Southside Middle School (Muncie, Indiana)

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On September 6, 1962, at 1:00 p.m., 706 sophomores, 369 juniors and 165 seniors scurried through the doors of Muncie Southside High School. As they sauntered the wide, untrodden corridors, they observed decorative mosaic tile designs and glass-paneled stairwells. But what impressed them most were the bright, clean colors.

Bright colors would likely impress these pupils, for 534 of them had previously attended the old Central High School building in downtown Muncie. But they were not the inaugural students of Muncie's new high school.

Southside's opening in 1962 created the first new high school in Muncie since 1915. (The only exception is Burris, which then housed fewer than 300 students in grades 10-12.) But South was not the only new school in town. Kuhner Junior High (now the Muncie Area Career Center) and Northview Elementary School also opened in 1962.

Muncie population growth in the 1950s had overcrowded Central, which had become one of Indiana's largest senior high schools. Central had also become hemmed in by the downtown business section.

In addition, a fire at Garfield Elementary in December 1947 prompted school officials to examine the condition of the existing educational facilities in Muncie. A survey from Ohio State University was commissioned to study the Muncie community, analyze curriculum, and predict population trends. They recommended the construction of a new high school on Muncie's south side.

Because of Muncie Central's tradition in the community, the construction of one new large high school for all Muncie students was considered. However, it was decided that an additional high school was preferable.

Planning for Southside began in 1957 when the Muncie School Board purchased 40 acres of land at the intersection of East Twenty-Sixth Street and Macedonia Avenue. Actual construction of the school started in August 1960. Louis Kingscott and Associates, an Indianapolis architectural firm, designed the building. The initial structure was 176,000 square feet and cost $2,505,000. Teaching supplies, ground development, and furniture, brought that figure to $4,000,000.

Ralph Dennis, then president of the Muncie School Board, laid the first mortar at the cornerstone ceremony on April 25, 1962. Sealed in plastic and put into the cornerstone were a Bible, an American flag, two issues of Our Muncie Schools (Volume I, Number 1 and Volume IX, Number 4), the current issues of the Muncie Star and Muncie Evening Press, the Muncie Community schools personnel directly, and the Time magazine article "Space Story."

The Rev. C.A. McCallister of St. Paul's Methodist Church gave the invocation and benediction at the cornerstone ceremony, and a Central High School choral group sang.

Construction was completed for school to begin in September 1962, and the building dedication ceremony was January 27, 1963. Participating in the ceremony were N. Durward Cory, superintendent; Claude B. Williams, Southside principal, members of the school board, and the architects.

Special features of the building included science labs, an electronic language lab, and a large cafeteria with a stage at one end. A separate wing for non-vocational industrial education and a home economics living center with folding doors and a lecture room were among other features.

However, the most prominent facets of the building were the library and the gymnasium. The library was designed to house 10,000 books, and it had six adjoining rooms for conference areas, magazine storage, and teacher preparation. Besides being spacious, the library was attractive with its mahogany paneling and maple furniture.

The multi-purpose gym was built with folding dividers so that three physical education classes could meet simultaneously. In addition, the architects designed the gym with a full-size basketball court, bleacher seating for athletic events, and a stage at one end.

Architecturally, the two-story building with an elevator was notable for its size, color scheme, and symmetry. Unique to the building were five mosaic tile murals on the east wall opposite the cafeteria. The murals, designed by Steve Lowery and Jim Weber, depict a student as he goes through the school day. Lowery and Weber were among Central High School seniors who submitted ideas for the murals in Mr. Paul Carmichael's 1961 art classes.

Made up of one-inch square mosaic tiles, each mural is six feet tall and twelve feet wide. Each mural is separated by two-foot columns of tan brick. The first mural portrays athletics, followed by one representing music, art, and drama. The middle panel pictures academics. The next combines the academic and vocational areas, while the last depicts industrial arts.

Although a swimming pool and auditorium were in the original plans for the building, construction of those areas was delayed until 1970, with their dedication occurring February 28, 1971.

Since that time, other improvements have been made. The Lowell Barnet football stadium and the all-weather track came in 1972, and a greenhouse was added in 1975. In 1981 the varsity baseball diamond was renovated, with dugouts added, and four tennis courts were built. Air conditioning was added to the building in 1988.

Of course, as the building proper became a reality, personnel were needed. Originally, South had 1,240 students and 56 faculty members. Librarian Cynthia Marshall was the first faculty member hired. She stayed until 1970 and then moved to Muncie Northside High School to start the library there. When Northside closed as a high school she returned to South as the audio-visual coordinator. She only recently retired (1997). One other member of Southside's original faculty, DeWaine Alley, science teacher, still teaches at the school on a part-time basis.

Seven principals have served during South's 38-year history: Claude Williams (1963-68), C.J. Smith (1968-69), John Walker (1969-70), Harold R. Huff (1970-73), James Hedge (1973-86), Tim Heller (1986-88), John Robbins (1988-2004), and Rebecca Thompson (2004-present).

Not until the 1975-76 school year did South become a four-year high school. Only grades 10-12 had attended before that.

Southside's first graduating class, the Class of '63, had 146 members. This class was small because juniors and seniors, who had previously attended Central High School, could choose whether or not to attend the city's new school. The first graduates to have attended Southside for all three years was the 1965 class, which had 549 graduates.

Before that first school year ended in 1963, Southside had been nicknamed the Rebels. The name evolved naturally, an outgrowth of the school's location and name. Students also voted to adopt red and white as the school's colors; the second choice had been blue and gray.

Adhering to the southern motif, students voted to name the school newspaper the Sentinel, the yearbook the Southerner, and the top choral group the Southernaires. Until 1970 the school also elected a Miss Southern Belle yearly instead of the present-day Homecoming Queen.

Graduation requirements have changed since those classes of the 1960s. Originally, students were required to earn 32 credits; that figure was later raised to 36. Since August, 1987, 38 have been required. The academic diploma, requiring 47 credits, has been offered since 1989.

Two innovating curriculum changes occurred in 1972. WWHI, an on-the-air radio station manned by students, moved from Wilson Junior High School to Southside. South's WWHI was the third educational frequency in the state to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. To train students for on-air broadcasts, mass media classes were added to South's curricula in 1972.

Also in 1972 the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Program (MCJROTC) was added to the curriculum. South's ROTC program is unique in East-Cental Indiana and receives regional and national awards every year.

Special education classes were added in 1972. Southside's special education classes are part of a consortium which serves special education students from Delaware, Blackford, Randolph, and Jay Counties.

Other opportunities added to the Southside curricula include Distributive Education (DECA), Home Economics Related Occupations (HERO), and an honors program with advanced placement classes. Southside students interested in learning a foreign language can choose German, French, Spanish, or Latin.

South's physical education and health department has expanded to offer courses in substance abuse, physical conditioning, swimming, and aerobics. Likewise, the science department has added earth science, environmental science, lawn care, and flower culture. World Affairs has been added to the social studies department.

For at-risk students, a life skills course was added in 1989; the course was renamed Basic Needs in 1991.

Seventeen varsity sports are offered at Southside, up from eight when the school opened.

Over the last several years Southside's enrollment has held steady at about 1,000 students. The corridors are no longer untrodden, and the colors aren't quite as bright as they were 44 years ago on the school's opening day. But today's students possess something that South's first students did not -- a history.

History by:
Joyce (Hale) Parkison
SHS Teacher
SHS Graduate, Class of 1971