Retired ag teacher stresses work ethics for today's students

Lorenza Crosby Jr. and wife Myrtle are both retired school teachers. Crosby learned work ethics from his grandfather, and has used this knowledge to inspire his students to become self-sufficient and contributing adults. -- Staff photo by Taylor

February 7, 2002 -- It's no surprise that Lorenza Crosby Jr. of La Grange is a farmer and rancher.

A retired agriculture teacher, he and his wife, Myrtle, own and operate 130 acres and lease another 100 acres for their cow/calf and hay operation.

"I was born in agriculture. I came from East Texas, and I was born on a farm. My granddad was a farmer. He was one of the old timers, and he was a big farmer," said Crosby.

His grandfather owned a farm, a cotton gin, a shingle mill and a lumber mill in the Marshall area. All of the family participated in the various businesses, right down to the marketing of the finished products.

"He (grandfather) had it all, and his sons worked for him. He was that kind of fellow," said Crosby.

In order to call the sons in from the fields, his grandfather would blow a whistle, powered by a steam engine, and the sons would know that it was time to gin, make shingles, cut and process the wood, or go and market the products.

"I don't think that any of his sons equaled him, and I've been told I might come closer to him. He was a mechanic and he knew how to fix all that equipment. He knew how to buy the necessary equipment to run it, repair and keep it going," added Crosby.

Crosby graduated from Prairie View A&M in 1959 and was hired by the Randolph School in La Grange to teach agriculture. When the schools were integrated in 1965, he moved to the La Grange High School and remained there until his retirement in 1993.

"I taught agriculture, and that's a big term," he said.

In the beginning, Crosby taught animal science, plant science and agricultural mechanics.

"Aside from that, I always considered myself a teacher of reading, writing and arithmetic ... the three 'Rs.' What I tried to do was take agriculture as a practical matter and teach these three things," said Crosby.

Agricultural mechanics is a big field, said Crosby, and it included not only engine work, but building, painting, "fixing things," and working with tools.

"Whatever a farmer would do on a farm," he said in describing the lessons and training he supplied to the students.

It is Crosby's opinion that all students should take agriculture courses, as they teach leadership and responsibility, too, and he believes that all students should take home economics.

During their teaching careers, Crosby and his wife were working on their own ranch. Purchased in 1963, they started adding animals and equipment and improving the house that was on the property. Crosby says he hates to throw anything away, and built a building to use as a shop, right after purchasing the property.

As Myrtle (who he calls his "Board of Directors") says, the shop grew to include a number of buildings to house all of Crosby's equipment and parts, and they now call it "the Village."

Before his retirement, Crosby said the state regulations changed the agriculture course several times, and he didn't consider all of the changes to be good for the students, who were his major concern.

Crosby was known for hiding a part when a student was working on small engines to see if the student would miss it, but prides himself on the fact that some of the students who probably would have dropped out of school before graduation were able to learn the "Three Rs" through the agriculture courses.

"I think the reasoning and thinking process can be transferred into any career," said Crosby.

The Crosbys run cross-breed cattle, mostly Charolais/Angus, and have about 50 cows and 20 to 25 calves at any given time. He said the calving seems to happen in two cycles, so they have about the same amount of livestock all the time. They own two horses, too.

Along with the hay he produces, he has an agreement with another producer to make hay.

"It allows me to graze my land and bring the hay in so I can have more cattle," said Crosby.

Although ranching/farming was always his major dream, Crosby enjoyed teaching and working with the high school students. It was very important to him to help them make their lives better and become self-sufficient, contributing adults.

"Whether a student has a calf or a chicken, I think it teaches him/her a lot. You have to care for it whether it's cold or hot. The animal is totally dependent on you," said Crosby.

His favorite memories are of the students.

"Reclaiming a student is the best. You can have a student (that) you can take to the state contest and they'll win it. But, if you have a student who would, no doubt, lose his privilege and opportunity to go to school and succeed in life, and they (school) send them to you and you see that student succeed and graduate, that would otherwise have dropped out, that's good," said Crosby.

"You don't get rich teaching, and I'll never be rich, but our life has been very good. You can act as a bridge between races, and that's so important," he said.

Since their retirement, the Crosbys have concentrated on their ranching and farming. He is on various community committees and active in a number of associations, including the Fayette County Beef Committee and the Fayette County Extension Executive Committee.

Their life is good, they agreed. "It's kind of a dream come true," said Crosby.