History
Our History
Etna Township is located in the southwestern corner of Licking County and wholly in what was known as the “Refugee Lands.” This territory was not settled until 1815. About that date John Williams settled on what has since been known as the Matthews farm.
Etna Township History
Etna Township is located in the southwestern corner of Licking County and wholly in what was known as the “Refugee Lands.” This territory was not settled until 1815. About that date John Williams settled on what has since been known as the Matthews farm.
The town of Carthage, since called Etna, was laid out by Lyman Terrell in 1832. The National Road was in process of construction and it was laid out upon its proposed line between 1833 and 1834. Etna was like many other towns laid out upon this great thoroughfare having great expectations. Settlers followed the line of the National Road rapidly and soon filled up the town. Lyman Terrell first named the Village Carthage but when he was told that it was the highest point between Jacksontown and Columbus he renamed it Etna after the famous volcano in Sicily.
As originally laid out, Etna was nine and a half miles long from east to west and two and a half miles wide; but sometime after 1850 one-half mile was taken off the east end and added to Harrison Township.
Etna Township, being the last township organized in the county, held the first election at the house of John Henthron on June 22nd, 1833. R. O. Baldwin, John Nelson, and Benjamin Grable were elected the first Trustees; John Henthorn, clerk; N.R. Usher, Treasurer; William Smith and George Wells, Constables; Richard Lamson, George Wells, William Moore, and Hiram Sinsabaugh, Supervisors; Thomas M. Donahue and Isaac Essex, Overseers of the Poor; and Henry Spangler, Jonathan Grable, and Dennis Smoke Fence Viewers. These were all prominent and influential men in the township during their lives.
The Egolf Store included a post office. Etna has had a post office since 1830. A daily “pony express” line passed over the National Road in 1836 and 1837 at a speed of 10 miles per hour. That was twice the speed of regular mail on the stage coach. There were stops at Luray and Etna. The Egolf grocery housed the Etna Post Office until the store was closed around 1930. This business was on the east side of the building in which the post office is now.
The towns along National Road were more liable to contagious diseases than those away from the line of the road. In 1834 this little town was visited by Cholera which made sad havoc nearly or quite depopulating the town and in 1845 with small-pox. The prevalence of these and other diseases eventually led to the formation of the Board of Health in 1893.
There was a “Stream” of people on the National Road until 1852 when the coming of the railroad stopped the growth of Etna and all other towns along the National Road. A tollgate, present Tollgate Road, between Etna and Wagram was discontinued in 1895.
Mr. and Mrs. Homer Gierhart operated the Gierhart Hotel in the first part of the 1900’s. The hotel had five rooms. This is the building that is just north of the Etna School on Route 310. There was a porch and steps which have been removed.
The Interurban Railroad was built along the National Road from Columbus. It continued via Newark to Zanesville with a line to Buckeye Lake. The train, designed for commuter-type transportation, was in operation from 1902 to January 1929. It was powered by electricity, usually had just one car which had a place for freight and ran three to four times a day. It was a quick way to get to downtown Columbus.
Carl Cohagen of Etna, on right in first picture,was a motorman on the interurban train from1912 until the train was discontinued. The motorman drove the “car.”
When the automobile was invented the National Road was repaired and paved. The road was blacktopped in Etna Township in 1917. The automobile travel prompted new businesses in the township.
White’s Garage
Melvin White’s garage was built during 1932 at the corner of Pike Street and Liberty Street. Mr. White operated his garage, which included a body shop, Sohio Service Station and AAA service until 1961. The historic garage is still standing.
Important Historical Facts of Etna and Etna Township
1751 - Christopher Gist First white man, except for Indian captives, to pass through the area that is now Etna Township.
1815 – John Williams First settler in Etna Township. Settled on the land later known as the Mathew’s Farm and was south of the present Etna.
1816 – Isaac Essex Along with several other families settled soon after 1816. The Essex Farm was west of present Etna.
1831 - Lyman Terrill Purchased 157 acres from Isaiah Brown. He platted seventy-nine (79) lots and set land aside for public use equal to eight (8) lots and called the town Carthage. This area was still part of Lima Township.
1832 – Abraham Gantz Purchased the first lot for $3.00.
1833 - Lyman Terrill Platted an additional fifty-three lots to the east side of Carthage.
1833 – Etna Township was formed from Lima Township; held the first election of officials June 22nd.
1849 – First large frame barn Built by Henry Warner on the land north of present Etna.
1850 – Fanny Ward First woman buried in the Etna Cemetery.
1858 – Morris Schaff Left his boyhood home and family farm east of Etna to enter West Point.
1905 – Morris Schaff Published book Etna and Kirkersville about his memories of the area.
High Point Park - Project Coordinator Joseph Schaff designed what is now High Point Park. With the help of the Etna Planning Council, Trustees, and many volunteers the park was completed in 1995.
High Point Park
High Point Park is located on State Route 310 one block south of National Road (U.S. 40).
