Photos courtesy of Gayle Holton and Bill Gafflin
The 1919 Building was completed and classes entered in the fall of 1919 with four classrooms and two grades on the first floor and the high school occupied the second floor, along with a library and science laboratories. The center of the building housed an auditorium and accompanying dress rooms.
If the 1919 Building were a person, just think of the stories it could tell. Graduating class upon graduating class molded into productive citizens within its walls, the transformation of Dublin from rural to urban, and the metamorphosis of the school system into what it has become today. With the 1919 Building turning 100 this year, former students share their fondest memories of what was once the learning hub of Dublin.
Bill Grafflin – Class of 1956
Bill Grafflin’s first interaction with the 1919 Building was in the fourth grade. Grafflin’s 1956 graduating class, was the first class to attend a full year and graduate from the “new” high school next door to the 1919 building. After graduation, Grafflin attended and graduated from The Ohio State University in 1961 with a Bachelors degree in education, and earned a Masters degree in educational administration from Wittenberg University in 1965. After 52 years in education, Grafflin retired and now lives in Springfield.
Grafflin’s early years in the 1919 Building are some of his fondest. His class began each day by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, followed immediately by a recital of the Lord’s Prayer.
Grafflin will always remember being taught the three R’s – reading, riting and rithmetic – to the tune of a hickory stick. It wasn’t all fun and games though, as that same hickory stick could be utilized for punishment if Grafflin and his classmates misbehaved.
One of Grafflin’s fondest memories: his junior year in high school when the varsity baseball team was the Class B state runner-up in 1955, a historic achievement for the school system at the time.
“If we acted out in class, we were sent to the superintendent’s office to be paddled,” Grafflin says. “We called the hickory stick ‘the board of education.’ It was actually an oak board with eighteen holes in it.”
Back then, if a student was paddled at school, similar punishment was expected upon arrival at home.
Grafflin recalls the teachers as devoted, and probably only made around $3,000 annually.
“We had respect for them and addressed them by Mr., Mrs., or Miss,” Grafflin says. “When our school day ended, we returned our chairs to their proper place and cleaned up any paper scraps on the floor.”
The 1919 Building has performed various roles over the past 100 years and the building has played an integral role in the district’s growth.
To help the students learn cursive writing, four or five sentences were written on a blackboard, at which time the students were instructed to write the sentences over and over again, ultimately improving their writing ability.
It was a simple time when students carried their books to school, but not in a backpack – there were none – so a couple of books lugged under each arm was normal. For Grafflin, the expectation when returning home each day was that all chores and studies were completed before supper.
“That was my first year at Dublin, and the first year for another student – Janet McGregor,” Grafflin says. “My first date was with Janet while we were in the eighth grade. As a member of Boy Scout Troup 185, we were allowed to ask someone to go with us to Skater’s Haven near Delaware.”
Grafflin and McGregor were married in 1960 and will celebrate their 59th anniversary this August.
Another lasting memory of Grafflin’s is his first-period American government class as a senior in high school. The teacher, Mr. Wendell K. Love, who also served as the superintendent, began each class with words of wisdom, warning students not to be short-sighted.
“During the second semester, he would begin every class with, ‘Students, don’t do anything to keep you from graduating. Now, our lesson for today is …’” Grafflin says. “He just didn’t want anyone to mess up their school career by doing something foolish the last few months and weeks.”
Intangibles cherished by Grafflin during his time at the 1919 Building include the friendships that he developed within his graduating class.
“While several of our class members have passed away, there are others with whom we are in contact on a very frequent basis, thanks to email, cell phones, and ‘Golden Grads’ luncheons,” Grafflin says.
Dick Termeer – Class of 1951
Dick Termeer, along with his wife and fellow classmate Marilyn, attended all 12 grades at the 1919 Building. There were 27 students in his 1951 graduating class – the largest graduating class up to that point. Today, there are a total of 12-grade schools within the school system.
Termeer’s fondest memory? Dublin’s first football game in September of 1947.
“I was a freshman and my brother Jerry, a senior, scored Dublin’s first touchdown,” says Termeer. “On the last play of the game, I handed the ball off to my brother.”
Termeer is also part of history, as the 1951 varsity baseball team won Dublin City Schools’ first district championship in any sport.
“I am very impressed with the leadership the school system has had over the past (and present) years.” - Dick Termeer
The 1919 Building’s utilization has evolved over its 100 years. From a graduating class of 27 in 1951, the Dublin City School district now encompasses over 14,000 students, which is a reflection of just how much the city of Dublin has grown over the course of one hundred years.
While Grafflin has not been a resident of the Dublin area in the last sixty years, he has tried to keep up with what is happening with the Dublin City School district.
“I am very impressed with the leadership the school system has had over the past (and present) years,” says Grafflin. “They have done an excellent job of keeping buildings and staff growing as the student population has grown.”
Nathan Collins is a managing editor. Feedback welcome at ncollins@cityscenemediagroup.com.
