Mr. Whitaker's Shop Classroom--1949

Boys in the 1940s at School #57 in the seventh and eighth grades had to make a decision.  Did they want to take woodworking or metalworking from Mr. Hershel Whitaker?  Their classroom, a noisy place, was located in the basement of the school. For one young man, Bill Sohn of 378 South Downey Avenue, the choice was woodworking. Each child aimed towards creating a final product like a hall tree or a stool. Bill chose to create a lamp. At the end of the term, each student placed their item on display. Bill Sohn brought his camera to school and snapped the image seen below. Seventy years later, Mr. Sohn could still recall that the letters "D" and "P" were created by Don Peters, a boy who was a grade behind him. He also noted that for one month the boys and girls traded classrooms.  The boys went into the home economics classroom and the girls attended shop. Bill still recalls sewing a pin cushion.  Mr. Whitaker and his wife, Maria, resided at 5119 Norway Drive so he could have walked to school on nice days. You will see his hat hanging on a hook in the photo.

Boys in Mr. Hershel Whitaker's woodworking class displayed their final products in 1949. Bill Sohn, a student in the class, snapped this photo. He created one of the lamps on the table. 

The image and information for this story is courtesy of Bill Sohn.  

School #57 Graduation--1949

Seventy years ago, several members of the eighth grade class at IPS #57 gathered in the front yard of the school for a photo on a warm spring day in 1949. The excited children had so many possibilities ahead of them. Most would attend nearby Howe High School in the autumn.

Members of the Class of 1949 of School #57; Names compiled by Harry Smith
Front Row, Left: Ted Helkema, Gene Toole, John Cordell, Bill Ropp, John Sauer, Gary Crawford, Bill Foster, John Garrison, Harold Brown, Harry Smith, Don Martin; Second Row, Left: Bob Cox, John Kirkhoff, Jack Webb, Anton Sohn, Shirley Garrett, Don Davis, Margarite Esther, Judy Wire, Judy Ball, Marilyn Titus, Judy Janneck, Marilyn Rasener, Bob Pirtle, Ben Benefield, Frank Parish, John Sanford; Third Row, Left: Marcia Shick, Stephanie Moore, Anabelle King, Paula Bailey, Daisy Harrison, Judy Henderson, John Gooch, Diane Hale, Stan Barnett, Charles Russell, Janice Carlock, Bob Schram, David Taylor, Rolland McMaster, Marilyn Lantz, Nancy Tanselle, Marilyn Banaka; Top Row, Left: Ruth Jenkins, Barbara Little, Nancy McMillin, Darlene Baird, Sara Snyder, Ann Schmidt, Kathleen Craig, Louis Hoynes, Jim Fleener, Nathan Negley, Jerry Christianson, Barbara Swengel, Lois Eikenberry, Jerry Webb, Martha Shortridge, Betty Cowell

World War II had been over for four years and Harry Truman was President of the United States. If the young people paid attention to the news, they would have noticed that Henry Schriecker, a Democrat, was the Governor of Indiana while Albert Feeney, another Democrat, served as the mayor of Indianapolis. Their parents likely read in the local newspapers that an organization called NATO had just been formed. Many of the adults probably worried about the Soviet Union as the Red Scare gripped Americans. By the end of year, the Soviets would have the atomic bomb. Some might have breathed a sigh of relief upon reading that the USSR had ended the Berlin Blockade. Hoosiers might have read or heard that Chaim Weizmann became the first president of Israel or that the Irish people finally received full independence from the United Kingdom.

On May 30, 1949, a television station called WFBM-TV started in Indianapolis. It would be several years before residents of Irvington would start placing these bulky boxes in their homes, but many in this photo had likely heard of the device. Most of the kids would have still listened to their favorite programs on the radio. Tarzan, Superman, the Lone Ranger, Buck Rogers, Captain Midnight, Lassie, and The Shadow were just some of the radio series that captivated the kids in this photo. Many of teens likely listened to the dramatic coverage of the Indy 500 that year where Bill Holland raced to victory. Nearby at the Irving Theater they could watch "Canadian Pacific," which was being held over for a second week in early June. Their parents likely viewed "Portrait of Jennie," starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten.

A dramatic Western ran at the Irving in early June, 1949

"Portrait of Jennie" was not initially received very well by the public, but the film has held up throughout the decades. It played at the Irving in early June of 1949.

In August of 1948, Miss Wallace Montague replaced Mildred Orr as the principal at #57. Miss Montague had just spent a year on a teacher's exchange in England.  She had previously served as a principal for the Indianapolis Public Schools. Throughout the autumn of 1948, Miss Montague spoke to groups about her experience in England including to the PTA at #57 on November 16, 1948. Many other educators influenced the children in this photo including Abbie Kanz, Genevieve Burns, Martha Barber, Helen Loepper, Laura Benson, Ruby Winders, Hershel Whitaker, Virgil Wise, and numerous others.

Miss Montague served as the principal of School #57.  On September 21, 1948, the Indianapolis News featured her on the front page. Miss Montague had just returned from England where she had been on an exchange. 

I was able to obtain the school photograph courtesy of the Sohn family. I first heard from Bill Sohn and then his brother Anton. The Sohns grew up in a bungalow at 378 South Downey Avenue. More about this family will be forthcoming. Anton reports that he became life-long friends with many of the guys in this image. They later formed a social club at Howe High School and gathered well into their adult years. They called their adult club, the Gentlemen's Serenity Club of Pistol Creek. The one aspect that they all shared was a love of nature.

Their friendship began both at School 57 and at Howe but over the years, these Irvington men gathered to hike, fish, hunt, and enjoy the beauty of nature. 

Sources: Sohn Family Collection; On Miss Montague: Indianapolis News, August 11, 1948, 17; "Going to School in England," Indianapolis Star, November 14, 1948, 52; Irving Theater Movies: Indianapolis News, June 9, 1949.