Almost 100 Years of Ellsworth School History

Impact Impact Stories Almost 100 Years of Ellsworth School History

Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High School

Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High School has one of the most complete collections of printed history of the school in the area. Dawnae Bunch, who has been the journalism and photography teacher for more than 30 years, has been adding to the collection since starting at the school. "In my time here, I have curated that collection, adding to it yearly, as well as seeking out missing copies of both publications whenever and however I could. As a result, the collection now houses 78 issues of the school's yearbook, the Elkan, including the very first issue dating from 1911, and almost 100 years of the student newspaper, The E.H.S. Bearcat, beginning with the November 23, 1921, Vol. 1, Iss. 1 copy," said Bunch.

With this large of a collection of history, it is important to keep it in the best shape possible, for future generations to enjoy and look back on. The community foundation granted USD 327 funding to purchase a fireproof cabinet to keep these archives in. Aside from the collection being safe from possible weather and wear, now the collection is in a centralized location for all to enjoy. "The collection, the only one of its kind, is now secure and protected. The cabinet has also provided a handy location for students, staff, and patrons to access the archives. Many people visit the journalism room each year to use books and papers in our collection to look up information. They are now able to pull up a chair and easily find the volumes they're searching for," said Bunch.

Ellsworth Fire Department

The Ellsworth Fire Department is a group of approximately 40 volunteer firefighters, with lockers that are insufficient in storage and old equipment. Grant funding from the community foundation was used to purchase supplies and labor for the construction of new lockers for the firefighters.

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City of Holyrood

The Holyrood Park Committee was able to purchase new picnic tables for the park and splash pad area to replace the old, worn out picnic tables, thanks to a grant from the community foundation.

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Immanuel Lutheran Church

Immanuel Lutheran church has been actively doing outreach into the community. We were limited somewhat by Covid 19 but alot of our activities happened before March. It was decided that the money set-aside for quilt making and bierock bake-off would go directly to the Wilson/Dorrance Food Bank where there was great need with the pandemic.

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