RIGHT AND
IMMEDIATELY
BELOW:
1937
Senior
Class
Graduation
Program
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History of Darrtown & Milford Twp.
Schools
Darrtown
Elementary
School
Darrtown
High
School
Somerville, Collinsville, & Seven Mile
Talawanda School District
Schools 3
Darrtown High School
Milford Township High School was located in Darrtown, during the 1920's and 1930's.
The school grounds were bordered on the north by Oxford Street, on the west by West Street, on the south by Mulberry Street / Schollenbarger Road, and on the east by the alley that runs from Oxford Street to Schollenbarger Road. (This is the land parcel where the Darrtown Baptist Church stands in 2008).
The school's main entrance was located on the north side of the building, facing Oxford Street.
School Colors and Mascot?
From the time that this website was established, the following question has been frequently raised regarding the Milford Township (aka Darrtown) high school:
"What were the school colors and what was the school mascot?"
Based on two pieces of history (shown at the right), both of which surfaced in the summer of 2012, it appears that the MIlford Township school colors were blue and yellow.
We have one lead on the school's team nickname. See "Darrtown Braves?," below.
ABOVE: This image of a "Milford - Darrtown" diploma, which includes a blue and yellow ribbon, was contributed by Harry Fillager. A larger version of this image is available at the Fillager family page.
ABOVE: This image of a Milford Township HIgh School blue and yellow varsity letter was taken from an actual varsity letter owned by Donald Falk.
Additional Confirmation of School Colors!
In September 2013, Mrs. Madonna Burke donated a varsity letter that she found among items that belonged to her father, Alvin Alford.
Alvin Alford was a member of the class that graduated from Darrtown High School in 1937.
The letter "M" refers to Milford Township High School, which was the official name of the high school that many called Darrtown High.
Alvin Alford's varsity letter measures 8.5 inches by 8.5 inches.
The two images of varsity letters (Alvin Alford's at the right and Donald Falk's above) seem to confirm that the colors of Darrtown High School were blue and gold.
Darrtown Braves?
Several people have asked, "What nickname or mascot was associated with the Milford Township High School?"
We do not have any documented information to answer that question. However, on November 11, 2013, Bruce Guiler sent an email to the Darrtown webmaster regarding that question. In his email (seen at the right), Bruce shared a recollection from his father, Fred Guiler.
From: Bruce Guiler
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2013
To: Fred Lindley
Subject: Darrtown School
Fred,
Dad had said that the nickname for Darrtown School was "Braves." He also told me the school colors were ________, but I cannot remember.
Dad did not hesitate about the Braves. He did think about the colors for a minute, I think he said gray and something. He remembered the colors on a baseball cap. He transferred to Hanover for the senior year, and he wore that cap. He said someone threw his cap into the toilet. It had the "M" on it.
Bruce
BELOW: Our Oldest Photo of the Darrtown School
The photo of the Darrtown school (below) was contributed by Eugene "Knute" Wagonfield, when he attended the April 18, 2009 "Darrtown Gathering" at the Hitching Post. This photo appeared on a 1-cent postcard (see "Schoolhouse Postcard" below). As of April 2009, this "postcard photo" is the oldest photograph of the Darrtown school that we have.
It appears that this photo may have been taken when the school building was newly constructed. Note the bare earth in front of the school and the size of the tree in the right side of the photo.
Also, compare the larger photo (below) with the smaller one that appears at the top of this page. The larger photo shows only four windows along the left (east) side of the school, whereas the smaller photo shows eight window along the east side of the school and a fire escape. This leads the assumption that the size of the Darrtown school was increased, sometime after it originally opened.
RIGHT: Schoolhouse Postcard
The image at the right shows the back of the postcard that displayed the Darrtown School image (seen above). The postcard is stamped with an Oxford, Ohio postmark and displays a 1 cent stamp. The postmark date cannot be determined. The postcard was addressed to "Mr. Guy Dynes - Collinsville, Ohio - R.F.D. #1 - c/o John Shaw." The card, which was unsigned, included a message that read "I've got a crow to pick with you."
We trust that this was a good-natured prank!
LEFT:
Darrtown HIgh School
In the undated photo at the left, the Darrtown High School is seen from the area near the intersection of West Street and Oxford Street.