Project Coordinator Joseph Schaff designed what is now High Point Park. With the help of the Etna Planning Council, Trustees, and many volunteers the park was completed in 1995.
The Etna Township Trustees on September 24th, 1991 allocated funds to be used for High Point Park (Etna Commons). As Project Coordinator, Joseph Schaff applied for and was awarded grant money through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to help fund the major portion of the park. Joseph Schaff and his wife, Virginia Schaff, and his brother Samuel Schaff and his wife, Ruth Schaff, donated funds for the gazebo structure in the park.
Veterans are honored in High Point Park with the dedication of a large stone and plaque. The Fallen veterans honored are Neal Duncan, Army WW II; Raymond Parkinson, Navy WW II; and Loren Wollever, Marines Korea. The memorial is a bronze plaque embedded in a huge beautiful granite boulder given by Richard and Margaret Harvey. The plaque was donated by the Etna High School Alumni Association.
It has been said that originally this plot of ground was to be a courthouse site to bring the county seat to Etna. Morris Schaff describes Etna Commons in the 1840’s. “There was another field up the hill to the west where the Etna Mexican War Militia Company drilled and town cows grazed. The public square was near-by, a lot set off in the heart of the town by the founder, with a vain hope that a new county might be formed, and Etna be the county seat. Down through this lot ran a little ditch which was a favorite spot for all small boys, with breeches rolled up as high as possible, to wade in at recess after a rain.”
In the 1900’s it was called “Base Ball Park.” Ball was played at the commons almost every night during warm weather from about 1900 to 1930. Softball was played at the Commons and baseball on Sunday afternoon at the school’s diamond.
A concrete pad in the park’s southwest corner was there by the 1920s where they had band concerts and local people performed music. In the mid-1930’s outdoor movies were shown. The movies were still being shown as late as 1946. In 1952 the Lion’s Club hosted square dances on the concrete pad.
They began having the Etna Fair on the Commons about 1950. It was approximately a four-day event in mid-summer. The fairs were spectacular events complete with rides, booths, exhibits, and annual parades. Eventually the fair was moved to the Lion’s Club Park south of town.
In the 1970’s Southwest Licking Youth Football practiced in the park.
On June 13, 1976 the Etna Bicentennial pageant and picnic were held at the Commons.
In the 1980’s members of the community encouraged Sunday afternoon community picnics and community yard sales at the Commons.
General Morris Schaff
General Morris Schaff
Resolution: 11-07-05-01
Whereas, Morris Schaff served the United States Army from June 17, 1862 till December 31, 1871; and Whereas, Mr. Schaff achieved the ranks of 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, and Captain during the Civil War, and was considered a champion broadswordsman; and Whereas, he was appointed Brigadier General of the Massachusetts Militia in 1880 and served three years; and Whereas, General Morris Schaff was fearless, fair-minded, incorruptibly honest and served his country with compassion, and unselfish dedication; and Whereas, Morris Scaff received many honors, the presidency of the Alumni Association of West Point, the degree of LL.D. from Williams College, and of Litt. D. from Otterbein University; Therefore be it Resolved, that the Etna Township Trustees commend General Morris Schaff for his service to the United States Army, his thoughtfulness, unselfish commitment and dedicated service that allows us the freedoms that we have and enjoy today; and Be it further Resolved, that the Etna Township Trustees extend our deepest appreciation and sincerest admiration to the Schaff family and pay tribute to General Morris Schaff.
Additional Reading
“Morris Schaff: Author/Soldier/Historian/Public Servant”
Appeared in the The Historical Times, a newsletter article by Dr. Samuel D. Schaff, Registrar of Denison University, Granville Historical Society, Fall 1990.
“Morris Schaff - A Memoir", by Bliss Perry
Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society
"Morris Schaff"
Wikipedia Page
Morris Schaff authored and published five books listed below in the early 1900’s – several of which are still in print to this day, more than a century later after the original publishing date:
"Etna and Kirkersville"
1905, The Riverside Press, Houghton, Mifflin and Company
"The Spirit of Old West Point"
1907, Houghton, Mifflin and Company
"The Battle of the Wilderness"
1910, The Riverside Press, Houghton, Mifflin and Company
"The Sunset of the Confederacy"
1912, John W. Luce and Company
"Jefferson Davis His Life and Personality"
1922, John W. Luce and Company.
