1960s schools consolidation was big surprise
The evolution of Huntington High School in 1966 to Huntington County Community High School in 1967 came as a big surprise not only to students at Huntington High, but to the 14 other high schools in the county as well.
Yes, other than Huntington Catholic, the year 1967 was a big surprise to all high school students in the county. The consolidation of high school students into two and eventually one school was becoming a reality. The plan was to have half the sophomores and all freshmen attend the old Township school, or South Campus, with the other half of the sophomores, juniors and seniors attending North Campus between Guilford and Byron streets.
The school name be- came Huntington County Community High School, or HCCHS for short. I’m sure the decision was made based on the condition of many of the county schools, requiring the school district to choose between making costly repairs to the schools or building a much larger school and consolidating the schools. The Board of Education made the decision to consolidate, and the rest is history.
Previously, four city grade schools fed into the freshman class at the high school. They were Central, Lincoln, Riley and Horace Mann. Huntington north campus went from a class size of around 250 students to a class of about 500 students. The county schools went from a class size of around 25 students per school to about 500 students. The county schools were Bippus, Clear Creek, Roanoke, Union, Andrews, Lancaster, Rock Creek, Huntington Township, Markle, Warren, Banquo, Monument City, Jefferson and Mt. Etna.
This all took place as construction started on a new high school at the north edge of the city. Bus schedules and routes had to be drawn up, with buses purchased, drivers hired and travel time estimated for the routes to the school. County students went from attending a school in their townships to traveling to the schools in the county seat. Picking up all the students along the way made for an early start and late arrival home in the evening. Living in the southernmost part of the county turned into a much longer day than for someone traveling a shorter distance in the northernmost part of the county. Students involved in extra school activities experienced later evenings.
The students got along pretty well. We all knew we didn’t have a say in the matter and it wasn’t going to change. We had to try to make the best of it. The county students went from knowing each and every other student in their class, and most of the school, where they lived, their parents, and what they did for a living, to not knowing 80 percent of the students going to school with them.
The same could be said for the city students, but on a much smaller scale. How well you knew people de- pended on things such as if you were active in 4H, or went to the county basketball tourney, played baseball in the summer or were active in other activities. Many of the students who played sports at their previous schools didn’t go out for sports after the consolidation. They felt teams had been chosen, and they wouldn’t be given an equal chance. Many good players didn’t play because of those or other situations.
The team name, colors and school song were voted on by all students by secret ballot. The first year was the hardest, a little easier the next year, and by the end of the 1969 school year students started attending their new school. The name was then changed to Huntington North High School. During this time, there were still plans to build a Huntington South High School. In any case, it never came to be, and we ended up with a high school holding 2,000-plus students.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the consolidation. As you look at counties around us, many have consolidated. Here it could be a better situation with an additional high school in the southern part of the county. It would eliminate long bus routes, and shorten time on buses. It would still be a large school, but half of what it is today.
