A Bicentennial Moment: A Fairport Hometown Sketch - Early Educators

As the month of March comes to a close, we end our bicentennial chapter on school history and notable athletic moments with today's blog. Our topic today is a brief and thoroughly incomplete look back at some well known village educators in Fairport school history.  Fairport has had many school teachers, pioneering men and women whose names are documented in Fairport Harbor's History Book (1976) and other local accounts.  Here are but a few of the notable educators as we travel through time.

Miss Lena Brennan
In 1936's Hometown Sketches one teacher, more than any other, was remembered in print.  According to the its author Miss Brennan taught in Fairport for nearly a half-century.  Entries in her class registers dated September 4, 1895 and September 7, 1896 list the 16 boys and 31 girls who resided in Fairport that year.  Even the author Saul Olila was in her class in 1919.

Katherine McCrone O'Brien
Mrs. O'Brien taught in the Fairport school system from 1900, the year she graduated from HS, until her retirement in 1940.  Mrs. O'Brien again came back to teaching, to fill an administrative vacancy at McKinley School.

R. A. Grieg
Another notable local educator, Mr. Grieg served the school system as a teacher, principal, and superintendent for 20 years.  He came to Fairport in 1924 and ended his career in June 1946.  Visible evidence of the community affection for him came when the football field was dedicated to him that year.

Mrs. Addie Owen Nelson
Addie Owen Nelson was one of the first school teachers in Fairport.  She taught at the old grammar school on Third Street from 1886-1888.  Mrs. Nelson taught the primary grades.  The only other colleague in her day was Edward Alvord.

Hezekiah Cole
A local newspaper obituary in 1893  mentioned Mr. Cole as a Fairport teacher in 1832.  He taught in the village at the age of 19 but little else is known of his career.

Memorable Educators continued
Other memorable educator names from the past include  Miss Julia Strong (Espy), Mary Lynch Monahan, Elijah H. Brown, Helen Lakso Kasari, Mary Luoma, Helen Kovach, Ken Babb, Matt Ivary et al.