Luna Pier's Victory School opened in 1910

Tom Adamich
·3 min read

LUNA PIER — The history of the Victory School (later known as the Luna Pier School) in Erie is an interesting one. Many thanks to Diane Cousino from the Erie Area Historians who supplied some of the core historical information and Mayor Jim Gardner of Luna Pier who shared a photo of what became the expanded Luna Pier School building.

The Victory School, named for its location on Victory Road halfway between Rauch Road and Luna Pier, was opened in 1910 in temporary quarters with Mabel K. Knapp serving as its first teacher. When the building was completed and opened in 1912, Hazel Duffey served as teacher until the 1914-1915 school year, when Hilda M. Breitner assumed the teacher role. Both female and male teachers would serve as the Victory School’s solo teacher throughout the rest of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, with James Sharkey, Kenneth Ley, and Julius Cole serving multi-year terms.

The Luna Pier School served what became the Mason Consolidated Schools for nearly seven decades. The building also was an early home of the Rasey Memorial Branch Library of the Monroe County Library System.
The Luna Pier School served what became the Mason Consolidated Schools for nearly seven decades. The building also was an early home of the Rasey Memorial Branch Library of the Monroe County Library System.

It wouldn’t be until the 1931-1932 school year when Cole would be joined by Dorothy McCarty to teach a growing population of students at the Victory School. Most of the teachers were unmarried; however, McCarty broke that trend and also provided perspective on the prevailing conditions in the community and needs of a growing school population: “… Luna Pier was a community of summer homes — just a shell with no plaster, running water or electricity. Families who had gotten out of Toledo were caught … I wondered how they ever survived or whether they were hungry. There was no welfare … I was told not to get friendly with those families.  Some of the other children were from farm families, but they were very comfortable. I believe I had 62 students that year … I was very busy.”

The marker of the original 1912 Luna Pier Victory School is visible. The building was decommissioned as a school in 1936 and has been a private residence ever since.
The marker of the original 1912 Luna Pier Victory School is visible. The building was decommissioned as a school in 1936 and has been a private residence ever since.

McCarty continues: “… The school board never asked me if I was to be married, and I didn’t tell them although they all knew. In May, 1932, the mothers of my students gave me a shower. They bought me a waffle iron, toaster and card table. … In 1932-33, the school board decided they could save some money by having the ninth grade at the Victory School,  so I got the first five grades, and Julius [Cole] got the sixth through ninth.”

The header of the Luna Pier School, opened in 1936, is pictured. The school served well into the early 2000s and was officially closed in 2006.
The header of the Luna Pier School, opened in 1936, is pictured. The school served well into the early 2000s and was officially closed in 2006.

A Sep. 4, 1931, letter from Supervisor of the Public Schools for the State of Michigan C.W. Price was sent to Victory School Director Cleopos Cousino with some recommendations to address the overcrowding and other issues, including, “… A good floor brush, pail and cleaning brush for cleaning the building and the toilets — especially the outside toilets — and a drinking fountain in order to provide a sanitary drinking water supply.”

What became the Luna Pier School was built in 1936 at Lakeside on Elmhurst Drive in Luna Pier with $20,000 bond issue. Toledo-based builder Fred Schultz was awarded the $17,860 contract.

This is a photo of the Luna Pier School strike. In early May of 1937, 100 students went on strike for eight days, petitioning the removal of Miss Mildred Scully as principal for dismissing popular high school teacher James Sheridan.
This is a photo of the Luna Pier School strike. In early May of 1937, 100 students went on strike for eight days, petitioning the removal of Miss Mildred Scully as principal for dismissing popular high school teacher James Sheridan.

In early May 1937, 100 students went on strike for eight days, petitioning the removal of Miss Mildred Scully as principal for dismissing popular high school teacher James Sheridan. Sheriff deputies arrested the strike leaders, and a new school board was elected in July 1937. Scully remained as principal, and Sheridan was not rehired.

A 1950 addition added two classrooms at a cost of $29,894. The additional space would allow the Luna Pier Public Library (now the Rasey Memorial Branch Library of the Monroe County Library System) to move from the second floor to the first floor in 1954. By this time, the school had become part of the Mason Consolidated Schools, developed during the 1951-1952 school year.

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What became the Luna Pier Elementary School would close in 2006. The original Victory School became a private residence around 1937.

— Tom Adamich is president of Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is project archivist for the Greening Nursery Co. and Family Archives and the electric vehicle awareness coordinator at Monroe County Community College.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Luna Pier's Victory School opened in 1910