Blog

Lockport Sacred Heart Academy

Sacred Heart Church
A church with a tall steeple

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Photo by Cody Cutter: April 2009

                    The History of Lockport Sacred Heart Academy

Lockport (population: 22,161) is located in Will County in northeastern Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago and five miles north of the county seat, Joliet. The community was founded in 1838 as the Illinois and Michigan Canal began to be built and its incorporation took place in 1853. Lockport has taken a great, painstaking effort to preserve the canal and the history of the area, which was a vital link to connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. Illinois Routes 7, 53, and 171 run thru the community, as does rail service on Metra, Illinois Central, and Burlington Northern/Santa Fe to Chicago for those who work in the big city, and the Des Plaines River runs thru Lockport.

The Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana helped establish Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls’ school at St. Dennis Parish in Lockport in 1881. The nuns were invited to staff the school at the request of a former professor at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Rev. James J. McGovern. It was the first school they would operate in the Archdiocese of Chicago, with several others to follow.

Sacred Heart Academy would open the high school section in 1883, with an annual enrollment around 25-35 students and two to five graduating each year. The graduates went on to teach in area schools, receiving their teaching certifications each spring at the county examinations in Joliet.

The school closed in 1909 due to low enrollment and inadquate equipment.

FACTS ABOUT LOCKPORT SACRED HEART ACADEMY

Year opened:         1883

Year closed:          1909

ATTENTION ALL HISTORIANS AND ARCHIVISTS!!!!

Your help is greatly appreciated in locating more information about Sacred Heart Academy in Lockport. Facts, names of famous graduates, and a photo of the school would be greatly appreciated. If you are able to locate this type of information, please contact us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or thru the mail at:

Illinois High School Glory Days

6439 North Neva

Chicago, IL  60631


Lockport Lewis Holy Name Institute “Flyers”

Sheil Hall at Lewis University
A large building with a bush in front of it

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Named in honor of Bishop Bernard Sheil, first adminstrator of Lewis Holy Name Institute

The History of Lewis Holy Name Institute

Lockport (population: 22,161) is located in Will County in northeastern Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago and five miles north of the county seat, Joliet. The community was founded in 1838 as the Illinois and Michigan Canal began to be built and its incorporation took place in 1853. Lockport has taken a great, painstaking effort to preserve the canal and the history of the area, which was a vital link to connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. Illinois Routes 7, 53, and 171 run thru the community, as does rail service on Metra, Illinois Central, and Burlington Northern/Santa Fe to Chicago for those who work in the big city, and the Des Plaines River runs thru Lockport.

Holy Name Institute was opened in 1932 by the Archdiocese of Chicago, under the direction of Cardinal George Mundelein, for disadvantaged eighth grade boys who were entering high school. When it opened, 15 boys were enrolled with the tuition being waived, thanks in part to donations made to the Holy Name Society, which were matched by Chicago philanthropist and industrialist Frank J. Lewis.

The grounds of the school (160 acres) were donated by Michael & Frances Fitzpatrick, who lived across the road (which was then called US 66) from the school. Bishop Bernard J. Sheil was administrator of Holy Name when it opened.

Similar to one of the other schools that is listed on this website, the school could be considered one that had many names. After opening as Holy Name Institute, the name changed in 1934 to Lewis Holy Name Technical Institute to honor Frank Lewis for his generosity to fund the school, then another change a year later (Lewis Holy Name School of Aeronautics) to show the importance of offering courses in air travel as the school continued to grow towards becoming a four-year high school for boys.

However, in 1936, the school was shuttered for a year before Lewis came thru again with the funds to needed to reopen the institution. This time, the school was renamed Lewis Institute and an airport was built by students and faculty. The school remained opened until 1942 when the US Navy shut down the facility to use it as a flight school for its pilots. Among the 1,200 students that attended was actor Robert Taylor, a leading man in films during the late 1940’s and early ’50’s.

When Lewis reopened in 1944, the high school only offered class work for juniors and seniors only, with a two-year junior college to follow. After the war and with many soldiers taking advantage of the GI Bill to attend college, the school stopped offering high school courses after 1948 and became a four-year college, which it remains today as Lewis University.

FACTS ABOUT LEWIS HOLY NAME INSTITUTE

Year first opened:                                            1932

Year closed down:                                           1936

Reopened:                                                      1937

Shut down by US Navy:                                   1942

Reopened as high school for juniors & seniors:  1944

Closed for good:                                              1948

School colors:                                                 Red & White

School nickname:                                            “Flyers”

School song:                                                   unknown

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND ATHLETICS

We are not certain if there were any offered to the male students while the school was open. During 1932-41, the school would not have been able to be a member of the Illinois High School Association because private schools were not permitted to be members of the organization at that time, and even after that, there is no evidence of any state tournament hardware that the school may have won in athletics or extra-curricular activities that the school may have played against other schools such as Joliet Catholic or any Chicago-area parochial institution.

Special Thanks….

goes out to Brother Bernard Rapp at Lewis University for information he provided to us while researching information, and to the Lewis University website for the some of the information we collected. You can find out more at: http://www.lewisu.edu/welcome/lewis.htm

ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you know of information about this short-lived school of many names, please let us know by contacting us by emailing us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or sending the information to us at the address below. We’d like to find out more about the school, its teams, and notable graduates from the school. Our address is:

Illinois High School Glory Days

6439 North Nava

Chicago, IL  60631


Loami High School “Lions”

Loami School Building Front – 2012
A picture containing building, outdoor, brick, house

Description automatically generated
Photo by Phil Shadid
Loami School Building
A picture containing grass, tree, outdoor, building

Description automatically generated

The History of Loami High School

Loami (population 804) is located in central Illinois about 10 miles southwest of Springfield.  It is located in west-central Sangamon County.  A railroad once paved the way for Loami’s early growth however it no longer exists.  The town is located on the County Roads of Loami Road at Loami Bates Road.  The Lick Creek flows to the south of Loami.  The town was platted and settled in 1854.  More of Loami’s history can be read at the following website address:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilsangam/twp-loami.htm

The following information and extensive research was provided to the Glory Days website by Phil Shadid, avid fan of the site and especially of Springfield area “glory days” schools:

The first school in the town of Loami opened in 1869, although small one-room schools began in the township outside of Loami in 1863. By the early part of the 20th Century there were 11 one-room country schools, one of which was in the town of Loami. As noted in the book “Country Schools of Sangamon County” by Helen Murray, they had such colorful names as “Hong Kong, High Water Mark (may have been near a creek), Prosperity and Nipper.” By 1948 all the country schools were closed as Loami consolidated into New Berlin’s school district.

Loami High School’s first mention was in the “Annual Report of Sangamon County Schools for 1911.” It read “The school at Loami was recognized as a two-year high school.” At some point prior to 1926, Loami became a 3-year school, never achieving a 4-year status. If a student desired to finish their fourth year they had a choice of attending New Berlin, Chatham, Ball Township, Springfield, Auburn or Waverly (Morgan County).

Loami School Kitchen – 2012
A picture containing indoor, floor, kitchen, ceiling

Description automatically generated
Photo by Phil Shadid
Loami School Classroom – 2012
A chalkboard on a wall

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Courtesy of Phil Shadid

Loami School District #140 was never very large. As an example, the “Illinois School Directory of 1937-38” listed just 32 students in the high school. The Loami High section of the combination Grade-High school closed in May 1940, and because it was not affiliated with another district, the grade school graduates could attend their choice of the above mentioned high schools. This option remained until September 1948 when the school district consolidated with the New Berlin district.

Loami High School Students 1939
A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated
Paul (Pete) Chott – Front Row, 2nd from Left / Submitted by Rhonda Baker

In 1947, the schools of Sangamon County held their Grade 8 graduations at Springfield High School, and among the schools were two in the Loami district: Hong Kong had two graduates and Loami town school had seven.

William Hovey, Loami Grade School and New Berlin High School graduate, recalled that in the 1940’s before the one-room country schoolhouses closed, the coach at New Berlin had an annual track and field meet in the Spring at the high school for the country students only. They were from the township schools of Loami, Maxwell, New Berlin, Island Grove, Curran, and others. The pupils would compete in various races and field events which were open to any boy or girl regardless of their athletic prowess. Some of the schools sent every child, while others picked out the ones that were athletically inclined.

John Vernon (J. V.) Kirby, long-time basketball coach at New Berlin (22 years), would organize everything and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Ribbons and awards were handed out to smiling and proud children. To honor him the basketball arena at New Berlin Community High School is now called “J. V. Kirby.”

At the close of the 2008-2009 school year officials of the New Berlin Community district announced that the Loami elementary school would not reopen in August 2009.  Instead, a brand new elementary school in the village of New Berlin would house all students who would have attended Loami.  Thus ended 146 years of education in the village of Loami.  The Loami 97-year old building shown on this page will continue to be utilized as the district’s administrative offices.  But for how long?  The sounds of children moving through the halls of the two-story building are apparently, and sadly, silenced forever.

Footnote: Grades 1-8 in one-room schoolhouses might have as few as 10 children or as many as 30. Usually, the school would be set in the country so that farm kids didn’t have to walk (or ride their horse) more than a mile or two to reach the school. Sangamon County had over 150 one-room country schoolhouses at one time, some of which began in the 1820’s and the last closing in 1958.

The Loami School building was sold on April 28, 2012 to a private citizen. The purchase price for the 4 1/2 acre grounds, building, and playground equipment was $27,500. The school last held classes in 2009, and was utilized as an administration building for the New Berlin School District until 2012. The gymnasium was built in 1962. We hope the building and grounds are in good hands and will survive for generatioins to come.

Phil Shadid provided the following enrollment numbers for Loami High School:

2-year HS: 1918 – 11.  1919 – 21.  1920 -20.  1923 – 20.  1924 -19.  1925 – 25.

3-year HS: 1927 – 21.  1929 -23.  1930 -24.  1931 -22.  1932 – 23.  1935 -38. 1936 – 40.  1937 – 35.  1938 – 37.  1939 – 26.   Closed May 1940.

