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BEACONSFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
Beaconsfield High School was built in 1929 and closed in 1958.
During the second decade of the 1900's, several school districts in Ringgold County considered consolidation. Although
the citizens of Redding School District voted in favor of consolidation in 1913, the vote was cast out on a technicality.
The following year, a new school was erected in Redding. In 1915, another election was held in Redding and the citizens
again voted to consolidate. In 1917, a large addition was constructed to accomondate an increase in pupils attending the
Redding School. In 1915, the residents of Delphos voted to consolidate; Maloy residents voted for consolidation in 1917;
and the Beconsfield residents cast their vote for consolidation in 1920. Although the residents of Ellston voted to
consolidate, it was annulled on a technicality when the bonding company realized that the election notice had been
advertised solely by public notices and not published in the newspaper. A second vote was called which resulted in a
vote against consolidation.
During summer vacation, the Beaconsfield School sponsored a weekly 10-cent movie. This venture proved to be highly
successful.
Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, April 01, 1954
The senior class of the Beaconsfield high school will present the play, "The Colonel's Maid," in the school gymnasium April 7. The cast includes Rex WALTERS, Bob BRYANT, Lavonne MOON, Lyle WALTERS, Mary PEDERSEN, Gale BROWN, Keith WHITSON and Kenneth CREES.
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012
Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, September 02, 1954
The Beaconsfield school opened August 30 with the following personnel: A. R. TROYER, superintendent; Mrs. Earl FISK, home economics and commerce; Earl FISK, shop and science; Mrs. Sanoma LEWIS, junior high; Mrs. Roy HAMMOND, third fourth and fifth grades; Mrs. Imogene SLAZEK, primary; R. A. ELMORE, band and music; Mrs. Guy HUPP, supervisor of the hot lunch program; Delbert SEVIER and Paul WION, bus drivers; and J. M. STOGDILL, janitor.
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012
Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 27, 1958
The Beaconsfield Consolidated school district and the Ellston Independent school district are no longer included in the Grand Valley Community school district, according to findings of fact, conclusions of law and decree issued by Judge H. J. KITTLEMAN following a hearing held Friday in the district court in Mount Ayr. The status of the two school districts remains the same as before the filing of the certificates that included them within the Grand Valley Community school district.
BOYS' BASKETBALL
The first Ringgold County Boys' Basketball Tournament was held February 28 - March 1st, 1919, at the Mount Ayr high
school gymnasium. The Beaconsfield team did not enter into the tournament until 1921. The following year, Beaconsfield
did not participate due to severe winter weather, bad roads and a small pox epidemic which had swept through western
Ringgold County. Beaconsfield lost the 1927 championship to Delphos, 36-16. Beaconsfield's guard ALTEKRUSE was named to the
all-county first team. The following year, 1928, Beaconsfield upset the highly favored Delphos team, 27-23, for the
tournament championship. Referee WHEELER of Des Moines YMCA chose Beaconsfield's guard ALTEKRUSE for the all-county
first team. Beaconsfield won the 3rd place spot at the 1931 Ringgold County Basketball Tournament, defeating
Kellerton 31-24. Center BRYANT was selected by Referee Jake LUKE to the all-tournament first team. During the 1939
Ringgold County Tournament, G. POORE of the Beaconsfield team was named to the all-tournament first team. Beaconsfield
won the consolation game of the 1953 Ringgold County Tournament, defeating Delphos 63-27. The team's win was astonishing
considering that 1 of the players was a senior and 2 were juniors - all three making up the entire junior and senior classes
of Beaconsfield High School. Mount Ayr defeated Beaconsfield 83-60 for the 1954 county championship. Beaconsfield's star
center, Gene JOHNSTON, left the game with an injury after the first quarter. Rex WALTERS and Keith WHITSON were Beaconsfield's
leading scorers, under Coach Loring SNOOK. Beaconsfield's Gary WION was the leading scorer of the 1958 Ringgold County
Tournament.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM
In the early 1950's, the junior high girls were recruited to play basketball with the high school girls, thus creating
enough members to form a team. In 1952, Loring SNOOK came to Beaconsfield and was the principal and basketball coach. He
taught his players how to play like a team and his favorite phrase was "Use your head!" Albert TROYER was the coach in the
fall of 1954. The Beaconsfield Bulldoggettes lost to Menlo 62-18 in the District Finals that year. The 1955-56 year was a
winning season for the Bulldoggettes. They defeated St. Mary's in the finals and went on to the Iowa Girls State High
School Basketball Tournament. The girls from Beaconsfield enjoyed their moment in the sun despite their defeat 81-74 to
New Sharon. Beth (WALTERS) WHITSON was elected to the first team as All State Forward by the Iowa Daily Press
Association. Her career scoring is still listed in the State Yearbooks.
