Palmer House Museum, 9390 Olde Eight Road, Northfield Center, OH (2026)

06/12/2026

Another is our 100 years ago today concerning the school district consolidation.

The_Akron_Beacon_Journal_1926_06_12_Page_15 Transcription:

Another Petition In School Case Is Filed
A remonstrance petition, said to be signed by a majority of the residents in the villages of Northfield and Macedonia was filed with the county board of education, Saturday, one day before the expiration of the time limit, against the action of the board in abolishing the village school districts and creating a union district of the two to be known as the Macedonia-Northfield union school district.
It is claimed by the remonstrators that this petition nullifies the action of the board.
NOTE: A remonstrance is a formal protest, objection, or expression of earnest opposition to someone's actions or a proposed policy. It is typically a strong, well-reasoned complaint, and in legal and political contexts, it can also refer to an official document that outlines grievances.

06/09/2026

100 Years Ago.... Attached are pictures of pages in the book Hi-Times 1926 showing the graduating seniors of Macedonia High School. Does anyone recognize any of the names? Let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Below is a transcription of Au Revoir on page 93:

Seniors! Of such as these much might be said, perhaps, but little shall be. For do not all have their individual histories told alongside their several likenesses above reproduced? Also, do not these several likenesses speak out, of themselves, well and nobly? And who shall gainsay their promise in these days when miracles are of everyday occurrence and are common knowledge unto the last of us?

What yet doth the world hold for us? Let us go forth and see! Let us venture to search out what things lie hidden in the far stretches of the world, unknown to us except through others' pages of print and of picture. Let us seek these places and discover unto our own several satisfactions whether the textbook authors know whereof they do write. For - yet have we still in us that spirit of our nomad sires which doth bid is seek out the world and know it first hand.

06/07/2026

100 Years Ago.... Attached are pictures of pages in the book Hi-Times 1926 showing the graduating seniors of Northfield High School. Does anyone recognize any of the names? Let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Below is a transcription of Class Will on page 127:

We, the Class of 1926 of Northfield High School, being opr sound mind and in possession of our normal faculties, do bequeath, bestow, give and otherwise dispose of the following property, goods or appendages of which we are possessed:
1-Our seats in “off row” of the High School room we leave to the Juniors. Use the, gently – they have suffered much.
2-Our amiable dispositions, sunny temperament and general good conduct we bestow upon Helen Dolt and Marie Myers.
3-Our good grades and general high scholastic standing we give, bestow and otherwise upload upon Eva Mae Kotowski.
4-Our stand-in with the teachers we do jointly and severally bequeath to Nathan Fenton.
5-Howard’s bashfulness we bestow upon Marie Myers.
6-Alma’s good health and wight gain we leave to Walter Lewis.
7-Our athletic ability we leave in trust as a perpetual legacy to the whole school. “May you do well and prosper.”
8-Wilda’s smile we leave to Florence Quist.
9-Jimmy’s sheik ways we leave to Albert Lewis.
10-Bob’s loving ways to Elmer Banke.
11-Our manner of “bluffing the teachers” to the Freshman Class.
12-Howard’s curly hair to Bernice Downey.

All of our property found not disposed of shall be sold at public auction from the schoolhouse door and the net proceeds of the sale shall found a fund to be used to purchase combs and brushed for the boys.

06/05/2026

100 years ago... Hi-Times 1926 , Annual Publication of the Rural High Schools Summit County.

This is a book in our collection that is a compilation of all the students in the Summit County schools. Today, we have years books in every school. One-hundred years ago, they compiled the data and published one book, with sections for each school. 1926 was the inaugural addition of the book.

The picture is Mr. C. A. Flickinger, who was the superintendent of the Summit County School Board. Below is a transcription of what he wrote in the back of the book. You may have seen his name in some of the articles we have been posting on the consolidation of the Northfield and Macedonia schools.

Below is a transcription of what he wrote as a dedication in the book. Pay close attention to the last paragraph where he gives advise to the graduates.
And stay tuned for pictures of the graduating classes in the next two posts!

TRANSCRIPTION:
It is indeed a pleasure to express in part my appreciation of the untiring efforts of the loyal workers throughout this great county of Summit, who have made Hi-Time a possibility. I desire, in behalf of the Summit County Board of Education and my co-workers; the assistant superintendents, principals, and teachers of this county, to particularly extend our appreciations to the editorial staff, Mr. F. D. Smith, Miss Hilda Harms, and Mr. R.H. Harper for the efficient manner by which they have been able to make this annual a success. The associate editorial staffs of the various high schools of this county are to be commented for their activities in this undertaking. It may be rightly said that this work of all the people of all the high schools within the county.

This volume will be the source of untold pleasure to those who are connected with the schools of Summit County during the school year 1925 and 1926. It will be a source of pleasure because it will bring back memories in years that are yet to be, of pleasant associations, one with another, while engaged in the developing of our minds and the formation of character.

With the student body I would leave this message: Get all the scholarship you can; get all the culture you can; get all the wisdom you can; but above all thing, strive to build nobility of character. Manhood is better than knowledge; integrity is better than greatness; and “the soul outranks the intellect as the sun outranks the stars.” Nobility of character overtops all titles, caps all careers, crowns all virtues; for it is the quality that gives weight and worth and moral dignity to the soul.

06/03/2026

We have talked a lot about the consolidation of the Northfield and Macedonia schools and will continue to post items in the future.