LOAMI HIGH SCHOOL QUICK FACTS:

High school opened:              Prior to 1908 (recognized as 2-year HS)

Current building constructed:  1916

3-year HS began:                  1927

High school closed:               May 1940 (still used as an elementary school)

Elementary school closed:     2009

Consolidated to:                    New Berlin District, September 1948

Team nickname:                   “Lions”

Team colors:                         Blue & White

School song:                         Unavailable

Loami Grade School Basketball – 1935
A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Courtesy of William Hovey

Athletics

Loami High School competed in the boys sports of basketball, baseball and track.  We could not find any information on the Loami athletic program on the ISHA website (www.ihsa.org).

The photo to your right is of the Loami Grade School basketball team of 1935.  Team members are pictured as follows:

Front Row, L to R:  Clarence Chandler, Jesse Lynn, Harry D. Brown, John A. Marr

Back Row, L to R: Gene Hovey, Ray Page, Coach R.M. Randles, Don Fisher, Emery Matthews

BASKETBALL: (compiled by Phil Shadid)

Yearly records were difficult to track because the local newspapers did not always report the scores of 3-year high schools, especially when Loami became the last of such schools in Sangamon County. Scheduling had become difficult in the last few years of the school, although many of their old rivals continued to play Loami even after they (Buffalo Tri-City, Chatham, Riverton, Rochester) became 4-year schools. LHS may have dropped out of the Illinois High School Association for several years, because they played in very few postseason District tournaments. Most home games were played in the Loami Town Hall; a few took place at New Berlin’s gym.

Loami Basketball Goal – 2012
Basketball hoop in a room

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Courtesy of Phiul Shadid
Loami Town Hall – Upstairs Used as Gym
A building with a green awning

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Submitted by Phil Shadid

Final season 1939-40: Coach Willard Witte. Only seven games recorded (1-6). Last basketball win: Feb. 21, 1940: New Berlin District tournament; Loami 31, Ball Township 24. Scoring for Loami: Kendal Fisher 15, Hatcher 10, Frank Miller 4, LaVerne Lamb 2.

Last game played: Feb. 22, 1940, at District tourney; Loami 18, Palmyra 31. Scoring for Loami: Fisher 11, Hatcher 3, Bridges 2, Lamb 2; not scoring: C. Fisher, Miller and Flynn.

SOME SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

1927-28: Coach G. Harlow. Loami competed in the Sangamon County Conference and had a record of 6-4 (8-6 overall), finishing in a tie for third place with Buffalo. They beat Chatham and Riverton during the season and placed fourth in the annual conference tournament. Cloyd, Cox, Duewer, Gibson, Jacobs, and Nichols all played prominent roles during the season. (No postseason District tourney.)

1928-29: Mr. G. Harlow’s squad had a 5-12 record (4-8 in conference) and played in the District tournament at season’s end (they lost to Chatham 34-11). Loami finished fourth in the conference tournament, led by Rowden, Burton, Jacobs, Gibson and Meiers.

1932-33: A. M. Randles’ team recorded a 9-8 season’s mark and finished second to Riverton in the Sangamon County Conference’s annual tournament. They had to beat Buffalo, Dawson and Chatham to reach the finals, their best ever record in the tourney.

1933-34: Loami (dubbed by some as the “Travelers” because some of their home games were in New Berlin) compiled a 5-9 record overall, with a 5-7 mark in the Sangamon County Conference (later known as Sangamo Conference). They did not compete in the postseason District tournament. Loami players: Cloyd (younger brother of the 1927-28 player?), Warren Page, Rice, Aubrey, Henderson and Franklin.

1934-35: After opening the season with four losses, Loami forfeited the remainder of its schedule (0-12). The newspapers reported that coach Randles had to abandon the season because he did not have enough players to compete adequately.

1935-36: All games forfeited. Loami was accused of playing in an unauthorized “independent” game. The infraction was reported in the Buffalo Tri-City Register (weekly newspaper) on January 24, 1936: “Loami has recently sent us word that their team has become ineligible due to their participation in an independent game. Consequently the team is forced to forfeit the rest of its games.” Actually, they forfeited any victories and did not complete the season.

However, a search of the archives in 2007 by Illinois High School Association staff member Scott Johnson failed to list any violation during the 1935-36 season. The State Journal and Register also did not carry any stories about the forfeits, but the fact is Loami did not complete its regular schedule nor played in a postseason District tournament. Because Loami may not have been a member of the public high school association the forfeits could have been administered by the Sangamon County Conference. Dawson High (SCC member) forfeited its 1935-36 season because of an IHSAA infraction.

1936-37: Coach Randles’ team finished with a 5-5 record in the Sangamo Conference, and 7-8 overall. They took third place in the Chatham Holiday tournament and the Sangamo Conference tourney. Ray Page, Clarence Chandler, Emery Matthews, Gene Hovey, Tom Franklin, Moss, Patterson and Stanton contributed throughout the season. Franklin led the team in scoring. Loami did not play in the District tournament.

Loami High School player Don Fisher remembers his time on the basketball team of 1937-38. He recalled that Mr. Randles had an old Chevrolet sedan and piled all the players (usually seven or eight) in it for road trips. Quite often the team would have practices OUTSIDE when the Loami Town Hall was not available. Don also said that his coach was a great person who treated the students very well.

Alvine (A. M.) Randles was the Principal/Teacher/Coach at Loami. He was born in 1905 near Nokomis, obtained a degree in education at Eureka College, and a Masters from the University of Illinois. In addition to his time at Loami, he also taught at Nokomis and Riverton, and retired as principal of Edinburg High School after 17 years. Mr. Randles also operated a farm near New City into the 1970s. He passed away in 2005, age 100.

SEASON W-L COACH (season totals may be incomplete)

1925-26 2-9 Earl Cain

1926-27 2-9 Earl Cain

1927-28 8-6  G. Harlow

1928-29 5-12 G. Harlow

1929-30 7-10 G. Harlow

1930-31 6-9 A. M. Randles

1931-32 1-14 A. M. Randles

1932-33 9-8 A. M. Randles

1933-34 5-9 A. M. Randles

1934-35 0-12 A. M. Randles (forfeited 8 games)

1935-36 0-8 A. M. Randles (forfeited all games)

1936-37 7-8 A. M. Randles

1937-38 1-6 A. M. Randles

1938-39 1-5 A. R. Evans

Loami Grade School Basketball Team 1938-39
A group of boys posing for a picture

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Submitted by Rhonda Baker

Front Row (L-R): Miller, Paul (Pete) Chott, Fisher, Hatcher

Back Row (L-R): Witte, ?, Bridges, ?, Lamb?

1939-40 1-6 Willard Witte (last season

Loami Baseball Team of 1908
A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Courtesy of Don Fisher

BASEBALL

Loami likely had a high school baseball team during its existence.  However we know that the town had a team with players of varying ages on it in the early 1900s.  The photo to your right was submitted by Don Fisher, whose father (Frank Fisher) and uncle (Dick Fisher) are a part of the team.

Members of the team in the photo include:

Front row, L to R: Dick Fisher, Bob McCray (pitcher), Verne Kinney (catcher), Homer Bartholomew.

Back row, L to R: Frank Fisher, Bud Foster, Al Stanton, Frank Edwards, Steve Workman.

Our good friend Phil Shadid adds:

Loami Baseball Helmets – 2012
A picture containing indoor

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Phil Shadid

“The team consisted of high school players and a couple of older men and played in spring-summer leagues in the area.  Bartholomew, nicknamed “Buster,” would go on to become New Berlin High School’s first basketball coach and a successful coach at Chatham and Bath-Lynchburg high schools.  He was considered to be a very good outfielder despite the fact he had no left arm.  Bartholomew and Kinney started their teaching careers educating children at the one-room country schools in the Loami area.”

SANGAMON COUNTY TRACK, ORATORICAL & ESSAY MEETS

May 2, 1908, from the Illinois State Register (Springfield):

Loami High School placed fourth in Track with 10 points in 1908 (Auburn 42, Chatham 35, Illiopolis 26). They did not finish in the top three in Oratorical & Essay. Frank Fisher took second in the Half-Mile, while Verne Kinney gained the rest of the points by placing second in three events: 100-yard Dash, 50-yard Dash and Running-Hop-Step-Jump. Homer Bartholomew competed in the weight events (Discus and Shot Put), but did not place in the top three.  (All three of these men played on the Loami “Merchants” baseball team in the summer of 1908. See photo on this page.)

May 8, 1909, from the Illinois State Journal (Springfield):

In a two-column story on the front page, Loami finished third in Track with 19 points (Chatham 36, Auburn 23), thanks to the remarkable efforts of Verne Kinney. He won the 50-yard Dash in 6 and 3/5th seconds, the 220-yard Dash in 26 seconds; wound up second in the 100-yard Dash and the Standing Broad Jump. Teammate Frank Fisher took second in the Running-Hop-Step-Jump.

In the New Berlin Opera House, in the Oratorical contest, Alma McIntire spoke on “Reputation & Character,” good for second place, while William Hovey read his Essay on “The Character of the Ancient Romans” (fourth place). The two gave Loami a third place tie with Chatham.

Heavy rains caused the Track & Field events at New Berlin to be postponed in the morning. So, the participants and fans boarded the Wabash Railroad’s special train (which had brought them to New Berlin) to return to Springfield, where they boarded street cars for the ride to the State Fairgrounds. The events took place in the Coliseum.

Two records were broken, as reported by the Journal: “This is considered to be remarkable owing to the condition of the track at the Coliseum. Tan bark is not the best material for foot racing.”

NOTABLE ALUMNI OF LOAMI:

The four PAGE brothers attended the 3-year Loami High School and then completed their high school education as seniors at New Berlin High.

Ray Page, legendary high school basketball coach, with stops at Auburn, Chebanse, Williamsville and Springfield High. His 1959 SHS team won the state championship. Sixteen years of coaching produced a record of 289 wins, 150 losses. Elected for two terms as State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Harry Page (youngest of the brothers), Superintendent of three different school districts during his educational career: Ball-Chatham, Buffalo Tri-City and New Berlin.

Warren Page (oldest brother): Teacher/Coach/Supt. Of Cambridge school district, Supt. Of Gibson City school district, finished his career as the Superintendent of the Ford County school district. His sports accomplishments included forming one-half of a famous brother battery in baseball in high school and at Western State Teachers College (now known as Western Illinois University). He was the catcher and his brother Ray was a left-handed pitcher.

