The School (Part One)

 

Fairfax School when construction was completed, 1930

    When I write an article, I try to tell a story. There are sometimes gaps in the story that I can’t fill in, despite my best efforts. As I began writing this article, I seemed to have more gaps than usual. Then it occurred to me that Fairfax School, like all schools, was newsworthy when it opened and when it closed and not much was written about it in the interim. After all, the education of children happens every day in schools throughout the world. The history of a school rests in the memories and experiences of its students, teachers, staff, and parents. My own recollections are more like a scrapbook with snippets of memories than a cohesive, chronological essay. I suspect that most of you feel the same way. So, the next two articles may look a bit like a scrapbook as I share the history and our memories of Fairfax School.

     The first school in Fairfax opened in 1918 and was a two-room building at the corner of Spring Street and Wooster Pike. Children in first through third grades attended this school, and older children attended the Plainville School. When Dale Park School opened in Mariemont in 1925, Fairfax children began attending there. 

    

Dale Park School from the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, 

June 3, 1928

    It wasn’t long before Dale Park became overcrowded and a portable two-room structure was built at the corner of Lonsdale and Wooster Pike to accommodate first through third grade students. Mrs. Abbie Hornsby was the first teacher at the temporary school on Lonsdale. She was then joined by Miss Laura Shields.  Later, a third room and teacher, Miss Helen Satchell, were added to the school.

     Mrs. Hornsby suggested the formation of a “Mothers Club” for the school. The Mothers Club later became the PTA. The founders of the organization were Mrs. Hornsby, Miss Shields, Mrs. Andrew Graf, Sr., and Mrs. Amelia Jacks. The first officers were Mrs. Martin Saunders (president), Mrs. Graf (vice president), Mrs. Anna Brennecke (secretary), Miss Shields (corresponding secretary), and Mrs. Hornsby (treasurer).

     In 1929, the Board of the Plainville Rural School District approved a plan to build a new school in Fairfax on Southern Avenue. It would be a two-story colonial-style building with eight classrooms, a kindergarten, a primary department, offices, and a restroom. The architect was Charles Cellarius, a graduate of Yale and MIT, who designed or remodeled at least 30 buildings on the Miami University campus between the 1930s and 1960s. He also designed the original Mariemont fire station and some residential buildings on Beech Street in Mariemont. Cellarius planned Fairfax School with possible future expansion in mind.

     The Board began advertising for bids for the construction of the school in late July 1929. Amazingly, the $175,000 structure was completed and ready for students for the 1930-31 school year. The temporary school was added to the rear of the new school. The Kindergarten Department would be used as a community gathering place until an auditorium was built.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, August 30, 1930

    With the opening of the new school came a number of community organizations, including Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H Club, and sports. Parents, teachers, children, and community members worked to fill the shelves in the school library. There was an annual Hobby Fair, banquets, plays, and other performances.

From the Cincinnati Post, January 16, 1931

From the Cincinnati Post, May 22, 1931

From the Cincinnati Post, May 13, 1932

Fairfax School children around 1937

From the Cincinnati Times-Star, May 25, 1938

    The school grounds in the early days weren’t the park-like environment that most of us remember. As you can see from the photograph at the beginning of this article, the grounds were pretty barren. In the first year, the school’s agriculture class was considering landscaping options. In 1932, students collected pennies to buy an eight-foot evergreen to commemorate the George Washington bicentennial. The PTA planted an oak tree in March 1938. In June 1938, the Fairfax Playground Mothers Club announced the opening of the school playground with the formal dedication in July.

From the Cincinnati Post, June 29, 1938

June 1938 note (with a gold star sticker) to my dad from Fairfax Kindergarten 

director Mildred E. Barnett and principal E. G. Beeson.

From A History of the Village of Fairfax by

Elizabeth Steele and Patricia Kuderer

From the Cincinnati Post, May 22, 1934

My mom's second grade report card

From The Messenger, March 8, 1946

The caption reads: "Mrs. Merrill - Fifth Grade - 1947 - Mr. Graf

Fairfax Elementary"

Children pictured may include Michael Feaney. Harrison James, Daniel Maloney,

Charlotte Gillespie, Betty Jean Simpson, Robert Bronson, Ralph _____, Robert

Taylor, Robert Eckert, Robert McCoy, Ellen Jean Wampler, and Elaine and 

Romaine Gabbard.