Cemeteries of Etna Township The township trustees have the authority to sell plots, set fees for services, maintain the cemetery and to provide for expansion. There are three Cemeteries in Etna Township:
Cemeteries of Etna Township
The township trustees have the authority to sell plots, set fees for services, maintain the cemetery and to provide for expansion. One required aspect of cemetery care is the enclosure of cemeteries by a substantial fence or hedge. This enclosure must be kept in good repair. There are three Cemeteries in Etna Township:
Etna Cemetery
The Etna Cemetery is located on Pike Street west of State Route 310 and south of National Road 40 and it appears that this cemetery is as old as the township. There are several burials there with death dates appearing to be in the early 1830s. Further, in 1834 a cholera epidemic devastated Etna and about 30 people died in 10 days. Tradition says that those who died from this epidemic “were placed in a long, trench-like grave and all buried at one time,” rather individual graves. No one is certain of the location of this large grave, if it does exist. To the east of the earliest graves, about three rows further back, is a strip with no gravestones. It looks like it is long enough to hold possibly 25 bodies. In comparison to other cemeteries, Etna Cemetery is not very large and there are over 400 graves in the cemetery. There have been about 14 new burials in the 1980s and ‘90s.
Parkinson-Babcock Cemetery
The Parkinson-Babcock Cemetery is also called the Pike Cemetery. It is a historic cemetery and the oldest site dates back to 1813. There is one know Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia buried there, and one veteran from the War of 1812, and numerous Civil War veterans. In 1951 when National Road 40 was widened to four-lane traffic, this cemetery had to be moved a little to the north to make room for the larger road. Also, this cemetery was a part of a long-term renovation project benefiting Etna Township graveyards that started in 1986.
St. Jacobs Cemetery
The St. Jacobs Cemetery is located on Palmer Road, east of Watkins Road and west of York Road. This cemetery was established around 1834 and belonged to the St. Jacob’s German Reformed Church. All this southeastern part of Etna Township was called Germany from about 1936 and before. There isn’t much information as to when and how the township trustees became as the caretakers to this cemetery.
School History
Until 1895 only a grade school education was available in Etna Township in the six district schools. Then a two-year high school was added to the grade school in the village of Etna. In 1912 it was made a three-year high school and in 1917 it was made a four-year. Students from all over Etna Township, who wished to go onto high school, could thus come into Etna.
Etna Township Schools
The first school was a log cabin built about 1830 located in the southwest portion of Etna in what was known as the Snider Settlement. It was set back off of Palmer Road, west of Hazelton-Etna Road. A school continued in this area until the consolidation in 1916.
A log structure housed a school located near the southwest corner of National Road and Hazelton-Etna Road. Land was later purchased on the northeast corner and a brick school house was erected around 1875. In 1904 the school burnt down and was rebuilt. This school discontinued service in 1925.
Along National Road at the west end of the township a log school house was replaced with two brick buildings. Between 1887 and 1907 the school serviced the education needs of about 782 pupils aged six to twenty-one. The district was named Scofield School, after the owner of the adjoining farm. In earlier times a school called Oakdale was located at the junction of Refugee Road and Summit Road.
The Schaff School, later called the Pike or Parkinson School, was in the northeastern corner of the township on National Road about two miles east of Etna. This school closed in 1914 and the last teacher was Mrs. Edna Mauger.
In Etna Village there were two small school buildings that were replaced with a two story school around 1876. This remained an elementary school until 1895, when upper grades began to be added. The building is now a residence.
In 1916 a new building was erected on State Route 310 to house grades 1-12.
This building is still standing on the corner of State Route 310 and South Street.
In 1953 Etna, Kirkersville, and Pataskala all consolidated and formed the Southwest Licking School District. Watkins Memorial High School opened for grades 9-12 in 1955 with 350 students. Watkins Middle School opened in 1975 with 700 students in grades 6-8. Watkins Memorial High School and middle school were named in honor of Charles Devaull Watkins (1864 to 1942). Although Dr. Watkins resided in Etna he was the doctor for the surrounding communities for over fifty years. It is believed that he delivered more than 5,000 babies during his career. He was also the first Republican Representative elected from Licking County to the State Legislature.
* Facts were obtained from information provide by the West Licking Historical Society Publications: “Preservation 2000” and “People Make the Difference” “Histories of Etna Township and Villages of Etna and Wagram” by Astrid Pickering
Etna High School (1917-1955)
A $30,000 bond issue was passed to construct the 1916 school building and then another bond issue was passed to furnish it. The walls are 16 inches thick. Students starting in the new building were thrilled with the push button lights, drinking fountains (one of the students’ chores in the country schools as carrying in drinking water), and central heating instead of coal heating stoves.
Etna High School
(1917-1955)
Until 1895 only a grade school education was available in Etna Township in the six district schools. Then a two-year high school was added to the grade school in the village of Etna. In 1912 it was made a three-year high school and in 1917 it was made a four-year. Students from all over Etna Township, who wished to go onto high school, could thus come into Etna. After the school was moved to the “new” building in 1916, the former school building became the Grange Hall.
$30,000 bond issue was passed to construct the 1916 school building and then another bond issue was passed to furnish it. The walls are 16 inches thick. Students starting in the new building were thrilled with the push button lights, drinking fountains (one of the students’ chores in the country schools as carrying in drinking water), and central heating instead of coal heating stoves. The bell on top of the schools was manufactured in 1880 in West Troy, New York. It is no longer used to remind people of school hours.
