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	Franklin County, Kansas, USA

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008 11:51 AM

School welcomes ‘Wall of Fame’ inductees

By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer

WELLSVILLE — Two former teachers are the two newest additions to the Wellsville Wall of Fame.

Robert Cramer and the late Jackie Rush will be inducted in a ceremony 5 p.m. Saturday at Wellsville High School’s Kermit Deterding Gymnasium.

Inductees for 2008 are Jackie Rush and Robert Cramer.

Plaques commemorating Cramer and Rush will be given to Cramer and Rush’s family. Other plaques in their honor will be placed on the Wall of Fame board at Wellsville High School.

A reception will follow the ceremony and both are open to the public.

Robert Cramer

Cramer graduated from Wellsville High School in 1953 and attended Ottawa University, where he also played football and received a bachelor’s degree in 1957. He received graduate degrees from Purdue University for chemistry and Kansas University for education. He also did graduate work at Marquette, Stanford and Wisconsin-Oshkosh universities.

Cramer returned to Wellsville to teach science and math at the high school in 1961-62.

The next year he was employed by the Shawnee Mission School District. During his tenure there, he taught chemistry, served as science coordinator, and finally was director of research and evaluation.

The Cramer family spent 1971-73 in Australia as part of the Teacher Exchange Program. He retired in 1994.

However, he continued to live in Wellsville and was active in community affairs.

In 1961, he assisted in planning for Wellsville’s participation in the Kansas Centennial Celebration.

Cramer served as a Wellsville USD 289 school board member 1962-1967 and mayor of Wellsville 1977-87. As a life-long member of the Wellsville Baptist Church, he has taught Sunday school, sung in the choir and participated on the Deacon Board, as well as a myriad of other activities.

Lately, Cramer incorporated his love of military history into a new venture — writing books. To date, he has published two volumes of short stories.

“If a contest were held to find a person symbolic of ‘small town America,’ Robert Cramer could well be chosen the winner, as the values of family, education, work ethic and faith are woven into his life,” the Wall of Fame selection committee said.

Jackie Rush

Jackie Rush came to Wellsville Elementary School in 1964, having taught in two other school districts for a combined five years. Her tenure at Wellsville Elementary School would span another 25 years, where she mostly taught sixth grade.

“First and foremost, Jackie encouraged her students to dream; secondly, she helped them to understand that dreams could be turned into real life, attainable goals,” the Wall of Fame selection committee said. “To accomplish this, Jackie sometimes ‘colored outside of the lines’ in her teaching philosophy and style.

“Although the three Rs were important, she also emphasized art and culture.”

As a a hands-on teacher, Rush took her students places they otherwise might never have experienced, including camping in Colorado, dinners at ethnic restaurants, museums in Chicago and Kansas City, and to art projects that showcased Indian and early human cultural artifacts. Much of this was done at her own expense.

Rush also believed that physical activity and sports could inspire real life learning. To reach this end, she organized girl’s sports activities, including Wellsville’s first girls basketball team, which competed in Canada, and coached softball teams.

In addition, she started a track program for Wellsville Junior High boys and girls, and also an annual track and field day for sixth graders. This later was expanded to include all elementary students, and is named Jackie Rush Field Day.

“However, what most students will remember about Mrs. Rush is her robust personality, which was often displayed in her loud voice, heavy gait, strong laugh and upfront communication,” the committee said. “Even though she was quick to discipline, she loved in return, and her students felt that love.”

Rush died in 1989.

Wall of Fame

The Wellsville Wall of Fame Honor program was started in 2005. Other inductees include Arthur Wendell Hicks, James C.T. Pool, Jim Wright, Ellen Cox, Jack Chalender and Junior and Luetta Crist.

Anyone in the community can nominate candidates for the wall, Kris Kehl, assistant high school principal and one of the organizers of the ceremony, said.

The nominations are good for three years, he said.

A selection committee made up of teachers, administrators and past graduates picked each year’s honorees, he said.

Honorees can be distinguished graduates, former teachers or community members with a long record of support for the Wellsville schools, he said.