Another Loami graduate brother, Walter Page, pursued a business career.

William Hovey, Loami Grade School graduate. Graduate New Berlin High. Graduate Western State. Principal at Loami GS one year. Teacher/Coach at New Berlin High. Principal at Chatham Glenwood HS three years. Superintendent of Ball-Chatham school district for 25 years. Inducted into Chatham Glenwood Hall of Fame in 2007.

Don Fisher, attended Loami High three years and graduated from Chatham High as a senior. He worked at Allis-Chalmers in Springfield before enlisting in the U. S. Coast Guard during World War II, assigned to a destroyer-escort ship in the South Pacific. Don served as a Warrant Officer and administrative assistant in the National Guard for several years, and for 30 years he worked for the C & I M Railway in the personnel department and as a legal assistant.

John A. Marr, star athlete for Loami Grade and High school, as well as New Berlin High, where he attended his senior year.  Graduate Western Illinois University.  Earned Master of Science from University of Illinois.  Earned Master in Arts from University of Illinois-Springfield. World War II Army veteran.  He was a Principal/Teacher/Coach at Tallula High School and Principal/Teacher at New Berlin High.  Inducted into the New Berlin Community School district Academic Hall of Fame in 2000.

SPECIAL THANKS:

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library for microfilms of Illinois State Journal and Register. Springfield’s Lincoln Library, Sangamon Valley Collection. Sangamon County Supt. Of Schools. William Hovey furnished valuable information about Loami schools, as well as the 1935 photo. Grateful appreciation to Don Fisher for great information.

Seeking More Information

As you can tell there is a lot of information that needs to be added to the Loami High School history of this page.  There were many people and residents of the town that made the era of Loami High School a successful one. The efforts of these people should not be forgotten.  We are especially interested in photos, most importantly one of the old school building.  You can e-mail this information to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net.   You can also write to us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva Av.

Chicago,  Il.  60631

Loami School Trophy – 2012
A picture containing indoor, altar

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Phil Shadid



Livingston High School “Eagles”

Livingston High School Building
A picture containing text, sky, outdoor, building

Description automatically generated
Photo Submitted by Douglas Combs

The History of Livingston High School

Livingston (population 825) is located in southeastern Illinois about 40 miles northwest of East St. Louis.  Livingston is nestled in the northeastern corner of Madison County.  Interstate Highway 55 is the main roadway to and from Livingston.  The Union Pacific Railroad runs through town as well.

Livingston was established in 1905 as a coal mining town.  Livingston grew quickly at first but leveled off to its current population by the 1970s.  More can be read about the town on its official website www.livingstonillinois.com .

A wood building was erected in 1907 for school purposes, and it was enlarged in 1912. High school education began in Livingston in 1917, and its first graduate was a young lady named Jennie Bert. A newer brick building was built in 1918, and a newer building was built in 1927 – and still stands on the south edge of town. The 1927 building served high school students for nearly 75 years, and was built on an old baseball diamond. It’s art deco-like gymnasium was built in 1949, and before it was built, the gymnasium was located in the basement.

It was in the early 2000s that Livingston began serious consolidation talks with its nearby neighbor, Staunton.  The effort became a reality in 2004 when Livingston High School graduated its last senior class and was absolved into the Staunton School District.

The fate of the Livingston High School building is a happy one.  The building is now utilized as an antique mall.

Livingston High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                            1917

Year closed:                             2004

Consolidated to:                        Staunton School District

Livingston HS team nickname:    the “Eagles”

Livingston HS team colors:         Purple & Gold

School Fight Song:                    unavailable

Livingston High School Gymnasium Monogram
A picture containing indoor

Description automatically generated
Photo Courtesy of Douglas Combs

Athletics

The Eagles competed in baseball, basketball, football (briefly) and track.  The Lady Eagles competed in basketball, volleyball, and track.  According to the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org) the Eagle basketball program was the pride and joy of the town.  School team colors, fight song, team records, and coach’s names are all being sought.

To view an excellent account of seasons of interest in basketball, baseball, and football, check out this web address provided to us by Jim Matesa.  Includes photos of some great Eagle teams as well as information on the former Livingston Grade School teams:

http://www.angelfire.com/il/livingstonillinois/history/Book22.pdf

Boys Basketball

The Livingston Eagles of the hardwood court were a force to reckoned with in the 1940s through the 1970s.  Ten District titles and six Regional titles were won in the years between 1938-39 and 1976-77!!  Unfortunately this is the current extent of the information we have available on the program. Team records and coach’s names are being sought.

The current gymnasium was built in 1949, and before that, basketball games were held in the school’s basement gymnasium. In the 1920s, admission was reported to be 35 cents for adults and 20 cents for children.

An article found in the 1947 Greenville High School yearbook had this to say about the Livingston HS boys beating Greenville in the championship of the 1947 Regional:

“Friday night was the thrill game of the tourney, a see-saw battle in which neither team led by more than five points. Moving into a 10-8 first quarter lead, hopes ran high among local fans, and the half saw us still holding a two-point lead, 17-15. Schmollinger kept up his torrid pace in the third, but Livingston was beginning to click. In the final frame, Livingston caught up for the first time and with two quick lay-in shots sewed up the game, 37-32. However, no one will say the Flyers didn’t do their best. It was just one good team losing to another.”

Submitted by Mark Jurenga

Several scores from games involving Livingston High School in the IHSA State Tournament were located on a website titled “Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores.” These scores are listed below.

1921-22                 Hillsboro District Tournament             Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd score needed (win)

2nd Rd lost to Coffeen 22-11

Coffeen lost to Witt in semi-final

Witt lost to Greenville in title game

1922-23 through 1927-28  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1928-29                 Edwardsville District (2nd Place)        Coach’s name & record needed

Semifinal- Livingston 14 Collinsville 13

                              Title game score needed

1929-30 through 1932-33  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed

1933-34                 Gillespie District Tournament            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Modesto 25-9

                               2nd Rd lost to Staunton 21-15

Staunton lost to Litchfield in title game

1934-35                 Wood River District Tournament       Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Modesto 25-9

                               2nd Rd lost to Granite City 33-26

Granite City beat Alton for title

1935-36                  Litchfield Regional Tournament       Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Litchfield 34-26

Litchfield lost to Staunton in title game

1936-37                 Litchfield District Tournament            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Raymond 42-20

                               Semi-final lost to Hillsboro 33-26

Benld beat Hillsboro in title game

1937-38  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1938-39                  IHSA District Champions               Coach’s name & record needed

District Scores Needed

Gillespie Regional Tournament

                               1st Rd Beat Staunton 20-11

                               Semi-final lost to Litchfield 36-31

Litchfield Beat Gillespie in title game


1939-40                  IHSA Regional Champions
             Coach’s name & record needed

                               Greenville Regional

                               Championship Game – Livingston def. Greenville

Highland Sectional Tourney
1st Rd- Livingston 32 Collinsville 30

Semi-final lost to Granite City 32-19

Granite City beat Wood River in title game

LIVINGSTON (32): Semenak 22, Tosolin 6, Scanzoni 3, Rochelli 1.

COLLINSVILLE (30): Dallape 11, McFarlane 11, Savage 3, Volik 3, Whitechurch 2

GRANITE CITY (32): Phillip 11, Parsaghian 9, Gages 8, Hagopian 4.

LIVINGSTON (19): Semenak 11, Raini 4, Scanzoni 2, Rochelli 2.

1940-41  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

    

1941-42                 Highland Regional (2nd Place)        Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Highland St. Paul 58-34

                              Semi-final Beat Staunton 40-35

                              Championship- Collinsville 53 Livingston 28

1942-43                 Greenville Regional Tournament        Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Pocahontas 56-33

                              Semi-final lost to Staunton 22-17

Staunton lost to Greenville in title game

1943-44  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1944-45                 Greenville Regional Champions      Coach’s name & record needed

                              1st Rd Beat Highland St. Paul 47-29

                              Semi-final Beat Greenville 38-36
Title Game Beat St. Jacob 32-25

Collinsville Sectional Tournament

Semi-final lost to Belleville 35-34

Belleville lost title game to Collinsville


1945-46                Sorento District Champions
           Coach’s name & record needed

Title Game Beat Sorento 47-19

                             Highland Regional Tournament

                             1st Rd Beat Carlyle 63-24

                             Semi-final lost to Pocahontas 44-40

Pocahontas lost to Greenville in title game

1946-47                Sorento District Champions            Coach’s name & record needed

               Semi-final Beat Fillmore 49-33

                             Title Game Beat Worden 33-26

                             Greenville Regional Champions

                             1st Rd Beat Pocahontas 66-31

                             Semi-final Beat Highland 49-29

                             Title Game Beat Greenville 37-32

                             East St. Louis Sectional Tourney

Semi-final lost to Dupo 43-35

Dupo lost to Collinsville in title game


1947-48                Sorento District Champions
              Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-final Beat Worden 53-26

                             Title Game Beat Fillmore 47-24

                             Highland Regional Tournament

1st Rd Beat Greenville 58-33

                             Semi-final Beat Pocahontas 59-31

                             Title Game Beat Highland 55-48

                             Collinsville Sectional Tourney

Semi-final lost to Collinsville 53-26

Collinsville beat Belleville in title game

1948-49   18 – 6    Sorento District Champions            Coach Anton Perne

                              1st Rd Beat Witt 54-34

                              Semi-final Beat Coffeen 55-50

                              Title Game Beat Panama 60-29

                              Greenville Regional Tournament

1st Rd lost to Carlyle 53-51

Carlyle lost to Highland in semi-final

Highland lost to East St. Louis in title game

  

1949-50   12 – 10  Sorento District Runner-Up           Coach Anton Perne

1st Rd Beat Witt 34-31

                              Semi-final Beat Fillmore

                              Title Game lost to Coffeen 44-39

1950-51                 Greenville Regional Tournament      Coach’s name & record needed