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Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 03, 1955
The Beaconsfield girls' basketball team closed a successful season in the finals of the district tournament when they lost to Melo, 62-58. The team won 24 games and sustained two losses, one to Redding by two points in regular play and one to Tingley by two points in the county tournament. The team included Myrtle SEVIER, Mary Lou PEDERSEN, Barbara LONG, Helen WADDELL, LaVerna WADDELL, Beth WALTERS, Beth BRYANT, Joy BROWN, Patricia SEVIER, Mary Kae LANTZ, Patricia PADGETT and Sharon BROWN. The superintendent was A. R. TROYER.
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The rules changed for the 1956-57 season,
forbidding the use of junior high girls on the high school teams. The Bulldoggettes struggled that season, unable to play
half of their scheduled games due to illness or injuries. Sometimes, if a team member fouled out, the Bulldoggettes
finished play with four or five players on the basketball court. They did, however, win second place in the County
Tournament.
SOURCES:
Mount Ayr Record-News, Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa, February 10, 2007
Sources:
Ringgold County History Compiled and written by the Iowa Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the
State of Iowa, Sponsored by Ringgold County Superintendent of Schools, Mount Ayr, Iowa. 1942.
AVITT, Mike. Pages and Pictures from the Past. . .Ringgold County, Iowa 1855-2005 p. 91. Paragon Publications, Inc. Mount Ayr. 2009.
Compilation by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2009; updated May of 2010
Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, April 15, 2016, Page 4
By Mike Avitt I don't have too many notes on this school building but I'll give you what I have. The building opened September 1, 1930 for classes after a very slow construction process. The town of Beaconsfield voted to
give Iowa Southern Utilities a contract for electrical service on April 22, 1931. I assume the school had electricity through a generator or [a] local power plant prior to that. The Beaconsfield basketball girls won the Sectional
Tournament 59-31 over Lorimor in 1948. Fortunately, I have a great deal of information about Beaconsfield High School from eight (1950-1957) yearbooks we have at the Mount Ayr Depot Museum. The annual yearbook was
called the "Bulldog" and the first one was produced in 1950. Nine students graduated in 1950 with a high school faculty that numbered only three. The superintendent also taught classes in those days. The grade school had a
faculty of three, as well. Beaconsfield High School had two bus drivers, two cooks, and one custodian at this time. Those numbers would remain the same, except for the high school faculty, for the rest of the high school's
existence. The Bulldog of 1953 gives a brief history of the Beaconsfield Consolidated School District. In 1920
surrounding country schools voted to incorporate and Monroe No. 2 was moved to Beaconsfield to be adjoined to the two-room schoolhouse built in 1898. 1920 was also the year grades eleven and twelve were added making
Beaconsfield a full four-year high school for the first time. 1953 saw only one senior, Willis Crees, graduate. The senior class doubled in size the next year. The school year closed in 1955 with five graduates and a high
school band membership of nine. In the yearbook all nine students were pictured with their instruments, all horns and woodwinds. The 1955 grade school band was also shown with their instruments. All twenty membners
were holding the same instrument - a Tonette. Unfortunately, band instructor Arthur Elmore, a highly respected and talented man, passed away that school year. In 1956, the Beaconsfield High School girls basketball
won the district tournament and advanced to the state tournament. I wrote about this five years ago I think I remember the high school had a total enrollment of nineteen. The high school had three and four graduates in
1956 and 1957, respectively. The last year students graduated from Beaconsfield was 1958. The superintendent was A. R. Troyer and the graduates were Roger Stanley, Barbara Long, Dave Mathany, Patricia Sevier, and Beth
Bryant. The grade school stayed open two more years. Transcription by Sharon R. Becker
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