The six district country schools were gradually consolidated into Etna. Since Etna Township is shaped like a long narrow rectangle, it is logical that the school children living at the extreme western and eastern ends of the township were included in other school districts, while those living closer-by in Liberty Township, Fairfield County (some of whom came in 1920), were included in the Etna District. The children from outside of town started coming to Etna School in 1916.
At first everybody who lived less than two miles from school had to walk or provide their own transportation. In the 1920’s horses were used to pull the school buses. In the 1940’s it took three school buses to bring the students to school; Nelson Palmer picked up those on the west side, Warren Weaver picked up the south side, and Forest Kuhn picked up the east side.
In the 1930’s the Depression had its effect on Etna, teachers were not paid for several months at a time but continued with their jobs. The high school gymnasium was built and opened in 1937. The cafeteria was added around 1940 and was first located under the bleachers and then in a basement room of the school.
In 1935 the school won the District Championship in baseball but was defeated in the state finals. In 1936 they won the State High School baseball Championship for Class B schools. This was an even more outstanding accomplishment than it sounds because there were only two categories of schools in Ohio at that time (Class A and B), and Etna certainly had to have been one of the smallest with only 33 boys in the entire high school. The team was Grant Snider – catcher, Dale Helmick – 1st string pitcher, Oliver Weaver – 1st base, Glen Weaver – 2nd base, Neal Duncan – shortstop, Virgil Emswiler – 3rd base, outfielders – Nelson Weaver, Neal Camp, Charles Hagy, Don Merriott, John Kuhn, and Edson Snider. Etna won the county football championships in 1940, ’43, and ’46. Etna High won 22 trophies in baseball, speedball, basketball, and 6-man football. The trophies are still on display in the trophy case of the new Etna Elementary School.
To sum up the years of Etna High School, Classes of 1917 through 1955, the school served two generations. In autumn of 1955 with the consolidation of Etna, Pataskala, and Kirkersville into the Southwest Licking Local School District, Etna High School students began attending Watkins Memorial High School with the first graduating class in 1956. In the following years, a consolidated junior high and then Watkins Middle School were established.
* From “People Make the Difference” by the Southwest Licking Bicentennial Committee. Document compiled by Astrid Pickering for the Etna Alumni Association, April 2004.
Etna High School Graduation Composites
Etna High School
Class Composites 1917-1919
Left to right:
Top row – Virgil Parkinson, Mabel Rickenbacker, Supt. E.F. Baum, Fac. Bertha McCrary, Ralph Campbell.
Middle row – Goldie Born, Lucinda Palmer.
Bottom row – Russell Miller, Lottie Stalter, Marie Snider, Audrey Snider, Charles Watkins.
Left to right:
Top row – Asst. Princ. Mabel Rickenbacker, Supt. James L. Hupp; Principal Bertha McCrary.
Middle row – Lydia M. Stalter, Olive M. Parker.
Bottom row – Walter P. Durant, Pres. J. William Hogue, Elbert R. Todd.
Left to right:
Top row – Hewitt R. Parkinson, Delmer L. Carpenter.
Middle Row – Supt. Fred L. Schisler, Princ. Bertha Mae McCrary, Asst. Prin. Howard Shaub.
Bottom row – Elma M. VanDorn, Hazel Eswine, Anita Boyles, Freda M. Kirts.
Etna High School
Class Composites 1920 - 1929
Left to right:
Top/1st row – Supt. Earl F. Baum, Music Teacher Geo. J. C. Smith,
2nd row – Prin. Bertha Mae McCrary, Chester J. Miller, Asst. Prin. Bess Hagmeier, Fac. Gertrude Boesel, Lester J. Miller, V. Pres. Wilma Snider.
3rd row – Everett Heimberger, Sec. Zoa Emswiler, Laurence J. Pickering, Iris Heimberger, Roy E. Parkinson.
4th Row – Catherine Steman, Dolores Holt, Louise Mason, Myrtle Weaver.
Left to right:
Top row – Aleta DeHaven, Prin. Bertha McCrary, Supt. J.W. Powelson, Gertrude Lawrence.
Middle row – G. Marie Myers, Sec. Hannah D. Gierhart, Pres. Elmer W. Poff, Eva B. Schwenk, E. Marcia Watkins.
Bottom row – Myron H. Powelson, Chas.E. Clifton, Gladys R. Shower, Arthur A. Todd.
Left to right:
Top row - Fac. J.W. Powelson, Fac. Rachel High, Fac. Ethel Sager, Harold Weaver.
Bottom row – Ruth Lilly, Noble Allen, Lawrence Wolf, Pauline Stalter.
Left to right:
Top row – Blanche Brown, Fac. Virgil Mauger, Fac. Mary Miller, Fac. Graydon Shower.
Middle row: Neville Babbert, Robert Collins, Fac. Margarite Cumberland, Ralph Helmick, Russell Innis
Bottom row: Harold Donaldson, Oakel McCreary, Inah Shimp, Helen Collins.
