Graduation Day at Howe High School--1948

      315 seniors from Thomas Carr Howe High School gathered on the evening of May 28, 1948, for their graduation ceremony. There had been a threat of rain, but the weather cooperated so Principal Charles M. Sharp announced that the ceremony would be held outside. Family members jockeyed for seats as nervous graduates waited along the stairs for the rite to begin.

      Howe High School had been open for ten years so the evening also served as a milestone for the institution. In 1938, 435 students had been enrolled and were taught by only 13 teachers. By 1948, there were 1,350 students with 60 teachers. Principal Sharp and Vice Principal Clarence R. Clayton had been with the school since the beginning as were thirteen teachers and two custodians. Miss Alice Hankins, an English teacher, had assigned her students to write essays dedicated to the history of the school. The Men's 400 club, a parent organization, successfully raised enough money in 1948 to field and support the school's first baseball team. Mr. Wayne Mellot's journalism students had been corresponding with teens at a school in Stokes-on Trent, England. Mr. Mellot had been a GI and stationed in that area.  On May 18, 1948, James Baker, who had been selected as "Philosopher of the Tower," crowned Julia Ann Moore as the "Violet Queen." The elaborate ceremony began that evening with trumpets pealing while the queen and her court walked atop a hill. Then, the choir under the direction of Mr. Frank S. Watkins, performed. The "Philosopher" James Baker then read a history of the school. Another choir under the direction of Darrell H. Gooch then sang. The crowd paused to remember the nine former Howe students who died in World War II. Following that somber moment, P.E. teachers, Jean Westphal and Barbara May led their students out to dance. The evening concluded with Principal Sharp turning the clock forward ten years. 

     On Friday evening, May 28, 1948, Oscar and Mary King Halcomb found their seats to watch their daughter, Phyllis, accept her diploma. One of them brought a camera and snapped some candid shots of the ceremony. Before the event, Phyllis and her close friends gathered along the stairs to document the night. A chapter in their lives was about to close. It was an exciting time for all of the young women as they were on the cusp of their adult lives. 

On the evening of May 28, 1948, these best friends gathered one more time before their graduation ceremony at Howe High School. (Top Row: Diane Scott, Phyllis Halcomb, Phyllis Leffler, Carol Schneider; Middle Row: Jean Shaffer, Mary Joslin, Carol Arnholter; Bottom Row: Winona Locklear, Pat Clause, Gladys Ferguson (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Phyllis Halcomb, the daughter of Oscar and Mary King Halcomb, walked down the stairs in front of Howe High School on Mary 28, 1948, before her graduation ceremony. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas) 

Oscar or Mary King Halcomb snapped this image of the graduation ceremony at Howe High School on the evening of May 28, 1948. There had been a prediction of rain, but the evening turned out to be beautiful. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Seniors and soon-to-be-graduates paraded into the a seating area in front of Howe High School on the evening of May 28, 1948. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Although Howe High School celebrated ten years as an institution in 1948, this was only the eighth graduating class as juniors and seniors attended other schools in 1938. (document courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Page two of the commencement pamphlet for the class of 1948, Howe High School (document courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Page three of the commencement pamphlet for the class of 1948 from Howe High School with a listing of most of the graduates (document courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Page four of the commencement pamphlet for the class of 1948 from Howe High School (document courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas) 

Postscript: Upon graduating from Howe High School in 1948, Phyllis Halcomb took a job with L.S. Ayres Department Store both as a model and a buyer. In this image, likely snapped in 1951, Phyllis (left) lunched with her friend Ginger Harley at Monument Circle. A soldier walked up the steps behind them. If you look closely, you will notice that Phyllis is wearing a pearl necklace. She received this cherished gift from her parents upon her graduation from Howe High School in 1948. She possessed that necklace for the rest of her life. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas) 

     I would like to thank Mary Lee Pappas for the use of her family photographs and for her stories. I would also like to thank Deedee Davis. 

Sources: Howe High School ten-year anniversary--"Youngest High School has Grown," Indianapolis Star, February 1, 1948, 76; Baseball team--"Howe High School to Field Baseball Team," Indianapolis Star, February 12, 1948; Journalism project--"Howe Journalists Turn Correspondents to Improve US-British Understanding," Indianapolis Star, May 10, 1948, 15; Violet Queen--"Howe Violet Queen to Reign at Pageant Tuesday Night," Indianapolis Star, May 16, 1948, 18; Interviews with Mary Lee Pappas, March 18 and 21, 2022.     

