Center Line Public Schools celebrates 125 years as a district

CENTER LINE — The Center Line High School homecoming parade Oct. 18 gave schools officials the opportunity to publicly celebrate being a district for 125 years.

While at Memorial Field before the homecoming football game, a brief presentation was held highlighting the district’s biggest events through the decades. The event kicked off by recognizing that the first official Center Line Public Schools Board of Education minutes were recorded in 1899 when the district was first known as Warren School District No. 2.

According to school officials, Mortimer W. Plunkett was the only teacher from 1900 to 1916. Students of all ages learned from him. When he started teaching, he earned $333 per year. By 1913, he was making an annual salary of $1,000, according to the district’s history.

School officials, staff and students also acknowledged the various schools that opened over the years. Center Line High School opened in 1952 with a bond approved for $995,000 and a $250,000 grant. On Aug. 12, 1959, the Board of Education adopted a resolution to rename Warren District No. 2 to Center Line Public Schools.

Also noted were the years the district’s current school buildings opened: Wolfe Middle School in 1961; Peck and Roose Elementary Schools were dedicated in 1963; and Crothers Elementary School opened in 1966. Some of the building locations have changed because of recent bond updates.

Center Line won the Oct. 18 homecoming game against Lincoln High School, 28-20. Not only was it the school’s homecoming game, but it also marked the annual Brown Jug game between the two schools. The Brown Jug game became a tradition decades ago in which the winning team — the Center Line Panthers or the Lincoln Abes — wins a brown jug and keeps it for one year until the next game. The jug is just over a foot tall in height, and the scores and years of various games are etched on it.