Lincoln Elementary School (Columbus, Indiana)

 primary education, 1967_construction

www.bcsc.k12.in.us//site/Default.aspx?PageID=4731

The year was 1967, and in Columbus, 25 years had passed since the completion of the First Christian Church. A generation of Columbus residents had grown up and now had children of their own, who would be attending Columbus' renowned new schools.

Construction of the Lincoln Elementary School was completed. In September, Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, came to Columbus to dedicate a plaque at the entrance to this award-winning building, designed by architect Gunnar Birkerts. Two years earlier, John Carl Warnecke's award-winning Mabel McDowell School had been completed.

A list of babies born in 1967 would include Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, and Joshua Bell, to name a few. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album was released, and the first issue of Rolling Stone magazine was published. In England, Peter Townsend revealed that he was writing a rock opera.

It was a year that saw an increasing number of protests against the war in Viet Nam, and the very first Super Bowl. The cost of a first-class stamp was 5 cents, and the minimum hourly wage went up to $1.40.

In the Mideast, the six-day Arab-Israeli war began...and ended. Congress created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service.

The plaque at the entrance to the Lincoln Elementary School bears the name of then Columbus Mayor Eret Kline, and is still there for all to see. Its message reads: "Commemorating the visit of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson who has rallied a new interest in beauty and culture throughout the country and who honored Columbus with her recognition of the community's architectural progress."

It is dated September 21, 1967.