Princeville High School Class of 1935

We recently had a genealogy inquiry which involved digging up this photo.  Since I had the photo out, I thought I would share it with the blog world.  This is the Princeville Community High School Class of 1935.  There were 19 graduates that year under W.R. Cordis, Superintendent.  Many of these individuals continued to work and live in the Princeville area after graduation.  The graduates included James Potter, Edwin Schaad, Eleanor Matthews, Ruth Ricketts, Earl Oertley, Glenn Giffin, Lucille Roach, Robert DeBord, Edith Streitmatter, Leona Zaverl, George Black, Josephine Slane, Ferdie Williams, Russell Stumpf, Robert Ward, Helen Bouton, Donald Carter, Helen Turner and Edwin Burns. 

We have volunteers who assist with genealogy inquiries. The museum does have a lot of old photos, yearbooks, newspapers, obituaries and scrapbooks which have invaluable amount of information about local people, places and businesses.

Princeville Ladies Bowling League Luncheon

This photo was recently donated to the museum.  Our volunteers have been working on identifying the ladies in the photo.  We assume it was a bowling banquet because there are small bowling lanes with pins on the table.  One of our volunteers thought some of the ladies are from Chillicothe so we have sent a request to the Chillicothe Historical Society to see if they could help.

Please look at the photo and let us know if you recognize any of the ladies.  The ladies that have been identified are listed below by their corresponding number.  We are also hoping someone can identify the restaurant by the mural in the background.  Some people have suggested it is the interior of Maple Shade restaurant on Route 88 (Route 40) that was across the highway from Lake of the Woods.  Please call (309)385-1916 or email us (phmarchives@frontier.com) or comment below if you can help with the identity of the ladies or restaurant.

 1. 
 2.  Lenora Delbridge
 3.  Margaret Bassett
 4.  Jo McNeeley
 5.
 6.
 7.
 8.
 9.
10.
11. Carolyn Stahl Grebner
12.
13. Sue Gilbert
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. Ida Stoecker
20.  ?  Darling
21.
22.  Darlene Mathison
23.
24. Marilyn Dell
25.  Betty Beall
26.  Mary Vera Slane
27.  Clara Watts
28.  Virginia Hampton
29.  Elaine ?
30.  Josephine Bouton
31.  Kay Ward Phillips
32.  Charlene Ault
33. 
34. 
35. Mary Taft Major
36. 

1961 Princeville High School Homecoming Parade

Last week was homecoming week at Princeville High School.  Recently, here at the museum, we received some slides of homecoming parades from 1958 to 1961.  With the help of museum volunteer Rosemary Cooper, the museum was able to convert the slides to digital photos. 

I wanted to share with you the homecoming parade from fall of 1961.  The pictures were taken at the corner of Walnut and Evans streets. The floats from back then were amazing!  It must have taken weeks of preparation to make them.  According to the yearbook, the 1961 homecoming football game was played on October 19 against Elmwood High School Trojans.  This was the 13th annual homecoming for the high school.  Festivities began on Thursday with a snake dance, bonfire, pep rally and class skits.  Homecoming Queen was Sue Rock and Mr. Football was Wylan Parker.  Homecoming Attendants were Sharon Kuhn, Bob Swanson, Beverly Fuller, Bill Kraft, Val Peck and Steve Sutherland. 

The PHS marching band led the parade through the streets of Princeville.  William Pellant was the band director .  Head Majorette was Janet Rickey and Majorettes were Carolyn Jones, Connie Holmes and Helen Caldwell.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Home Town

We recently posted information about the Princeville Academy which was a private high school in Princeville in the late 1800s until the early 1900s. That post was from a school catalog that described the school and listed students. The Princeville Academy published a quarterly school newspaper titled "Princeville Academy Sol". Each quarter, the newspaper would include essays written by the students as well as other articles submitted to the paper. One essay of interest, published in 1900, is entitled "Your Home Town". Below is the article in its entirety.

"Your Home Town"

"The only way to build a town is for all to go hand-in-hand, every man to the wheel.  Banish all feelings of discord, if any; let harmony prevail, and you are sure to prosper.  Talk about your town, write about it, speak well of it, encourage your people at the head of municipal affairs, choke the croakers, beautify the streets in every way, patronize the merchants, refrain from sending outside for goods, advertise in its newspapers, favor home enterprise in every way, and if you can not think of some good word to say, just keep quiet.  There is nothing to gain and everything to lose in slandering the home of your adoption.  There are those who delight to oppose every enterprise advocated but upon investigation, these men will be found to be the most despised of all."


The words that were written over 110 years ago are still true today. Princeville is rich in history and we should all be proud to call Princeville home!

Night at the Museum V

Night at the Museum V will be on Saturday, September 22 at the Princeville Heritage Museum.  The entertainment will be the Bradley Jazz Combo.  Tickets are by advanced sale only so get your tickets now.  This is a great way to support a local organization and get a great meal and entertainment without having to leave Princeville!!  For questions or to purchase tickets, please call the museum at (309)385-1916.

