Maroa-Forsyth School Archives
School Archive Holdings
The Maroa-Forsyth School Archives contains a wealth of material about the Maroa-Forsyth district history, the smaller schools which consolidated to form the district, former pupils, staff, programs, and items of interest. Click on a link below to explore our indexed collections.
Please note that this index will continue to expand as existing collections and newly-donated materials are cataloged further. If you are looking for something specific that is not yet in the online catalog, please email MFSchoolArchives@gmail.com.
Administrative Collections
Alumni Association Papers
Phil Applebee Papers - Softball
Audio-Visual Collection
Boys Basketball Score Book Collection
Diane Daggett Papers
Family Histories
Valerie Keith Papers
Maroa Newspapers
Maroa-Forsyth Education Association
Maroa Public Library Collection
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
Photo Collections (Online)
Prairie Post Newspapers
Edd Powers & Phil Hardin Video Collection
Reference Books
School Newspapers
Esther Shields Collection
Nelson R Smith Papers
Dick Thomas (Class of 1958) Scrapbook
Manford Vantries Uniform
Yearbook Collections
Yearly Files
School board meeting minutes for Center Ridge, Harmony, and Maroa/Maroa-Forsyth schools over various years from 1892-2010.
Also, school attendence and record books for Pleasant View, Hickory Point, Maroa Grade, and Forsyth Grade Schools. Note: Student records are restricted for research purposes to dates prior to 1949.
Also, school attendence and record books for Pleasant View, Hickory Point, Maroa Grade, and Forsyth Grade Schools. Note: Student records are restricted for research purposes to dates prior to 1949.
Alumni Association Papers
See the Alumni Association finding aid for complete list of collection items.
Phil Applebee Papers - Softball
Three boxes of softball-related materials donated by softball coach, Phil Applebee, dating from 2005 to 2015. Materials include scorebooks, rosters, photo albums, and coaching materials.
Audio-Visual Collection
This collection contains donated audio-visual materials, including sporting events, backup digitized photographs (both created in the Archives and donated), plays, performances, and other recorded or digitized items.
Boys Basketball Score Book Collection
See Basketball Scorebook Collection finding aid for complete list of collection items.
Diane Daggett Papers
The Diane Daggett papers contain 21 scrapbooks and photo albums documenting the history of FHA and FCCLA at MFHS. Material dates from mid-1960s through 2015. In addition there are 11 FHA/FCCLA handbooks/membership notebooks, a school text book, a dress from Adult Living Class "mock weddings," trophies, shirts, a Parenting Class programmable baby, and other items associated with FHA, FCCLA, and the courses taught by Diane Daggett.
Family Histories
The Archives holds donated family histories from many local families, including the Leach, Query, Schultz, Parker, Berry, and many others.
Valerie Keith Papers
See the Valerie Keith Papers finding aid for complete list of collection items.
Maroa Newspapers
As part of the Maroa Public Library collection's materials, the Archive Room has a few editions of Maroa newspapers. These PDFs are avaialable for viewing online.
Maroa-Forsyth Education Association
See the MFEA finding aid for a complete list of collection contents.
Maroa Public Library Collection
In 2021, the Maroa Public Library donated their entire local history collection to be merged into the MF School Archives. This collection contained collections under the following finding aids: Janet Parker Papers finding aid, Maroa Historical Society Collection finding aid, Maroa Woman's Club Collection, Prairie Post Newspaper Collection (see below), and other collections which will be listed here as completed.
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
See the PTA Collection finding aid for the complete collection listing.
Photo Collections (Online)
Prairie Post Newspapers
Collection of Prairie Post newspapers, which ran from 1958 through 1989. These books are bound by year and were donated by the Maroa Public Library. 1962 is missing from our collection. As they are digitized, Prairie Post newspapers, can be viewed on the Prairie Post Omeka page.
Edd Powers & Phil Hardin Video Collection
Band and choral performances from 1996 through 2006. Performances have been digitized and can be viewed on Maroa-Forsyth Trojans TV YouTube Channel.
Reference Books
A collection of reference books focusing on Maroa, rural Central Illinois, and the surrounding areas is available through the Archives. This collection allows for additional research into local history and contains books by local historians.
School Newspapers
See the School Newspapers finding aid for a complete listing of all school newspapers.
Esther Shields Collection
This collection, donated by Esther Shields' son, contains three school books used by Esther Shields (Class of 1914), a copy of a portrait of the Maroa High School Class of 1914, and a 1914 yearbook.
Nelson R Smith Papers
Nelson R Smith Jr. attended Maroa High School, graduating in 1939. He was a camera club member at Maroa HS, learning his craft by taking pictures for the school newspaper and yearbook.
After graduation, he attended Illinois State Normal University, and at the request of ISNU's President, served as the campus photographer during his college years. Upon his college graduation, Smith remained at ISNU, founding its Photographic Services. He remained at ISNU/ISU for 52 years, retiring in 1991. In 1997, ISU renamed a a building in his honor.
The Nelson R Smith Jr. collection at MF School Archives contains several photograph albums and scrapbooks as well as loose photos, report cards, school papers, attendance certificates.
The Nelson Smith photo collection is part of the current digitization program, and new photographs from this collection will be added as they are digitized. (Please note when citing this collection, there is no period after "R" in Nelson R Smith, Jr.)
Dick Thomas (Class of 1958) Scrapbook
This scrapbook, loaned for scanning by Pat Thomas and Jenny Day, contains Dick Thomas' gathered collection of newsclips, photographs, and other memorabilia focusing on the championship basketball team. Also, included are the 1958 State Tournament Championship booklet and the Sweet Sixteen Reunion Program. Higher resolution images from the scrapbook are viewable on the Dick Thomas Flickr page. Note: Because of the large file size of the scrapbook, it might take longer to open.
Manford Vantries Uniform
The World War I uniform of Manford Vantries, including his canteen, belt, several types of uniform helmets and hats, photographs, and details of his service. The case and uniform were donated as part of the Maroa Public Library collection and are currently on display in the Unit Office building lobby.
Yearbook Collections
High School Yearbook finding aid
All available grade school, middle school, and high school yearbooks are available on this website through the YEARBOOKS menu at the top of the page.
All available grade school, middle school, and high school yearbooks are available on this website through the YEARBOOKS menu at the top of the page.
Yearly Files
Vertical files, foldered chronologically from the late 1800s through the current year, containing an assortment of donated and collected materials relating to school activities that year, such as graduation announcements, playbills, photographs, copies of news clippings, and athletic programs
Notes
1 Maroa High School, Oracle 1914 [Yearbook]. Maroa, Illinois, p. 11. https://archive.org/details/1914-maroa-yearbook/page/n10/mode/1up
Historical items have been made available to the community for research and study purposes and to satisfy curiosity. Due to the nature of the colloquialisms, culture, attitude, and/or political climate of the various time periods represented, some content may be deemed “inappropriate" if viewed outside of its historical context. In addition, the newspapers, logos, branding, and other publication identifiers are the trademarks of the newspapers and other publishers. Our use of newspaper content contained in this archive in no way implies an affiliation with, or endorsement from, the publisher. Included photos have been identified from owner's notatations or through community members. If you believe there has been an error in identification of any materials, please email the Maroa-Forsyth School Archives.
1960 Yearbook