Livingston did not compete in District

1st Rd Beat Witt 52-32

                              Semi-final lost to Highland 57-46

Highland beat Greenville in title game

1951-52   15 – 6     Highland Regional Champions      Coach George Spudich

Livingston did not compete in District

                              1st Rd Beat Highland St’ Paul 46-39

                              Semi-final Beat Witt 51-50

                              Title Game Beat Carlyle 44-40

                              Wood River Sectional Tourney

Semi-final lost to Waterloo 62-48

Waterloo lost to Madison in title game

1952-53                 Greenville Regional Tournament         Coach’s name & record needed

Livingston did not compete in District

1st Rd lost to Highland 60-47

1953-54                 Highland Regional Tournament           Coach’s name & record needed

                              1st Rd Beat Highland St. Paul 52-47

Semi-final lost to Carlyle 75-38

Carlyle lost to Greenville in title game

1954-55  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1955-56  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1956-57  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1957-58                 Livingston District Champions        Coach’s name & record needed

(early round scores needed)

Title Game Beat Bunker Hill 55-44

                              Litchfield Regional Tourney

                              1st Rd lost to Staunton 56-49

Staunton lost to Bethalto in semi-final

Bethalto lost to Litchfield in title game

1958-59                 Worden District Champions           Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-final Beat Bunker Hill 77-42

                              Title Game Beat Worden 52-47

                              Hillsboro Regional Tourney

1st Rd lost to Hillsboro 71-65

Hillsboro lost to Bethalto in semi-final

Bethalto lost to Litchfield in title game

1959-60                 Bunker Hill District Champions       Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-final Beat Benld 59-47

                              Title Game Beat Worden 72-44

                              Carlinville Regional Tourney

                              1st Rd Beat Gillespie 60-56

                              Semi-final lost to Litchfield 76-57

Litchfield beat Staunton in title game

1960-61  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1961-62                 Worden District Tournament               Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Mt. Olive 66-48

Mt. Olive lost to Worden in title game

1962-63                 Mt. Olive District Tournament             Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Mt. Olive 59-47

Mt. Olive lost to Worden in title game

1963-64                 IHSA District Champions                 Coach’s name & record needed

District Scores Needed

IHSA Regional Qualifier

Regional Scores Needed

1964-65                 IHSA District Champions                 Coach’s name & record needed

                              District Scores Needed

                              IHSA Regional Qualifier

Regional Scores Needed

1965-66  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1966-67  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1967-68                 Worden District Champions            Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-final Beat Witt 69-60

                              Title Game Beat Highland St. Paul 83-60

                              Carlinville Regional Tournament

                              1st Rd Beat Hillsboro 64-62

                              Semi-final lost to Carlinville 94-78

Carlinville beat Bunker hill in title game

LIVINGSTON (64): Genczo 16, Waters 13, Renner 13, Kovaly 9, Ulrich 7, Schuette 6

HILLSBORO (62): Bernhardt 19, Frailey 15, Whalen 9, Malisa 8, Menzer 5, Marshall 4, Mazzier 2

CARLINVILLE (94): Heinz 38, Whitler 16, Mathias 15, Lowe 14, Wilton 11

LIVINGSTON (78): Kovaly 27, Waters 21, Pozzo 14, Schuette 9, Genczo 4, Renner 2, Ulrich 1

1968-69                 Mt. Olive District Tournament             Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Highland St. Paul 60-57

St. Paul lost to Worden in title game

1969-70                 Livingston District Tournament           Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Witt 73-36

                              Semi-final lost to Worden 93-42

Worden beat Mt. Olive in title game

1970-71                 Worden District Tournament               Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Highland St. Paul 76-67

St. Paul beat Worden in title game

1971-72                 Greenville Class ‘A’ Regional              Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Trenton Wesclin 66-62

Wesclin lost to Troy Triad in semi-final

Triad lost to St. Paul in title game

1972-73                 Postseason scores & record needed  Coach Dave Lamore

1973-74                 Postseason scores & record needed  Coach Dave Lamore

1974-75                 Postseason scores & record needed  Coach Dave Lamore

1975-76                 Postseason scores & record needed  Coach Dave Lamore

  

1976-77    24 – 5    IHSA Class ‘A’ Regional Champs    Coach Dave Lamore

Regional Scores Needed

                              Vandalia Sectional Tournament

                              Semi-final Beat Vandalia 66-63

                              Title Game lost to Madison 70-65

Madison won state championship!

From Jim Matesa (Class of 1977):

“I have some info on the Livingston Eagles Basketball teams of the late ’70’s of which I am proud to have been a part of.  Dave Lamore was the coach from the ’73-74 season to the “76-77 season.  The 76-77 season finished with a record of 24-5.  They won a regional championship, and lost in the Vandalia Sectional title game to Madison 70-65.  A lot of the old-timers in this area still remember that title game and still say it was one of the best high school games they ever saw.  Earlier in the season the Eagles had beaten Madison at home [78-72].  Madison only lost 3 games the entire season and steamrolled through the rest of the post season to a State championship.  Starting five for Livingston were seniors Todd Brooke, Tom Salter, John Schuette, Jim Matesa and sophomore Ray Robertson.  Senior Louie Wray was the sixth man.”

1977-78  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1978-79  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1979-80  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1980-81  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1981-82  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1982-83  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1983-84  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1984-85  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1985-86  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1986-87  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1987-88  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1988-89                 Postseason scores & record needed  Coach Ron Hampton

Livingston HS Eagles of 1988-89
Text

Description automatically generated
From 1989 Staunton Regional Tournament Program – Submitted by Mark Jurenga

1989-90  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1990-91  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1991-92  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1992-93  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1993-94  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1994-95  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1995-96  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1996-97  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1997-98  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1999-00                    Postseason scores & record     Coach Doug Zehr

2000-01                    Postseason scores & record     Coach Doug Zehr

  

2001-02  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

2002-03  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

2003-04  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed

      

Livingston Versus Collinsville as researeched by Mark Jurenga:

*Collinsville is #2 in IHSA history in wins with 1,939 after the 2006-2007 season.

11 meetings

Collinsville won series 8-3

Post-season: Collinsville won series 4-2

Boys Baseball

Two District Championship teams and a long-term coach were the hi-lites found on the Livingston Eagle baseball program.  The coach was Coach Jim Augustine who was the helm from 1968-69 through the 1992-93 school year. Unfortunately the team records for these years are not available.

1948-49          District Champions
1949-50          District Champions

1968-69 through 1992-93      Coach Jim Augustine

Great Baseball Alum

Michael DalPazzo (senior at SIUE in 2007), graduated from Livingston High in 2003. Mike was a 3-year starter at SIUE (soph season cut short by injury).

AT Livingston High

4-year starter in baseball and basketball

3 time MVP in basketball at Livingston.

Senior Legion baseball accomplishments. (DalPazzo played for Highland)

2000 American Senior Legion District 22 Player of the Year.

2000, 2001, 2002 District 22 All-Star

Girls Volleyball

The Lady Eagle netters did not win any IHSA hardware, however they are listed on the IHSA website from 1979-80 through 1987-88.  The coach’s names of these

teams are listed below.

1979-80                        Coach Ron Hampton

1980-85                        Coach Mike Baumer

1985-87                        Coach Gail Scheller

1987-88                        Coach Brenda Smith

Need Your Assistance

If you have any information on the history of Livingston High School, especially a photo of the high school building, please write to us via e-mail at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also write to us via real mail at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il.   60631



Littleton High School “Lions”

Littleton High School
A picture containing snow, outdoor

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Teresa Rebman

Littleton School Reunion 2014

From Teresa Rebman:

“The Littleton School Reunion will be held on Sat., August 2nd, 2014 at the Littleton United Methodist Church. The church is air-conditioned and handicap assessable.  A potluck meal will begin at noon. Bring old pictures and memories to share. Drinks and table service provided.”

Littleton High School Diploma of James M. Lantz
A black book on a white surface

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Class of 1943

The History of Littleton High School

Littleton (population 197) is located in western Illinois in the north-central portion of Schuyler County.  The sits about 15 miles south of Macomb just west of U.S. Route 67 on Illinois Route 101.  The West Branch of the Sugar Creek flows by the north side of town.  Littleton was platted in 1849 by James Little and William Wendow.  It has remained a quiet, “little” town ever since.  To read more about the town of Littleton’s early history check out the following website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilschuyl/Littleton.html .

The first school house in town was built in 1849 and made of logs.  The second school house was built in 1856 and was a two-story brick structure.  A high school was probably established in the late 1800s.  It most likely served the town of Littleton for about five decades. We believe that the folks of Littleton probably entered into a consolidation effort with their neighbors from nearby Rushville in the late 1940s.  At some point, probably around 1949, Littleton High School closed and the children of Littleton began attending school in Rushville.

The following historical account of the Littleton School system was provided to us by Teresa M. Rebman.  Teresa tells us she gathered this information from material written in 1976 by Bernice Greer and Robert “Pete” Fulks.  She then added the more recent events from there.

History of Littleton School

“The village of Littleton is located in Schuyler County, which was organized in 1825 and named for General Schuyler of the Revolutionary War. One of the first pioneer settlers to come to Littleton Township was David Turner in 1835, and he built his cabin on the N.E. quarter of Section 27. In 1849 Leonidas Horney platted the village of Littleton which was named for James Little.

Thomas Bronaugh taught the first school in Littleton in the summer of 1835 in an old deserted log cabin on the S. W. quarter of Section 21. The first actual building erected as a schoolhouse was built in 1838

The first building erected for school purposes was built in 1838 on the S. W. quarter of Section 19. Samuel Horney was the first teacher in this building.

The Village of Littleton erected its first school building 1849 and replaced it with a two story brick building in 1856. On October 26, 1856, this building was destroyed by a destructive tornado. To replace it, a two- room frame building was erected on the site.

In 1907, a four room, two-story, building of concrete block construction was built to replace the old frame building. A gymnasium was added to the south of this building in 1939. A cafeteria and kitchen was added to the west of the gym in 1949. The Walker School which was originally located northwest of Littleton on the Neeley farm was moved in 1950 and placed to the north of the two-story building.

Littleton High School was discontinued in 1947. From 1948-1967, the Littleton School served as an elementary school with grades 1-8. From the fall of 1967-1983, it continued as an elementary school serving grades 1-6 with a kindergarten class being added in 1969.

