Maple Park (population 765) is located in northeastern Illinois in the west-central area of Kane County. A small portion of Maple Park extends into DeKalb County. Maple Park is located on County Line Road just north of Illinois Route 38. The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad travels through town. The Union Ditch sits just tot he west of Maple Park.
The history of the town of Maple Park is in need of research. The early history of the Maple Park School system was provided to us by Sandy Busby. The article was scanned and is provided below.
Provided by Sandy Busby
Provided by Sandy Busby
The high school for the new District has an address of Maple Park, though we believe the school complex is outside of the immediate community. The building pictured above was found on the website address of www.angelfire.com/il3/maplepark . It is a photo of the original Maple Park High School building. It now serves as the Maple Park Civic Center.
Maple Park High School Quick Facts
Year opened: late 1800s / early 1900s
Year closed: 1958
Consolidated to: Kaneland School District (Maple Park)
Maple Park HS team nickname: the “Parkers”
MPHS team colors: Green & White
School Fight Song: “Fight for the Green and White”
writtenby Lucille Posson in 1935
We will Fight for the Green and White boys,
And We’ll cheer for Maple Park
Never Daun-ted, ne-ver Taun-ted
We will Fight for Maple Park!
We’ll be Loy-al to our old school Boys
Till we die we’ll praise her name
In vic`try or de-feat, We’ll nev-er dare re-treat,
But Fight for Maple Park!
REVISED VERSION
We will cheer for the Green and White boys
We’ll fight for Maple Park
Never Daun-ted never Taun-ted
We will fight for Maple Park!
Rah Rah!
We’ll be loyal to our old school boys until they die
We’ll praise their name though victory n defeat
We’ll never dare retreat
But we’ll fight for Maple Park!
Rah Rah!
Athletics
Maple Park High School competed in boys basketball and probably boys baseball and track as well. The only sport mentioned on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org) is basketball. Team records and coach’s names are items we hope to obtain.
Maple Park HS Gymnasium Entrance 2012
Submitted by Bruce Firchau (left click on photo for larger view)
Maple Park HS Gym/Bleachers – 2012
Courtesy of Bruce Firchau (left click on photo for larger view)
Maple Park HS Gym & Stage – 2012
Courtesy of Bruce Firchau (left click on photo for larger view)
Maple Park HS Gym & Balcony 2012
Courtesy of Bruce Firchau (left click on photo for larger view)
Maple Park HS Gym From Balcony – 2012
Submitted by Bruce Firchau (left click on photo for larger view)
Boys Basketball
Boys basetball had some great seasons at Maple Park High School. Three District titles were won in the school’s history. Unfortunately this is the extent of the information we currently have available.
Jerry Busby shared with us the following tidbit of Maple Park High School basketball history:
“In the 1951-52 basketball season, Hebron (who would win the state championship that year) played Maple Park High School in their first game of the season. Maple Park’s starting five consisted of Roger King, Duane Brandt, Art White, Dale Sarver, and Albert Busch. It was a fairly close game until the third quarter when Hebron took a substantial lead. The final score was 63-37. It was exciting then to know that Maple Park had played the state champs of 1952!”
One of the great coaches of Maple Park High School history is Coach Farmer Westen, though we are not sure what years he coached at the school.
1940-41 Maple Park District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Burlington 24-23
Semi-final Beat Malta 40-34
Title Game Beat Genoa 25-23
DeKalb Regional Tournament
1st Rd lost to DeKalb 40-23
Waterman beat Sycamore in title game
1946-47 Maple Park District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Malta 60-42
Semi-final Beat Hinckley 50-42
Title Game Beat Big Rock 53-39
DeKalb Regional Runner-Up
1st Rd Beat Hampshire 50-35
Semi-fional Beat Marengo 44-40
Title Game lost to DeKalb 44-42
1955-56 Maple Park District Champions Coach’s name & record needed
Early Rd Scores Needed
Title Game Beat Waterman 74-66
DeKalb Regional Tournament
1st Rd Beat Hampshire 88-62
Semi-final lost to Sycamore 82-68
Sycamore beat DeKalb in title game
MPHS v. Burlington 1946
Joe Turk (far left), #00 Dick Pearson; #66 Ronnie Peterson; #26 Harold Hardt, (Rose Miller)
Maple Park High School Basketball Game 1946
Submitted by Rose Miller (Left click on photo for larger version)
Memories
The following memories of MPHS were provided by Loretta Christensen of Maple Park. Loretta is 92 years old and shared these memories with her niece, Sandy Busby. Truly fascinating if you are a history buff like us at the IHSGD site!