Left to right:
Top row – Viola Boyer, Margaret Clifton.
2nd Row – Mary Emswiler, Fac. Vera VanAtta, Fac. Virgil E. Mauger, Fac. Mary Miller, Ralph Fisher.
3rd Row – Irwin Gierhart, Harold Hagy, Ena Kirts, Beulah Lilly, Elizabeth McFadden, Chancey McCreary.
4th Row – Kenneth Parkinson, Edna Rockey, Frank Schwenk, Everett Shimp, Ronald Springer.
Bottom Row – Lee Snider, Dwight Weaver.
Left to right:
Top Row – Pres. Lena Hawbecker, Prin. Mary Miller, Supt. Virgil Mauger, Fac. Vera VanAtta, Sec. Lillian Gierhart.
2nd Row – Dorothy Conine, Wm. Davidson.
3rd Row – Joseph Edgerly, Ione Keys, Glenna Lilly, Elizabeth Mason, Lena Maxton.
Bottom Row – Louise Pickering, Eldon Parkinson, Helen Weaver, Warren Weaver.
Left to right:
Top row: Supt. Virgil Mauger, Pres. Sara lines.
2nd row – Prin. Ralph Royer, Fac. Vera VanAtta, Treas. Dorothy Hagy, Sec. John Parkinson.
3rd row – Verla Keys, Marshall Kirkendall, Ray McCreary, Dorothy Palmer, Dorothy Parker, Mae Reed.
Botton row: Helen Stout, Grace Snider, Mary Schuler, Loyd Snelling, Charles Snider, Freda Whightsel, Mabel Wolf.
Left to right:
Top row - Pres. Lois Myers, Sec. Alice Collins, Ralph Royer, Virgil E. Mauger, Vera VanAtta, Treas. Ralph Lilly, Audrey Foltz.
Middle row - Anna Ford, Ira Heimberger, Emerson Helmick, Thelma Helmick.
Bottom row - Charles Holt, Lexter Maxton, Helen Palmer, Mildred Shimp, Hazel Sims, Fern Weaver.
Left to right:
Top row - Pres. Wayne Stout, Fac. J. Melick, Supt. Virgil Mauger, Fac. Vera VanAtta, V. Pres. Beecher Gummers.
Middle Row - Treas. Ivan Magley, Sec. George Harter.
Bottom Row – Hazel Ford, Charles Good, Claude Liming, Barnette Weaver.
Left to right:
Pres. Mildred Perrin, Prin. Paul Dillon, Supt. Virgil Mauger, Fac. Sara Haines, V. Pres. Bernice Weaver.
2nd row – Sec. Paul A. Weaver, Ernest Emswiler, Etta May Elliott, Treas. Harold Smoke.
Bottom Row – Dorothy Hill, Olin Hizey, Pauline Holt, Ester Kinser, Howard Parkinson, Argyle Smoke, Grace Shimp.
Etna High School
Class Composites 1930 - 1939
Left to right:
Top row: Pres. Anna Schuler, Sec. Ralph Pickering, Fac. Alfred Kraus, Supt. R.W. Lee, Prin. Mrs. Vera Bohrer, Treas. Derwin Zellers, Vice Pres. Elizabeth Bartlett.
2nd row – Robert Elliott, Chester Ford, Ruth Heimberger, Herman Johnson.
3rd row – Ester Kuhn, Lee link, Nora True Lines, Nelson Palmer, Leah Robb. Bottom row – Dolly Schuler, Gertrude Smyers, Marvin Woolever, Marvine Woolever.
Left to right:
Top row – Prin. Mrs. Vera Bohrer, Fac Margaret S. Riggs, Supt. James C. Sanford, Fac. M.Z. Pond, Fac. Mrs. James C. Sanford,.
2nd row – Pres. Samuel Schaff, V. Pres. Ruth Geraldine Snider.
Bottom Row – Treas. Howard Magley, Sec. Goldie Herriott, Alice Marie Detwiler, Althea Tam.
Left to right:
Top row - Fac. Mrs. Vera Bohrer, Prin. Mr. MZ Pond, Supt. Mr. James C. Sanford, Fac. Mrs. James C. Sanford.
2nd row – Pres. Charles Shimp, V. Pres. Audrey L. Woolever.
3rd row – Walter Bartlett, Treas. Dorothy Weaver, Sec. Ralph Herriott, Vera Cochenour.
4th row – Gladys Harter, Carl McCreary, June Perrin, Fred Parkinson, Richard Rockey.
Bottom row – Faye Weaver, Kathryn Woolever, Mabel Whightsel.
Left to right:
Top row – Pres. Harry Sands, Prin. MZ Pond, Supt. James C. Sanford, Fac. Mabel White, V. Pres. Lois Hill.
2nd row – Sec. Esther Smoke, Treas. John Detwiler.
3rd row – Faye Black, Loren Durant, Irma Emswiler, Esther Ford.