Today we are showing some recent donations of Northfield-Macedonia patches that we received from a local resident.

We believe the N with a super imposed M is a patch from a sport.

The smaller instrument patch may be from the band.

But the one with "GAA" on it was most likely from a Girl's Athletic Association. Those associations were formed in the 1950s. GAA was a prominent high school program in the U.S. that promoted sports for young women before the passage of Title IX. Their 1957 varsity patches were typically large, felt or chenille letters (often a school initial) paired with "GAA" monograms, sport-specific emblems, or chevron bars denoting participation levels.

A very large thank you to the donor for these items!

05/31/2026

Just a quick post today about the consolidation of the Nordonia Schools.

We have spent time highlighting the red brick schools and the building of the "new" high school (today's middle school). But there are other buildings in the district that should be highlighted as well. We do not have a lot of history about the newer schools that were built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as they are just too new for our archives.
Below is a comprehensive list of all the Nordonia School buildings.

Nordonia High School (grades 9-12) - built in 1961, renovations in 1962, 1964, 1971, 1972, and 2001

Nordonia Middle School (grades 7 and 8) - built in 1928, renovations in 1969 and 2001. It was originally built as the high school, but was later converted to be a middle school.

Lee Eaton Intermediate School (grades 5 and 6) - built in 1953, renovations in 1966 and 2001. When it was built it was an elementary school housing grades K - 6.

Rushwood Elementary School (grades K-4) - built in 1970, renovations in 2001. When it was built it was an elementary school housing grades K - 6.

Ledgeview Elementary School (grades K-4) - built in 1963, renovations in 2001. When it was built it was an elementary school housing grades K - 6.

Northfield Elementary School (grades K-4) - built in 1916, renovations in 1960, 1963, and 2001. When it was built it was an elementary school housing grades K - 6.

05/28/2026

In our 100 years ago today series AND continuing our series on the consolidation of the Northfield and Macedonia schools, we are posting an article that published on May 28, 1926 in the Cleveland Press.

A few items to note as you read the below transcript:
** the formation of the consolidated school board is mentioned in this article.
** the "new" high school would be built on Leonard Avenue, not halfway between the schools. That is still standing TODAY and it currently what we call Nordonia Middle School. It was dedicated in 1929.

Transcription:
VILLAGES DROP ROW TO AVOID STATE WRATH
Macedonia and Northfield Probably Will Get Together on New School

Macedonia and Northfield will forget their school fight, build a new school, and avoid the wrath of the State Department of Education, it was indicated Friday.

Confidence that the villages will be able to get together and establish a centralized high school was expressed by Carl W. Wendt, president of the Macedonia School Board.

Temporary injunction preventing School; Board meetings. Secured by George W. Pease, Macedonia taxpayer, probably will be withdrawn, Wendt said. Heading is set for June 26.

Warns of Punishment
This follows warning from Vernon Riegel, state director of education, that the state would take away first grade high school certificates of the villages if the deadlock continues.

Summit County Board of Education ordered consolidation of the schools at a point half-way between the two villages. They are only a mile and a half apart and the combined student body would scarcely exceed 100 pupils.

The county board also names a Macedonia-Northfield Union School Board with three members from Macedonia and three from Northfield.

Objectors Are Few
Ohio law provides that this new board shall not take office for 30 days or until after June 14, Wendt explained. This is one reason why no action has been taken against the injunction.

After this period expires and the injunction is disposed of the new board will organize and plan the new school, he said.

A petition is being circulated by objectors in Macedonia. Riegel said the opposition comes from a few persons in Macedonia, altho the Macedonia Parent-Teacher Association is for consolidation.

Many letters and telegrams that the state press consolidation, have been received by the State Department of Education, Riegel said.
The consolidation was ordered for the sake of economy.

05/25/2026

To honor the America 250 initiative this year, periodically, we will post articles of interest in our Nordonia Hills community.

Today we post an article from 100 YEARS AGO TODAY which also fits in our series highlighting the Nordonia School District.

Do you know how the Nordonia School System was formed? We were reminded of it when we read this article.

Below is a transcription of the first article published on May 25, 1926 in The Cleveland Plain Dealer which mentions a law suit to prevent the consolidation of the Northfield and Macedonia "High" Schools. As time progresses, we will post additional follow up articles on this law suit.

TRANSCRIPTION:

SUE SUMMIT UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
Macedonia Board Officials File Suit to Prevent Consolidation
Plain Dealer Bureau,
208 Second National Bldg.,
AKRON, O., May 24.

Charging the Summit county board of education has usurped the powers of the Macedonia and Northfield boards by consolidating the two into the Macedonia-Northfield union school district, eGorge [sic] A. Pease and E.S. Jenkins, officials of the Macedonia board, filed suit in common pleas court late today for an injunction to prevent the consolidation from taking place.

Petitions protesting against the county board’s action are being circulated among Macedonia and Northfield voters, it is explained, and these will be presented to the court at an early date.

Defendants named in the suit are W.A. McDowell and other officials of the newly created union school district.

The court is also asked to grant the present Macedonia and Northfield boards authority to close up their affairs at the expiration of the school terms this week.
Unless the court acts in the matter, it is alleged, diplomas granted high school graduates in the districts involved will be invalid.

According to state law, the petition avers, the action of the county board should not become effective, provided protest is filed against it by residents of the school districts within thirty days.

05/25/2026

Open today on Memorial Day from 9:00 AM to Noon

Palmer House Museum

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