The Black and Gold Falcons of Formoso were part of the educational scene of Jewell County for 50 years. The four-year high school began in the fall of 1910 and closed in the spring of 1960. The closure came after an April 19, 1960, fire had so damaged the school building it was condemned. But the history of the high school began a bit earlier.

Anne Bowles, Deborah Guthrie and Pearl Thompson were the first students to graduate from Formoso High School. The year was 1904. That first commencement was held in the Formoso Methodist Episcopal Church. The three graduates were seated on the rostrum,"surrounded with beautiful flowers, which were furnished by the women of the town." This according to the April 28, 1904 New Era.

Formoso High School, like other county high schools, did not start with a four-year curriculum. The students in the Classes of 1904 and 1905 were graduating from a two-year high school. Edwin Thompson was the teacher for both those school years. The first school board members were Andrew Miller, J. M. Bowles and Peter Ramsey Sr.

The graduates in the Classes of 1906 to 1910, graduated from a three-year high school. Area school boards added curriculum and teachers, when they could afford them, until a four-year curriculum was developed. It was not unheard of for a student to receive more than one high school diploma from the same school.

In the fall of 1910, Formoso Rural High School District 7 began offering a four-year curriculum. Orel Thornburg, the only member of the Class of 1911, was the first student to graduate from the four-year high school. Thornburg was the son of Harley and Elfie Daniel Thornburg. His grandparents, Joseph and Malindia Meufin Thornburg, were homesteaders in Section 22 of Grant Township.

Forty-seven years later, Raymond Dunstan was the only graduate in the Class of 1958. He was the son of Floyd Samuel and Nita Alta Clark Dunstan. His great grandparents, Samuel and Elsie Ellison Dunstan homesteaded just south of Omio in Section 4 of Vicksburg Township.

The Classes of 1911 and 1958, with only one student each, were the smallest classes in the history of Formoso High School. The largest class was the Class of 1924 with 27 members. The 1920s saw class sizes numbering in the twenties but in the 1930s class sizes began a downward spiral.

The Formoso School memorial marker on Patterson Street in Formoso, states a total of 536 students graduated from Formoso High School between 1904 and 1960. Records indicate 24 of those graduated from the two or three-year high school. Thus some 512 students received four-year diplomas from Formoso High School.

According to Prairie Jewels by Shute and Dillon, there was a stone and brick building built for Formoso District 155 in 1889. That district served students in first through eighth grades. District 155 encompassed only four sections but had 89 students ages five to 21. The building was later enlarged to accommodate the two-year high school which began operation in the fall of 1903.

Eventually the stone and brick building was torn down. Some of the stones were used for the foundation of a "new" school. The community built a two and a half story building in 1909 to house both Formoso Elementary District 155 and Formoso Rural High School District 7. Beginning with the Class of 1911, all students were graduates of a four-year curriculum. This was the building that burned in April of 1960.

In 1949, the patrons of the district passed a bond issue to fund a new auditorium. This auditorium is today's Formoso Skating Rink. But in the years from 1949 to 1960 it was the site of school and community activities such as basketball games, programs, dances and graduation ceremonies.

Before the auditorium, basketball games were played in "old" Leydig Hall. This building is thought to have been where the skating rink is now. In 1927 the games were moved to the Opera House and then later to an improvised court in the Mercantile Building.

With falling enrollments, there was a meeting in March of 1957 to discuss closing the school. The situation was critical. During the 1956-1957 school year a former student, Howard Ross returned to school to make the necessary enrollment to receive state aid. He had dropped out of school in the 1940s to serve in WWII. Nevertheless, the vote was 48 to seven to continue Formoso High School.

Janice Hettinger Peters (Jewell), Class of 1960, was one of the last five graduates of FHS. During her senior year, there were 21 students in the high school. She remembers school as being "a lot of fun!"

Peters recalls some talk of consolidation with Montrose and Lovewell. That consolidation never came about and the fire of 1960 made the idea moot. It was a sad day for the community when the building was condemned. After the April fire, no more classes were held in the building.

There were happy memories too. "I loved my basketball," said Peters. She lettered all four years."Half-court" basketball was the game of the day. Three players were forwards and three were guards. Players did not cross the half-court line. Erroneously it was felt women couldn't play a full court game.

Peters has several pieces of Formoso memorabilia, one of which is the scorebook from the 1958-1959 basketball season. The team played Ionia, Lovewell, Jamestown, Montrose and Esbon. She also remembers playing tennis and competing with schools like Lovewell and Montrose.

Marian Mohler Turner (Hastings) also remembers playing tennis for Formoso High School. She recalls the court being near the water tower and receiving a medal for her efforts on the court. Turner also remembers the academic side of high school as she was the valedictorian of the Class of 1953.

Graduation for the class meant walking across the stage in the auditorium, receiving a diploma and moving the tassel from one side of the cap to the other. A time-honored tradition. Though she was valedictorian, she was relieved not to have to make a speech!