Bottom row – Willard Raines, Delmar Smyers, Hurschell Springer, Lyman Warner.
Left to right:
Top row – Prin. MZ Pond, Supt. James C. Sanford, Fac. Miriam Harrison.
2nd row – V. Pres. Dorothy C. Broerman, Pres. Esther Conine, Sec. Helen Kuhns.
3rd row – Treas. Ralph L. Palmer, Donald Anderson, Mary F. Harsh, Dorothy Vandayburg.
Bottom Row – Kenneth H. Helmich, Lou Ella Stemen, Arline Tam.
Left to right:
Top row – Prin. J.J. Long, Supt. M.Z. Pond , Fac. Jane Coons.
2nd row – Ralph Emswiler, Roy L. Ford.
3rd row – Sec. Mabel Link, Pres. Robt. Schaff, V. Pres. Glen Poff, Treas. Walter Herriott.
4th Row – Lorene A. Harsh, Arthur Hoovler, Samuel Lilley, Elmous G. Smoke. Bottom Row – Dale Snider, Elmer H. Snider, Wilson Weaver.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac. Dorothy Mallory, Supt. M.Z. Pond, Fac. Edgar A. Cochrun, Fac. Jane Coons.
2nd row – Pres. Mary Cockburn, V. Pres. Enid Magley, Sec. Selma Gierhart, Treas. Charles M. Hagy, Grant Snider.
3rd row – James Shimp, Lucille Smoke, Oliver R. Weaver, Glenn Weaver, Hazel Bush, Neal Ducan.
Bottom row – Eileen Perrin, Dale Helmick, Mary Woolever, Edson Snider, Pauline Tam.
Left to right:
Top row – Supt. M.Z. Pond, Prin. Edgar A. Cochrun.
2nd row – Pres. Virgil L. Emswiler, V. Pres. Elizabeth E. Edgerly, Fac. Dorothy Wagner, Fac. Jane Coons.
3rd row – Sec. Ernest L. Reardon, Treas. Edgar Smoke, Hazel H. Harner, Emerson W. Ford.
4th row – M. Louise Minshall, Edwin R. Hoovler, Dolores V. Parker, John E. Kuhns, Elizabeth Warner.
Bottom row – Charles Williams, V. Marjorie Weaver, Harold E. Vandayburg.
Left to right:
Top row – Pres. Jack Cockburn, Fac. Dorothy Wagner, Fac. Freida Schafer, V. Pres. Thomas Williams.
2nd row – Sec/Treas. Donald Herriott, Prin. E.A. Cochrun, Supt. M.Z. pond, Fac C.N. Jones, Neal Camp.
3rd row – Mary Hall, Hanna Cochrun, Betty Gagle, William Jones.
4th row – Harley Ryan, Bette Sands, Freida Snider.
Bottom row – Sadie Snook, Nelson Weaver, Iva Weaver, Loren Woolever.
Left to right:
Top row – Dorothy Wagner, L.E. Barb, M.Z. Pond, Edgar Cochrun, Thelma Perrin (All faculty).
2nd Row Robert Moerch, Sylvester Beck.
3rd row – Clarence Mauger, Pres. Donald Vandayburg, Sec/Treas. Vernon Mauger, Helen Minshall.
Bottom row – Myrtle Phillips, V. Pres. Marvine Shimp, Pauline Shimp, Richard Wilson.
Etna High School
Class Composites 1940 - 1949
Left to right:
Top row – Fac. Erla Osmun, Fac L.E. Barb, Supt. M.Z. Pond, Prin. Edgar Cochrun, Fac Thelma Perrin.
2nd row – Claribel Cave, Oliver Bibler.
3rd row – Henry Ford, Esther Emswiler, Pres. Richard Shaner, V. Pres. Melvin Weaver, Margery Sims, James R. Link.
4th row – Charles R. Harner, Sec/Treas. Donnagene Cohagen, Harold Bowman, Paul R. Bowman, Ruby A. Weaver, James Pickering.
Bottom row – Norma Ryan, Elvin Harsh, Catherine Hizey, Lois E. Kocher.
Left to right:
Top row – Prin. Dale Helmick, Supt. E.A. Cochrun, Fac Louis Barb.
2nd row – Fac. Thelma Perrin, Fac. Erla Osmun.
3rd row – Sec. Eugenia House, Pres. Fred Stecher, V. Pres. Kathleen Harsh, Treas. Marian Taylor.
4th row – Edward Anderson, Darrell Bishop, Dolores Carrington, Regina Everetts, Chas. Essex, Ruby Hizey.
5th row – Warren Heriott, Frederick Ketner, Rodney McCalla, Edna Moerch, Virginia Mauger, Harold Mauger, Faith Parrett.
Bottom row – Carl Pettifor, Harold Seymour, Maxwell Smith, Gale Snider, Minnie Sperti, Martha Watkins.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac. Louise Kramer, Prin. Dale Helmick, Supt. Edgar Cochrun, Fac. Roy Hance, Fac. Frances House.