“Memories of the Schools in Maple Park”
by Loretta Christensen
“I was born in October of 1915 and started school in September of 1921 in a two story, large building on the southeast corner of Willow and Summer Street in Maple Park. I attended first and second grades there. The eight grades were held on the first floorand a two-year high school was held on the second floor. On the second floor of the school was a “spanking machine”. When the boys misbehaved they were sent up to the principal’s office and placed in the spanking machine. Some of the high school classes were held in the Town Hall located on Main Street.
C.P. Falhirty was the principal from 1913 to 1923. Other principals included James Benham (1922-1927), Ernest Heath (1927-1930), and Paul Stone (1930 through at least 1935).
A community high school was established in 1920 with a four year course of curriculum. At that time a division of school boards brought about the planning of a new school building. Until this building would be completed on September 01, 1922, high school classes were held in the Village Hall for one year while grade school students continued in the old building until the new one was ready for occupancy. After completion of the new brick building the grade school occupied the east half while the high school students occupied the west half. Until the gymnasium was finished the graduation ceremonies for grade school and high school were held on the stage of the Town Hall on Main Street. Later, kindergarten was held in a building on the location where the old school once stood.
A large gymnasium was added and opened on January 01, 1941. In 1942 two buses were purchased for the transportation of high school students. In July of 1946 parts of 12 school districts were combined to a consolidated school district and the high school district was enlarged. This brought about the closing of a number of rural one-room grade schools.
On July 01, 1948, Maple Park high school and grade school districts were consolidated with the schools of Elburn, Sugar Grove, Kaneville, and Big Rock. The new organization was known as Kaneland Community Unit School District No. 302.
Teachers who taught at the grade school included Kathryn (Simon) Dwyer (1st & 2nd grades), Vera (Lawson) Ohlin (3rd & 4th grades), Jesse Horn (5th & 6th grades), and Mary (Keefe) Crosby (7th & 8th grades). High school teachers included Stella Yates, Paul Stone (also the principal), Zara (Seybold) Brunton, Helen Bullington, A. W. Heath, Kathleen (Cline) Butter Miss Brown, and Principal Orrell (McKenzie) Treadwell.
The last class to graduate from Maple Park High School was the Class of 1957. In 1920 Maple Park High School had 17 students enrolled. By 1932 there were 79 students in the high school. The basketball team of 1933 won the Little 8 Conference Tournament. The team consisted of six seniors; Matthew Yagen, William Powers, Frank Kuzan, William Strausburger, Forrest Weseman, and Norman Beck.
Lucille (Posson) Moore from the Class of 1933 wrote a song titled “Fight for the Green and White” which became the school fight song. As I was looking through the book of all graduates from Maple Park High School from 1921 through 1932 I realized that all students from those years are now deceased. My class, the Class of 1933, still has 5 members living. We are all 92 years of age. The living members of my class include Matthew Yagen of Maple Park, Frank Kuzan of Sycamore, William Strausburger of Wisconsin, Helen (Messendorf) Strausburger of Sandwich, and myself, Loretta Christensen of Maple Park. We had reunions for 45th, 50th, 55th, and 60th years. Since that time we have met each year at Sorentos Restaurant for lunch.”
*Class of 1955 graduate Dorothy Aikeley advises that the principal her senior year was Mrs Butler. The enrollment was approximately 100 students . There were 21 students in Dorothy’s graduating class.
If You Would Like To Share More Information…
…about the many accomplishments of Maple Park High School please write to us via e-mail at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net . We are especially seeking a photo of the old school building or verification that the building pictured above is of the old HS building. You can write to us via real mail at:
