church from their childhood, the Rowlett Creek Baptist Church. The structure, which is the oldest recorded church in Collin County, still stands near the intersection of Custer Road and Highway 121.

John spent many summers at his grandmother’s farm and remembers her as strict but kind. “I learned more than a few good lessons about telling the truth but it was a wonderful place to visit.”

“My grandmother was a good steward of the land,” said John. “She had many opportunities to sell the property over the years but instead kept it as a working farm. She later saw the changes coming to Allen and hoped that her land would someday be used for a school.”

To that end, her grandson donated land in 1993 and worked with the developers of the new Twin Creeks subdivision to accommodate a new elementary school in her name.

Flossie Floyd-Green passed away in 1976 and Comanche Drive hardly resembles the old dirt farm road but we can be sure that she would be pleased to hear the sounds of children who visit her farm each school day.