As part of Allen ISD’s centennial year, The Flipside has been highlighting the people whose names appear on our school buildings. This week we feature the story of Gene Reed. If a movie were made about Gene Reed, I would pick Fred McMurray to play the part. I never met the man but each person who described him could have been talking about McMurray in the 1961 movie Follow Me Boys.
Gene Reed was born in his parent’s home in Collin County, Texas on May 31, 1925, the son of Gennie and Ruby Reed, one of the earliest families in the Allen area. He graduated from Allen High School in 1942 with a senior class of five students and then attended the North Texas Teachers College at Denton, (now UNT).
He taught for several years in the Tioga School District in Denton Country before becoming a career auditor with the Insurance Company of North America.
Reed was active with youth at the First Baptist Church in Allen and for many years served as a Sunday school teacher and Royal Ambassador counselor. He never married but through his involvement with the schools and church, it sometimes seemed like he had adopted every kid in town.
Although he travelled extensively, he could be found each weekend in the bleachers at an Allen HS football or basketball game cheering his beloved Eagles on to victory.
One of the highlights each year, according to his nephew Bob Acker, was Reed taking his Sunday school class, RA’s, and even children from the Buckner Orphan’s Home to see his “other” favorite football teams, the Baylor Bears and the Dallas Cowboys.
“Gene was always there for the kids,” recalled longtime Allen resident, Bob Curtis. “He would take us all out to a ballgame and then to eat. He’d have us involved in service projects and outings all the time. It was a big deal for us kids.”
Another member of Reed’s Sunday school class in the late 1950’s was George Stratton.
“He always drove a 1955 Pontiac convertible which was really something in that day,” said Stratton. “We would pile into it and head off to a ballgame or the orphan’s home. He was the nicest guy you’d ever meet.”
As the newest and “flashiest” car in town, Reed was always willing to make his bright red convertible available for community events, or homecoming parades. The same convertible was also used as a “reward” for young people getting special recognition. A student getting good grades, doing a good deed, or even memorizing his/her Bible verses could claim a ride in the red convertible as a special treat!
In the early 1970’s, Reed became stricken with Multiple Sclerosis and was eventually confined to a wheel chair. Not being one to allow his personal situation to stand in the way of his support for students, Reed continued to attend Allen games for many years and could be seen on the sidelines cheering on his Eagles! Many players knew him personally and after game, would come by to “high five” him and thank him for his support.
Gene Reed was recognized with the naming of a school in his honor on Sunday, April 12, 1981. The building first housed middle school students while Ford Middle School was under construction and then opened as an elementary school in 1983.
Reed died in January 1986 but like his contemporaries, Walter Curtis and Alvis Story, Gene Reed made an impact on the future of Allen – one kid at a time.
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