AUSTIN SCHOOL STUDENTS, 1920

It would be nice if someone at Albion High School could arranged to have someone take a group photograph of the Class of 2013 together before school ends, and then identify each person row-by-row, for historical purposes. I would like a copy for my records.

A few weeks ago I went scrounging for old Albion picture postcards at the postcard show in Kalamazoo, which is where I obtain some of the illustrations for this column. I came upon a postcard I hadn’t seen before and quickly purchased it.

This card is a photograph taken in front of Austin Elementary School on November, 15, 1920, showing older students, whom I assume would be in the 6th grade. Don’t you wish that someone had written the names of the students on this card? Only one person in the photo was identified, Rolland Kreger (1908-1977) in the 2nd row, 8th person in the lineup whose initials "R.K." have been written in. Rolland worked for the Calhoun County Road Commission and was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in town. Given that information, we can assume that these students are around 11 years old (6th grade), and were born around 1909. They would therefore have graduated (if they stayed in school) Albion High School around 1927.

UPDATE. The 4th boy in the first row has been identified as Harry Parker, Jr. Special thanks to Dr. James Curtis for obtaining that identification. In the top row after several girls, the first boy (with white shirt) has been identified as John Passick (1905-1973), uncle of yours truly. John later served with the Albion Fire Department as a Captain.

Austin School consisted of a hodge-podge of ethnic nationalities that lived on the "West End." By that time the all-black West Ward School was in operation, but blacks living in the vicinity of Austin School still attended Austin. There are three black students in this photo, including the 4th person in the first row, and the last person in the top row. From our Historical Notebook this week we present this photo. Can anyone identify someone in this photo? If you can, please contact me at: Albionfp@hotmail.com, or call me at (517) 629-5402. Thank you for your help.

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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