The following items relate to individual Milford Townshp High School senior classes
They are arranged in chronological order; oldest at the top.
1901
1901 Milford Township High School
Commencement Program Located
BACKGROUND: In the spring of 2014, Darrtown native, Ronald Wiley, found a 1901 Darrtown High School commencement program on E-bay. After purchasing the Darrtown artifact, Ron donated the following three images.
We do not (at this time) know the exact location of this Milford Township high school.
The commencement program cover (RIGHT) reads:
Ninth Annual Commencement
of the
Milford Township Schools
to be held at
The Lutheran Church, Darrtown
Tuesday evening, June the Eighteenth
Nineteen Hundred and One
Eight O'clock
The second page (RIGHT) reads:
CLASS MOTTO: "ONWARD AND UPWARD
CLASS OF '01
OTTO MILLER
------------
BOARD OF EDUCATION
H. D. KYGER, President
CORNELIUS CONARROE, Clerk
MARY EDNA SCHWAB
JESSE K. MANROD
GLADYS HARRIS
CHARLES DALE DEAM
MARY E. COOMBS
FRANK M. HINKEL
FRED A. HINKEL
FRED P. BRINCEFIELD
WILLIAM FISHER
CHARLES KREBS
SAMUEL ZIGLER
JOSEPH McVICKER
SAMUEL FRAZEE
R. M. L. HUSTON
JOHN WILLIAMSON
CHARLES YOUNG
The third page (RIGHT) reads:
PROGRAMME
-------------
MUSIC ............................................................... OKEANA QUARTETTE
INVOCATION ....................................................... REV. O.P. HOFFMAN
RECITATION - "St. Peter at the Gate"............... MARY EDNA SCHWAB
ESSAY - "Common Things" ................................... JESSE K. MANROD
SONG
RECITATION - "A Maiden's Dream" ........................... GLADYS HARRIS
ESSAY - "The Two Enterprising Frogs" ............ CHARLES DALE DEAM
MUSIC ............................................................... OKEANA QUARTETTE
ESSAY - "Time" ............................................................... OTTO MILLER
RECITATION - "Flash" ............................................. MARY E. COOMBS
DUET ......................................... MESSRS CAMPBELL AND SIZELOVE
ESSAY - "Duty" ......................................................... FRANK M. HINKLE
RECITATION - "Pierre Barnard, the Dusky Soldier" .... FRED A. HINKLE
ESSAY - "The Influence of Kind Words" ........... FRED P. BRINCEFIELD
ADDRESS ............................................. REV. C. E. SCHENK, HAMILTON
MUSIC ............................................................... OKEANA QUARTETTE
1928
RIGHT:
1928 Butler County Baseball Champs!
The 1928 Darrtown High School baseball team won the Butler County championship.
Members of the Championship team included (L-R):
Back row: Fred Finkbine (coach), Walter Alston, Clarence Wright, Cecil Pierson, and W.H. Ogden (principal).
Middle row: Eldon Betz, James Harris, Wilbur Smith, and Clifford Alexander.
Front row: Clifford Decker, Raymond Wiley, and Glen Elliot.
1930
LEFT:
Darrtown High School - 1930 Senior Class
Left to right (standing):
W. Hobart Ogden (principal), Clarence Gillespie, Wilbur Smith, Raymond Wiley, Howard Fox, and Cecil Pierson.
Left to right (seated): Katherine Grothaus, Jessie Lindley, Emma Cartwright, Edna Weibel, Marie Pierson, and Myrtle Tabor.
1932
RIGHT:
Darrtown High School - 1932 Senior Class
Clockwise from top left:
Dorothy M. Havens; W. H. Ogden, Principal; Claribel G. Devine; Louise M. Guiler; Clifford A. Alexander; John E. Dome; Donald Fisher; Wilbur L. Pierson; Wayne C. Withrow; Rollin O. Ledwell; Mary E. Schlabach
Photo contributed by Bob and Frances Young - December 2014 (Bob's mother, Louise Guiler, was a member of the 1932 class)
1933
LEFT (L-R):
Darrtown High School Class of 1933
Front row: Bernice Phares, Gustabel Bradbury, and Ruth Long.
