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Page 10 text:
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The succeeding years have seen the physical plant enlarged and improved. The care of the school plant was entrusted for nineteen of these years, 1918 to 1937, to Mr. Elisha Grimes, to whom no small share of credit is due for the beautifying of the spacious campus. These responsibilities were assumed by William Youmans in 1937. Added duties necessitated the employment of an assistant in the fall of 1940. Cal Bishop was selected to fill the position. In 1935, the Public Works Administration made a grant of $23,748 to Oakwood Township for the purpose of constructing a high school gymnasium. The voters then approved a $30,000 bond issue to cover the remainder of the cost of the building. The addition was completed in the fall of 1936. In order to extend the benefits of the school to a larger number of boys and girls, a system of free transportation was inaugurated in the fall of 1931. The Board purchased two buses and employed Lester Knight and Ora Holden to drive them. Six weeks later Mr. Mullins was employed to drive a third bus. In 1933, a fourth bus to be driven by Elmer Balbach, was added. Lay-ton Liggett and Herschel McPherson have since replaced Mr. Mullins and Mr. Knight. A corresponding increase in student enrollment and faculty membership accompanied the increase in the size of the physical plant. The school opened with an enrollment of eighty-eight students. Its enrollment has now reached two-hundred eighty. The original faculty of four has grown to thirteen. A part-time office assistant has been replaced by a full-time secretary. The first graduating class contained seven members. The class of 1940, the largest class in the history of the school, contained sixty-nine. Throughout the twenty-five years of the history of the institution, the members of the Board of Education and the faculty have attempted to maintain and improve upon the high standards set by the first Board and the first corps of instructors.
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Page 9 text:
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HISTORY OF OAKWOOD TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL It seems fitting in this volume of the Acorn to include a brief history of the Oakwood Township High School. There is no better authority on this subject than Dr. 0. W. Michael, who has acted as president of the Board of Education of the school throughout its entire history, with the single exception of 1918, when he was in military service in the Canal Zone. Below is given an excerpt of the “History of Oakwood Township High School,” which was written by Dr. Michael for a previous issue of the Acorn: “Oakwood Township High School, District No. 227, was organized at an election held in Muncie, Illinois, June 5, 1915. Those who favored the organization of one high school in the Township succeeded after strenuous efforts. The district as organized included the greater part of Oakwood Township and a small part of Catlin Township and comprises sixty-six sections of land. It is eleven miles in length, six miles in width, and has within its territory the villages of Oakwood, Muncie, and Fithian, and the towns of Bronson, Newtown, Glenburn, Brothers Station, and Missionfield. The population of the district at the time of organization was 2,772. An election held June 19, 1915, for the purpose of electing a board of education for the district, to consist of a president and six members, resulted in the election of 0. W. Michael, president; C. E. Littell, Eli Fox, J. S. Purnell, George P. Vinson, Thomas Oakwood, and Dr. P. H. Fithian, as members. An election was held in Muncie, July 31, 1915, for the purpose of selecting a site for the school building, and the present site was chosen. The contract for building the school house was let to Mr. William F. C. Kuhne, of Rantoul, Illinois, on November 2, 1915, and work was commenced immediately. On April 16, 1916, the cornerstone was laid with ceremonies, speaking, singing, and music from three bands, the Oakwood band, the Fithian band, and the Ogden band. September 11, 1916, was set as the date for the opening of school in the new building. However, on Friday, September 8, 1916, following a period of registration of students, three of the four instructors, namely: Miss Kirkland, Miss Elmendorf, and Mr. Gentzen were struck and killed by an interurban car at a point on the right of way about one-quarter of a mile west of the school building. The opening of the school was postponed until 9:00 a.m. September 25, 1916.”
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