On June 21, 1981, a tornado tore through the Village of Littleton destroying many homes, the Methodist Church, and the two-story school building, but leaving the gymnasium intact. Two portable buildings were brought in and school resumed in the fall. However, after using the portable buildings for two years, the school board voted to close the school at the end of the 1983 school year. The township took over the gymnasium and cafeteria, which is now used as the Littleton Community Center.

Every two years there is a community picnic and a school reunion held at the shelter house and park on the former school grounds with the next homecoming/reunion scheduled for August 4, 2012 with a potluck meal at noon.”

The following information regarding the fate of the Littleton HS building was provided to us by Ron Arnold:

“I attended grade school at the Littleton school in the 60’s. The school nickname was the Littleton “Lions” and the team colors were red and white. The school was demolished because of a tornado that came through town and took the top story of the school completely off. The rest of the school was taken down and only the gymnasium is left.  Thanks for the memories.”

The Littleton High School building was demolished, however the gymnasium is still in use by the community of Littleton.

Littleton High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                        late 1800s

Year closed:                         1947

Consolidated to:                    Rushville School District

Littleton HS team nickname:  “Lions”

LHS team colors:                  Red & White

(possibly Purple & Gold)

School Fight Song:               unavailable

Athletics

Basketball, baseball, and track, were offered to the Littleton HS boys at one time. Basketball is the only sport mentioned on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org). School team nickname, fight song, team records, and coach’s names are all items we are seeking.  Please contact us using the information below if you know of any information that can help us properly remember Littleton HS.

Boys Basketball

The Littleton High School boys brought home a District title in 1937. We did locate some information on a website titled “Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores.” These scores are posted below. This is, howver, the extent of the information we have on the history of the LHS round-ballers.

1921-22 through 1932-33    Postseason scores, records, and coaches’ names needed.

1933-34         Beardstown District Tournament                Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Browning 23-18

Browning lost to Rushville in the 2nd round.

Rushville lost to Beardstown in semi-final round

Beardstown beat Hersman in title game

1934-35         Rushville District Tournament                     Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Hersman 40-26

Hersman lost to Rushville in semi-final

Rushville beat Beardstown in title game

1935-36         Browning District Tournament                     Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Hersman 50-11

Chambersburg beat Browning in title game

     

1936-37         IHSA District Champions                          Coach’s name & record needed

District Scores Needed

Rushville Regional Tournament

                      1st Rd Beat Macomb 27-26 (O/T)

                      Semi-final lost to Beardstown 48-16

Beardstown lost to Rushville in title game

1937-38  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1938-39          District Scores Needed                               Coach’s name & record needed

Rushville Regional Tournament

1st Rd lost to Astoria 21-15

Astoria lost to Rushville in semi-final

Rushville beat Beardstown in final

1942-43          Postseason scores & record needed           Coach Glenn Willard

    

1943-44  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1944-45  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1945-46  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1946-47  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

  

Track & Field

  

Though he did not attend high school in Littleton, Tony Stolp grew up there and had a great accomplishment his senior year at Rushville High School. Ron Arnold provided us with the following information:

“In 1975 at the state track meet, Tony Stolp of Rushville High School finished 2nd in the state in the Pole Vault.. What no one there knows is Tony started pole vaulting in Littleton using a solid pole, not the fancy fiberglass poles the big schools use, and was pole vaulting into a sawdust landing pit. I don’t remember anyone else that could pole vault at Littleton while I was in school there. That is a huge accomplishment that I don’t believe Tony was truly given credit for. He now lives in Brooklyn, Illinois. I believe he was the last person to attend Littleton school that scored points at the state level. He was truly one of the greatest athletes to attend Littleton.”.

Memories

From Class of 1943 graduate James M. Lantz:

“I graduated from Littleton High School April 8, 1943.  Glenn Willard was coach and principle.  I believe the school colors were purple and gold.  We did have baseball, basketball, and track. I participated in all three.  We competed against BrooklynCamdenBrowningFredrickHuntsville, and other three year schools.  I have no knowledge that the school ever had football.

The building was two story having grades 1 through 3 in one room on the first floor, and 4 through 8 in the other.  The freshman and sophomore classes were in one room on the second and the junior class was in the other. There was only one teacher for each room.  Sometime prior to my entering there a gymnasium was added.  The last I knew the main building had been demolished and the gym remained and was used as a community meeting place.

The class roll of 1943 consisted of Warren Steven Copp; Oliver Keith Snyder; Julia Genèva Arnold; James Maurice Lantz;Hildreth LeIsle Yates; and Doren Arlo Lincoln.”

Need Your Help

There has to be a lot more to report and remember about Littleton High School.  If you have any information regarding the many successes of Littleton High School, especially a photo of the 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



Little York High School “Eagles”

Little York High School – Built in 1942
A large building with trees in front

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Photo Courtesy of Beau Spencer
Little York School Entrance – Bldg. Built in 1942
A building with a sign on the front

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Courtesy of Mike Edwards – Taken in 2007

The History of Little York High School

The village of Little York (population 269) is located on Il. Route 135 approximately 10 miles north of U.S. Route 34.  The nearest town of note is Monmouth which is about 8 miles to the southeast of Little York. The Cedar Creek runs to the north of town and Davids Creek to the south.  Little York is located in northwestern Warren County.

The history and origin of the town needs further research by a local citizen.  A great history of the Little York School District was provided to us by Mike Edwards:

“I have a copy of the Little York Sesquicentennial bulletin that was put together for 150 years. Little York started in 1836 and the Sesquicentennial was held in 1984 (August 18-24). It has quite a bit about the Schools.

The picture of the brick building reflects information about the school in present day. The original building is just North of the existing high school building which has been refurbished into apartments. The stonework still shows the school name.  Here is the text of the information.

Little York First Brick School Building
A large house with a fence in front of it

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Submitted by Dave Armstrong

It must have been shortly after that, possibly in 1903 or 1904, that the first brick school building was built in Little York. It is presumed that it housed both the elementary and the high school from its beginning for various sources agree that Little York High School opened in 1904 as a two-year high school and became a three-year school in 1905.

Dave Armstrong tells us the following about the first brick school building pictured above:

“This photo shows the original part of the Little York Grade & High School. this picture is from around 1909.  The building was doubled in size a few years later. The gym was added around 1932, the new part, which is the section in the picture Mike Edwards sent you was built around 1956.  This school was last used in the 1978-79 school year.  At that time it held 2-4 grade classes.”

In an article written by Carol Clark and printed in the Daily Review Atlas, May 30, 1979, it is said that it became a four-year school in 1906, and continued the four year program until 1921 when it reverted to a three-year high school.

According to David Pardee, as reported in an article by Ralph Eckley for the same newspaper, in 1915 Little York had eight grades of elementary school and four years of high school, all of which were located in one four-room building. The high school occupied one room, and J.K. Neumann was principal for the entire school, as well as the only teacher in the high school. The picture of the student body of 1915 shows twenty-six high school students and the principal.

Another article written by Ralph Eckley for the June 2, 1983, issue of the Review Atlas, Lavona Adams Steepleton is quote as saying that when she started to Little York High School in the fall of 1923 it was only a two-year high school but by the time she was a junior it had been expanded to a three-year school.

During the times when there was only a three-year high school it was not uncommon for some of the students to go to Monmouth High School for their last year, staying in Monmouth boarding houses during the week.

Little York High School Addition of 1927
A picture containing text, building, outdoor, brick

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Mike Edwards – Photo Taken in 2007

About 1927 the first addition was made to the school. If the original school was only four classrooms, the addition must have doubled the space or possibly tripled it. The second addition was a gymnasium which was built in the 1930s. One source says in 1932 while another states it was built about 1938. This gym was used by students in both schools.

In the fall of 1938 Little York Community High School became a four-year institution. From that time until the new high school was built, the high school was on the second floor with the exception of the science classes which were taught on one room on the first floor. When the high school added home economics and agriculture courses, these classes were held in the basement of  the building.

Little York HS Addition & Gymnasium
A brick building with a parking lot

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Courtesy of Mike Edwards

In 1941 and 1942 the Little York Community High School was built at a cost of $75,000. General contractors for the new construction were Jorgenson and Son of Clinton, Iowa. The move to the new high school building was made in February of 1942. The second semester of the 1941-9142 school year, the high school had a six-day week. By that time the United States was in the Second World War and there was a man-shortage so the male students were needed to work in the fields. The last day of school that year was May 2.

The building formerly occupied by both the elementary and high school classes became the Little York Elementary School. The gymnasium attached to the elementary school continued to be used by both schools although they were in two different school districts governed by two school boards.

The next major change was the addition to the elementary school in 1956 when classrooms were added to the front of the old building.

These seperate elementary and high school districts continued to operate until 1960 when the Yorkwood School District was formed. This was the combination of the Little York and Kirkwood schools. During  the first years of the new district which encompassed grades K-12, the kindergarten through sixth grade grade went to the respective elementary buildings. Grades seven, eight, and nine went to the Kirkwood High School, while grades ten through twelve attended classes in the Little York High School building.

The Little York baseball field is used by the Junior Sheriffs League presently. I don’t know if it was used by Little York High school but I am sure it was.  The Pavilion that sits on the Northwest corner of the field is called “Tapole’s Pad”. It was named after my father whose real name is Richard S. Edwards but everyone in three counties knew him as “Tadpole”. He was a board member for Warren County for several years.”

The former high school in Little York still stands and is in use today as an apartment building. The building served as Yorkwood High School for grades 10 – 12 from 1960 through 1969.  It then served the school district as a grade school from 1970 through 1979 when a new school building was built.

Recent consolidation talks have been kicked around.  It was decided that Yorkwood High School would be closed at the conclusion of the 2006-07 school year.  Students of Little York and Kirkwood will now attend high school as part of the Alexis United School District.

