NVHS Class of 1931 A Memorial

In Memory of my aunt, Mary Uible Horton, last known surviving member of the Class of 1931, who passed away March 2, 2012.

Mary was born August 8, 1913, the daughter of Cecil and Gladys Hiestand Uible. The family moved to New Vienna in 1927. Prior to New Vienna, Mary attended school in Westboro and Hillsboro. She married William A. Horton from Jefferson County, Ohio.  They had four children: Joseph, Marianne, Cris and Robert.  Though they moved to Florida in 1951, the family often visited New Vienna.  For more on Mary see this post.

Trivial Tidbits about the Class of 1931

• 19 Class Members graduated – 9 boys and 10 girls.  When they were in first grade in 1918-1919, Mary Hoskins was the teacher and there were 31 enrolled.
• They were born in 1911(3), 1912(3), 1913(9) and 1914(4).   
• They died in the 1970s(1), 1990s(10), and six of them after the year 2000, when most of them still alive turned 87; and two in unknown years.  [Anyone have additional information about Alberta Gilbert or Olivia Michael?]
• Only one marriage occurred between classmates of this class: Velma Bernard and Willard McKenzie; though Eleanor Haynie Bentley's husband, Virgil graduated in 1930. 
• Two of them never married: Wilbur Cochran and Eloise Simkins.  The same two that have unknown death dates also have unknown marital status.
• Eleven of them lived most of their lives in Clinton County.
• At least six of them were related to the Bernard family by birth or marriage.
• Forrest Martin (1885-1940) was the School Supt. when the Class of 1931 graduated.  He was the father of David Martin (NVHS '34) and the grandfather of Larry Martin.  Forrest and Principal, Homer Caskey, are pictured further below with the graduating class outside the school.
  
• Pictured immediately below is the class in First Grade 1918-1919 with teacher Mary Hoskins.  At least 14 of these first graders did not graduate with the class – don't know about the five who are unidentified.  Those who did not graduate with the class include Ralph Sanders, Carl Hodson, Lora Runk, Wahneta Hodson, Julia Jones, Lena Gregory, Margaret Pinkerton, Pauline Brown, Eileen Brown, Nelson Powell, Donald Powell, Paul Miller, Stanley Sanders and Grant Fenner.  