Old Stone School House

This is a picture of the first public school building in Princeville, also known as the Old Stone School House.  It was one of the oldest buildings in Princeville and was erected in 1846.  It was located on the northeast corner of Canton and French Streets (now West Main St. and South Cottage Grove).  It was built from donations of stone, lime, lumber and labor and a small amount of money.  The gable on the south had 1846 carved in stone to signify the year it was built.  The stone school house replaced the first public school which was established in 1834 in a log cabin southeast of the Rock Island Depot.  The first teacher at the the old stone school building was Benjamin F. Slane from 1847 to 1848. 

In 1866, the school district rented the vacant Princeville Academy building (Princeville Academy closed for a few years in 1866 because the war took students away from town) because the old stone school building was not large enough.  The first public school building (known as "Old Brick") on the West Main Street school property was built in 1872.  That building was replaced in 1907 with a larger brick structure that was dedicated in February of 1908.  That building housed the high school and grade school until the current school buildings were built.

The Freshman Class of 1892

It has been a few months since we have posted on the blog.  Since our last post, we have celebrated the 175th Anniversary of the Village of Princeville during Heritage Days in June and hosted the 4th Annual Heritage Harvest at the museum in July.  To celebrate the start of the school year, today's blog is about enrollment in 1892 at Princeville Academy.  Imagine what life in Princeville was like 120 years ago!

This spring, I mentioned that the Lillie M. Evans Library shared some documents from their archives.  In the collection were numerous Princeville Academy Sols (school newspapers) and catalogues from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  During that time, there was a Princeville Public High School as well as the private Princeville Academy.   According to the local history books, the Princeville Academy was located a few blocks south of the park.

From the catalogue:
"Princeville Academy is an Evangelical Christian school offering superior advantages of location, instruction and moral and religious influence, designed to fit students for entering college or for teaching and, in general to aid them in their preparation for active, useful lives.  There will be nothing sectarian in its conduct or management."  According to the catalogue, there were a total of 93 students enrolled in the Princeville Academy in 1892.  Those students were studying either academics or music, or both. Tuition ranged from $1 to $12 per term (3 terms per school year) based on courses taken and what year in school in which the student was enrolled.

The faculty in 1892 included:
Edwin B. Cushing, Principal
Miss Mary Francis
Miss Georgie L. Kinney
Miss Alice Peters
Miss Luella Gray

The following is a list of names of students enrolled in Princeville Academy in 1892.  After their name is the town in which they resided.  Some students boarded with local families while they attended the school.

Princeville Academy Enrollment in 1892
Linus Aldrich, Akron
Anna Auten, Akron
Charles H. Auten, Princeville
Edith R. Auten, Akron
Edward Auten, Jr, Princeville
Esther R. Auten, Akron
H. Louis Auten, Princeville
Julia Auten, Akron
Laura Auten, Akron
Maria E. Auten, Akron
Nellie Auten, Princeville
Peter Auten, Princeville
Sarah Auten, Princeville
Emory Barnum, Princeville
Lois Blanchard, Princeville
Fred Bliss, Princeville
Luther Bliss, Princeville
Guy Bouton, Princeville
James Byrnes, Akron
Merle Burdick, West Hallock
Frank Butts, West Hallock
John Butts, West Hallock
Robert Campbell, Alta
Arthur Carman, Princeville
Carrie Chase, Akron
Virginius Chase, Wady Petra
Pinkey Cheesman, Arlington
Emma Conrad, Princeville
Merritt Cornell, Akron
Rosa Cornell, Akron
Charles Cornish, Princeville
Bert Cutler, Princeville
Bernice Debord, Princeville
Leatha DeBord, Princeville
Mamie Dickinson, Akron
Agnes Dowdall, Princeville
Guy Edwards, Princeville
Irma Evans, Princeville
Myrtis Evans, Princeville
Lena Ferguson, Princeville
Anna German, Princeville
Frank German, Princeville
Leatha Gordon, Princeville
Martha Gordon, Princeville
John Graham, Akron
Herbert Hakes, West Hallock
Nellie Hammer, Princeville
Byron Hare, Princeville
Bessie Herriott, Monica
Ora Herriott, Monica
Addie Hopkins, Princeville
Dena Hopkins, Princeville
Mamie G. Hopkins, Princeville (it is noted that Mamie died 07/20/1892)
Maude Hopkins, Princeville
Harry Houston, Akron
Myrtle Irwin, Princeville
Cora Kingery, Akron
Florence Kingery, Akron
Clyde Livingston, West Hallock
Ella McDermott, Akron
Maggie McDermott, Akron
Beulah Metzel, Princeville
Albert Moffit, Princeville
Willard Morrow, Akron
Ethel Nelson, Princeville
Leo Nelson, Princeville
Lewen Nelson, Princeville
Annie Parents, Princeville
Nettie Potts, Princeville
Mamie Pullen, Dunlap
Neva Prouty, Princeville
Calvin Rice, Akron
Luther Searl, Princeville
Daisy Shane, Princeville
Alice Sheehy, Radnor
Mamie Sheehy, Radnor
Burnham Sloan, Princeville
Maza Sloan, Princeville
Harry Smith, Princeville
Mary Smith, Princeville
Howard Stewart, Akron
Lillie Sussex, Laura
Ethel Todd, Monica
Vora Weaver, Princeville
Myrtie Wear, Princeville
John Whittaker, Laura
Harry Willard, Akron
Maude Williams, Princeville
Lennie Yates, Dunlap
Willie Yates, Dunlap