Little York High School Quick Facts

Year opened:           probably late 1800s

Year closed:            1960

Consolidated to:       Yorkwood High School

School nickname:     the “Eagles”

School colors:          Purple & Gold

School Fight Song:   unavailable

Little York High School Gym Building
A picture containing grass, outdoor, sky, tree

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Mike Edwards – 2007

ATHLETICS

Little York High School for sure offered boy’s basketball. Football was offered for a time too. The boys also competed in track and baseball. We are always searching for more when it comes to the accomplishments of schools on the Glory Days site.  If you have any further information you can share regarding the Little York High School athletic porgram, or any other aspect of Little York High School, please contact us via the means listed at the bottom of this page.

BOYS BASKETBALL

The Little York boys had a nice run in the middle 1950s.  The boys of the 1955-56 team won a District and Regional title.  The 1956-57 team brought home a District title.  Information is being sought as to the overall records and coaches names of the more successful Little York teams.  We are hopeful someone will assist us. The two seasons shown on the IHSA web site are listed below.

Several basketball scores involving Little York High School participating in the IHSA State Tournament were located on a site titled “Illinois High School Basketball Scores.” These results are printed below.

1932-33                      Galesburg District Tourney               Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Rio 20 – 10

Galesburg beat Knoxville in title game

1933-34                      Galesburg District Tourney               Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Altona 38-13

Galesburg beat Knoxville in title game

1934-35                      Roseville District Tourney                 Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Monmouth (forfeit)

Roseville beat Stronghurst in title game

1935-36                      Blandinsville District Tourney           Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Blandinsville 29-10

Alexis beat Blandinsville in title game

1936-37                      Colchester District Tourney              Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Good Hope 32-17

Good Hope beat Stronghurst in title game

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                      New Boston District Tourney            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Gladstone 26-23

                                   Semi-Final lost to Seaton 32-27

New Boston beat Seaton in title game

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                      New Windsor District Tourney          Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Good Hope 32-17

1946-47                      New Boston District Tourney            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Keithsburg 54-33

                                   Semi-Final lost to Oquawka 54-28

Oquawka beat Alpha in title game

1947-48                      New Windsor District Tourney          Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Gladstone 35-32

New Boston beat Seaton in title game

1948-49                      New Boston District Tourney            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Keithsburg 58-35

New Boston beat New Windsor in title game

1949-50                      New Windsor District Tourney          Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to New Windsor 44-37

New Boston beat Viola in title game

1950-51                      New Boston District Tourney            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Viola 51-45

New Boston beat Viola in title game

1951-52  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1952-53                      New Boston District Tourney            Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Winola 53-42

Winola beat New Boston in title game

1953-54  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1954-55  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

Eagle Basketball Team of 1954-55
A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Submitted by Dave Armstrong

1955-56   27 – 2                IHSA District & Regional Champs          Coach Earl Foster

Little York District Tourney Scores

                                         Semi-Final Beat Alwood 80-70

                                         Title Game Beat New Boston 97-69

                                         Aledo Regional Tourney Scores

                                         1st Rd Beat Reynolds 78-46

                                         Semi-Final Beat Winola 63-60

                                         Title Game Beat Aledo 63-62

                                         East Moline Sectional Tourney

                                         Semi-Final lost to Galesburg 102-64

GALESBURG (102): Lind 28, Graning 20, Owens 18, Young 10, Odell 8, Williams 8, Junkins 6, Douglas 4.

LITTLE YORK (64): Ca. Goff 30, Cl. Goff 13, Stokes 8, Damewood 6, Gullinger 5, Boock 2.

Galesburg beat Moline in title game

Galesburg lost in Sweet 16 Rd to Rockford West in 2 O/Ts

Rockford West won State Championship

Little York HS Eagles 1955-56 District Champs
A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Dwight Boock

From Roger Icenogle regarding the team of 1955-56:

“The 1955-1956 Little York High School basketball team was one of the finest small town teams in my memory in western Illinois.  They were big, strong, experienced and very tough to beat.  In IHSA play, they were defeated eventually by Galesburg, I believe, in the sectional finals at Moline.  The starting players were:  Carl Goff, Clyde Goff, Ancil Guilinger, Dwight Boock, and Bill Damewood.

I am not certain of their records in ’56 & ’57, but they were very good.  Carl Goff went on to a great college career at Monmouth College.”

**From Dwight Boock regarding the District and Regional Champs of 1955-56:

“The 1955-56  Little York  Eagles were led by Carl Goff, a terrific shooting guard.  IHSA basketball was all one class back then and we had about 85 kids in the high school, but faced Galesburg in the sectionals. John Thiel was coaching Galesburg and they were a Western Illinois power .  The Silver Streaks were edged out in the super-sectionals by Rockford West,  in overtime, and they went on to  win back to back state titles.  I believe we had 64 points in our loss to Galesburg, but Carl had 30 of our 64 total, proving he could score against the best.  Carl averaged about 23 points per game  and would have easily been the scoring leader for all of West Central Illinois, but weather cancelled  two of our games , and he finished 23 points behind  Ken Anderson of Moline.  And of course there were no  three pointers back then, and an awful lot of Carl’s points came from what would have been  three point range.”

1956-57                    Joy District Champions                   Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-Final Beat Keithsburg 75-37

                                 Title Game Beat Joy 65-60

                                 Sherrard Regional Tourney

                                 1st Rd Beat Winola 64-57

                                 Semi-Final lost to Alwood 69-62

Alwood beat Aledo in title game

                                                   

1957-58                    Joy District Tourney                           Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-Final lost to Joy 71-51

Joy beat New Boston in title game

1958-59                    Joy District Tourney                           Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-Final lost to New Boston 67-66

Joy beat New Boston in title game

1959-60                    Joy District Runner-Up                    Coach’s name & record needed

Semi-Final Beat Keithsburg 78-25

                                 **Title Game lost to Joy 54-51

**Final basketball game for the Little York HS Eagles. Merged with Kirkwood HS in the summer of 1960 to form Yorkwood High School.

FOOTBALL

David Armstrong tells us the Little York High School football field was located across the street from the school building.  It continues to be used today as a baseball field. The football field was used until the consolidation took place withwith Kirkwood.

The research of Tom Sikorski brought us the following Little York football records.

1953  3-3                                                     Coach Earl Foster

1954                                                            Coach Earl Foster

Eagle Football Team of 1954
A group of men in football uniforms

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Submitted by Dave Armstrong

1955  3-2  2nd place (tie)  Valley Conference  Coach Earl Foster

  

1956  5-0  Valley Conference Champions     Coach Earl Foster

1959  4-2-1  Last team.

Last win in school history was 26-0 over Keithsburg.

BASEBALL

We know that Little York High competed in baseball.  If you have any information on these teams please drop us a line.

Little York Baseball Team of 1922
A group of people sitting together

Description automatically generated with low confidence
Submitted by Mike Edwards

TRACK & FIELD

The Little York Eagles competed in track and field.

The photo to below depicts the Eagle track team of 1926.  The photo was submitted by Mike Edwards.  It is a part of an article that was written on the team in the newpaper called the Monmouth Review Atlas.  The article was written by Ralph Eckley.  Names of the those who are in the photo are as follows:

left to right:  Eddie Johnson – coach, Curtis Anderson, Wendell Brown, Ralph Steepleton, Robert Young, Clifford Armstrong, Russell Darrah, Gerlad Smith and, Charles Greeley – a teacher.

.

Little York Eagle Track Team of 1926
A group of men posing for a photo

Description automatically generated with medium confidence
Submitted by Mike Edwards, as preserved by Ralph Eckley

LYHS ACTIVITIES

Little York had a great activities program as well, evident in an IHSA District championship in Debate in 1958 and 1959.

MEMORIES

From Dwight Boock (Class of 1957):

“I attended and graduated LYCHS in 1957 and was fortunate to be on the football team of 1956 , and we were conference  champions, However our record was not 5 & 5 but 6 & 0, and we were the only undefeated football team in school history. We played 8 man  football  and had previously played 6 man , but never 11 man  . I believe  our basketball team of 1955-56 had a 27 & 2 record and did indeed lose to Galesburg back in the days of one-class basketball.”

Newspaper Article

The following article was written ver batum from a newspaper article from 1983.  It was submitted by Mike Edwards.  The photo accompanying the photo is posted above. The article is by Ralph Eckley of the Monmouth Review-Atlas. Mike could not recall the date but guesses it was written in 1983. The picture was loaned from Ralph Steepleton of Little York for publication in the newspaper.

“Little York Schools Progressed”

“More than 40 years ago I wrote a series of stories about the villages in Mercer, Henderson and Warren counties, and a 1942 story told of the Little York High School.

Early in February, the story told, pupils of the Little York Community High School were to move into a new $75,000 building, located at the south edge of the village. The general contractor, Jorgenson and Son, expected to finish up the building about Feb. 1.

Opening of the high school marked a new high in the 105 years of educational history (up to then) in Little York.

The first school in Sumner township, in which the village of Little York is located, was opened in 1834 at Denny and was taught by Betty Hopper. Peter Terpening taught the first school at Little York in 1837.

For many years the Little York High School and grade school had occupied the same building (to the North), but with the opening of the new high school, the crowded condition was relieved.

The Little York High School was opened as a two-year school in 1904, and became a three-year school in 1905. Pupils had to go elsewhere for their fourth year and in “my day” as a high school student, from 1915 to 1919, many came to Monmouth to graduate.

The story said that the old grade school building, erected around the turn of the century, had an addition added 15 years before and five years before a gymnasium was added. it was to be used by both schools.

Then , some years ago, the high school was located on Ill. Rte 135, south of Little York, as part of the Yorkwood Community School District, serving Kirkwood and Little York. The elementary schools continued for some years in the two villages, but now they are in the new elementary building adjacent to the high school.

The former Little York High School, erected 41 years ago, was sold and has been converted to apartments. The building was sold by the school district to Tom Sims, local banker,  who converted the building into apartments.”

WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE

As with every page, we are seeking some in-put from a Little York resident, fan, or alumnus as to the history and great successes accomplished at Little York High School.  If you can provide us with information please complete a School Submission Form or Guest Commentary Form.  You may also write us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or via “real” mail at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago,  Il.   60631

Little York Baseball Diamond – Moon Field
A picture containing tree, outdoor, grass, sky

Description automatically generated
Thank You To Mike Edwards
Little York Student Body 1922
Text

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Mike Edwards
Little York High School – 1954 (Built in 1942)
A picture containing outdoor, white, apartment building

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Dave Armstrong
 



(Lisle) Saint Procopius Academy “Red Wings”

A picture containing text, outdoor

Description automatically generated

                           The History of Lisle St. Procopius Academy

Lisle (population: 21,282) is a western suburb of Chicago, located about 30 miles west of the big city along the DuPage River and was first settled in 1830 by Bailey Hobson. Two years later, James & Luther Hatch permanently settled in Lisle after the Black Hawk War as farmers, and started the trend towards having others joining them. The community is located in DuPage County and had ties to the dairy industry for many years. As unusual as it may seem, the residents of Lisle did not incorporate until 1956, over 125 years after the first settler came.

US Route 34 (also known as Ogden Avenue) is the major route thru Lisle, alolng with Illinois 53. Interstates 88 and 355 also bring commerce thru the area, bus service from Pace also available, and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy RR provide rail service along with Amtrak and Metra for those that work in Chicago. St. Joseph’s Creek also runs thru the community.

St. Procopius Academy began as an all-boys’ school in Chicago in the year 1887, located at the corner of 18th and Allport Streets as a day school in the Pilsen neighborhood (near West Side) and led by Abbot Jaeger Nepomucene of the Order of St. Benedict at the head of the Benedictine order. The school remained there until 1901 when the founding fathers moved it to Lisle to join another school that had been opened the previous year, St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage.

The school was located at the present-day facility of Benedictine University, where it was also affiliated with St. Procopius College. The main building was added onto in 1907 and again in 1922, while a second building was erected in 1915, followed by a gym/power plant in 1925, and physical sciences building in 1943.

St. Procopius was a resident of Bohemia in the Czech Republic that lived in the 10th and 11th Century, ordained to the priesthood around 1003 to the Eastern Rite (also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church). He became a hermit and devoted his life to teaching and serving by establishing a monastery in the Sazava Valley, which survived until 1785. St. Procopius died in 1053, and was canonized as a saint in 1204.

The school stayed at the same location until 1956 when St. Joseph’s was closed, and the high school moved to a new location in Lisle. The high school remained all-boys’ until 1967 when the all-girls’ Sacred Heart Academy came over and helped open up Benet Academy on the St. Procopius Academy campus.

FACTS ABOUT ST. PROCOPIUS ACADEMY

Year opened in Chicago:                                           1887

Year St. Joseph’s Bohemian Orphanage opened:    1900

Year school moved to Lisle:                                      1901

Last year as St. Procopius:                                       1967

School colors:                                                           Red & White

School nickname:                                                      “Red Wings”

School song:                                                             (words courtesy of Tom Lamonica)

Go, Proco, Go

Get you going all you loyal boys
From Proco.

Go Red & White
Every day and every night
We’re gonna fight …
Fight … fight … fight

Our team will shine …
On the court or on the field
We’re all together.

We pledge our loyalty
On the road to victory
For Proco
Go … go … go.

ATHLETICS

We are certain that St. Procopius offered football, basketball, and track to its all-male student body, according to what has been found on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org). Is it possible that other sports such as baseball, golf, tennis, or wrestling may have also been offered to the students? If you know if they were, please let us know so that we add that information to this page.

FOOTBALL

The Red Wings were successful on the gridiron, as it built the program in a steady manner. We are not certain if they played in a conference with other schools such as Aurora Marmion, Wheaton St. Francis, or Elmhurst Immaculate Conception, but St. Procopius was competitive, especially under coach Ron Baumgartner from 1951 to 1966. The best seasons in school history are below.

1949    3-3                                    Coach Milo Harshbarger

1950    3-3                                    Coach Milo Harshbarger

1951                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1952    3-3                                    Coach Ron Baumgartner

1953                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1954                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1955    4-1-1                                 Coach Ron Baumgartner
1956    5-2                                    Coach Ron Baumgartner

1957    7-0     (great record!)      Coach Ron Baumgartner
1958    5-2                                    Coach Ron Baumgartner

1959    3-3-2                                 Coach Ron Baumgartner

1960                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1961    4-3                                    Coach Ron Baumgartner

1962                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1963                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1964                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1965                                             Coach Ron Baumgartner

1966            (last season)            Coach Grant Beise

BASKETBALL

In the winter, St. Procopius started with a bang, winning four district titles in the first seven years that there was a team under coach Milo Harshberger’s tutelege, and continued from there. Years later as Benet Academy, the school would set a state record with 102 consecutive victories in St. Joseph Gymnasium, which was also the home court of St. Procopius.

Basketball scores from District Championship years were located on a website titled “Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores.”  To view more scores involving Lisle St. Procopius click on the following link:

https://sites.google.com/site/xtmi2000/

1949-50     9-10    Lisle District Champs               Coach Milo Harshbarger
Semi-Final Beat Lemont Fournier 42-37

                             Title Game Beat Lemont 48-47

                             Glenbard Regional Tournament

                             1st Rd lost to Maine Township 41-38

Downers Grove beat Hinsdale in title game

              

1950-51     5-  9    Lisle District Champs               Coach Milo Harshbarger
Semi-Final Beat Elmhurst IC 39-38

                             Title Game Beat Orland Park 40-39

                             Elmhurst Regional Tournament

                             1st Rd lost to Leyden 50-44

Oak Park beat Leyden in title game

                                   

1951-52                                                                    Coach Milo Harshbarger

1952-53                                                                    Coach Milo Harshbarger

1953-54                                                                    Coach Milo Harshbarger

                             

1954-55   13-  9    Lisle District Champs               Coach Milo Harshbarger
Semi-Final Score Needed

                             Title Game Beat Bensenville 51-49

                             Franklin Park Regional Tournament

                             1st Rd lost to Oak Park 102-38

Glenbard beat Oak Park in title game

                           

1955-56   16-  5    Lisle District Champs               Coach Milo Harshbarger
Semi-Final Beat Elmhurst IC 48-46

                             Title Game Beat Fenton 54-50

                             Elmhurst Regional Tournament

                             1st Rd lost to Glenbard 71-48

Oak Park Beat Glenbard in title game

1956-57                                                                    Coach Hank Berg

1957-58   17-  5                                                        Coach Tom Sullivan

1958-59   13-  9                                                        Coach Tom Sullivan

1959-60   15-  9                                                        Coach Tom Sullivan

1960-61   20-  4  (great mark!)                                 Coach Tom Sullivan

1961-62   16-  9                                                        Coach Tom Sullivan

1962-63                                                                    Coach Tom Sullivan

1963-64                                                                    Coach Tom Sullivan

1964-65                                                                    Coach Tom Sullivan

1965-66                                                                    Coach Tom Sullivan

1966-67             (last season)                                  Coach Dean Harshbarger

TRACK & FIELD

The Red Wings did have one individual go to the state meet as a St. Procopius student came home with a top-five finish for his efforts.

         Individual Medalist

1965  Jerry Gato             180-yd hurdles—4th place

MEMORIES

**From Tom Lamonica:

“Officially, I never attended St. Procopius–I was a member of the initial freshman class of Benet Academy in 1967. How and why I learned the fight song is a bit of cultural history of Catholic High School education in DuPage County. The county’s only catholic high school until the late 1950s was Immaculate Conception (now I.C. Catholic Prep) in Elmhurst. St. Francis in Wheaton opened in 1957. The number of Catholic choices doubled with the addition of Diocesan schools Driscoll Catholic in Addison and Montini Catholic in Lombard, both of which opened in 1966 with freshmen only.

With more competition, the schools began to pay attention to 8th graders from Catholic elementary schools, inviting them to attend events like football and basketball games. A Proco junior who lived in my neighborhood invited me and an 8th-grade classmate of mine (whose sister went to Sacred Heart Academy) to go to games with him. I was intrigued by St. Procopius because it was an all-boys school (my older brothers attended St. Francis). School spirit was important, and he advised me that freshmen would be stopped in the hallways and asked to sing the fight song, so, with his help, I listened and learned the words that year.

On the final day of classes in Spring, 1967, a joint announcement was made at St. Procopius Academy for boys and Sacred Heart Academy for girls that the schools would be combined as co-educational Benet (rhymes with Senate) Academy (ostensibly to be able to compete with the ‘new’ schools, which were co-ed). The girls would move across Yackley Avenue to the Proco facilities. When we arrived for football practice in August, sure enough, upperclassmen stopped frosh in hallways and the locker room and demanded we sing the fight song … of course, the ‘old’ fight song worked.

The first day of class in 1967, we were taught the NEW fight song, with new ‘Benet’ words–and ‘coeducational’ lyrics. The current upperclassmen were unmoved … if frosh were stopped in a restroom, lockerroom, hallway or bus, we were required to sing the ‘original’ lyrics. “Disappointing” the upperclassmen by not knowing or not singing the lyrics was not recommended … today, the ‘consequences’ would be called “hazing.”

I love your site … it’s living history. Thanks for doing it.”

**From Marie Kenny:

“I believe my grandmother, Emily Novak and her brother, Stanley Novak were in the training school around 1915.  They were in the orphanage, and my grandmother learned secretarial skills, and my great uncle learned shoemaking.  My grandmother was employed as a secretary and was able to save enough money to buy a house for her family (her father, and brothers).  Both my grandma and her brother were in the orphanage when my great grandmother was ill and hospitalized for a long time, and her father, an unemployed carriage maker could not care for the children.  My grandmother hated her time in the orphanage, but my great uncle Stanley liked it.  He was proud of the fact that he didn’t have to sleep in the baby room, where the kids still wet the bed.”

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD?

We certainly welcome any information you can provide about the history of St. Procopius Academy, such as words to the school fight song, names of noteworthy athletes and graduates, memories of the school, and photos as well. Please send your items to us by email to ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or USPS:

IHSGD Website

6439 North Neva

Chicago, IL  60631


Lisle Sacred Heart Academy

Lisle Sacred Heart Academy 1926
A picture containing outdoor, sky, white, black

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Richard Grantner (From 1928 SHA Yearbook)

The History of Lisle Sacred Heart Academy

Lisle (population: 21,282) is a western suburb of Chicago, located about 30 miles west of the big city along the DuPage River and was first settled in 1830 by Bailey Hobson. Two years later, James & Luther Hatch permanently settled in Lisle after the Black Hawk War as farmers, and started the trend towards having others joining them. The community is located in DuPage County and had ties to the dairy industry for many years. As unusual as it may seem, the residents of Lisle did not incorporate until 1956, over 125 years after the first settler came.