Turner married shortly after graduation. She had received a diamond from the late Leland Turner as a Christmas gift. The couple first lived in Red Cloud and then moved to Hastings where she still lives. They had two children and now she is a grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother.

Long-time Courtland businessman, Norman Hoard, also graduated from Formoso High School with the Class of 1953. He, unlike Turner, was not as fond of the academic side of high school though Hoard did acknowledge he liked "shop," though one day he left the ends of three fingers in the class.

But Hoard, like Peters, really liked basketball. According to Hoard, "Ten times a day" was not too often to play. His senior year the team was successful but the greatest success came his sophomore year. That year, 1951, the Formoso basketball team placed third in the state tournament.

The players on the 1951State Tournament team were: Marvin Andrews (senior), Lyle Baskins (Not Known), Clive Dunn (senior), Dick Dunstan (senior), Bill Fetrow (junior), Norman Hoard (sophomore), Rex Patrick (senior), Howard Rathbun (sophomore), Dick Studer (sophomore) and Sam Yancy (Not Known). The team beat Ashland 66 to 42, then beat Oxford 44 to 34, but lost to Sedgwick 46 to 51 before beating Stockton 51 to 38 to earn third place.

It is believed Formoso also went to the 1921 State Basketball Tournament which was held in Lawrence, Kan. Exactly what happened is not known. In a preliminary round, Asherville forfeited to Formoso by a score 0 to 2. In the first round of the tournament, Formoso forfeited to Effingham by a like score. This leaves one with the question; Did the team really go to Lawrence to the tournament? Did they qualify but distance, finances or weather prevented the team from actually attending? Questions, but no answers.

According to old newspaper items, Formoso also won the Jewell County Basketball Tournament in 1923. They defeated Athens in the championship game. Again in 1936 they won the county tournament. That time they defeated Esbon for the championship.

With all this about basketball, what about football? Little it seems. One note indicated the school quit six-man football in 1954. A brief search of newspapers did not reveal a single victory in the 20 articles reviewed. Basketball seems the sport of the town.

Sports was not at all the entire focus of the school. There was also a focus on academics. The 1917 Formosonian tells of the literary societies in the school. All students belonged to either the Krusonian Society or Formosonian Society. Each society had their own colors and pennants. Their purpose was to create interest in the school.

During the 1916-1917 school year, Formoso High School had an orchestra, a mixed chorus, a girl's chorus and an operetta was performed. A few years later, in 1924, the Formoso High School debate team took first place in the interscholastic meet at Kansas State University.

In 1927, not only did the school win the county basketball tournament, they also won the county music contest. In addition, they took first place in a state wide scholarship contest. Scholarship continued to be important to the school and alumni.

Scholarship was important to Ruth Field Berneking (Salina). After graduating from FHS, she became a teacher and taught first and second grades in Formoso for six years. She married the late Wybern Berneking in 1949 and they lived in the Formoso area. After his death, she moved to Salina and has lived there for the last 10 years.

Berneking is also thought to be the oldest living graduate of Formoso High School. She graduated with the Class of 1946. As the auditorium had not been built, the graduation ceremony for the two members of the Class of 1946 was held in the Community Church.

There were only two members of the class, Berneking and the late Helen Uzdill. They began their freshman year with several more students in the class. According to Berneking, it was during the war years and the boys in the class dropped out and went to serve in the armed forces. Before they left, their girlfriends married them and the class dwindled to only two members.

Berneking's memories of FHS center around "knowing all the kids and being a part of everything that went on." And tennis - she "loved" it! Singles and "occasionally" doubles. There was also typing, her favorite class.

Formoso High School may have closed but the impact of the alumni on education still continues. In the early 2000s, the Formoso Alumni Association began funding a Superintendent Baird Scholarship. This scholarship honored W. J. Baird, who led the Formoso Schools for many years.

The scholarship fund grew to the extent that in 2005, it was decided by the association to find a college at which to establish a scholarship. The Formoso Alumni Association-W. J. Baird Scholarship was established at Cloud County Community College in Concordia. The funds associated with the scholarship now total some $400,000 and more than $100,000 in scholarships have been awarded.

The impact of this scholarship has spread far and wide. A wonderful legacy for the citizens of Formoso and their desire for an education for their students. It is also a legacy for the ever-dwindling number of alumni who wore the Gold and Black of the Formoso Falcons.

Those interested in learning and preserving the history of Formoso should check out the Facebook Page "City of Formoso, Ks" as they have a focused interest on the history of the community.

Sincere thanks to those interviewed for this article: Ruth Field Berneking, Marian Mohler Turner, Norman Hoard and Janice Hettinger Peters. Thanks also go to Ruth Howland Fleming, Joy Gordanier, Lavernia Peters, Beth Wilkes and Clifford Massey of Formoso for their help with research. Additionally, Judith DeNayer Dunn had previously organized information about the 1951 basketball team. Special thanks to Charles Westin (Belleville) Class of 1957 for so willingly sharing his files and memorabilia of Formoso High School.

This two and a half story rock and brick building was built in 1909 to house both the elementary school and high school at Formoso. It burned on April 19, 1960.