Talk around Hennessey last month was that it was the corner tire shop on State Highway 51 at Mitchell Road that the school board had discussed purchasing in a closed session at its August meeting.

It turned out the rumors were right.

Superintendent Jason Sternberger announced the $81,400 (plus closing costs) purchase of the 2.75 acres at Monday night’s school board meeting.

“We don’t have the abstract yet,” he said.

The property was up for auction Aug. 19 at Dakil Auction in Oklahoma City and Cristopher Choate, board member, attended with Sternberger.

There was only one other unnamed bidder.

Sternberger said the purchase wasn’t anything they’d planned for, but they couldn’t let it go.

The property abuts the school’s softball and sports complex on the south, and the bus barn facility on the east side. It also includes a 1,800 square foot building.

“There are two or three different ideas being floated as to how the property should be used, but the board hasn’t decided on that,” Sternberger said.

He did say using the land for ballpark parking is an option.

Sternberger told board members they didn’t need to take action on the agenda item since they’d given him authority last month to make the purchase.

A Dakil Auction spokesperson told the Times & Free Press last month that they could not release the name of the winning bidder or seller.

Property History

“Mario Hernandez from Oklahoma City owned that property last,” wrote Scott Hajek in a text to the Times & Free Press this week. Hajek, Hennessey’s resident historian, is also a farmer/businessman/developer and graduated from HHS in 1979.

Hajek said the structure was built in 1970 as a DX service station and Danny Hajek was the first one to manage it.

He texted it was later run by “Kokit (no first name)” and then by Irvin Hampton.

It was Bennett’s Friendly Stop convenience store from 1980-89, according to owner Glenn Bennett’s obituary in files on the town library’s digital newspaper archives.

“4-T’s had the Little Store there for a while after Bennett’s closed,” said Hajek.

He said over the years there have been several Mexican restaurants on that property, a Highway 51 Diner, Christine’s Cafe and H-Town Pizza.

Twenty years ago it was purchased so it could be turned into a Mexican bar but it was too close to the school for a beer license, said Hajek.

The owner “opened it anyway with pop and dancing, but it didn’t last long.”