The Milford Township High School (grades 7-12) at Darrtown closed at the end of the 1938-1939 school year.
The rest of THIS PAGE
Click the following links for information about the Somerville School and the Somerville School Centennial
Collinsville Elementary School
Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio
LEFT:
Grade 3 - Collinsville School 1934.
(This photo was contributed by Donald Falk, July 2012)
The teacher was Roberta Russell, who later married Howard Laughlin.
RIGHT:
Grade 4 - Collinsville School 1935
(This photo was contributed by Donald Falk, July 2012)
The teacher was Roberta Russell, who later married Howard Laughlin.
LEFT:
Grade 5 and 6 - Collinsville School 1936
(This photo was contributed by Donald Falk, July 2012)
The teacher was Estel Davis, according to a note written on the back of this photo.
RIGHT:
Grade 1 - Collinsville School 1945-46
Front row: Unknown, Charlie Menke, unknown, Harold Saunders, Billy Allen, Charlie Lang, and Mack Parker
Back row: Unknown, unknown, Sue Finley, Gail Shaw, unknown, and Jerry Welborn (?)
(This photo was contributed by Harlan Miller - 09.26.09)
LEFT:
Grades 1 and 2 - Collinsville School 1945-46
(This photo was contributed by Harlan Miller - 09.26.09)
See names below photo.
ABOVE:
FRONT ROW: Billy Allen, Harlan Miller, ____ Allen (?), Billy Burdge, unknown, Sue Finley, Roberta Napier, Frances Beiser, and Gail Shaw
MIDDLE ROW: The first four girls standing in front of the teacher are unknown. The boy in the bib overalls is Mack Parker, then Jerry Welborn (?), Billy Slayback (?), Garnett Lang, Charles Menke, and Charles Lang.
BACK ROW: Mrs. Marie Schmidt (teacher - grades 1 and 2), Darlene Sams (?), Sonja Todd, Billy Fields (?), Jimmy Inman, Frankie Daniels, Freddie Lindley, and ____ (?) - unfortunately, the image was cut off at this point.
RIGHT:
Collinsville School Second Grade 1947-48
(This image was contributed by Fay (Dees) O'Brien in March 2009.)
The names of the students (see list below) were confirmed by Fay (Dees) O'Brien, Jewel (Yauger) Hayes, and Betty (Lindley) Daniels.
We believe this photo was taken in front of the large shade tree that stood in the fence line behind Collinsville School.
BACK ROW: Jewel Yauger, Fay Dees, Betty Jean Lindley, Helen Parker, Betty Jane Ross, and Clarence "Sonny" Steele.
MIDDLE ROW: Martha Jane Todd , Unidentified, Beverly Bradbury, Imogene Schultz, and Janet Baumann.
FRONT ROW: Earl Crane, unidentified, unidentified, Jack Hansel, unidentified, and (perhaps) Billy Brooks (?).
ABOVE: Mrs. Rudicil's Fourth Grade Students (Circa 1948-1949)
FRONT ROW: (L-R): Rosemary Krauth, Garnett Lang, Phyliss Brandenburg, Wilma Parker, Ralph Yauger, and Harlan Miller.
SECOND ROW: Billy Rudicil, Barbara Bowling, Sonja Todd, Nancy Hood (?), Frances Beiser, and Roberta Napier.
BACK ROW (L-R): Jimmy Inman, Freddie Lindley, Kenny Russell, Billy Fields, and Jerry Neal.
ABOVE: Mrs. Fay Rudicil
3rd & 4th grade teacher
circa - late 1940's
In the late 1940's, it was common practice, for schools with small enrollments, to house two grade levels in the same classroom. Consequently, Mrs. Rudicil taught both the third and fourth grade students at Collinsville School.
Webmaster Note: The two photos immediately above were taken at the same location. Mrs. Rudicil is seen standing in front of the coal chute at the south side of the Collinsville school building and the five boys in the back row, at the right, are standing on the door of the coal chute. (These two images (above) were found among the scrapbooks and photos preserved by Mrs. Albert Lindley.
The year was 1949 and Mrs. Lockhart, the "traveling" music teacher at both Collinsville and Somerville schools conceived the idea of combining the upper grades of the two schools for a choral concert that would be performed at a Hamilton venue and broadcast over WMOH, the local AM radio station. And, as "they" like to say...the rest is history.
