Education for generations: Central Christian School celebrates 50 years
by denicehazlett
It was the year Mister Ed, the famous talking horse, first made his way into American living rooms. The average annual income in the United States was just over $5,300, a gallon of gas would lighten your wallet by 27 cents, and future president Barrack Obama had just entered the world as an infant.
It was also the year Central Christian School in Kidron celebrated its very first graduating class, and now, 50 years later, the school is hosting a series of community events to commemorate its landmark anniversary.
Chair Edna Ressler and the rest of Central Christian School’s 50th anniversary planning committee have been busy organizing a flurry of public happenings to celebrate half a century of education in the Kidron community, events that draw attention to CCS’s milestones and successes.
Groundbreaking ceremonies in 1959 made CCS the first Mennonite secondary school in Ohio, beginning with a modest faculty of eight, four support personnel, and 156 students in grades nine through 12. Since then, the school has grown in number, welcoming students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, and in size, with the addition of the bustling performing arts center and a dedicated music wing.
CCS advancement director Bethany Nussbaum said the upcoming activities celebrating the exciting anniversary are a gift of gratitude to the public.
The first gathering, the sure-to-entertain Alumni Coffeehouse, is to be held on Friday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m., in CCS’s PAC lobby.
“We’re shoulder-tapping a number of alumni who are gifted musicians to share their talents,” said Nussbaum. “It will be a laid-back hour-and-a-half of performance.”
The event, emceed by CCS music teacher Tim Shue, will be a relaxing coffeehouse style program, with couches and chairs arranged in the PAC and desserts created by Central’s beloved cafeteria director, Phebe Wesman.
Saturday, Feb. 11 will bring an all-new performance of CCS’s own Frohliche Dorf, a live, regionally-focused, radio-style variety show imagined and created by Shue. Last year’s show was a huge hit, boasting a sell-out crowd. Tickets for this year’s show are already available to reserve by calling the school.
CCS’s anniversary program will kick off when John D. Roth, alumni, author, and professor of history at Goshen College, will speak about God’s faithfulness on Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m. Also that evening, Shue will conduct an alumni choir.
“We will celebrate with each class that has graduated,” said Ressler. “That evening will definitely be a party.”
The following morning, Saturday, March 3, CCS’s annual auction will take place at 9 a.m., conducted by Joseph Mast, 1999 graduate and International Auctioneer Champion. Among the auction items will be a 50th anniversary quilt, created by CCS alumni and parents of students.
Finally, the Class of 1962, CCS’s first graduating class, will hold their 50th reunion on Saturday, May 26, 2012, the same weekend as the 2012 graduation ceremonies, and will be given special recognition during the ceremony.
“They have already presented the school with a generous gift,” said Ressler. The class donated the oak molding displayed on the wall of the school’s Welcome Center as well as around the PAC lobby, beautiful laser-carved P. Graham Dunn creations featuring Psalm 121:8 and Psalm 100: 4-5, reminding those who enter of God’s faithfulness throughout all generations.
“We just want to thank the community for sustaining us for 50 years,” said Nussbaum, “as well as celebrate what we have done in the past, and what we’ll do in the future.”
For information on Central Christian School or any of these events, contact the school at 330-857-7311 or central@centralchristianschool.org.
It was the year Mister Ed, the famous talking horse, first made his way into American living rooms. The average annual income in the United States was just over $5,300, a gallon of gas would lighten your wallet by 27 cents, and future president Barrack Obama had just entered the world as an infant.
It was also the year Central Christian School in Kidron celebrated its very first graduating class, and now, 50 years later, the school is hosting a series of community events to commemorate its landmark anniversary.
Chair Edna Ressler and the rest of Central Christian School’s 50th anniversary planning committee have been busy organizing a flurry of public happenings to celebrate half a century of education in the Kidron community, events that draw attention to CCS’s milestones and successes.
Groundbreaking ceremonies in 1959 made CCS the first Mennonite secondary school in Ohio, beginning with a modest faculty of eight, four support personnel, and 156 students in grades nine through 12. Since then, the school has grown in number, welcoming students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, and in size, with the addition of the bustling performing arts center and a dedicated music wing.
CCS advancement director Bethany Nussbaum said the upcoming activities celebrating the exciting anniversary are a gift of gratitude to the public.
The first gathering, the sure-to-entertain Alumni Coffeehouse, is to be held on Friday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m., in CCS’s PAC lobby.
“We’re shoulder-tapping a number of alumni who are gifted musicians to share their talents,” said Nussbaum. “It will be a laid-back hour-and-a-half of performance.”
The event, emceed by CCS music teacher Tim Shue, will be a relaxing coffeehouse style program, with couches and chairs arranged in the PAC and desserts created by Central’s beloved cafeteria director, Phebe Wesman.
Saturday, Feb. 11 will bring an all-new performance of CCS’s own Frohliche Dorf, a live, regionally-focused, radio-style variety show imagined and created by Shue. Last year’s show was a huge hit, boasting a sell-out crowd. Tickets for this year’s show are already available to reserve by calling the school.
CCS’s anniversary program will kick off when John D. Roth, alumni, author, and professor of history at Goshen College, will speak about God’s faithfulness on Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m. Also that evening, Shue will conduct an alumni choir.
“We will celebrate with each class that has graduated,” said Ressler. “That evening will definitely be a party.”
The following morning, Saturday, March 3, CCS’s annual auction will take place at 9 a.m., conducted by Joseph Mast, 1999 graduate and International Auctioneer Champion. Among the auction items will be a 50th anniversary quilt, created by CCS alumni and parents of students.
Finally, the Class of 1962, CCS’s first graduating class, will hold their 50th reunion on Saturday, May 26, 2012, the same weekend as the 2012 graduation ceremonies, and will be given special recognition during the ceremony.
“They have already presented the school with a generous gift,” said Ressler. The class donated the oak molding displayed on the wall of the school’s Welcome Center as well as around the PAC lobby, beautiful laser-carved P. Graham Dunn creations featuring Psalm 121:8 and Psalm 100: 4-5, reminding those who enter of God’s faithfulness throughout all generations.
“We just want to thank the community for sustaining us for 50 years,” said Nussbaum, “as well as celebrate what we have done in the past, and what we’ll do in the future.”
For information on Central Christian School or any of these events, contact the school at 330-857-7311 or central@centralchristianschool.org.
Published: December 7, 2011
