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On the Porch

In 1918, a special election was held in Russell for the construction of a new school building. With a vote of 104 in favor and 8 against, the Russell Board of Education was instructed to begin construction of a new brick building. Under the direction of Principal Holmgren, construction of the new building and a three-year high school curriculum was established. The new school opened in the fall of 1920. The total cost of the building, equipment, vans, and books was just over $60,000. Building additions were implemented in the mid-1950s and 1960. Today, the building is the middle school for Russell-Tyler-Ruthton School.

In the beginning of the 1920 Russell school building, the high school occupied the top floor, and the remainder of the building space was devoted to the elementary grades and the school gymnasium. On Friday, June 3, 1921, the first high school graduating class received its diplomas. The members of the first Russell High School graduating class were: Luella Anderson, Allan Burckhardt, Arthur Bergman, Carl Hansen, and Ebba Nelson.

In the early years of Russell High School, basketball was played by both men and women. Russell’s first basketball team was in the years 1919-1920. One of the first Russell High School graduates, Allan Burckhardt played on the first boys’ basketball team. In the Russell Centennial book, there is a passage in which Allan describes the team: “We won about half the games, but the score was always low. If the game got over 15, it was high, because you see the center was the only one who could run all over the court. Guards and forwards stayed in their own fields. The score was low always, and then most of the schools didn’t have too much head room above the baskets.”

The photograph featured this week from the museum’s collection is the Russell High School boys’ basketball team from the 1926-1927 season. Two of the members are identified on the photograph. Ransom Johnson is standing, second on the left. Donald Cadwell is sitting on the far right. Both Ransom and Donald graduated from Russell High School in 1931. They were both freshmen on the 1926-1927 basketball team.

Congratulations to the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton boys’ basketball team for winning the Class A state championship title last Saturday.

The Lyon County Historical Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. For more information on membership, research, volunteering, or the museum’s collection, please contact us at 537-6580 or director@lyoncomuseum.org. Like our page and follow us on Facebook.

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