Thanks to the deductive efforts of Fay (Dees) O'Brien, Jewel (Yauger) Hayes and Betty (Lindley) Daniels, we have detemined the following:
(a) This group includes students from both Collinsville and Somerville schools.
(b) We recall that the event involved singing "live" over the air waves of radio station WMOH (Hamilton, Ohio).
(c) Thanks to combining some vague recollecions and the "Z" logo above the stage, along with some Internet sleuthing, we believe that this event occurred in the Zion Lutheran Church, 212 South Front Street, in Hamilton, Ohio.
ABOVE:
Fay (Dees) O'Brien contributed this photograph of the performing group.
To clarify the identification of the participants, the "choral" photograph above is presented below, in the following manner:
> 1st. The image appears in its entirety (above).
> 2nd. The image is then presented in two halves (this allows us to increase the size of image).
> 3rd. Each half of the image is accompanied with (A
) a smaller version of the half that includes numerals and (B) a list of names that identifies persons in the photo.
IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY ANY OF THE PERSONS IN THIS PHOTO, PLEASE CONTACT THE WEBMASTER.
1 = Roberta Napier ?
2 = Judy Morrow?
3 = Betty Wooten?
4 = Garnett Lang?
5 = Beverly Bradbury
6 = Charlotte Mann?
7 = Carol Klink?
8 = Donna Wates?
9 = Marlene Schutte?
10 = Imogene Schultz
11 = Janet Baumann
12 = Betty Jean Lindley
1 = Walter Wooten?
2 = Barbara Bowling
3 = Robert Young
4 = Jerry Neal?
5 = Sonja Todd
6 = Margaret "Peggy" Steele
7 = Phyllis Brandenburg
8 = Freddie Lindley
9 = Harlan Miller
10 = Joe Quick?
11 = Clarence "Sonny" Steele
12 = Billy Burdge
13 = Charlie Lang
14 = Joe Mann
15 = Mack Parker
16 = Douglas Russell
17 - Geraldine Huber
18 = Jewell Yauger
19 = Betty Jane Ross
20 = Fay Dees
21 = Helen Parker
22 = Jack Hansel
23 = Dale Yauger
24 = Ralph Yauger
25 = Ronnie Wiley
26 = Mrs. Margaret Lockwood
Milford Twp. Girls Ensemble rates Superior
at 1952 Music Festival
By Miss Maria Davis ~ Special to Journal News
"Milford Township School Girls Ensemble earned Superior or Number One rating at District 12 Music audition at Miami University, Saturday, March 15. This competitive festival is under the auspices of the Ohio Music Education Association.
The Milford Girls Triple Trio is from the fifth and sixth grade class of Mrs. Harry Teckman. Members of the ensemble are first sopranos, Mary Ann Lang, Helen Parker, and Patricia Prescott; second soprano, Carol Sue Gerber, Charlotte Mann, and Mary Lou Napier; altos, Janet Baumann, Betty Jane Ross, and Donna Wright.
Under the direction of Mrs. Fred T. Baumgartner, music teacher at Milford and accompanied at the piano by Miss Marilyn Gaunce, the girls sang three songs: "Scherzo" by Salieri; "Alleluia," Old German, and the "Brooklet" by Schubert.
Mrs. Elmer Mann, Mrs. Paul Gerber, and Mrs. Robert Napier were drivers of the cars to Oxford. Miss Dora Lyon of the Music faculty at Miami University was among the adjudicators for the Girls Ensemble event. District Number 12 includes Clermont, Hamilton, and Butler Counties."
The news article that appears at the left was contributed by Fay (Dees) O'Brien. It appeared in the Hamilton Journal News, Wednesday, March 19, 1952.
1934
1935
1936
1945
1945
1947
1948
1949
1952
1954
Talawanda School District formed
...Consolidation leads to the creation of the Talawanda School District
In the months leading up to the spring of 1954, the Ohio Department of Education created the Talawanda School District.
Effective with the 1954-55 school year, Milford Township students who were seniors at Seven Mile High School were permitted to finish their high school careers at Seven Mile. While some exceptions were made during the transition period, at the start of the 1954-55 school year, the majority of the Milford Township students enrolled in grades seven through 11, were transferred to the newly formed Talawanda School District.