Back row: Carl Geisler, Glen Ward, Robert Harris, Walter Null, Garland Wyckoff, Andy Popst, and Ralph Reynolds
Photo and names contributed by Andy Popst - June, 2009.
1934
RIGHT:
Darrtown High School Class of 1934
Andy Popst contributed the following image, which shows the members of the Darrtown High School Class of 1934.
(Left to right):
Top row: Woodrow Whitehill, James E. Guillaume, Harold Shaw, W. H. Ogden (principal), Adrian Geist, and Robert W. Fisher.
Second row from top: Mabel B. Carpenter, Dorothy Harris, Dorothy Lackey, Mary Beiser, Naomi E. Baecker, and Florence Gault.
Third row from top: Ruth Bowers, Raymond E. Schlabach, James Irwin, and Helen Bufler.
Fourth row from top: Ray Bannon, William Withrow, Harry A. Summers, and William Weber.
1935
LEFT:
Darrtown High School - 1935 Senior Class
Class members (clockwise
from bottom center)
Minerva Curtis
Dwight Harris
Fred Grothaus
Frances Lang
Arthur Fulmer
John Smith
Verna McMillian
Albert Lindley
William Miller
1935 Senior Class Honored By Junior Class
According to the information that appears at the right, in the spring of 1935, the Junior Class of Darrtown High School honored the Senior Class with a reception in Eaton, Ohio at the Seven Mile Inn.
The dinner cost was 75 cents per plate and the Jewell Brothers five-piece orchestra received $8.00 for musical entertainment.
The handwritten notes indicate that the following persons attended:
William Miller, Edyth Taylor, Verna McMillian, Mr. Ogden, Martha Grothaus, Miss Clark, Fred Grothhaus, Frances Lang, Mildred Harris, Gladys Ledwell, Luella Bowers, Donald Irwin, Verna Pfaff, Dwight Harris, Hazel Pfaff, Miss Rubel, Mr. Burkhardt, Mrs. Burkhardt, Minerva Curtis, Mr. Hamilton, Helen Geisler, Freda Marshall, Charles Witherby, James Ramsey, Arthur Fulmer, Mr. Bulow, John Smith, Albert Lindley, and Dorothy Bowman.
1935
Darrtown High School - Program from 1935 Senior Class Play
1935
1936
RIGHT:
Darrtown High School Class of 1936
Top Row: Mildred Harris, Vice President; James Ramsey, President; Gladys Ledwell, Sec.
Second/Bottom Row: Donald Irwin; Edythe Taylor; and Charles Witherby
Left Side: top, Martha Grothaus; bottom, Luella Bowers
Right Side: top, Hazel Pfaff; bottom, Verna Pfaff
Naomi (Witherby) Fea, daughter of Charles Witherby, contributed this image in early August 2009.
"Class of 1936 50th Reunion"
Among the artifacts contributed by Naomi (Witherby) Fea was a "Class of 1936 50th Reunion" folder created by Gladys (Ledwell) Spaulding.
From the handwritten note that appears in the image at the right, it seems that Gladys presented the folder to Naomi's parents, Charles and Jean Witherby, after plans for the reunion failed to materialize.
The "Moments From the Past" image at the right displays the cover that Gladys prepared for the 50th Reunion.
The 1936 Class Will appears below.
1936
1936
1937
LEFT:
Darrtown High School - 1937 Senior Class
(Left to right, top to bottom)
Harold Baeker
Leroy Brown, Pres.
Edith Geisler
John Burkhart, Supt.
Robert Moyer
Harold Witherby
Charles Uhl
Elsie Hunkler
David Hollowell
Alvin Alford
Mary Elizabeth Harris
Bernice Weiss - Treas.
Martha Summers
Elmer Sheard
Warren Beiser
Jean Bradbury
Arnold Cornelius
Robert Betz
George Hansel - V.P.
Goldie Bowman
LEFT: 1937 Senior Class
Front row (L-R): Bernice Weiss, Edith Geisler, Jean Bradbury, Esther Ledwell, Mary Bannon, Martha Summers, Mary Harris, and Elsie Hunkler.
Middle row: Harold Baecker, Elmer Sheard , John Burkhardt (Superintendent), George Hansel, and Charles Uhl.
Back row: Robert Betz, David Hollowell, Leroy Brown, Arnold Cornelius, and Alvin Alford.
