1904 Announcement of Irby Good's graduation
from Marion high school [9] [10] [11]
1885 Irby J Good, son of Isaiah R Good and Anna A Rohrer, was born on March 16, 1885, in Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana. [1] [2] [3] [4]
1900 Irby Good graduated from grade 8 in the Syracuse public schools, Indiana. [Photocopy, 1900 Certificate of Irby Good's graduation from grade 8.] [5]
1900 Irby Good (age 15, born March, 1885 in Indiana) lived with his parents, Isaiah and Anna Good, in Turkey Creek, Kosciusko County, Indiana. [6] [7]
1903 Irby Good, student, lived at 1649 west 2nd Street in Marion, Grant County, Indiana. His parents, Isaiah R Good, carpenter, and Anna Good, lived at the same address. [8]
1904 Mr. Irby Good graduated from Marion High School.
Marion High School's first new building, opened in 1891.
It cost $65,000, and employed five teachers when it was opened
In September 1891, Marion High School moved into its first new school building, which was located between 3rd and 4th streets, just west of Whites Ave--later the site of Horace Mann School and currently of the Horace Mann Apartments (Weaver 5). This brick structure cost $65,000 and was outfitted with the most modern equipment available ("Marion’s"). When the school opened, it employed five teachers. Shortly afterward, two more teachers were hired, and by the fall of 1897, there were nine faculty members (Weaver 5). The school remained in this facility until 1902, when disaster struck. One Sunday evening, the beautiful school building was badly damaged by fire. The entire building was engulfed in flames, and all attempts by the Marion Fire Department to stop it were futile. The total loss was estimated at $80,000 ("Marion’s"). After an examination of the scene, it was discovered that many of the exterior walls were not badly damaged and could be reused. The school board quickly made plans to rebuild, while classes were held temporarily at the Odd Fellows building ("Will").
Marion High School rebuilt after 1902Curriculum
Students were given choices between Latin and German and between physical geography and manual arts. By 1912, graduation requirements had become even more rigorous. In order to graduate, a student needed thirty-two credits, each credit signifying the completion of eighteen weeks in a particular subject (Whitson 327).
To enhance the curriculum, Marion High School provided the best available equipment to its students. When they studied astronomy with the assistance of a telescope rather than with books alone, students learned more and produced more (Weaver 6). In 1897, a laboratory was installed for executing science experiments and for allowing students an opportunity at "hands on" learning.
Activities
In 1897, MHS students participated in S.A.C.A., S.O.D., Phi Epsilon Iota, and Pi Upsilon Nu, to name a few. S.A.C.A. was a group that promoted social and athletic sporting events and fostered football and bicycling. S.O.D. was a group of young men who studied Shakespearean literature and encouraged literary debates throughout the school. Phi Epsilon Iota and Pi Upsilon Nu were Marion High's two Greek letter fraternities.
Faculty
When the new high school building was opened in 1891, distinct departments took shape. Russell Bedgood was the principal and also taught Latin. The rest of the faculty consisted of Alva Graves, a math teacher; Minnie Tresslar, English; Herriott C. Palmer, History; and Frances Anderson, Science teacher (Weaver 5). By 1906, there were thirteen teachers in the school, with three in English, three in Latin and German, two each in Math and Science, and one each in History, Philosophy, and Art (Cactus 55).
Part of this article is based on a paper created in May, 1999 by Matthew T. Voss, a Senior at Marion High School. It was created for the Community History Project. The research was done in the Indiana History Room of the Marion, Indiana Public Library. All pictures are from the Indiana History Room. Edited by Robert Wolfe on 5/4/2020 based on a Wayback copy of an expired website.
A family photo was taken of Irby Good with his parents, Isaiah and Anna Rohrer Good, and his siblings.
