Kara Adkins

Living in a place that many locals refer to as “The Coppell Bubble”, Coppell High School students often don’t know Coppell’s origin and how far it has progressed from the small farm town it once was – local Barbara Lee, however, does.

Lee, 75, has lived in Coppell ever since she was born. She remembers the diary farms and pastures that once made up the town, where sweet potatoes and corn grew in the fields.

It was a time when the city was centered on the church and, with only around 400 people in the area, looked more like a big family than a small town.

“On Sunday afternoons the Methodist women would play the Baptist women in a ball game at Grapevine Springs Park. Everybody would bring baskets of fried chicken and homemade ice cream. It was just a beautiful place,” Barbara said.

Whereas today teenagers growing up in Coppell have access to all sorts of activities, from going to see a movie at the mall to driving down to Six Flags, past generations’ entertainment came from much simpler pleasures.

“Back then, there just wasn’t as much to offer,” Barbara Lee’s husband, Richard Lee, said. “We used to sleep out in the woods and fish in the creek. We didn’t have any money so everything we did, we just did on our own.”

Now, Coppell is a growing suburb populated by more than 43,000 people; it is hard to imagine a time when the closest high school was in Carrollton and just about every boy had to play football in order to make up a team. It was a time when the cheerleaders consisted of 15 girls wearing big red circle skirts and blouses and the idea of Coppell having its own high school seemed unfathomable to Barbara.

Even with the perks that go along with having a growing city, Barbara will never forget the simpler days from when she was growing up.

“Back then, we knew everybody,” Barbara said. “It was just one huge family, and now there aren’t those close ties. I’m afraid people are going to get where they forget how to talk to one another. I regret that you [members of the current generation] don’t have the chance to grow up and have those simple good times.”

The pastures are now replaced with two-way streets, and farmhouses were torn down and replaced with much larger buildings. Barbara looks at the kids and young adults of Coppell and sometimes wonders if they are aware of how hard her generation had to work to make Coppell into the town it is now.

“Sometimes it makes me sad when I look at kids and young adults and I think they don’t appreciate things enough,” Barbara Lee said. “If they only knew how hard we had to work and all of the difficulties when faced to get where we are now.”

Our town didn’t just pop up out of nowhere: it came from the hard work and the dedication of many individuals who believed enough to make sacrifices. Over the years, Barbara has had many chances to leave this town, but she believes it is where her heart and family belong.

“My family was all here and I had never lived anywhere else,” Barbara said. “I couldn’t imagine pulling up everything and leaving. I like roots…we had nearly two acres and three children. I couldn’t see any good reason to move.”

Lee’s daughter, Gay Dobecka, still lives in Coppell and is a teacher at Austin Elementary School. She has experienced many of the changes Coppell has gone through first-hand.
“Coppell has become a bit citified for me, but I can’t see us leaving the family at this point in time,” Dobecka said. “The most important reason [we live here] is that our family is here and we felt it was important to raise our sons around family.”

Dobecka graduated from Coppell High School in 1975 and has watched Coppell develop not only as a town but a school district, as well.

“When I graduated, we had 28 seniors in our class. The large numbers are the biggest change and the opportunities to offer more variety of classes to students,” Dobecka said.
At first, it was scary to watch Coppell change from a small town to a growing suburb, but the Lees have grown to accept it over the years and even appreciate it for what it’s worth.

“The growth has been good; at first you don’t want it, but then you realize, ‘It’s here and it’s going to grow’,” Richard said.

No matter how many changes Coppell has faced and the different atmosphere it has developed, there is no denying that the changes are for the better and that we are continuing to prosper as a community.

“We never imagined anything this wonderful,” Barbara said.