Undated photo showing Fairfax children who graduated from 

Mariemont High School in 1959, from The Chieftain, 1959

Boy on baseball field at Fairfax School, from

The Centurion, 1950

From the Cincinnati Post, December 7, 1951

In February 1953, the PTA celebrated its 25^th anniversary at their annual Founders Day event. 

All women who had served as PTA presidents through the years were honored with a corsage. 

First row (L-R): Mrs. Francis Harmon, Mrs. Gilman, Miss Laura Shields, Mrs. Ormulia 

Saunders, Mrs. Ethel Graf, and Mrs. Amelia Jacks. Second row: Mrs. Ruth Schnelle, Mrs. 

Dorothy Drummond, Mrs. Eleanor Stephens, Mrs. Jeanette White, Mrs. Vivian Kissinger, 

Mrs. Alpha Miller, Mrs. Louise Winkler. From The Messenger, February 20, 1953.

From the Cincinnati Post, October 7, 1954

Fairfax Elementary 6th grade operetta in 1956, from The Chieftain, 1957

Miss Shields and her third grade class, from

The Messenger, June 9, 1956

    Each year the Cincinnati Post sponsored a “Treat Your Teacher” contest and Miss Shields was the Fairfax nominee at least twice. The Post printed ballots in the newspaper and each ballot represented one chance for the nominated teacher to win a trip to Europe. The 1956 campaign showed the respect the community had for Miss Shields. There was a 200-vehicle parade through Fairfax, Mariemont, and Plainville encouraging residents to clip and submit ballots for Miss Shields. Boy and Girl Scouts went door-to-door to collect ballots. Mayor John Dinkel said, “Miss Shields has the respect of us all. She deserves all the effort we can put forth to win the Post contest. . . . It would be a wonderful reward for the things she has done for many of us.”

Miss Laura Shields, from The Messenger, April 27, 1956

    Despite the community’s best effort, Miss Shields didn’t win the trip in 1956 or in 1957, when she was again the school’s candidate. Miss Wanda McNeal was the school’s nominee in 1958:

From the Cincinnati Post, May 8, 1958

    At the end of the 1960 school year, Miss Laura Shields and Miss Jennie Hart both retired. Miss Shields had been a teacher for 40 years, 33 years in the Mariemont School District, mostly at Fairfax. Miss Hart taught for 44 years, 30 of which were at Fairfax.

Mrs. Ralston's fourth grade class, 1961-1962.

Photo provided by Cathy Hill Glorius

    

    Between 1960 and 1962, Fairfax School was feeling the effect of the Baby Boom with enrollment increasing by 47 students. By the end of the 1962 school year, building an addition to Fairfax School was a priority. In 1964, the school board again hired Cellarius and Hilmer to design the addition and awarded a $121,000 contract for construction of five new classrooms to be built onto the south side of the existing building. While the renovations were taking place, the kindergarten was temporarily moved to rented space at Fairfax Presbyterian Church. The project was expected to be completed in time for the 1965-1966 school year, though it took a little longer than anticipated and fourth graders held classes in the gym until the work was completed.

1964 Kindergarten Class, courtesy of Peggy Mills

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, August 5, 1965

From The Messenger, March 21, 1968

From The Messenger, May 30, 1968

Miss Wanda McNeal and class in an undated photo, from the 

2002-2003 Fairfax Elementary School yearbook

    40 years of Fairfax School history down, 40 more to go! Check back next month when we will cover the final 40 years.

     Do you have memories of the first 40 years of the history of Fairfax School that you wish to share? Maybe some of the pictures and information above have sparked memories for you. I encourage you to leave your memories in the Comments section below. Do you have pictures or other documents you would like to be considered for inclusion in updates of this article? Please email them to fairfaxohiohistory@gmail.com.