Thus, in the fall of the 1954-55 school year, most of the Milford Township students (shown in the 1952-53 Seven Mile Freshman photo above) became juniors at Stewart High School and were members of the last class to graduate from Oxford Stewart High School in 1956.
During this transition period, construction began on the original Talawanda High School, which was located on Spring Street in Oxford. THS opened in the fall of 1956.
Collinsville School - as part of the Talawanda School District
ABOVE:
TOP ROW: Marlene Baecker, David Napier, Dale Gerber, Principal Marie Schmidt, 5th Grade Teacher Mabel Bradbury, Jack Tharp, Tommy Zigler, and Wayne Perry.
SECOND ROW FROM TOP: Jimmy Bowman, Mike Cato, Jimmy Witt, Dane Menke, Dennis Holmes, and Charlene Spicer.
THIRD ROW FROM TOP: Connie Turner, Ludley Durrough, Ralph Bowman, Carrie Allen, Shirley Tomlinson, and Lynette Lintner.
BOTTOM ROW: Timmy Brunner, Linda Risch, Naomi Jo Witherby, and David Hoelle
BELOW: Collinsville School Fifth Grade (1959-60)
1960
From Collinsville ... to (and through) college
Classmates for 13 years
The threesome shown at the right graduated from Miami University in June 1960.
Fred Lindley, Roberta Napier, and Ralph Yauger (standing left to right) were together for three years at Collinsville, four years at Seven Mile, two years at Oxford Stewart, and four years at Miami University.
1959
Recollections from Fred Lindley:
In the spring of 1960, during the second semester of my senior year at Miami University, I had the good fortune and genuine pleasure of completing my student teaching requirement in the fifth grade classroom taught by Mrs. Mabel Bradbury at Collinsville School. Mrs. Bradbury and principal Mrs. Marie Schmidt, along with the fifth grade students appear in the image shown immediately above.
More good fortune befell me, at the end of that 1959-1960 school year, when the esteemed Mrs. Virginia Teckman retired from her position as the sixth-grade teacher at Collinsville and I was hired to replace her. As a result, my first classroom of students consisted of those who appear in the photo above, plus two new students: Emmit Colwell and Madeline Glover.
In November, 2013, Naomi (Witherby) Fea gave me the two photos at the right, which she took when she was one of my sixth grade students in 1960-61.
1960
COLLINSVILLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND STAFF
The following images are arranged in the order that they were received or discovered.
1969
1969 Collinsville School Sixth Grade
The following image was taken from a FaceBook posting by Kim Ogle in August 2013.
Ann Foust sent an email note, on July 3, 2014, in which she identified all but ten of the students. Linn Weiss sent an email note, on October 12, 2014, in which he identified the remaining ten students.
From front to back, left to right:
FRONT ROW: Charlie Wright, Greg Logsdon, Cliff Hall, Clarence Howard (?), and Stuart Shepard.
SECOND ROW: Rick Clayton, David Russell, Linn Weiss, Nancy White, Morris Huffman, Anna Gillespie, and Donna Whitlock.
THIRD ROW: Mrs. Freda Circle, school secretary; Rhonda Gross, Jackie Long, Rob Madden, Donna Bicknell, Belinda Ward, Lisa Thome, James Haenie, and Wally Humpfleet.
BACK ROW: Maryann Pate, Violet Carpenter, Beverly Sandlin, Karen McComb, Chloe Mitchell, Iris Hall, and Kim Ogle, and Mr. Murray Peters, teacher.
Mrs. Marie Schmidt's Final First Grade Class - Circa 1970
1970
In early August 2009, Naomi (Witherby) Fea contributed the following image and caption that appeared in the Oxford Press newspaper.
"Shown above are members of the Collinsville School first grade class, the last class to be taught by Mrs. Marie Schmidt, who is retiring after having served the Milford Township District for the past 46 years. Shown with Mrs. Schmidt, left foreground, are, left to right:
FIRST ROW: Holly Madden, Danita Howard, David Smith, Jeff Shannon, Scott Erbeck, John Flaig, Tracy Hamblin, Sharon Pate, Billy Wright, Scott Blakley, and Debbie Coyner.
