844 Garfield Ave History from Louisville Historian

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Leonard Lawrence, who graduated in 1939, had such vivid memories of the school that he drew a layout of each of the floors of the building, as he remembered them many years later. His son has donated the drawings to the Historical Museum. The Depression years of the 1930s saw an influx of people to Louisville to look for work because of the local mines mostly remaining open. The school became overcrowded, particularly since there wasn't work in the mines for young men who might have otherwise dropped out of school early to try to earn money to help their parents. According to some, there started to be a realization that the open stairwells and large halls presented a fire safety issue. Also, the Louisville School District had found it difficult to keep up with maintenance on the school building during the years of the Depression. When John Negri was a senior in 1938, the graduation ceremony was not held at the school, but was instead held at Red Men's Hall a short distance away due to the deteriorating condition of the school. A new school was built towards the end of the Depression at 1341 Main St. as a project of the Works Progress Administration that put local men to work. With the school located in the middle of a residential neighborhood in the 1920s and 1930s, it was an easy walk to school for those students who lived nearby, but not so convenient for those who lived, for example, on North Main Street or in Little Italy on the other side of the railroad tracks. Since students generally walked home for lunch, the proximity of one's house to the school had a big impact on students' lives. These daily routines were upended with the 1939 opening of the new high school at 1341 Main Street. Students who previously had a short walk now had to walk many more blocks, and there were some lucky students, like Mike Negri, who suddenly lived less than a block from school instead of seven blocks away. According to Mike, there were days while he was a senior when he was still pulling on his shirt as he walked out of his house in the 1200 block of La Farge because he had such a short walk. It may come as a surprise to some to learn that the old junior high and high school building at Garfield and Walnut is still there. Paul Fischer purchased it in 1940, removed the third floor and the middle area, created two separate buildings from it, and put in apartments that are still rented out today. (Historically, the school used a Garfield Ave. address, but today, the apartments have the address of 404-416 Walnut.) There were even students who graduated from the school who later lived in the apartments. Students sitting on the low metal fence in front of the school. Identifications on the reverse state that they were, L to R: Joe Piccone, Wallace Andrew, Luvern Thompson, and Charles Zarini. The Pirates basketball team, also sitting on the low metal fence. The date is unknown, but this may be the earliest photo showing the "Pirates" name. This photo appears to show the Class of 1931. (Please contact the Museum with any identifications.) 3