1904-05 Irby J Good was a student at Otterbein College, Ohio before he transferred to Indiana Central College. [12] [13]
1906 J.T. Roberts, president of Indiana Central College, wrote a letter to I.J. Good about coming to college [Photocopy, Letter from JT Roberts to IJ Good regarding college.]:
Mr JC Shrizley of White Cloud, Indiana will be in school and will take care of the furnace. he will be your room mate the year. We expect him in about one week. We are xxxing to have a good time the 1st. Dr Funtshouser of Dayton will deliver address. Quartette will sing also have orchestra. Come on Monday before spring if you can. We want the building to shine. Bring 4 or 5 students.
A description of Indiana Central College reported [14]:
… the teachers and their families, and all the students lived in classrooms that first year … A soft coal furnace provided heat. One of the students that year, a boy about 18-years-old, acted as fireman and janitor. His name was Irby Good, later president. He understood small boys and was my friend and very patient as I followed him around. Rev. Roberts also recalled, The big events of the early years were the annual Sunday School picnic, the annual Chautauqua week, the annual revival meeting week, the Musical extravaganza of the church choir and the annual ice cream festival at which we all had a 5-cent dish of ice cream.
This historic photo was taken on the front steps of what is now known as Good Hall less than one year after the building was completed. It is of particular historic significance because Irby J. Good is pictured in the photo (2nd row, 2nd from right). In this photo he was a college sophomore. He graduated in 1908, then returned in 1915 before he was 30 to become President of the University, an office he held for a record 29 years! So here we have the first known photo of students and faculty that coincidentally contains a picture of Dr. Good, as a student, standing on the steps of a brand new University building that now bears his name!.
1906 Mr. Irby Good, of Marion, spoke at an annual assembly of Young People of the White River United Brethren. [15]
Irby J Good had several jobs, including janitor and fireman, while attending college.
In the early years of the University, Sunday student outings to nearby Garfield Park were a regular feature of weekends at Indiana Central. This 1907 outing was captured for posterity and interestingly includes student Irby J. Good '08 (far left), who would return to the University in 1915 to become President of the institution. He is the only one of U of I's seven Presidents who graduated from this University.
1907 Irby Good lived at 1306 West Third in Marion, Grant County, Indiana. [16]
1908 Irby Good, teacher, lived at 1306 west 3rd Street in Marion, Grant County, Indiana. [17]
1908 Irby J Good graduated from Indiana Central with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. "At Indiana Central, this tradition of service began with J. T. and Alva Button Roberts, and would continue as graduates like Irby J. Good '08 and Roy Turley '20 and their successors took their places as leaders of the college, in the United Brethren Church, and in the wider world." [18]
1910 Irby J Good, professor at Indiana Central University, lived at University Heights, Indianapolis, Indiana. [19]
[1] Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[2] U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[3] U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].
[4] United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, [FamilySearchImage], [FamilySearchRecord].
[5] Family Document, Files of Ida Mae Good.
[6] United States Federal Census, 1900, [FamilySearchImage], [FamilySearchRecord].
[7] United States Federal Census, 1900, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[8] R.L. Polk & Co, Marion (Indiana) City-Directory (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1903), 194, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[9] Family Document, Files of Ida Mae Good.
[10] Marion High School History, available on Wayback machine: wikimarion.org/Marion_High_School.
[11] Wikipedia article about Marion_High_School_(Indiana), content subject to change, [Wikipedia].
[12] Russell E. Vance, Jr., Fifty Years of Christian Education, (1955), 11, [University_Indianapolis].
[13] U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2013, 1905 Freshman Class listing, bottom left, [AncestryRecord].
[14] Rebecca Blair, M G Cartwright, and A J Fuller, Profiles in Service (University of Indianapolis: 2006), 16, [University_Indianapolis].
[15] Kokomo Daily Tribune June 16, 1906, page 3, column 1, [NewspaperArchive].
[16] R.L. Polk & Co, Marion (Indiana) City-Directory (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1907), 160, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[17] R.L. Polk & Co, Marion (Indiana) City-Directory (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1908), 184, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[18] Rebecca Blair, M G Cartwright, and A J Fuller, Profiles in Service (University of Indianapolis: 2006), 17, [University_Indianapolis].
[19] R.L. Polk & Co, Marion (Indiana) City-Directory (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1910), 588, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
