Owensboro Public Schools has opened a new archive room to the public.
The room, located in the OPS central office at 450 Griffith Avenue, was formerly the Kentucky Room at the old public library, but it will now be known as “The OHS Class of 1955” because of several generous donations by that class to help fund the project. The Class of 1955 room contains decades of Owensboro Public Schools history.
“The class of ’55 has a long history of philanthropic giving to students and projects connected to the Owensboro Public Schools—most have gone unrecognized because they strongly believe sincere giving remains anonymous,” said David Johnson, OPS chief operating officer.
Several years ago, while serving as OPS’s Public Relations Director, Julie Ellis began collecting, organizing and categorizing school system records dating back as far as 1871—the year Owensboro Public Schools came into existence. She and former superintendent Bill Chandler used those documents and many additional resources to create a 371-page book titled, A History of the Owensboro Public Schools. Over the past few years, a committee comprised of several current employees worked to organize the records and artifacts in a manner to make them accessible to the public.
“As an OPS alumnus, it’s incredible to see so many of OPS’ historical moments in one room. These artifacts contain the stories of OPS and are a representation of tradition, innovation, and excellence,” said Dave Kirk, OPS public information officer.
Due to the historical value of some of the items in the archive room, the Class of 1955 room will have limited hours when it’s open to the public.
Those hours are on Monday from 9-11 a.m.