Mrs. Madonna Burke donated the 1937 class photo (right) and the graduation program (below) in September, 2013. Mrs. Burke's father was Alvin Alford, a member of the 1937 Darrtown Senior Class.
1937
The 1937 commencement program cover
(RIGHT) reads:
ANNUAL
COMMENCEMENT
EXERCISES
MILFORD TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL
DARRTOWN LUTHERAN CHURCH
THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 1937
1937
The first page of the 1937 commencement program (BELOW) reads:
PROGRAM
Processional - March Romaine ... Gounod
Overture - On the Volga ... Akimenka
Invocation ... Rev. Roger Imhoff
Class Oration ... Edith Geisler
Intermezzo - Shades of Night ... Freedman
Orchestra
Address... Dr. W. R. McChesney
President: Cedarville College
Violin Solo ... Betty Lou Finlay
Presentation of Diplomas ... C. H. Williams
County Supt. Schools
Hungarian Dance, Nos. 7 and 8 ... Brahms
Benediction
The second page of the 1937 commencement program (BELOW) reads:
CLASS ROLL
Harold Witherby
BOARD OF EDUCATION
John Bradbury
FACULTY
Herbert Todd, Ind. Arts
C. H. Williams, County Superintendent
Alvin Alford
Harold Baecker
Warren Beiser
Rogert Betz
Goldie Bowman
Jean Bradbury
Leroy Brown
Arnold Cornelius
Edith Geisler
George Hansel
Mary E. Harris
David Hollowell
Elsie Hunkler
Robert Moyer
Elmer Sheard
Martha Summers
Charled Uhl
Bernice Weiss
John Burkhardt, Supt.
Paul Miller, Math.
Margaret Clark, Eng.
Jane Stewart, Home Ec.
Fred Kramer, Pres.
B. M. Wyckoff, Clerk
Luima Bowers
George Baecker
Estel Davis
Roberta Russell
Marie Schmidt
Herbert Pepper, Music
1938
The 1938 class was the last to graduate from Darrtown High School
ABOVE: Darrtown High School - 1938 Senior Class
This image was copied from a newspaper clipping that Harry and Sue Fillager contributed, April 21, 2012.
Top row, left to right: John S. Burkhart, superintendent, Nancy K. Robinson, Melvin Leslie, and Edith Bryant.
The three on the left side, top to bottom: Robert Earl Howard, Kathryn Dynes, and James Cornelius.
The three on the right side, top to bottom: Mary A. Fisher, Emily Bryant, and Leo E. McWhorter
The five at the bottom, left to right: Carlisle W. Wolfe, Fred Baecker, Loraine Gerber, James Arnold, and Wilbur Gibson.
ALUMNI
Darrtown High School
BELOW AND RIGHT: 1937 Program from the Milford Township Alumni
Don Beckett contributed the following document, in September, 2013.
Don Beckett's mother was Dorothy Lackey, whose name is handwritten on the cover of the program (seen below). Dorothy Lackey was a member of the 1934 Milford Township High School Senior Class (see image above). From the dates that appear on the program cover, it seems logical to assume that the Darrtown High School alumni group existed from 1906 through the year of this event - 1937.
Darrtown teacher
Paul Miller
Seven Mile principal
Cincinnati superintendent
RIGHT: This is an undated photo of Darrtown High School teacher Mr. Paul Miller and students.
Mr. Miller became the high school principal at Seven Mile, Ohio and Superintendent of Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Row 1: Beecher Clark, Bill Bowers, Bob Lemmons, unknown, unknown, ____ Geisler, and Leonard Reynolds.
Row 2: First three unknown, Robert McMillian, Dorothy Glardon, Treva Cunningham, Betty Mae Alston, and Anna Schlabach.
Row 3: ____ Leeds, Gertrude Kettman, Paul Miller, teacher, Dorothy Alston, and unknown.
Paul Miller Remembered
See: Dale Bufler's Recollections
See: "Miller's Fliers based in Seven MIle in 1944-45" - a story written by Jim Blount that appeared in the November 5, 2003 edition of the Hamilton Journal News; click the following link and scroll to item #816
1920 and 1929 Darrtown High School Diplomas!
To see two diplomas granted by the Darrtown-Milford Township High School, visit the Fillager Family page.
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