GREENFIELD – Take a walk down memory lane to the days of the Tigers and the Panthers in a new exhibit on local high schools of the past.
“School Spirit” is the latest featured exhibit at the Hancock County Historical Society, showcasing lettermen jackets, sports trophies, banners and even “senior cords” — pants that high school seniors decorated with elaborate designs.
“If underclassmen were caught wearing senior cords, they were de-panted,” Michael Kester said, chuckling at memories of yesteryear.
Kester is the president and curator for the society. He pours over history books and carefully handles artifacts with gloves as he changes the featured exhibit in the museum every couple of years.
This exhibit holds special sentimental value: Kester was in the senior class that combined Hancock Central High School with Greenfield High School to create a new school corporation in 1969.
“The Panthers and the Tigers ended up being the Cougars,” he said. “My last year of high school was the new school. School songs, school colors, school mascots, the yearbook had to be renamed.”
The transition was certainly historic as representatives from each high school formed committees to create an entirely new community, he said. But it didn’t just happen in Greenfield: years ago, each township had its own high school, and residents didn’t have much reason to leave their small communities, Kester recalled.
“School Spirit” pays homage to Hancock Central, Greenfield, Fortville, McCordsville, Maxwell, Wilkinson, Charlottesville, Eden, Westland and Mt. Comfort high schools. While some of the artifacts were in the museum’s archives, others arrived shortly after the Covid pandemic as many people began cleaning out their closets and decided it was time to part ways.
“The intake process was emotional for people,” Kester said. “A guy that brought in his senior letter sweater, he was emotional when he parted with it. These are things that are precious and sentimental to people. He said, ‘I’ve had this in a box and looked at it all these years; I’m done. I want other people to see it.’”
A hand-sewn 1976 cheerleading uniform is on display, as well as a handmade felt megaphone. A traveling tennis trophy in the form of a coffee pot is there. The display case itself is even an artifact—a blast from the past from the former Pickett Hardware Company.
The oldest piece in the collection is a New Palestine High School sweater, from 1936 once owned by Adolph Schramm.
Kester himself donated his pendant from the final year of Greenfield High School’s existence. He carefully removed it from his bank lock box to be displayed in the museum’s display case, commemorating “GHS 1879-1969.”
When Kester realized he didn’t have much from Hancock Central High School, he reached out to his classmate Jane Walker. Walker posted a plea on a Facebook page for HCHS members, and sure enough a black and red letter jacket was donated.
Walker, now a Fortville resident, said she is impressed with how the display turned out.
“The younger people these days don’t realize the smaller schools all combined to what we have now, and so I think it’s just a history and a feeling of, where did the schools come from? This exhibit can help show that,” Walker said. “I had not been to the historical society in a long time and there’s just so much he’s got on display that it really took me back—old business signs and just artifacts from the whole county. It’s just really a nice gathering of items.”
Open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., the historical society offers tours of historic artifacts in the lower level of the Chapel in the Park and the Old Log Jail. Both historic buildings are in Riley Park. Admission is $4 for adults and $1.50 for children.
Chances are you’ll get a tour by teen Katie Deuser, who graduated this spring from Mt. Vernon High School. The Fortville resident is the primary docent for the museum.
“I think it’s really fascinating because I can have a personal connection with a lot of the artifacts—many of these things still exist now, just a little different and modernized – like a letterman’s jacket,” Deuser said.
The flag from Fortville High School reminds Deuser of her days at Fortville Elementary School, and it’s interesting to think about how each small community used to have its own identity.
While Deuser plans to study nursing at Ball State University this fall, she wants to take history classes on the side to pursue her passion. She is hopeful other people step up to become docents—something she calls a perfect part-time job — and pass on Hancock County’s history through tours of the buildings.
The reaction to the School Spirit exhibit so far has been positive, she added.
“A lot of people from around here will recognize, ‘Oh that was the high school I went to,’ or, ‘That was the high school my grandparents went to,’” she said. “That is important because it can give people a personal connection.”
The School Spirit display will be featured for at least a year, Kester said, and may change over time as he has more artifacts on hand so he might switch out items. A 1969 Hancock Central High School band uniform recently came in, for example, and is in great shape including every piece.
This is at least the fourth featured exhibit at the museum in recent years. Other exhibits have highlighted local hotels and motels; lace textiles; and a box of mementos from a local girl who died of diphtheria. As the historical society struggles with space, Kester enjoys highlighting select items every couple of years and digging deeper into the history of a certain subject.
The Hancock County Historical Society is celebrating 60 years this fall and will have a celebration Sept. 22 with cake. The event will be open to the community at Lizabuth Ann’s Kitchen.
For more information, visit hancockhistory.org or facebook.com/hancockcountyhistoricalsociety.