US Route 34 (also known as Ogden Avenue) is the major route thru Lisle, along with Illinois 53. Interstates 88 and 355 also bring commerce thru the area, bus service from Pace also available, and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy RR provides rail service along with Amtrak and Metra for those that work in Chicago. St. Joseph’s Creek also runs thru the community.

Sacred Heart Academy was formed in 1926 by the Benedictine Sisters, who had come to Lisle in 1912 to build the monastery that the school would be located in. The order first established itself in Chicago in 1885 with the help of Mother Mary Nepomucene Jaeger, whose brother Abbot Nepomucene was the founder of St. Procopius Academy in 1887.

Excerpts from “The Rose, a senior yearbook from 1928 were provided by Richard Grantner. Richard’s mother Mildred Rose Gorecky-Grantner (1910-1963) was in the first graduating class of 1928. Her two sisters, who were nuns at Sacred Heart, were Hilda Gorecky, aka Sr. Mary Meinrada, OSB (1904-2003) and Anna Gorecky, aka Sr. Mary Gonzaga, OSB; later (post-Vatican II) Sr. Mary Ann (1906-1970).Three classes were part of the initial enrollment, Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors. The first day of classes began on September 8th, 1926. The Rose can be viewed and read in its entirety at the following web address:  grantner.com/The_Rose_1928.pdf

The First Students of Sacred Heart Academy – 1926
A group of people posing for a photo

Description automatically generated
Submitted by Richard Grantner (Richard’s mother in back row, 3rd from right)

Over time, a number of students would follow the footsteps of the religious community at Sacred Heart and join them in the monastery. The main purpose of the order was to teach, which is what a majority of them did at the school.

Faced by rising costs like other Catholic schools in the mid-1960’s, the Benedictine Sisters and Brothers decided to merge Sacred Heart Academy & St. Procopius Academy on the latter’s campus in 1967 to reopen as Benet Academy, where it still lives on today. The Sacred Heart campus is still used today as the home of the Benedictine Sisters community.

**Memories and facts from Valerie Harvey:

“I attended Sacred Heart Academy in Lisle, IL.  I lived there in 1963 in the dorms on the third floor, and went to school there.  They had 2 sets of dorms.  One was for girls who wanted to attend a Catholic Boarding School .  The other dorms were for the girls aspiring to become nuns.  That’s the dorm I was in.  We attended Chapel every morning, ate in the dining hall on the first floor, had jobs such as dishes, pots and pans, sinks in the dorms.  We got to watch Bonanza every Sunday night (the only TV we were allowed to watch).  We had a Music room and I learned to play the Cello.  Many memories from this time period for me.

The grounds were beautiful with sunken gardens, grottos, orchards, and both vegetable and flower gardens. 

I was in Biology class when the announced the assassination of John F Kennedy.

I am under the belief that these mid-evil, castle looking, buildings were originally an orphanage, turned into a Convent, and now into a nursing home.”

FACTS ABOUT SACRED HEART ACADEMY

Year opened:               1926

Year closed:                 1967

Merged with:                 St. Procopius Academy to form Benet Academy

Buildings now home of: Sacred Heart Monastery

School colors:               Red & White

School song:                 unknown

ACTIVITIES

Although there is no record of any postal tournament finishes in IHSA activities in archery, swimming, bowling, or basketball, Sacred Heart Academy did offered activities for its students. The girls competed in intramural sports. Plays, dances, GAA (girls’ athletic association), music, and clubs were also likely available to the girls of the school. If you have further information, we would please send it to us for inclusion on this page.

Do you have any information about Sacred Heart Academy?

Please let us know if you do. Memories are great to share about the school as are photos of the school, school mascot/nickname, and colors. To contact us: submit the CONTACT US form or email us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net Or use USPS by sending it to:

Illinois High School Glory Days

6439 North Nava

Chicago, IL  60631

A large brick building

Description automatically generated with low confidence



Lisle Manual Training School for Boys & Girls

 The History of Lisle Manual Training School for Boys & Girls

Lisle (population: 21,282) is a western suburb of Chicago, located about 30 miles west of the big city along the DuPage River and was first settled in 1830 by Bailey Hobson. Two years later, James & Luther Hatch permanently settled in Lisle after the Black Hawk War as farmers, and started the trend towards having others joining them.

The community is located in DuPage County and had ties to the dairy industry for many years. As unusual as it may seem, the residents of Lisle did not incorporate until 1956, over 125 years after the first settler came.

US Route 34 (also known as Ogden Avenue) is the major route thru Lisle, alolng with Illinois 53. Interstates 88 and 355 also bring commerce thru the area, bus service from Pace also available, and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy RR provide rail service along with Amtrak and Metra for those that work in Chicago. St. Joseph’s Creek also runs thru the community.

From its humble beginnings as St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage in Lisle in 1898 under the tutelege of Benedictine brothers and sisters, the Lisle Manual Training School was opened in 1912 after an appeal by the Very Rev. Procopius Neuzil to Bohemian Catholics in the USA to raise funds to build the school. Both grade school and vocational courses were offered at the school, which was also near the site of St. Procopius College Academy and Sacred Heart Academy.

A two-year commercial high school course of study was started in September 1922 by Rev. Anselm J. Fleisig for those who wished to pursure a business career. Lisle Manual’s commercial school closed in June 1949 as the students were sent to either St. Procopius or Sacred Heart to finish their studies.

FACTS ABOUT LISLE MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS & GIRLS

Year opened as school:                              1912

Year commercial high school opened:          1922

Year closed:                                              1949

MEMORIES

(from Marie Kenny)

I believe my grandmother, Emily Novak and her brother, Stanley Novak were in the training school around 1915. They were in the orphanage, and my grandmother learned secretarial skills, and my great uncle learned shoemaking.

My grandmother was employed as a secretary and was able to save enough money to buy a house for her family (her father, and brothers). Both my grandma and her brother were in the orphanage when my great grandmother was ill and hospitalized for a long time, and her father, an unemployed carriage maker could not care for the children.

My grandmother hated her time in the orphanage, but my great uncle Stanley liked it. He was proud of the fact that he didn’t have to sleep in the baby room, where the kids still wet the bed.

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE….

that may have attended Lisle Manual Training School for Boys & Girls? We’re looking for more information about this school and the type of education they received while attending. Please send your information to us via email at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or by clicking here to complete the Guest Commentary form. If you don’t have a computer, then we’ll gladly accept your submissions at:

Illinois High School Glory Days

6439 North Neva

Chicago, IL  60631


Lisbon High School and Academy

Lisbon H.S. Building
A picture containing outdoor, sky, grass, building

Description automatically generated
Photo: Cody Cutter – September 2010
Lisbon Academy & High School Building 2019
A picture containing sky, outdoor, building, old

Description automatically generated
Lisbon Entrance Sign 2019
A picture containing text, outdoor, sign, sky

Description automatically generated

The History of Lisbon High School & Lisbon Academy

Lisbon (population 248) is located in far northeastern Illinois in the southwest corner of Kendall County.  Lisbon sits at the interesection of County Roads 5 and 19 just south of U.S. Route 52.  The town is about 6 miles north and a little west of Morris.

A nice history regarding the town of Lisbon was once available on a rootsweb internet page however this article is no longer available.

In summary the article stated the area where Lisbon was eventually established was first settled in 1836.  A school was established in town soon after. According to the book titled “Place Names of Illinois” by Edward Callary the town of Lisbon was named after a town of the same name in New York state by its founders Levi Hill and John Moore.

The residents of Lisbon wanted the best for their children in the realm of education. Schools were built and occupied from the first year the area was settled. A rootsweb website once outlined the creation of a school known as the Lisbon Academy, however this site is no longer on the internet.

In summary the article stated the Lisbon Academy building was constructed between the years of 1844 and 1849.  The school flourished until its closure in the late 1880s.  The article goes on to state that upon the closure of the Lisbon Academy, the school building would serve as the Lisbon Grade School and Lisbon High School.

Lisbon Academy & High School Building 2019
A picture containing outdoor, sky, grass, building

Description automatically generated

We are not certain how long Lisbon High School served the area.  Our only guess would be that it was a two or three-year high school which may have lasted into the middle to late 1940s.

The Lisbon Academy and High School building is still standing in town today. Over 170 years old and still in very good shape. Locals say it has housed several businesses over that years including an auto repair shop and a restaurant. The current owner is said to be attempting to make an apartment building out of the structure.

If you have any further information you can share with us regarding Lisbon High School, such as an older photo of the school building, please contact us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net .

Lisbon Academy Quick Facts

Year opened:                  between 1844 and 1849

Year closed:                   1889

Lisbon High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                  1890s?

Year closed:                    1940s?

Consolidated to:              Newark High School

Lisbon HS nickname:      unavailable

Team uniform colors:      unavailable

School fight song:           unavailable

Athletics & Extra Curricular Activities

The Lisbon High School boys may have competed in basketball.  We need someone to help us research and verify this information. School team colors, team records, and coach’s names are also items we would like to add to this page.

We know that the Lisbon High School experience did not rest soley in the gym or on the field.  Many other “extra-curricular” activities may have been offered as part of the educational plan too.  FFA, FHA, GAA, band, chorus, and many other events probably helped to make the Lisbon school a special one.

Special Gratitude

A big ‘Glory Days’ thank you goes out to our good friend and long-time contributor Roberta Van Briesen.  It was her research that brought us to creating this page. Thank you Roberta!

Do You Have Information to Share About Lisbon High or Lisbon Academy?

Several questions posted above remain unanswered.  If you have ANY information you wish to share regarding Lisbon High School or Lisbon Academy please contact us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net.  You can also write to us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva Ave.

Chicago, Il.   60631

Lisbon School Bus Garage 2019
A picture containing tree, outdoor, grass, house

Description automatically generated
Lisbon School Bus Garage 2019
A picture containing tree, outdoor, ground, house

Description automatically generated