Last week I focused on the Cardington High School Class of 1936 whose members began first grade while meeting in the Old Mission on Second Street because the new building being constructed in place of the old Union School on Nichols Street was not complete.
All classes that Fall were held for several months in downtown business places.
Teaching grade school at that time was Carrie Philbrook, a CHS Alumnus who had graduated in 1909 from the Union School. She began teaching in 1910 after passing a teachers’ examination. She later attended summer school at Wooster, Miami, Ohio Northern and Ashland Coileges until she received her full degree.
Her first year of teaching was in the Long School which was the same school in which her grandmother, Peace Nichols, did her last two years of teaching.
When she retired in May, 1956 she was second grade teacher in Cardington and it was believed she was the oldest teacher in years of teaching experience in Morrow County.
During those years of teaching she taught as many as three generations of numerous families. In the feature of Carrie in the newspaper when she retired, she gave an example of that generation of teaching. One of her first pupils in the Long rural school was Mrs. Alma Campbell Long, the grand- mother of Karen Dutt, one of Carrie’s most recent pupils at that time.
Carrie’s career included 42 years at Cardington, two years at No 7, Long’s Corners, one year at Phillips school and one year as third-fourth -fifth teacher at Fulton. During an interview for the school newspaper, Searchlight, in 1947, Miss Philbrook sais that since she came back to Cardington, her alma mater, a few changes had taken place. She said the main building was erected, the annex built onto it and the industrial arts and agriculture building had been added. Remodeled, she said were the cafeteria and home economics rooms.
During her first year of teaching she taught eight grades which included 35 pupils. In 1946 she had 37 pupils in one section of the third grade.
Carrie Philbrook passed away in 1983. I know her many students each benefited from being in her classroom.
February, 1942, 80 years ago: The car belonging to Elizabeth Conaway of Cardington, was stolen while in Mount Gilead. It was found the next day in Indiana
February, 1952, 70 years ago: Myron Sage, World War II veteran, was appointed to the Morrow County Selective Service Board
February, 1972, 50 years ago: Jim Ullom of Cardington, was named treasurer of the newly formed Morrow County Firefighters and Squadmen Association. Dick Young, Mount Gilead, was named its president.
