"Cities, Towns & Countryside"
5th Annual Preservation Week 2003 Photo-Essay Competition
Third Place: Jessica Brown
10th Grade, Fern Creek High School
Louisville, Kentucky
TITLE: Fern Creek High School
In the center of a small community known as Fern Creek, lies what some call the community's flagship - Fern Creek Traditional High School, a three story institute of learning. John Sizemore, a former principal commented on its effect on the community, "It bears the community's name. How people here perceive the school is how they perceive the community." Learning the history is important for predicting the future. I uncovered Fern Creek's interesting past in an attempt to comprehend its value and importance. It's far greater than one could ever imagine. In a period when schools were few and far between, the citizens of Fern Creek fought to get a high school built in their area. It is the rich history of Fern Creek that makes it so unique. "For its creation, even its ownership, lies within the community, not the Jefferson County Public School System." Rob Patterson wrote in his article in the March 2002 edition of the Fern Creek News Leader. "No other community can claim as close a relationship as Fern Creek can to its school." The school is now approaching 80 years but it was the hard work and determination of the residents years before that made a high school in Fern Creek a reality. A group known as the "Fern Creek Improvement League" was formed in 1911 to try to establish a high school. Another group, "The Mothers' League" consisted of mainly women but had the same goal. For several years, the groups tried to get the school built but with an unenthusiastic response, the Jefferson County school board claimed that Fern Creek was too rural.
Residents of Fern Creek wanted to have a "fully recognized high school through grade 12." It took a while but the school system finally agreed to secure 25 students to send to a new high school in Fern Creek. Only there were still a few obstacles in the way. The school system did not want to assume the responsibility of acquiring the property to build the school on. "The willing workers," a group of generous men, in 1921 raised $2,000.00 to fund the building. Also, S. A. Stivers donated the corner lot of three acres that the school still sets on to this very day.
Once money and land were no longer hurdles the willing workers went to work on building a four room brick structure with a basement. By 1923, the first school outside the city of Louisville was ready for its 25 pupils. In its day and time, an elementary and high school that taught both male and females under the same rood was considered almost radical but mostly progressive. The success has built on itself as time has passed.
The school board recognized Fern Creek's four year program in 1925 and its first graduating class of 7 students in 1926. Those students had come to Fern Creek as sophomores. As the number of students wanting to attend Fern Creek increased the more problems popped up. "The school had to figure out a way to get students to and from school where no public transportation existed." The school solved the problem with a Model-T Ford Pickup that a resident donated. It had wooden benches in the loading bay and covered it with tarpaulin. It was considered the "first school bus" in the Jefferson County school system. Men volunteered as drivers and the PTA raised money for the gas and maintenance of the vehicle. For the first time the students had free transportation to and from school. The earlier students would arrive on mules or horse drawn wagons. A two to three mile walk for some students was the average.
One of the most popular fund raising techniques was for four PTA members to stretch out a large blanket at four corners and walk past the crowd at a ball game and the people would throw money into the blanket as they passed. They used it to pay for things that the residents felt were necessary. This PTA succeeded in bringing running water to the school and even the entire community. "They cooked meals, coached teams, assisted teachers, maintained the school building, and property along with fundraising to pay for all of it" says Patterson.
In 1940, the school board made a decision to rebuild the school. By 1941, a yellow brick building with the FCHS glass prism facing the toad had arisen. After undergoing many rebuilding phases and additions its toughest test of strength came in 1975 when the school board desegregated the schools. To prevent any problems in the bus terminals where many students were transferring busses they put up a 7-foot chain link fence. "There was a feeling of alienation between the community and the school." Said Evelyn Vaughn, a 1958 graduate of the school.
The people in the community no longer had any input into what happened with the school. The decisions were being made by the school board. That deep commitment found itself again in 1981. After enrollment began to fall the school board considered closing the school. "This was an insult to the residents of a community who had the vision to create the first high school in the county school system and had sacrificed for dozens of years to make it work," says Patterson. The school board owed $3 million dollars in renovations and improvements. Instead of losing huge sums of money the board came to the decision to keep the school open.
The fence that separated the school from the community was torn down. What makes Fern Creek so significant is its history, the tradition of a community, a school, and the lives of thousands. Preserving this historical landmark is so important for keeping the community together as a whole. According to Patterson's article the community birther, raised, nurtured and supported the school. Its success directly resembles the success of the community and success of the future.
This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC. |
