CENTERBURG — The old Centerburg High School is an important building and memory for Chris Cordle. It’s where he received a great education. It’s where he found his love for chemistry, taught by former Marine Fred Newman.
“Centerburg schools have been the heart of the community for many years,” said Cordle, a 1965 graduate.
Cordle’s “heart of the community” message was exemplified in a Centerburg-focused event called “community week.” Each night had a different theme, ending with a minstrel show on Friday and Saturday at the auditorium.
Before the 1923 Centerburg High School was constructed, Centerburg was increasing in population. In return it needed more space for education. On March 16, 1920, the board of education asked the voters to support a $125,000 bond. Thus the school on South Preston Street was born, authored by Centerburg historian and student Gloria Parsisson.
When the school was first built, the administration needed students to populate it. Students from Rich Hill were brought to Centerburg. Rich Hill kids were outraged by the decision, desperately wanting to stay in their country schoolhouse.
To help the outlying students, agriculture teacher George Everhart started community week in 1924.
“He thought it was a way to get folks to come here, share and rebuild the community they felt they lost,” Parsisson said.
Each student was encouraged to make a poster advertising the week’s events and place them in local businesses, Parsisson’s recounts.
Many well-respected villagers went to the shows, Centerburg graduate John Lambert said. The shows brought back former students who might otherwise have never stepped another foot in those doors.
Community week’s last event was in 1979.
A little school has its advantages. Kids didn’t fall through the cracks, and when every student came through the metallic doors the opportunities were endless. If you wanted to play sports you could. If you wanted to be in a musical or stage play you could. Whatever you wanted to try – it was available.
“Everybody had to do something,” Cordle said. “You couldn’t hide.”
For Cordle, he found his lifelong passion and career in chemistry.
“The teachers were more educated than the general population in Centerburg,” Cordle said. “The school was everything in Centerburg in the ’50s and ’60s. It’s how the community got its identity.”
Newman was the conduit for Cordle. Newman came to Centerburg for a football coaching gig. He also taught chemistry and physics.
He was kind, friendly and brilliant, Cordle said.
Newman taught Cordle the ins-and-outs of chemistry and showed the promising student extraordinary experiments in the laboratory. Newman bought and brought in his own equipment, the school board also gave him funds for his class.
Cordle fell in love with chemistry, awaiting to test out new experiments and see new gadgets. After graduating Centerburg and Otterbein College, Cordle obtained his PhD in immunology, publishing over 50 research articles.
The origins of Centerburg’s 100-year-old school building
Before Centerburg High School was built in 1883, the 1st through 8th grade was in a building on South Calhoun Street at the southwest corner of Cherry Alley. According to the school’s written history, authored by Parsisson, there was a private high school for 9th grade and beyond called the Academy, organized in various wooden buildings in town from 1855 to 1861.
In 1883, Centerburg built a new two-story brick building for public education on South Preston Street, with elementary grades being housed on the first floor and the second floor for secondary grades.
“There was no indoor plumbing, out-houses were out back and no central heating. Prior to this, there were many smaller schools throughout the township, covering 1st through 8th grade,” the article reads. “There was no auditorium or gym.
“Graduations were held in churches and after 1893 in the second-story auditorium of the new public brick building on the southeast corner of the town square.”
Then the 1923 building was constructed.
An addition to the school was built in the 1950s adding specialty classrooms, a new gym and kindergarten classrooms, according to the historic report.
Also according to the report, in the 1960s the elementary building was built south of the 1923 building, serving kindergarten through 5th grade.
The 100-year-old building had an opportunity of being raised in the early 2000s, when the state offered to demolish it for $500,000. The school board denied the proposed project.
In 2023, the former school building is being used for a multitude of uses. The first floor is for preschool, the second floor is administrative offices and the third floor is unused, filled with memories of the past, present and future.
A collection of memories
When Leroy Bumpus enrolled at Centerburg, at first he wasn’t involved in much.
“I was just a student,” he recalled.
In the autumn of his junior year the senior class invited him to announce the upcoming Homecoming class.
“That opened the door for me,” Bumpus said.
He came out of his shell. And because of the announcement, he couldn’t hide in a corner anymore. He was in school plays and became the senior class president.
During the Cold War era, students began to appreciate a world scenario through the school.
“I don’t think I had a clear understanding of the situation,” Parsisson said. “As an elementary kid, I remember the adults watching the evening news and them being concerned/worried. This was the early days of TV with three channels and they did not broadcast 24/7, so most of the adults gathered to watch the evening news.”
During drills, Parsisson was instructed to hide under her desk and cover her head in case a bomb dropped.
“I don’t think I had any of the whys this was going on, just that it could end my life or disrupt life as I knew it,” Parsisson said. “Even when I was away from school and the drills were not happening, the concerns loomed in my life.”
I graduated class of 1966. Thanks for this history!