The Class of 1931

• Carlos Achor (1913-1997) was the son of Edward S. and Charlotta Pratt Achor.  He married Dorothy Summers (1915-1989) in 1938, they had three children, Roger (Janet Terrell), Jeanette, and Wayne.  He was a farmer on Rapid Forge Rd, Clark Township. 
• Eleanor Haynie Bentley (1913-2004) married Virgil Bentley (1911-1993), who graduated from NVHS in 1930.   She died in Sabina (or WCH) in 2004.  They had a farm in Wayne Township on Terrell Road.
• Arthur Woodmansee Bernard (1913-2006) was the son of James K. and Erma Woodmansee Bernard.  His mother died the year he was born; he and his sister, Berneta Bernard Hackney were raised by his father.  He married Virginia Carey (1918-2011) in 1940.  He and his father farmed together – the Bernard and Tilton homesteads on Tilton Road.  He and Virginia had five children: Roger "Dean", John, Marilyn, Charles, and Paul.
• Wilbur Cochran (1912-1994) was the son of Edward R (1888-?) and Sarah J Fender (1890-1970) Cochran of Highland County.  He was one of seven siblings, including his older brother Ernie (1911-1992) who married Vivian Bernard (1910-2006).  Wilbur never married and died in Wilmington in 1994.  He had a farm on Anderson Road in Union Township.
• Virginia  Elizabeth McVey Fox (1913-2001) was the daughter of Frank McVey (1872-1947) and Bertha Driscoll McVey (1873-1957).  She  married Guy Fox (1909-1987) in Barbourville KY in 1937 and they had three children.  Her paternal grandparents, Edmund (1845-1923) and Martha Jane Bernard (1850-1896) McVey were born in Wayne Township.  She died in North Carolina in 2001.
• Alberta Gilbert (1914-?) was the daughter of Charles Gilbert.  They lived in Penn Township.  Her mother probably died when Alberta was young.  In the first grade picture she is identified as Albert.
• George William Johnson (1913-1994) was the son of William and Sarah "Sally" Elliott Johnson.  He married and was a machinist.  His cousin, George Washington Johnson (1902-1977) was a 1921 NVHS graduate and a life-long resident of New Vienna.  Both of these Georges would be a cousin to John and Linda Levo as the two Georges' great-grandfather, Michael Mount Johnson, was also the grandfather of Annie Johnson Levo.  Therefore Michael Mount Johnson would be the Levo's 2nd great-grandfather.
• Velma Bernard McKenzie (1913-1991) and Willard McKenzie (see below) - High School sweethearts, these two were married Feb. 22, 1934.  Velma was the daughter of James and Charlotte Staubus Bernard.  In addition to raising the couple's four children: Dwight, William, Patricia and Karen; she was active in local organizations and was a 4-H leader. 
• Willard McKenzie (1912-2009, see above) Willard was the oldest of two children born to Julian S. and Jessie Record McKenzie.  His mother died when he was quite young and he grew up on a farm near New Vienna.  He had a dairy farm on Clelland road near Martinsville and worked for Randall Co. until his retirement in 1980.   After retiring he and Velma moved to West St. in New Vienna.  
• John D. McKibben (1913-1998) was the son of Lakin and Kate Smithson McKibben.  He married Eleanor Dunlap (1917-2011), daughter of Isaac and Bernice Carey Dunlap.  They had two sons and a daughter, and lived on West Street in New Vienna.  John was a mason (bricklayer) and worked on many New Vienna homes and at Wells Mfg.  
• Olivia Michael born in 1914, was the daughter of  Wilbert K. and Carrie Michael who lived in Chester Township.  Her grandparents may have lived in New Vienna.
• Margaret Henderson Rea (1914-1978) was the daughter of Ernest Douglas and Grace Henderson. She was the sister of George Henderson, father of David (Ruby) and Nancy Henderson Hamilton.  She married William Rea of Washington County, Ohio, and they had four children.  She was a music teacher. 
• Wilber Howard Reveal (1913-1996 or 1995?) was the son of Howard and Vesta Florence Chancy Reveal.  He married Louise Tedrick in 1936.  They lived on S Beechgrove Road in Wilmington where he was a dairy farmer and drove a school bus for Clinton Massie Schools.
• Charles Edwin Rulon (1914-1998) was the son of Charles and Martha Ann Curtis Rulon.  He died in South Carolina where his daughter was living.  He married Joan Moore in 1940 and they later divorced.  She was the mother of their two children, Robert Edwin and Kathryn.  He later married Dorothy West and they also divorced.  He was a coach at New Vienna High School from 1940 until he joined the military in 1942.  He was a nephew of R.J. and Fred Rulon and thus his cousins included Alberta Harubin, Janet Cluxton, and Joellen Streber, Betty Thompson, and Joan Hughes. 
• Eloise Simkins (1912-1998) - was the daughter of Fred and Marie Deck Simkins.  Eloise was the president of the Senior Class as well as Valedictorian.  Unfortunately while she was in college she was involved in a serious car accident and was never quite the same.  She lived in New Vienna and never married.  She had  a younger brother, Allen.  She was born in Kentucky and in 1920 her family was living in Washington DC, though her parents were originally from New Vienna.
• Mildred Ann Stuckert Leach (1911-2010) was the daughter of Charles Albert and Clara Vollrath Stuckert.  She married Ralph Leroy Leach and had a daughter.  She was born in Illinois and moved to Ohio sometime after elementary school.  In 1930 she and her family were living as lodgers with Oscar Johnson (no relation to any of the other Johnsons mentioned in this class) on SR-73.
• Frances Johnson Trout (1911-1990) was the daughter of William Connell Johnson and Elinor Carpenter Johnson.  She had three siblings, John Ashley, Fred Warren, and George Edwin.  George Edwin Johnson (1917-1999) should not be confused with George William Johnson, a fellow classmate, mentioned above. 
• Emmett Wilkin (1911-1992) married Millie Mable Hunt of New Vienna, divorced in 1961.  He was a farmer near Newark, Ohio but moved to Colorado to live with his son just prior to his death.  Emmett was a 3rd cousin to Mary Uible Horton.

Class of 1931 NVHS. Front Row: Mildred Stuckert, Alberta Gilbert, Olivia Michael, Mary Uible Horton, Margaret Henderson, Virginia McVey Fox, Eloise Simkins, Eleanor Haynie Bentley, Velma Bernard McKenzie. Standing: Mr. Forrest Martin, Supt., Wilbur Reveal, Charles Rulon, Emmett Wilkin, Carlos Achor, Arthur Bernard, George Johnson, Wilbur Cochran, John McKibben, Willard S. McKenzie, Homer Caskey, Principal. Frances Johnson Trout is not pictured. Image courtesy of Karen McKenzie.

NVHS Class of 1931 Reunion picture c1986. Standing furthest left is Carlos Achor and John McKibben, furthest right is Willard McKenzie, second from right is Arthur Bernard. Seated from left Eloise Simkins, Mary Uible Horton, furthest right is Velma Bernard McKenzie. Image courtesy of Karen McKenzie

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Thanks to Karen McKenzie, Nancy Henderson Hamilton, Cheryl Cluxton Mongold and Larry Martin for helping with details on the class members.  Any errors are the result of my misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or typos.