Last year the Irvington Historical Society acquired a recording of the dedication of I.P.S. #77 and then had it digitally converted so that voices from 71 years ago could now be heard again.
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| Indianapolis Public School #77 c1951 (courtesy of the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library) |
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| Indianapolis Public School #77 c1951 (courtesy of Indianapolis Marion County Public Library) |
On Wednesday evening, November 14, 1951, hundreds of families gathered for the dedication of School #77 at 6040 East Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive. Designed by Wilbur Shook, the beautiful mid-century building had not been open for very long. Residents assembled in the Delker Auditorium for the formal ceremony at 8:00PM.
The Delker Family
Christian and Barbara Kuhner Delker lived for decades in a farmhouse that faced Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive (formerly known as Shelley Street) near Arlington Avenue. For years, the school children who attended the portable classrooms at School #77 could see the Delker home and the large red barn. The Delkers were kindly neighbors to the school and often gave the students refreshments and treats. They didn't mind if the children walked on their property. Eventually, they sold the land to the Indianapolis Public Schools, but they asked to live out the remainder of their lives in the old farmhouse. Mr. Delker passed away first in 1942. After Mrs. Delker's death in 1949, the house and barn were leveled to make room for a new school building. To honor the family, the school built an impressive auditorium that could also be used by the public. They named it the Delker Auditorium.
Cathryn Boggy Assumes the Role of Principal
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| Cathryn Kuemmick Boggy (Indianapolis Marion County Public Library) |
Northern Irvington residents grew weary of the four-classroom building located on Arlington Avenue north of Pleasant Run Parkway. Their children had to attend other nearby schools for fifth through the eighth grade. After some intense lobbying by local residents, the district agreed to build a new school to replace the small building and house children up to the eighth grade. The school was to be named for a beloved teacher, Miss Anna Pearl Hamilton, who passed away in 1948. Construction started in 1950, but delays occurred over post-war shortages.
To lead the new school, the district appointed Cathryn Boggy (1907-1987). Mrs. Boggy had been a teacher for many years at I.P.S. and would serve as the principal for the School #77 for twenty years beginning in the 1947-48 school year.
Mrs. Boggy noted in an oral history, conducted in 1981, that the children in the older school became very interested in the construction of the new building. The superintendent of construction frequently informed the children on what would be happening daily on the site. Mrs. Boggy recalled that on the day that the old red barn was pulled down by tractors, the entire structure fell into a pile of dust. She thought that the children might cheer upon seeing the demolition but they stared in silence. She never forgot that moment. On another day, the contractor brought in one of the blond bricks used to clad the new structure. The teachers designed lessons around the events happening outside their windows.
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| The red lines show where the new school was to be built. In the upper left hand corner, you can see the outline of the portable classroom building that faced Arlington Avenue. Below you can see the Delker house and outbuildings, including a large red barn. The house faced Pleasant Run Parkway and was torn down along with all of the other farm buildings to make way for the new school. (Courtesy of Indianapolis Marion County Public Library) |
A New School is Dedicated
On September 12, 1951, Dr. Herman L. Shibler, the Superintendent for the Indianapolis Public Schools, informed Mrs. Boggy via a memo that she was to prepare the dedication program. He was very specific with his instructions in that students were to be part of the program and that the event would take place on Wednesday evening, November 14, 1951. Thankfully, someone recorded the event.
We do not know the names of the children who participated, but their voices can be heard throughout the recording so perhaps someone listening will recognize either themselves or a loved one. Parents and community members filed into the new auditorium while students who were not in the ceremony reported to their classrooms with their teachers. They would listen to the skits and speeches over the new public address system funded by the Irvington Lions Club.
At 8:00PM an older student can be heard welcoming the guests. Another student asked the question, "What does it mean to dedicate a building?" A third student introduced the first skit which attempted to answer the question while another pupil performed the school song on the accordion. Then, a small group sang the school song a cappella. It sounds like members of the audience also joined in. In a second skit, additional kids discussed the importance of Anna Pearl Hamilton, for whom the school was named and of the kindly Delker family.
In the early 1950s, the United States was fighting a war in Korea and an imaginary war against communists at home. There was also very little separation of church and state in that era. After the students wrapped up their well-rehearsed skits, another child led the community into a dedication prayer culminating with an "amen." The junior high choir sang two Christian hymns, "Holy, Holy, Holy," and "Bless This House."
Mrs. Boggy then had the task to introduce the many dignitaries on the stage and there were many! Not all of the adult speakers were as interesting as the children. Wilbur Shook, the architect of the school, presented the key to Mrs. Louis Bruck, the school board representative for Irvington. Mrs. Bruck spoke next and she reminded Mr. Shook that this was the second school key she had received from him as she had been pivotal in lobbying for Thomas Carr Howe High School, which opened in 1938. Dr. Herman Shibler, the school superintendent, used a sports analogy in his speech. (Lean into the ball and you will have a higher batting average.) He also spoke of moral and spiritual values and good citizenship. Mrs. Robert Platte, the local P.T.A. president, had the task of introducing members of the Delker family and of the Hamilton family along with the "Survey Committee." The tape suddenly ends during her speech. To listen to these voices from the past click on the Sound Cloud link below.
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| Letter from Dr. Shibler to Cathryn Boggy, September 12, 1951 (courtesy of Indianapolis Marion County Public Library) |
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| Dedication Program for IPS #77 (courtesy of Indianapolis Marion County Public Library) |
To listen to the dedication, click on the link below.
To listen to the interview with Cathryn Boggy, click on the link below.
Interview with Cathryn Boggy, 1981
Sources: Delker Family--1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 Federal Census, Find-a-Grave, Delker obituaries in Indianapolis newspapers, 1942, 1949; Cathryn Kuemmick Boggy--Oral History conducted by Rosemary Dilley with the Brown branch of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library; "Cathryn Boggy Funeral Saturday," Indianapolis News, May 27, 1987, 46; Dedication of school--"Dedication of Three New Elementary School Buildings to Mark Education Week," Indianapolis Star, , November 11, 1951.