2nd row – Norman Balser, Sec/Treas. Richard Cohagen, V.P. Marvin Ford, Pres. Joe Schaff.
3rd row – Howard Campbell, Evelyn Emswiler, Clarice Emswiler, Thelma Myers.
4th row – Robert Frizzell, Henry Gierhart, Albert Pettifor.
Bottom row – Robert Nicodemus, Virginia Shackelford, Virginia Wharton, Robert Williams.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac. Ruth Taylor, Supt. L.C. Brown, Prin. Louise Kramer, Fac Roy Hance.
2nd row – Kenneth Hizey, Mildred Balser.
3rd row – Treas. John Hall, Sec. Margaret Minshall.
4th row – George Mayer Jr., Pres. Virginia Ryan, VP Clyde Bush, Robert Rice.
Bottom Row – Raymond Parkinson, Marjorie Watkins, Harold Snider, Rosemary Binkley.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac. Roy E. Hance, Prin. Louise Kramer, Supt. Everett K. Shipman, Fac. Lois Robinson, Fac. Daisy Cunningham.
2nd row – Sec/Treas. Jean Parkinson, Pres. Jeanette Lines.
3rd row – Virgil Hizey, Maxine Betz, Wayne Shaner, V.P. Louise Kuhn.
Bottom Row – Helen Harner, Robert Shackelford, Junior Ehnie, Betty Bibler.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac. Zelpha Triplett, Fac. Mary K. Alexander, Supt. Maurice Rowley, Fac. Analee Rowley, Fac. Mary Knowlton.
2nd row – Sec/Treas. David B. Palmer, VP Charles O. Dunlop, Pres. Richard M. White, Helen Betz.
3rd row – Erma E. Mauger, Norman Carrington, June Cain, Frank P. Ford, Marilyn Jean Gierhart, Mildred H. Myers.
4th row – Ermalee Roberts, Nelson Mathew, Dorothy L. Myers, Mary Frances Minshall, Janice Nicodemus.
5th row – Ruth Ryan, Tom Riffle, Betty Parkinson.
Bottom row – Dorothy Jean Snider, James Shackelford, Betty Jean Tam, Marjorie K. Williams.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac Melvin R. George, Fac Zelpha Triplett, Supt. Edgar Cochrun, Fac D.L. Underwood, Fac Mary K. Alexander.
2nd row – Fac Florence Paul, VP Dean Emswiler, Sec. Bernice Pettifor, Sec/Treas. Norma Jean Thomas, Class advisor Mary P. Knowlton.
3rd row – Garnett Balser, Jean L. Barker, Mary Davis, Mary Ann Doherty.
Bottom Row – Lee Heimberger, Fred Roley, Bob Snider, John Wittman, Millie Watkins.
Left to right:
Top row – William Jefferies, Orma Mayer, Edgar Cochrun, Louis Barb, D.L. Underwood (All Fac.).
2nd row – Fac. Zelpha Brown (Formerly Triplett), Fac Mary Knowlton.
3rd row – Sec. Martha Herriott, Pres. Louis Clark, VP James Sands, Treas. Helen Trimmer.
4th row – Katherine Kinser, Robert Langel, Patsy Lines, Dolores Lucas, Sarah Myers.
Bottom row – Roger Pickering, Charles Parkinson, Richard Parkinson, Mary E. White, Mary Wilkinson.
Left to right:
Top row – Thomas Southard, Orma Mayer, Edgar Cochrun (all faculty).
2nd row – John Stanton, Martha Peters, Zelpha Brown (All fac.)
3rd row – Treas. Eugene Newlun, Pres. Richard Dunlop, Sec. Maureen Williams, VP Elwood Zellers.
4th row – Betty Weaver, George Edward Long, Marguerite Pettifor, Orma JoAnne Mayer.
Bottom row – William A. Wolfe, Bonnie Randall, Ethel Watkins, Doris Jean Heimberger, Cecil Monroe Trimmer.
Left to right:
Top row – Berdene Coombs, Roger K. Burke, Prin. Edgar A. Cochrun, L.E. Barb, Lucille Christy (All faculty).
2nd row – Fac. John Stanton, Sec. Joe Palmer, VP Jack Smith, Pres. Lowell Trimmer, Treas. Everett Weaver, Fac. Tom Mercer.
3rd row – Joretta Curran, Wayne Bryan, Barbara Hizey, Wanda Finks, Marilyn Geho, Grover Bricker.
4th row – Danny Geiger, Patty Weaver, Dorothy Link, Lillian Myers, Chester Smoke, Harold Ford.
Bottom row – James Wyrick, William Snider, Patty Smoke, Gene Sager, Patty Long.