From the Scrapbook of a T.C. Howe High School Student

          Phyllis Halcomb, the daughter of Oscar and Mary King Halcomb, was very involved at Thomas Carr Howe High School before graduating in 1948. Photos in her scrapbook and stories from her daughter, Mary Lee Pappas, reveal that she was an active teenager who had several friends. In fact, many of the young women that she met at the school remained her friends for life.  

     Phyllis was the fifth child out of seven for the Halcombs. Her dad sold shoes for the Marrott and Patterson Shoe Companies. Like many Americans, the Halcombs struggled during the Great Depression and had to watch every penny, but they eventually recovered. Phyllis spent most of her youth living in a double at 3723 East Michigan Street. Her mother was a homemaker who managed the seven children and the household. 

     Phyllis was known as a stylish dresser. Her mom helped to sew many of the outfits that she donned at school and at various social events. Her life centered around the D.M.O. sorority. "Sub-debs" and "Squires" were tolerated at high schools in the mid-twentieth century but not sanctioned. The D.M.O. admitted only ten girls. Phyllis served as the president of the club during her senior year.

     In the fall of 1947, three young women vied to be the Homecoming Queen for Howe High School. In that era the football team chose who would serve as the queen and they chose Phyllis Halcomb with Ellen Barnes and Virginia Eubanks as the runner-up. During half-time in the game between Howe and Warren Central High School, Principal C.M. Sharp crowned Phyllis in front of a cheering crowd. 

     Hayrides in Brown County, trips to Lake Manitou and Freeman, slumber parties with friends were all documented in her scrapbook. One of those fun parties took place in the spring of 1946 at the home of Gladys Ferguson, who lived at 5201 East Burgess Avenue. Snapshots from that fun day reveal that bobby socks ruled the day.

    

Pat Clause, Marilyn Doherty, and Phyllis Halcomb gathered on the steps next to Howe High School in the Fall of 1947 (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Phyllis Leffler and Mariana Fullen held on to Phyllis Halcomb next to Howe High School in the fall of 1947. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Pat Clause, Phyllis Halcomb, Phyllis Leffler, Mariana Fullen, and Carol Schneider posed near Howe High School in the fall of 1947. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

In the fall of 1947 Phyllis Halcomb was named the Homecoming Queen for Howe High School. She graduated from the school in 1948. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Winnie Locklear and Gladys Ferguson stood near the Ferguson home at 5201 East Burgess Avenue in 1946. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas) 

Jean Shaffer and Mariana Fullen gathered near the Ferguson home at 5201 East Burgess Avenue in 1946. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Jean Shaffer, the daughter of Lawrence and Eleene Shaffer of 135 South Spencer Avenue, stood along a back sidewalk at the Ferguson home at 5201 East Burgess Avenue in 1946. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

In 1946, Gladys Ferguson, the daughter of Clarence and Verna Ferguson, hosted a party for her girlfriends at her home at 5201 East Burgess Avenue. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Mariana Fullen, the daughter of Harman and Merlene Fullen of 126 Berry Avenue, posed along the back sidewalk of the Ferguson home at 5201 East Burgess Avenue. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Winnie Locklear, the daughter of Harper and Esther Locklear of 336 Grand Avenue, sat along the back sidewalk of the Ferguson home at 5201 East Burgess Avenue in 1946. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas)

Gladys Ferguson (left) hosted her friends, Phyllis Halcomb, Winnie Locklear, Carol Schneider, and Jean Shaffer at her home located at 5201 East Burgess Avenue. The garage behind the young women is no longer standing, but you can see the rear of the bungalows located on Burgess Avenue and the side of 359 Grand Avenue. (photo courtesy of Mary Lee Pappas) 

    I wish to thank Mary Lee Pappas for the use of her family photos and for the stories of her mother. I also wish to thank Deedee Davis. 

Sources: Interview with Mary Lee Pappas, March 18 and 21, 2022: D.M.O. events--Bobby Manners, "Sub-debs and Squires," Indianapolis Star, January 27, March 17, April 7, 1946; D.M.O. president--Bobby Manners, "Sub-Debs and Squires," Indianapolis Star, December 28, 1947; Homecoming queen--"Howe to Crown Football Queen," Indianapolis News, October 22, 1947, 31.