SECOND ROW: John Wolverton, Gus Weber, Jerry Couch, Freddie Rahmes, Ronald Reece, Patti Bunger, Kristina Coombs, Cindy Hurley, Mark Newton, Dion Nelson, Brett Long, and Terry Allen.
A reception honoring Mrs. Schmidt will be held at the Collinsville Building Sunday afternoon from 1-4 p.m."
1971 Collinsville School Sixth Grade
1971
The following image was taken from a FaceBook posting by Debi Thomas in September, 2018.
Debi Thomas and several others identified the following classmates.
FRONT ROW: Scott Shepherd, Paul Smith, Steve Jackson, Dick Wells, Tom Toth, and Tim Harding.
SECOND ROW: Bev Clayton, Diana Wells, Debi Thomas, Sharon Haehnle, JoAnn Presley, Linda Hoskins, Sheila Bailey, and Patty McDade.
THIRD ROW: Rick Bicknell, Tom Saunders, Tom Thompson, Francis Brown, Debi Hamblin, Barry Beckmeier, Chuck Branscum, and Mitch Kuhlman.
BACK ROW: Duane Clark, Wayne Carr, Jimmy Newton, Anita Bolser, Dennis Whitlock, Scott Clark, Diane Gronas, Dave Broxterman, and teacher, Mr. Murray Peters.
Collinsville and Somerville elementary schools continued to serve Milford Township students (kindergarten through grade six) from 1939 into the 1970's. During that time, upon the completion of their sixth grade school year, Milford Township students chose whether to attend the seventh grade at Oxford McGuffey, Oxford Stewart, or Seven Mile, Ohio. School buses transported the Milford Township students to the schools of their choice.
If you have info to share about the school history of Milford Township, please use the link in the footer to contact the Darrtown.com Webmaster.
provides information about THE COLLINSVILLE Elementary School
OTHER SCHOOL-RELATED PAGES...
1971 Collinsville School Fourth Grade
1971
The following image was found on Facebook. The teacher, standing at the left in the back row, is Mrs. Mabel Bradbury. If you can identify others, please use the link in the footer to inform the webmaster.
Click the following link for information about the Seven Mile School.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK to access a video about the Somerville Community.
√
Together Again...
Six decades after the photo of the 1947-48 Collinsville School second grade class (shown above) was taken, four of the girls seen in that photo returned to the Collinsville School.
RIGHT: (Left to right) Janet (Baumann) Jewell, Fay (Dees) O'Brien, Jewel (Yauger) Hayes, and Betty Jean (Lindley) Daniels, attended the Darrtown Gathering on September 26, 2009 at Darrtown's Hitching Post. The four life-long friends then traveled to Collinsville to tour their old elementary school building and reminisce about their school days together.
ABOVE: The boy standing at the left of the last row resembles Ray Bufler - who was born in November of 1927, which would place him in this age group.
1944
RIGHT:
Grade 1 - Collinsville School 1944-45
Front row: Bob Young, Junior Collins, Paul Jewell, Frank Ross (?), and Billy Slayback (?).
Back row: Ron Wiley, unknown, Patty McWhorter, unknown, Jackie Matthews, unknown, Linda Klink, unknown, and unknown.
Webmaster note: The years posted with the following class photos were derived from the information shared by those persons who donated the images. However, we do not know if a photo was taken in the fall, or the spring, of a school year. Hence some uncertainty exists; for example, the class seen in the 1934 image below, might have been the 1933-34 class or the 1934-35 class. So it is for the other class photos in this section.
Note the object in the background - upper right, beyond the bushes. Don't miss the "Johnnies" page.
circa LATE 1940S
The following image was discovered in July 2021.
LEFT: Collinsville School Staff
(cooks and custodian)
L-R:
Alma Cunningham,
Ann Grollmus,
Treva Cunningham, and
Homer Cunningham
Alma and Homer were wife and husband and the parents of Treva.
CLICK THE LINK AT THE RIGHT to see a report of the Butler County percentage of student attendance for the 1931-32 school year - with the school districts grouped into TWO CLASSIFICATIONS.
Collinsville, Somerville, and Darrtown took three of the top four spots!