Etna High School
Class Composites 1950 - 1955
Left to right:
Top row – Adele Mortensen, Barbara Boving (Both faculty)
2nd row – Warren A. Wesler, Roger K. Burke, Supt. Edgar A. Cochrun, Louis Barb, Berdene Coombs (all faculty)
3rd row – Treas. Mary Ellen Wright, Sec. Richard Stuart, Pres. James Thompson, VP Jean Hall, Richard Binkley.
4th row – Kenneth Conkle, Mary Lee Emswiler, JoAnn Feiber, Richard Gummere, Grace Heimberger.
Bottom row – Kenneth W. Horn, Lucille Kidwell, Ralph Kirkpatrick.
Left to right:
Top row – Roger Burke, Helen Beery, Berdene Coombs, Supt. J.B. Hartman, Warren A. Wesler, Adele Mortensen, Louis Barb (All faculty).
2nd row – Richard Scheidegger, Sec. Bonnie Hammond, VP Betty Easterday, Pres. Charles Hall, Treas. Layton Feiber, Richard Kuhn.
3rd row – Richard Lines, Gloria Sager, Robert Parkinson, Joan Herriott, Earnest Balser, Darlene Harris.
Left to right:
Top row – C.A. Cooper, Berdene Coombs,Supt. J.B.Hartman, E. R. Voorhies, R.L. Smith (all faculty).
2nd row – Fac Helen Beery, VP Marvin Holt, Pres. Carolyn Harsh, Sec. Carol Myers, Fac Rose Parker.
3rd row – Treas. Janice Emswiler, Nancy Boyer, Carol Cain, Betty Erwin, Janet Finks, Ronald Hastler.
Bottom row – Fred Helfer, Barbara Miller, Hazel Wolfe.
Left to right:
Top row – Fac Paul S.A. Stein, Fac. Earl R. Voorhies.
2nd row – Paul Boclelman, Berdene Coombs, J.B. Hartman, Rose Parker, Ernest G. Weaver (all faculty).
3rd row – Pres. Charleen Lemmerman, VP Jack A. Holt, Sec. Beverly Janice Hall, Treas. Larry E. Watkins, Marcy C. Bowers, Richard Jon Clark.
4th row – Ray Edgar Conkle, Robert E. Cross, Roderick Roger Ford, Evelyn M. Myers, Nancy Roseberry, Richard N. Smith.
Bottom row – Robert D. Taylor, Janet Trimmer, Fred Williams, Larry L. Weaver.
Left to right:
Top row – William Barnes, William Boner (Both faculty).
2nd row – Bernice Johnson, Sammuel Morris, Prin. Austin Peel, Mrs. Rose Parker, Ernest G. Weaver (All faculty).
3rd row – Treas. Mary Linke, Pres. Dick Emswiler, VP David Gummere, Sec. Robert Cosner.
4th row – Virginia Budd, William Barker, Joyce Ford, Nancy C. Knoff, Herbert Mauger.
Bottom row – Jim Morgan, William Scheidegger, Dow Strider Jr., June Tisdal.
Left to right:
Top row – Samuel F. Morris, William Boner, Prin. Austin Peel, Margaret J. Caw, Mrs. Rose Parker (All faculty)
2nd row – Mrs. Elizabeth K. McClelland, Ernest G. Weaver (all faculty).
3rd Row – Sec. David L. Linke, VP Franklin E. Starkey, Pres. Robert A. Ballman, Treas. David Wilson Thrash.
4th row – Barbara L. Clark, Carol Ann Cochrun. 5th row – Gwendolyn A. Hall, Richard D. Johnson, Peggy Knoff, Roy E. Patrick.
Bottom row – Merle E. Porter, Jo Ann Smith, Alma G. Stecher, Ruth Ann Trimmer.
More History
West Licking Historical Society
Dedicated in preserving our area's past through community events, photographs, workshops and seminars, genealogy, and their own published works.
The Mead-Needham Museum, Inc. is a spin off organization of the West Licking Historical Society, Inc. The Mead-Needham was created to purchase real estate in order to create a physical location in which to display local artifacts and educate the local community about the rich history of the area the Mead Needham and WLHS serve.
Licking County Historical Society Collects, preserves, and encourages preservation of all that pertains to the Social, Political, Educational, Agricultural, Industrial,and Archaeological History of Licking County.
Licking County Genealogical Society Contains information about how to contact LCGS, become a member of LCGS, how to join First Families of Licking County, Ohio, how to join Civil War Families of Licking County, information about the L.C.G.S.Pioneer Families Project, a brief description of their holdings, how to search much of our holdings, and much more.
* Facts were obtained from information provide by the West Licking Historical Society. Publications: “Preservation 2000” and “People Make the Difference”. “Histories of Etna Township and Villages of Etna and Wagram” by Astrid Pickering. Pictures were provided by West Licking Historical Society, Roger and Astrid Pickering, and Etna Alumni Association/Martha Lloyd.
CONTACT
Town Hall 740-927-7717
Garage 740-927-8866
PO BOX 188
81 Liberty Street
Etna, OH 43018-0188
ABOUT US
