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Athletics
Fairmount High School competed in boys basketball as well as, quite likely, track and baseball. We are seeking information regarding the better teams, athletes, and coaches in Fairmount High’s history. We are also seeking the nickname, school fight song, and conference affiliation of Fairmount High School.
Boys Basketball
The only sport listed with results on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org) for Fairmount High is the sport of boys basketball. The Fairmount boys brought home a total of three District titles during their existence. The last title came just two years before the school’s closure. Unfortunately the team records and coaches names of these and other Fairmount High School teams are not available. A fan of this site and Fairmount High alumnus Mary M. Ellis (Class of 1941) advises the coach during the late 1930s and early 1940s was Walser E. Harms.
1931-32 IHSA District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
District Scores Needed
Danville Sectional Tournament
1st Rd Beat Thawville 19-16
Semi-final lost to Fairbury 31-15
Faribury lost to Rantoul in title game
Rantoul lost in Elite 8 Round
1932-33 Danville District Runner-Up Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Catlin 20-18
2nd Rd Beat Ridge Farm 34-30
Semi-final Beat Georgetown 25-12
Title Game Lost to Danville 28-23
Danville lost in 1st Rd of Sectional
1933-34 Westville District Tournament Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd lost to Chrisman 27-19
Chrisman lost to Catlin in 2nd Rd
Caitlin lost to Georgetown in title game
Georgetown lost in 1st Rd of Sectional
1934-35 Westville District Tournament Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Oakwood 23-14
2nd Rd lost to Westville 28-27
Westville lost to Danville in semi-final
Danville won District, lost in Sweet 16 Rd
1935-36 Westville District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Bismarck 34-20
Semi-final Beat Ridge Farm 30-23
Title Game Beat Oakwood 33-27
Westville Regional Tournament
1st Rd lost to Georgetown 12-10
Georgetown lost to Catlin in semi-final
Catlin lost to Danville in title game
Danville lost in State Title Game to Decatur
1936-37 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1937-38 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1938-39 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1939-40 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1940-41 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
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Fairmount High School Eagles |
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Basketball Team 1940-41 |
1941-42 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1942-43 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1943-44 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1944-45 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1945-46 Sidell District Tournament Season record & coach’s name needed.
Lost to Allerton 66-28
(Unknown what round)
1946-47 Sidell District Tournament Season record & coach’s name needed.
1st Rd Beat Scottland 51-18
Semi-final lost to Indianola 50-34
Indianola beat Allerton in title game
1947-48 Sidell District Tournament Season record & coach’s name needed.
1st Rd lost to Sidell 39-31
Sidell lost in 2nd Rd
Hume beat Allerton in title game
1948-49 Sidell District Tournament Season record & coach’s name needed.
1st Rd Beat Scottland 51-25
Semi-final lost to Hume 64-52
Hume lost to Indianola in title game
1949-50 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.
1950-51 Hume District Tournament Season record & coach’s name needed.
1st Rd Beat Scottland 62-51
Semi-final lost to Indianola
Indianola lost to Allerton in title game
1951-52 Metcalf District Tournament Season record & coach’s name needed.
1st Rd lost to Young America 59-44
Young America lost to Indianola in semi-final
Indianola beat Allerton in title game
1952-53 12 – 15 Ridge Farm District Champions Coach Richard “Dick” Pound
1st Rd Beat Scottland 63-47
Semi-final Beat Ogden 44-42
Title Game Beat Sidell 52-51
Westville Regional Tourney
1st Rd lost to Georgetown 92-59
Georgetown lost to Schlarman in title game
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Fairmount High School District Champs 1953-54 |
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Submitted by Jim Pound |
1953-54 7 – 17 Coach Richard “Dick” Pound
1954-55 11 – 10 School’s Final Season Coach Richard “Dick” Pound
School Yearbook
Mary M. (Howard) Ellis (FHS Class of 1941) provided this bit of information about the Fairmount High School yearbook:
“The FAIR-HI, the school’s first yearbook, was published in 1940. Eleanor Bjelland, our commercial teacher, was in charge. Our commercial class typed the stencils, ran them on a mimeograph, and had a company in Danville add picture pages. The company then bound the books in purple leather with gold lettering.”
In the photo above, Mary (Howard) Ellis is seated at the typewriter. The information she provided was all accomplished without computers!
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Fairmount High School |
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Yearbook Staff of 1940-41 |
Other Extra-Curricular Activities
The following activities were also enjoyed at Fairmount High School. Thank you to Mary M (Howard) Ellis for supplying this information.
School newspaper: “The Eagle’s Eye”
FUTURE FARMER’S OF AMERICA
HOME EC CLUB
GIRL’S GLEE CLUB
BOYS GLEE CLUB
PEP CLUB“ The idea of this club was to arouse school spirit by helping the cheerleaders at pep sessions with pep talks … hoping to have a very active cheering section for basketball games.
There was a yearly “Gym Circus” as well.
Memories
The Following memories of Fairmount High School were offered by Arlene (Howard) Jaynes (FHS Class of 1949). Hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
“I remember the beautiful marble floors in the halls and staircase…..We had hardwood floors in the classroom.
There was a double staircase going upstairs….the boys had to use the one on the left and the girls the right one……We had to use the correct stairway or we would get into trouble..
There was no hot food program unless our Home Economics class made chili or soup and offered it to the students. Some walked several blocks to Hucks Cafe or brought their lunch. There were no pop machines, candy machines or anyplaces where we could get an extra goodie.
The seniors initiated the freshmen. When I was a freshmen, the seniors blindfolded us, led us into the gym, had us step on a SHOCKING MACHINE for a second, and fed us “worms” which we later found out was spaghetti….This was scary, I thought.
Boys sports were important and had schedules. Our girls basketball team only played a few games with other schools and could only play 1/2 COURT. We felt that was a bummer.
The janitor for years was Pete Kizer and he did all the maintenance, all of the mowing, all of the cleaning and in the summer refinished the gymnasium floor and painted the classrooms.. I never saw him with a helper.
In the late thirties, FCHS only had two large cars to pick up the rural students. Later they bought a school bus. I was one of the first to get on the bus in the AM and the last to get off after school. I was on the bus about an hour each way. The state made a ruling that a student could only ride a certain amount of time each day. Then they bought the second bus. Was I happy.
An alumni group is planning a reunion this summer for all the students who attended any Fairmount school….Plans are being formulated at this time.”
Here’s to hoping for a great turnout for the Fairmount High reunion…I hope you send us photos!!
Special Thank You
Special thank you goes out to the Howard sisters, Mary M. Ellis and Arlene Jaynes, for their personal stories and researched contributions to this page.
Seeking More Information
If you have any further information regarding the history and successes of Fairmount High School, especially a photo of the former high school building, please e-mail us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net . You can also write to us at:
Illinois HS Glory Days
6439 N. Neva St.
Chicago, Il. 60631 |
